I was excited about staying in Leili’s flat – until I received an unwelcoming message from her 8 days beforehand, reiterating the house rules.
It’s not that I mind there being rules (I used to host myself, and I had rules too): it was the tone of the message; threatening us with additional charges for everything from using extra towels to “excessive” energy use (based on before and after meter readings).
Further, the rules 1) didn’t make sense (e.g. heating and hot water charges of more than £35 per month, when we were only staying for 2 days), 2) seemed unreasonable (£35 seemed low for a month’s heating and hot water), and 3) were inconsistent (stating , in one place, that heating and hot water over £35 would be billed and, in another, that ALL heating and hot water would be billed after the stay). (In a separate message, responding to me seeking clarification, Leili said that “normal” energy spend was £10/week, which seemed low, particularly given recent price increases, and didn’t take account of variation across seasons). In the event, we used less than £1 of energy in two days, but we didn’t know this until after we’d checked out, and the situation made us anxious both in the run-up to, and during, our stay.
The message put me off so much that I would have cancelled had I been able to do so without financial penalty.
To compound the unease I now had about staying at the flat, Leili then took over 48 hours to respond to my reply, in which I asked a couple of questions, not least for the full address, which hasn’t been entered into Airbnb, leaving me wondering if I would be able to find the flat at all.
In fact, I had to ask twice for the building number. When she finally provided it, Leili also said that G****e Maps would have found the property without it whereas, in fact, G****e Maps was directing me to the wrong address. I sent Leili a screenshot to show her this and all she said was “Yeah, don’t know why it does that as the flat is on the other corner”, with no apology for making me work so hard to get the address, or acknowledgement that, had I not insisted on it, I would have gone to the wrong place.
I also asked to be told her tariff for energy use, to which Leili simply said that “if the usage is really low then I normally don’t charge”. This left us staying in the flat not knowing how much energy we could use, or how much additional charge we might incur. If a host is going to impose a charge for “excessive usage”, they need to be transparent about their tariff.
When I arrived, I discovered that Leili still hadn’t told me all I needed to know to find the property, since she’d omitted to mention the entrance number. This left me, on a dark night, messaging with the caretaker who she’d asked to check me in to find him and the entrance. (It’s Entrance 3, in case you need to know).
Marcus, who checked me in, was pleasant, helpful and friendly, answering my questions and showing me around the flat.
The flat is light, airy, comfortable and in a great location, on the river. We enjoyed a stroll from right outside the flat along the Thames Path towards the Thames Flood Barrier. It’s 5-10 mins walk from a DLR station, and about 15 mins from an overground station. There’s a Tesco Metro near the DLR station and a full-sized Sainsbury’s 10-15 mins walk away.
The bed’s comfortable and the kitchen’s well-stocked with pans, cooking implements, crockery and cutlery (although there's no freezer).
There were some things that needed repair, which I’m mentioning to Leili in private feedback but, overall, the flat itself was perfect for our weekend stay in the area. It’s just a shame it was marred by the sense that we were at risk of being charged extra if we failed to follow a rule to the letter, or used “excessive” energy.