Would not recommend staying here unless you enjoy living with termites and being gaslighted. I contacted Matthew immediately after I realized there were termites in the unit (at 12:17 AM) to which I got the response “Yes. Those are termites. They eat wood. I’ll let the owner know. Thanks for update”. I was not staying in LA for complete leisure as I was there on 2 internships. I cannot work in an environment with pests nor did I book an Airbnb to be burdened with the task of being a property manager that communicates with pest control.
I asked Matthew how I could get a refund for the days I am not staying there(not sure why anyone would want to stay in an Aibnb with termites) to which he responded, verbatim, “Hi. Termites are a fact of life. Not a big deal. They eat wood and we’ll get that treated. It happens. If it was your own home you wouldn’t have keys back to the bank. You just have Pest control come out and take care of it”. This is directly from the pest control company’s website that he mentioned sending to the unit “While some of these property-crashing pests are considered a nuisance, others—such as roaches, rodents, bed bugs, and termites—pose a serious threat to your tenants’ health and to the infrastructure of your property.” Sounds like a big deal to me!
Airbnb customer support ended my stay at Matthew’s termite oasis and gave me a refund for the days I didn’t stay there and also informed me that any further contact he has with me is considered harassment and grounds for reporting/blocking. Since I am no longer living there, I did not respond to any of his communication (the communication in question was him telling me termites eat wood and pest control could come out and assess the situation). He has since called me during working hours (I didn’t pick up) and informed me via Airbnb inbox that he is filing a lawsuit with me over $1349(including $125 for a rip in a cover that he buys wholesale off Amazon).
Under California law, a rental property must be completely suitable for human habitation when a tenant moves in. If the unit has some bugs or rodents, it renders the property uninhabitable. I also got a low cleanliness rating from this host which is almost comical coming from the person who considers pests in a unit as “no big deal”. I took a video of how I left the unit as well - clean.
Also, I’m sure the units connected to this one that he manages has termites as well since they are connected. Overall, would not recommend! Location is the best part about this place.