Prior to my trip I was contacted by the host and informed there may be an issue with her permit. Even though DC passed the law requiring the permit 4 months prior to my trip she had not done the paperwork. She offered to have the reservation canceled and I could pay offline. Usually if this would have been brought up by a host I would have contacted Airbnb and changed my reservation. However due to the timing it was unlikely Airbnb would be able to help before my trip.
Then, I was in DC at a meeting and looked up where I was going to have to get the key. I had assumed it would be close to the unit. I was wrong. It was a 30 minute walk from the location. I wanted to confirm that the key was actually that far away so I contacted the host. She kindly offered to have the cleaners get me the key if I showed up earlier. I moved my meeting and got to the unit. That’s when I found out that we could not let anyone know this was an Airbnb. Which means we can’t really use the amenities listed as available outside the unit. If anyone asked anything or if we had any questions we would have to lie.
The unit itself is fine. There are old odd stains on the furniture, scuffs on the walls, and the coffee pot was full of mold. However the location was great.
Checking out was a nightmare. Due to time constraints I had to Uber to the 7-Eleven just to find out the key couldn’t be returned then had to Uber back to the unit and leave the key. It cost me an additional $40 and took about an hour.
All in all the location is great but there are many red flags and concerns I would not expect from a listing at this price point.