This is my first negative review in 6 years of using Airbnb.
I should have trusted all the other reviews on accommodation managed by AirManaged. But I thought I'd give it a try. An experience not to be repeated. The apartment is nice and clean, but the management is absolutely pathetic. Let me list here what happened:
Upon checkin in, I discovered a leak in the bathroom (there was a pool of water on the floor) and alerted the guy who checked me in. He promised to follow up with the 'office' and then with me. I let 3 hours pass and no one got back to me. I then messaged him and he said to contact 'the office' and then blocked all communication on whatsapp. I contacted the 'office' and they told me they were waiting for me to confirm access to premises. I told them that NO ONE contacted me to aske me anything and I was not aware they were waiting for me to confirm access.
I then proceed to turn on the "TV" advertised on the description. Only to discover that the "TV" is in fact a screen that is not connected to anything - not even a free-view earth aerial with free channels. There was no other way to use this screen. I contacted the 'office' to ask them about the TV and they repeat 3-4 times the same thing: that there is only a TV advertised,. not a DSTV. I keep telling them that I am not assuming that the "TV" would be connected to DSTV, but I woudl expect the "TV" to be connected to something in order to show moving images. I sent them a screenshot of a blank "TV" screen. They told me that it's for connecting your USB stick to it. I told them who on earth travels with their movies and series on a USB stick these days? People watch Netflix in 2019! And if I'm travelling for pleasure, I'm not going to carry my laptop or USB stick around. But yet, they kept repeating and repeating and repeating that 'there is a TV as per description'.
We tried to take a shower in the main bathroom and because the shower door did not close properly, we flooded the entire bathroom floor. I told them that this was a problem and that we ended up using the en-suite bathroom and that by that stage, we didn't want to have another stranger in our house fixing the bathroom because we were on holiday and we didnt' want to deal with that for the entire time.
Then one night we get back home, only to discover someone had parked in our parking spot. Thankfully, one of the building's trustees was still awake (it was 11pm) and told us to park in someone else's spot. Otherwise we wouldn't have had anywhere to park. The building is obviously overcrowded and there is not enough parkings.
Finally, I asked the 'office' if I coudl check out late. They tell us that checking out later requires paying half or full day. Again, if you deal directly with the Airbnb owner, they are usually very accommodating if they don't have a guest next day. But no, AirManaged treats you like a cash machine trying to make every cent out of you. People use Airbnb for the personalised touches, so if this is what Airmanaged offeres, then why would I even use Airbnb?
All in all, I will NEVER again rent a place that is AirManaged. Cape Town is full of good value accommodation and nice hosts, so I encourage you to find accommodation where you interact with the actual owner of the accommodation for a more personalised experience.
Also, I do not need to be treated like an unintelligent person by some office 'manager' who repeats the same thing over and over as if I hadn't understood it the first time.