Loud party until 5am. The problem with this rental is that you never know who your neighbors are going to be. It’s a duplex and the long bedroom wall is shared with the other unit. During my first night of 3, the guests on the other side were outrageously noisy all night. The noise included loud music, shouting, hollering, screaming, the sound of running feet and slamming doors. I do not know if the adjoining wall is thin, or if the party was just incredibly loud. Each time a door was slammed (not just once or twice – this went on all night), my bed would vibrate – the whole house shook! This activity didn’t stop until around 5am. At 3am, they took their party out to the shared backyard where two men and a woman were yelling, bouncing on the trampoline, playing music, and smoking. As a single woman, I was afraid to knock on their door or go out in the yard and confront them directly.

Tony rents both sides of this duplex, and was not in Denver. I emailed him at 4am and 11am, and told him I would not be able to stay if this party was also staying, and asked about a refund. The reason I was in Denver was to teach about 10 hours a day in a 4 day class, and I chose this accommodation because it looked quiet as I would be by myself.

Tony emailed that he would contact them, and that he would rather they move than I move. Later he emailed to let me know that the other party was apologetic, and wanted to know if it was OK for them to reach out to me directly. I had no interest in speaking with a group that behaved as disrespectfully as this group had – either in person (I was exhausted by that time), or by telephone (I did not want this party to have my contact information or name). So, when I arrived back at Tony’s place at 6:15pm and they were still in residence, I moved out as I had said I would.

Tony and I then disagreed about my right to a refund. Tony offered 1 night refund, and I requested a full refund. His position was that he had solved the problem because the other party assured him that they would be quieter, and he also sent me their phone number to call them if they were disturbing my sleep. From my perspective, I could not afford more sleep loss, and I did not want to call them in the night (they would have my number) because I did not have a contractual relationship with them. He opened an Airbnb resolution center case. After waiting 9 days, Airbnb closed the case less than 24 hours after they first contacted me, before I had time to respond. So, at this point, I have paid $375 for a sleepless night and considerable time spent in email negotiations!