I would not recommend this place or the host at all.
I booked her place for two nights for my casting events to attend from July 11 to 13th . On the policy it says cancellation before July 4th for a partial refund and after that no refund allows.
I got to know my events on July 5th get changed to Florida for those dates rather than in LA so I have to cancel my reservation with Sarah. This was one day after the cut-off time according to her page. So I messaged her on July 5th asking if she could understand my situation as I also had to change my flights and bear some financial losses from there. But, she told me that she contacted Airbnb about the options but was told that it was impossible or her account would be cancelled. So I TRUSTED her. I believed it was what it was. I then saw on her page that Airbnb allowed guests to change reservations and talk with the host to see if the original dates don’t work then perhaps the staying can be rescheduled. So, I asked her if we could have alternative solutions, like perhaps I could keep my two days and used them for another stay in the future. It was more like store credits when the store didn’t issue refund they were happy to issue credits. The thing is I paid for two nights, including cleaning fees and services, but me didn’t even staying there, how is it fair for guests to be penalized completely without the host even having to clean the room? I’m fine with being charged on deposit as it was my own schedule got changed. But having me paying for nothing what I received was really not protecting the guests’ rights. What she said when I asked for rescheduling, was only that I could reschedule only in July as August she wasn’t sure she would be posting her room on Airbnb anymore. When I saw in July later the month, it was impossible
to have two consecutive nights to be booked on the calendar. So I said fine I understood. But the whole time was me only to try to find solutions and to find a middle ground to make her happy and make me happy or not fully disappointed at least. And in the end it was me to be pushed to compromise and further compromise until 100% was on her side to receive the benefits complimentarily. All the time I TRUSTED all she said.
But when I took off on July 12th to Miami, I noticed that I could ask for Airbnb support. So I chose to message the agent for help. The agent actually tried her best to help me as she said she would contact the host if the host could understand and gave me the refund, or at least partial. So, when I received the agent’s response saying she would try, which contradicted to Sarah saying she contacted Airbnb and Airbnb support line said it was impossible or would cancel her account. This made me suspicious of whether Sarah actually contacted Airbnb to try to help resolve my solution was real or not. Or, if she just used it as an excuse to me to let me lose hope and then keep my money at ease. She was not RELIABLE.
Then I asked the Airbnb agent saying if she could help me ask if Sarah could give me partial refund. I have reserved restaurants where they asked for deposits charges $50 - $100 to avoid no shows. I am fine with that. But if the customer didn’t have the full course meals but had to pay for the fees of dish cleaning, food prep and services’ tips, isn’t it irrational and unfair to the customer?
The Airbnb agent then got back to me saying the host didn’t respond her for three days and she felt very sorry for my situation. The host ignored rather than making efforts into resolving it.
It was the end of my story.
There were a few ratings I needed to make, from 0-5 stars
Cleanliness: 3/5
Accuracy: 3/5
Check in: 3/5
Communication: 1/5
Location: 3/5
Value: 1/5
I try my best to give objective ratings. I didn’t stay in her places, bearing all the fees still including cleaning and services. I wanted to give 2.5 out of 5 to show neutral standpoint from some experience I haven’t received but there is no such option. So, I treat 3 as the one rather than 2 as a neutral point to give her some space to realize her problems.
I didn’t experience cleanliness, check in, location so I gave her 3/5 excluding of my disappointment and terrible experience with her. I am objective.
Value wise 1/5 and communication 1/5. If there is an option to give 0, that will be my score for the host.
Overall, I would give her 0/5 for those who look for places in LA. I would not recommend her at all. Trust, accountability and empathy are basic for a good host. There are a tons of hosts out there who would love to help you. We are here on Airbnb to save money and meet new people and explore, rather than having financial losses or feeling insecure that our guests’ rights are not protected. If that’s the case, I would prefer to choose hotels.
After I arrived in Florida, I booked my places with the other hosts on Airbnb and they were lovely.
Thanks.