Pros:
Team was initially very communicative and engaged with us in a friendly manner
Unit is as described
Pricing was fair given the unit
Parking is sometimes readily available
Subtle ambient airplane noise
Very home-y at first (Issues later forced us to move out early and in an unagreeable term)
Cons:
For Starters, this was advertising as a no-smoking rental
I am not quite sure where to begin, but these items stem more from the tenants that live in the complex and less so on the host, but how they dealt with it was initially somewhat professional and devolved into the most unprofessional experience we had through AirBnb.
Almost immediately after moving in, we noticed a strong smell of smoke inside our apartment, it was apparent that someone was smoking and we made the mistake to contact Airbnb & the host after 24 hours of checking in. After a few days, we realized that the unit next to us was smoking a mix of cigarettes, marijuana, and potentially cigars outside our unit. Further, this was apparent in someone (most likely next door unit) smoking inside their own apartment and central heating carrying over all the smells; cigarette, cigar, and marijuana, as well as lingering smells starting at ~8 PM until ~1-2AM everyday inside the unit.
We informed the host and the management team and within 24 hours were informed that it was outside and not within their control, two days go by and I witness the tenant smoking outside the unit and being confronted by someone, immediately I reached out to the host and we established that clearly someone on-site and renting was smoking. This individual was warned, but less 24 hours later we would smell it inside our unit much more strongly, we informed the host and they said they would address it again with the tenant. We stayed ~21 nights and every single night we smelt smoke, inside and out, the tenant returned to this behavior even after being confronted and it seemed that management no longer cared no matter how often or how frequently we updated them.
They then offered us three options;
1. Move into a much smaller space with severely reduced amenities (~1/3 - 1/2 our current stay) for an unestablished reduced sum. (We decided against this option as the unit was way too small for two people and two pets)
2. They would end our rental early and refund us ONLY for nights not spent (We did not like this option as we booked 35 days and would have to find a place ASAP and pay a premium, plus they completely did not even discuss or ever address nights affected)
3. Move into a new 1BR unit, but pay a premium of the price that the unit was priced at. (We felt this option was optimal and attempted to negotiate with the host since we did not cause this issue for cheaper rent and a longer stay) The management team/host would not budge so we escalated to Airbnb and ultimately were told on Sunday at ~5:30 PM that we would have to make a decision by 8 PM that night if we wanted to move into this night.
The condition was that we would pay our standard rate for the rest of the trip ~14 days or so. We were shocked by the short notice and had previously informed them that due to work, we were unable to pack and move until the weekend. We also felt slightly shafted as we did not get any sympathy for nights affected (21 out of 35 at that time) and would have to move on such notice for only two weeks (They informed us Sunday Night, we were unable to move during the weekday due to professional work, and could only move weekends). I offered to stay longer with the host at a slightly reduced rate and inquired about nights affected. Coldly, we were informed we would pay the premium rate and no one ever addressed nights affected.
At this point, we let Airbnb handle the rest and moved out with less than 12 hours notice to a new unit that was unrelated to the host. Ultimately, we felt that the host was more focused on maximizing profits and less so on long-term attempts to address the issue with the tenant that was smoking. For 21 days, we kept getting exposed to smoke to the point that I had air out our unit at 1 AM at night AND cover the central vents/heating with towels so the smoke would get in. (We took their provided towers and tried to stuff central heating vents and they also provided an air purifier that had little to no effect).
To add insult to injury, they then sent us a request for money for "missing towels, a dirty oven pad, and two broken cups." For starters, we did not take anything and quite honestly don't have any room to take additional items outside our own (We're traveling with two pets, a mix of personal, and professional belongings). We do admit the glasses were mostly broken during our rushed 3 AM move so we are sorry for those. One practice that I did not enjoy is that they took pictures of all our belonging once we moved in, I wish this was done prior to our move. If they were going to be meticulous with items on-site, they should at least provide a checklist of all items supplied so tenants can validate.
Overall, this was our first crummy experience and I don't know why we were treated this way once we established that someone did smoke and was smoking. If they addressed concerns with the tenant and followed up with their own set standards (no smoking 30 feet from the apartment), we would have had no issues with staying.
Things to Improve;
1. Communication with other tenants about do's and don'ts on-site and employ Just Cause Clause to tenant affecting others
2.