Sascha is, by far, the *worst* Airbnb host that I have ever had to deal with, in my 10 years of using Airbnb.
It started out promisingly enough. The listing showed a nice, modern-looking apartment in the middle of a relatively new neighbourhood in the London dockyards area. We would have our own room and our own private bathroom, and sharing the space with the host. Sascha himself was responsive as a host, and we were looking forward to the stay.
The red flag started to reveal itself when he texted us via the Airbnb app, a few days before our arrival, to say that he won't be around, but that a "friend" would be staying at the apartment instead. We were not told who this "friend" is, and for how long he was staying. While this was already a deviation from the listing - that promised our own private space while staying with the host - I decided not to make a fuss out if. The host promised us champagne / chocolates as consolation for the trouble (which, of course, we never received).
Now, where do I begin to enumerate the many problems we had with the place, and with the host? Let me list them down one by one:
1. Check-in was a pain in the ass. We had to haul our luggage to a grocery store, located near a Tube station which was 2 stops away from the apartment itself, in order to collect the keys. By far the worst check-in experience I have ever had on Airbnb.
2. The aforementioned "friend" ended up staying all the way through our trip, and the host wouldn't answer us directly when we asked how long he was going to stay. We had no idea who he was, other than his name, and that he was from Saudi Arabia. Was he a serial murderer? A rapist? Who knows - I'm just lucky to still be alive, I guess.
3. This "friend" brought his friends over to the place, and hogged the living room (which was supposed to be a shared space); once, my wife even caught this "friend's friend" using our bathroom toilet - which was next to the living room, but supposed to be for our private use - with the bathroom door open!
4. The room we stayed in had no lock, and the balcony door opened up to the balcony which was also connected to the master bedroom that the "friend" was staying in. At night, because of the London heatwave, we had no choice but to keep the balcony door open all night. Yes, this was a massive security risk for us, and my wife complained, but I told her I didn't want to kick a fuss. Every night I prayed that nothing would go wrong, and that we wouldn't be intruded on in the middle of the night.
5. To add insult to injury, after enduring this throughout our stay, mere hours after we checked-out and left the apartment, I got a message on Airbnb with claims for damages from the host. Damages! If anything I should be claiming from the host compensation for the security risk, and the false advertising! In any case, I am currently in contact with Airbnb to resolve the false allegation of damages - the first time in 10 years of using Airbnb that I have ever had to endure this.
Between my wife and I, we have used Airbnb maybe 40+ times since 2012. Ever since that first trip to Amsterdam, we fell in love with Airbnb's philosophy and its community. We are determined not to let this one experience color our future expectations of Airbnb, but for the rest of you out there, I strongly recommend that you stay way away from Sascha. Definitely the worst Airbnb host, and the worst Airbnb experience, I have ever had.