Our experience at Neel’s apartment was sadly very unfortunate. We have never had a similar experience in any other Airbnb rental, and this is the first (and hopefully the last) time we felt forced to write such a review in the hope to keep this platform safe for everyone.
When we arrived, Neel had a friendly attitude, although the flat was not like the photographs, since it was under construction and materials were everywhere, including the living room, exit corridor (not very safe) and back porch. The flat was also cluttered with other stuff throughout, including a bicycle in the middle of the kitchen entrance (again not very safe), etc. We, however, intended to overlook everything since we are quite flexible and accommodating and we were there only for work rather than for a holidays.
Everything appeared rather normal until our last morning in the flat, when we discovered a surveillance camera turned on (with a red light on) in the living room pointing into the room, towards the kitchen and corridor area. We were in complete shock and very distressed at this discovery since the camera was not disclosed in the House Rules in his Airbnb listing and he did not mentioned it on our arrival. This camera is one which recordings can be checked any time from a mobile phone. We are two young women and we were horrified at the thought of having been recorded and under surveillance without our knowledge and consent.
We contacted Airbnb regarding this worrying matter and considering the extremely serious breach of privacy, we though the host would at least apologise and come to an amicable agreement to redress the situation, however, when he found out about our complaint, he not only lied to Airbnb that he notified us about the camera on our arrival and about the fact that the camera was turned off, but he also accused us of having caused a ‘severe damage beyond repair’ to his washing machine (an object we didn’t touch) and demanded a sum of £750 from us. This claim was so absurd, that Airbnb dismissed it without asking any questions.
We are still dealing with Airbnb regarding the serious breach of privacy and we would sadly not be able to recommend this place to anyone after this unfortunate experience.