I own 2 AirBnb's.
Info is the most important thing.
It cuts out hassled messages, disappointment and annoyance.
If you rent your place out that no one has been to before you have to leave instructions. You can’t expect guests to drop into someone else’s home and know where things are and how they work. Also basic living equipment that is present in any other holiday type accommodation should not be locked away inadvertently . It screams lack of thought and care. The whole premise of AirBnb rather than a hotel is " the home from home" concept. This was lacking and that is not what people sign up for with this website.
Unfortunately my stay was blighted due to poor communication and a lack of thought.
Pros
The area is great. I come down to London to work and this apartment was walking distance for my work. You can get to Oxford Circus in no time. Walk to Kensington Park, Notting Hill , Paddington Basin , where endless amenities, bars and restaurants reside. You cant beat it. The apartment was also quiet which is a rarity in London.
The apartment was clean and nicely decorated - handy 2 bedrooms and bathrooms that could easily accommodate 4 guests comfortably.
However there were a lot of cons. A faulty master lock to get the key was not great. In fact when I left and the key was placed inside it would not close at all so it was left open. Poor instructions on how to locate the door to the apartment as there are no numbers was not great so I spent my time trying the 2 keys in 3 doors.
There were no instructions for the apartment. No hand towels , no iron they were locked away. No coat hangers in the wardrobe - why? What’s the point of an empty wardrobe - who brings coat hangers? Maybe if this was communicated that I needed to bring them…..
A TV that only worked with a computer - I only had my IPad with me which wasn’t compatible. Again communication! Why wasn’t I told this before my arrival?
I watched TV on My IPad all week.
In fact every time I turned on the TV the lights would flicker so there was clearly an electrical issue going on.
Heating! I had to rummage around a cupboard and mess about with the heating without instructions. I managed to turn the bathroom radiators on but the bedroom was cold all week and never warmed up. The lounge had underfloor heating but never worked out what was heating a carpeted bedroom despite altering the thermostat.
There was old fruit left in the bowl in the kitchen - not my responsibility to be clearing your stuff out and rearranging your fridge with perishables items left in it.
A bit of thought, attention and communication would have prevented all the abrupt text messages I sent to the owner and could have made my stay so much better. All of these things can be fixed by the owner - I just feel I was a test case for a new rental. The problem is as I host myself I saw the shortcomings.