Recently booked an Airbnb, but it was not exactly what I expected. I booked the property because the pictures looked nice and clean and it stated it was 20 minutes from downtown Chicago. Unfortunately, We had a rocky start from the beginning. Parking was almost non existent. We had to park over a block away. Also, The keys weren't where the host listed them to be. We contacted the host and shortly gained entrance into the building.
At first glance, the place looked very nice until I noticed there were dirty towels and sheets in a basket in the living room. We then started to inspect the unit. To my shock the unit was extremely dirty. The bed and trash left throughout were just a few of the signs this property hadn’t been cleaned.
- One bathroom had someone's hair on the floor, toilet, and sink.
- The second bathroom trashcan was full. Used Feminine products were behind the toilet along with trash on the floor. Shampoo, Conditioner, and a used loofa was left in the shower.
- There were no sheets on the bed in one of the bedrooms
- There was a pot of coffee in the kitchen. Also, the trash can was full.
Less than ten minutes after arriving we contacted the host and Air BnB about the cleanliness of the property. The host offered us a refund on the cleaning fee plus extra. The cleaning fee is list at $65. She offered us $75. She literally offered us $10 for our inconvenience. We demanded for her to cancel the stay and give me the money back. She said that she would refund the full amount if she couldn't get it cleaned. We had dinner reservations and didn't feel comfortable leaving our things in the unit while people came to clean. We had to take our luggage back down the narrow stairs and over a block away to the car. After dinner, We headed back to the unit with the hopes that everything was fine. There was still no update from the host until we contacted her around 11:30 pm. She said that it was clean so we decided to go back to the property. It took us forever to find parking. We had to park on the main street so we had to move the car by 8 am the next morning. Reluctantly we stayed the night in the condo.
Unfortunately, even with the property cleaned it is in no shape to be rented until they do some maintenance. The tub squeaks and sounds like you are going to fall through. Tape is holding the tub together. The has mold all around it. The faucet in the kitchen is leaking.
We left the property around 8 am. At 9:45 am the host finally responded and offered us $172 if we left the unit by 11 am. We were on the other side of town. Luckily, We made it back to the unit minutes before the unreasonable deadline to vacate. This completely disturbed our trip even further. We had just been dropped of at the aquarium that we just paid Uber to take us to.
The main reason for requesting to cancel the Air BnB was because the place was dirty and in need of maintenance.
The issue wasn't resolved as quickly as it should have been. We had to pay for new accommodation. The funds for this property was refunded two days after we left Chicago.
Some things about the property should have been disclosed prior to booking.
- They should have elaborated on some of the shortcomings of the unit like the 2.5 flights of narrow staircase leading to the unit.
- ridiculous notice on the outside of the front door of the unit about not making loud noises.
- The tub was literally taped together with blue painters tape. There is mold around the tub.
- The signage throughout the property is very tacky. It is not my fault that the walls are super thin. I fealt like we weren't allowed to speak because of all of the notices. I expect to get what's in the pictures. It's deceptive. I am very upset and disappointed with fact that this property is listed. The host needs to perform maintenance on the property before it is rented again.
We reported these issues to Airbnb. We requested $300 due to the state of the Airbnb, in which the host denied it. After multiple conversations with Airbnb, we received a refund of $379. This has been one of the worst Airbnb that I have ever stayed at. If you want to see physical documentation of the Airbnb. Please look on my tiktok.
Handle: theyhatingjas_