I want to start with the positives:
+ There was a lot of communication which is good
+ The property is close to transport links
+ There was a kitchen which was really well equipped
+ Great value with regards to cost per night at the time of my booking
But beyond that, there were a few things that really disappointed, and in some cases, significantly so. I honestly think that most of these issues are not due to the host, but due to the hosting management company she uses (AirSorted). I'll make the comments below and you decide:
- It was extremely discomforting that we were required to disclose our personal plans to the management company as a condition of acceptance of the booking. Now, when communicating with hosts, I usually share my general plans, but this felt different as we were forced to add a layer of detail to strangers managing her property.
- Communication. In most cases, the management team was doing most of the communicating. But it felt like on at least two occasions, the management company was writing as if they were the host. It felt really inauthentic.
- Cleaning. Access to a kitchen is one of the reasons we love AirBnB. In this stay, we basically had to wash everything before use. It might be a problem with the dishwasher, but also the cleaner didn't catch this (you'll see why this is an issue soon). And the floors in the living room could have been cleaner.
- Value. Whilst the nightly rate was a great value, the host / management company added on a cleaning fee of 120% of the nightly rate. Now for that amount of money, everything should be spotless, but it wasn't (ref above). Which tells me that the money is being likely being diverted to the management company in order to pay their fees. I don't have anything against management agencies for AirBnB properties, and I am sure that I have stayed at a place that uses them before. This is just the first time I have l clearly seen a case where the cleaning fee doesn't appear to go for the cleaning.
The pity is that this is well on the way to being a great AirBnB flat. Since it seems that all communication for this property is public (because the host uses a host management company so nothing I write is private), I decided to make my comments also more public. As a wrote to the host (if she gets to read my comments instead of the host management company), all of the ingredients are there for success - I think a different hosting company is needed. But in any case, I am appreciative of those who are willing to share their homes and hopefully they see the feedback here for the positive things they can bring if they are fairly considered.