I booked this cute spot for 3 nights as my last stop on a overseas solo trip. I was notified a bit early that the place was ready which was appreciated. Check-in was easy and the place was clean and as described.
The first night while I was in the middle of washing my hair in the shower, the hot water went out. I messaged Rebecca through the AirBnB app to let her know and ask if there was anything that I could do. She responded promptly and told me I needed to reset the boiler and described the switches. There was confusion (on my part), but I figured it out and reset the boiler per her instructions. From the looks of the boiler after resetting, it was on and seemed to be working. The heater was also still working, but I still didn't have hot water. I messaged Rebecca to her let her know it didn't work as I still didn't have hot water. I received no response that night and ended up having to heat water in the kettle in order to rinse the shampoo out of my hair.
The next morning I still hadn't received a response and I still didn't have hot water. I messaged Rebecca again to let her know and to also inform her that I would be seeking new accommodations. A little over an hour later, I received a message from Rebecca asking if I had settled in and was enjoying my stay and to let her know if there was anything that was needed or if she could assist. I assume this was an automated message as it completely ignored my complaints of there not being hot water. Regardless, by that time I was on my way to stay at a hotel. By 10am I had begun to pursue getting a refund.
I understand that things that go wrong that are unexpected. My issue is with the customer service I received regarding the unexpected issue. There was no reply to my last message to her about the hot water and there was no apology. I wouldn't have been so hasty to leave if there was acknowledgement of the problem and had been informed whether any action was being taken to remedy it. Since I didn't receive this, I didn't have the time to waste my holiday in a place that didn't have a basic need - hot water.
I requested a refund from Rebecca and only received 50% minus the cleaning fee. I didn't feel this was appropriate based on AirBnb's guest refund policy and pursued the rest of the monies through AirBnb support. Through them I received a full refund.
It's a shame because this place is really cute and the set up is great for solo/couple travelers. Based on my experience and others, there just seems to be a recurring theme on how poorly arising hiccups are handled.