I have included some of the message that I sent to Vinita on our second night in her home. I sent the message because of how disappointing our stay was. I have change it slightly and added asides. If you don't want to read the whole thing, here's the crux -- the kitchen is extremely ill equipped - no can opener, no bowl larger than a cereal bowl, no spatula or wine opener, and the beds are uncomfortable and the bedding is literally the cheapest, slimiest, flimsiest that you can imagine. There are no extra pillows in the house (I had to go to their other rental to get others) and the pillows are extremely thin and hard. There are no wash cloths. I would not recommend. I would not have posted this review, but after sending Vinita the message below -- hoping only to hear that she was going to improve her rental for future guests -- her answer was, "Anyways [sic], I would not go deep into this discussion as I never said it's a gourmet kitchen." So, I would not recommend staying in her home. :(
Hi Vinita,
Thanks so much for helping me get the extra pillows. I understand that you only provide certain things, but I would like to offer you our feelings about your property to hopefully help you improve your customer satisfaction. We would have been delighted -- if the house was slightly better equipped.
Our first impression of the house was that it seemed great for what we needed. It looks nice enough; however, once we started using the house, we realized that it's quite under equipped.
We rented a house instead of a hotel because we were throwing a baby shower (in another location). We needed to do some food prep (just chopping and washing some vegetables) and wanted a kitchen. Part of the reason we rented the house was because the kitchen looked good, but there isn't a bowl or a can opener or a wine opener or a spatula or kitchen towels. There were only two mugs for coffee in a home that sleeps four. We luckily brought a knife and two kitchen towels and a cutting board. It would cost less than $100 to fully equip the kitchen, and you'd satisfy both the people that come here just to sleep and people like us, who want to cook some things.
Every one who rents your homes will need to sleep, and I would like to suggest that you replace your sheets and bedding with down comforters and white duvets and down pillows and white cotton sheets. You should also put mattress pads on your mattresses. My sister is in the room with the big bed, and she said it's uncomfortable. A quick fix for that is a memory foam topper. [ASIDE: I have never slept on such cheap, slimy sheets. The comforter and blankets were inadequate and there was only one additional blanket available, so the two other beds had to go without, which meant that we had to sleep with the heat up. The beds are on box springs directly on the floor and made loud, squeaking noises when we rolled over.]
In each closet, there should be an extra pillow and an extra blanket for each bed.
And finally, you definitely should supply guests with wash cloths and kitchen towels.
All in all, the benefit in good reviews would far outweigh the cost of these small fixes. As the house is now, I would not recommend it. [ASIDE: In fact, it was my worst Airbnb experience. The beds were deeply uncomfortable.]. With my suggested fixes, I would unreservedly recommend it. It's a great space, and would have been very comfortable with a few, inexpensive changes. You have been very accommodating and seem kind and nice. [ASIDE: Vinita was very nice-seeming, but her unwillingness to look at improving her rental is strange to me - especially when the fixes that the house needs would be about $500.]
All my best...