Where to begin... Well, for starters, Mina is not the individual pictured in the profile pic; that is her son. Mina can best be described as an insufferable, elderly, widowed Persian helicopter mom who takes a passive aggressive "my way or the highway" approach to hosting AirBnB guests. Sure, sometimes the guest-host compatibility is off, but this stay was indicative of much, much more. The host knew that I would be arriving late (just before midnight) due to delayed travel arrangements; no doing of my own. The host was also made aware that I elected her accommodation as a landing pad to relax and recuperate from nearly a year of non-stop travel. Yet, at approximately 10AM the next morning (~10 hours after check-in), I get a knock at the bedroom door (from the host) inquiring if everything is okay, and informing me that guests are usually gone for the day and use the house merely to bathe and rest after a day's work/sightseeing. Dumbfounded, but okay, I'll ride this one out and dismiss the exchange as a product of retrograde Amnesia. That evening, as I am heading out to get food, I clarify with the host that I am exhausted (from nearly a year worth of travel) and in dire need of rest & relaxation. With this in mind, we both arrive at the understanding that the imaginary "be gone all day, present by night" commandment need not apply in my case.
Day 1... I am greeted to a reiteration of the litany of house rules in my AirBnB message inbox... Hmm... Okay. More rest and relaxation on my end. Shocker! Mind you, except for one or two brief (15-minute) periods in the dining area (no eating permitted in rooms), my time is spent in the bedroom. Overall, there is minimal interaction with the host, two other houseguests, and the host's son. There was a brief interaction whereby I asked the host for an additional pillow, and she did indeed provide me with one, but entered my room (door was shut) without my permission. This disappointed me.
Day 2.. I am once again greeted to a reiteration of the house rules in addition to a few amendments to those rules (i.e. "no eating in rooms" became "no eating or storing food in rooms"). This time I elect to send a question mark in reply, and move on with my day. As with the previous evening, I head out to get food. As I'm doing so, the host informs me (at 8:04PM) that she will be having a prospective tenant come to look at my room at 2:00PM the following day. I express to her, very diplomatically, that I am not okay having anyone in my room while I am not present (had plans the following day). The host insists that it will be fine, and that trust was crucial. Trust. Ha! Where's the trust in not providing guests with the keypad code or a key for self-entry? So much for reciprocity... I more explicitly express that I am not okay with the last minute request on her end. In response, she looks to her right (in her son's direction), and proceeds to utter several insults in her native Persian tongue. I confirm, in English, that I do not approve of her request. She affirms and, for the first time, refuses eye contact. This served as a defining moment for the hours to follow…
At 2:00AM that night I receive an AirBnB message from the host requesting that we meet at 9:00AM the following morning (Saturday). I immediately reply, telling her that I will not be available to meet during that time, but would be happy to arrange for an alternative time/day. No response. I go to bed around 3:00AM. At 9:40AM I receive a phone call from AirBnB informing me that the host would like me to vacate the premises by 10:00AM. Over the course of our conversation it becomes clear that no defined reason was provided. I inform AirBnB that I would be more than happy to leave, but would most certainly need additional time to gather my belongings, make alternative arrangements, and depart. They understood; the host did not. At precisely 10:01AM she insisted that I was trespassing and "holding (my) house hostage", and even called both the police and private security to have me physically removed as I was reading to leave. I am departing just before 11:00AM as private security arrives to find the host completely livid and me calm as can be.
Needless to say, I cannot recommend this overbearing, inconsiderate excuse for a "host" to anyone under any circumstances. Seek refuge elsewhere.