Our check-in experience was terrible. Despite mentioning in three places to take your shoes off at the door, there was no mention of the fact that the door locks automatically from the outside. Five minutes after we set our stuff down, my friend and I get locked out. We called who we thought was Sophie, who told us they were in the countryside. They had no immediate plan for this situation and told us to stand by while they called their maid. We waited at a local restaurant for over an hour. They had still not got hold of their contact. It was around 8 pm in the evening, and my friend began calling her distant family in the city for an emergency place to stay.
They also told us that when they did hear from her, we would have to meet here in London. We told them we did feel comfortable doing this, especially since I was pregnant and it was already evening time.
Finally, we called Airbnb who told us that because the information about the door was never listed in the description of the flat the owners would need to call a locksmith. Airbnb told Sophie's team they would need to get a locksmith. Sophie's team instructed us to return to the flat where we waited another 30 minutes for a locksmith. When one does come, Sophie's team did not pay them or tell them how they would be getting paid. They asked on the phone, where they told us that we could either wait for the emergency key holder who they still haven't gotten ahold of, or we had to pay for the locksmith. They insisted on this, despite the fact that Airbnb had already told them it was their responsibility. I reminded him of this fact and then he threatened the case of a claim against me.
I told him what Airbnb told me. We got off the phone. The Locksmith took pity on us and let us in for free. They never replaced the lock. They told us that the host never paid them. We tried giving them money but they refused to take it. We told the hosts we were inside. The host followed up to rudely tell us we were impatient, despite the fact that they never got a hold of their emergency key holder, and told me "pregnancy was not a factor". I subsequently had to report the hostility of the hosts to Airbnb. We were also informed by Airbnb that they never got a receipt from the hosts for the locksmith.
My friend and I discussed getting a refund but did not want to put more stress on our other companions traveling from the US. We stayed despite our terrible treatment. A few days later, the host requested a charge of around $585 for damages. This was strange considering they never saw the apartment or the door. It was also strange because the locksmith didn't replace the lock. It was even more strange given the Locksmith said they never got paid nor did Airbnb receive a recept. At most, the locksmith would have cost them $80. They charged us this amount because we were "impatient." I had to remind them that when we did get a locksmith it was past 9pm, they never got a hold of their emergency key holder and that Airbnb told them to. Needless, to say we declined the charge and reported the hosts to Airbnb.
It's a long story to say we had a miserable time with the hosts. It's sad because the flat really is charming and is close to a lovely park. It's pretty fair from the Underground and we had to kill our fair share of spiders.