What’s the average of five and negative infinity? That’s how many stars I want to give these Airbnb hosts, Gabriele and Lee.
I’m a college professor who went to Kailua to spend some days with a local friend. When he first arrived at the property, he accidentally walked into the hosts’ house; this led to Gabriele shouting at the two of us on the front porch for several minutes, refusing to accept our explanations for the misunderstanding. She accused me of not having registered two guests (I had, and it was easily provable that I had; all she would have had to do was check the reservation). She also acknowledged that Airbnb guests accidentally go in that door from time to time, so it was mind-boggling that *this* time that error resulted in shouted threats of calling the police; whether that has anything to do with the fact that my friend is African-American is something I guess only Gabriele and Lee know for sure. She also seemed horrified by the idea that my friend and I, both men, might have casual sex under her roof.
In our subsequent exchange of messages, Gabriele never apologized or said a single kind thing to me about the situation; she showed no capacity for seeing the situation from my perspective, focusing instead on her “disappointment”; she inexplicably held *me* responsible for my friend’s statements and actions, asking me to explain what he meant by some of the things he said; and, most insanely, she judged me harshly for not doing more to defend my friend when she was shouting at him!
Note, by the way, that there was a perfectly reasonable way to handle this; Gabriele and Lee could have said, for example, “Would you mind waiting outside? I’m going to call our guests to see if any of them are expecting you.” I would have expected people with decades of experience in hospitality to have more productive tools at their disposal. Alas.
In short, what I have learned from Gabriele is that the customer is not always right; in fact, the customer apparently doesn’t even deserve to be treated with dignity or respect. It’s really too bad, as she and Lee have created a lovely, spotlessly clean, thoughtfully appointed, physically very comfortable space that I would otherwise have given five stars. But this episode substantially ruined my time in Hawaii; having been accused and threatened by these hosts, my friend and I never again felt comfortable in that space. My friend was so disturbed by the whole encounter that he was not comfortable coming back to the property.
I sincerely hope that this feedback prompts Gabriele in particular to reflect on her behavior and the limits of her ideas about hospitality. In the meantime: queer folks and people of color, I suggest you look for accommodations elsewhere.