WARNING: If you are a person of color, DO NOT STAY HERE.
In short, this was the worst Airbnb stay of my life. I am a 44 year old black woman, mother of two, longtime Airbnb customer, and former Airbnb host (a superhost).
I booked this property, just a few minutes drive from my own house, to spend time with a friend (also a black woman), and to get out of my house where I had been quarantined for the past several months.
Upon arriving at the unit, my friend and I found the unit to be very cold (64 degrees), and were unable to figure out how to turn off the A/C (it is a very elaborate modern touchscreen thermostat). In addition, the wireless network information posted on the listing was not working, and the television was not working. I called my husband (who is white) to see if he could drop by and help me out with these issues. Our 8 year old daughter was with him, as he had no childcare options. He called the host to ask about the wireless information and to report that the tv was not working. She gave him different wifi information (turned out the initial message sent by host contained this wifi info, this just differed from the property info), and instructed him to enter a restricted area behind the unit (a laundry room) to look for another tv which turned out to not be there. My husband told her we would make do without a tv, and left. So far, so good.
Then things got worse. The host came shortly afterwards, knocking on the back door, asking me to step into the laundry room to speak with her. Without wearing a facemask or practicing social distancing she accused me of smoking too close to her unit. I told her I smoked outside the gate, and she told me that was 35 feet from the premises, and that a neighbor complained, and I had to be 50 feet from the premises, and showed me where I could smoke in back. The whole interaction left me feeling uncomfortable, and so me and my friend left without spending the night.
Feeling I was just throwing money away by not making further use of the rental, I came back the following evening with my friend. This was a huge mistake. After an hour in the frigid unit, I called my brother (who is black, and who is an hvac technician) to drop by and adjust the thermostat for me. My brother pulled up in his car a few houses down, and immediately when he got out of his car, he was accosted on the sidewalk by the host, who demanded to know where he was going. Before he even had a chance to come into the unit, the host marched over to our unit and demanded to inspect our unit, saying she had “landlord privileges” and accusing us of having a party. Upon entering the property, she saw that only me and my friend were there, and that the place was pristine. Inexplicably she berated us for 45 minutes, telling us that “people like us” were having a party at her other unit, and that she was justified for inspecting her properties. Concerned for my safety, my brother remained with us during this altercation. When I felt enough was enough and indicated I was going to record the situation, the host stormed out, saying she “wasn’t doing this”. My brother adjusted the thermostat (which the host was unable to figure out how to do) and left, and me and my friend stayed the night. Honestly I would have just left and gone home, except that I was tired and it was late.
The next morning, a cleaning lady entered the unit at 9:00 am, despite the fact that we had not checked out. I can only surmise that the host was attempting to use her to catch us “red-handed” at some kind of imagined transgression, but only found me and my friend just waking up, and the place in spotless condition.
After I checked out, the host accused me of being a “bad guest” and a “rule breaker” for having the 2 visitors stop by briefly, despite the fact that they did not stay, and only came to FIX THINGS which were not working at the unit. She threatened me with fines, saying she had video evidence of smoking in front of her unit, which does not exist, because I smoked well away from the property. It was if she was trying to intimidate me from complaining to Airbnb.
She had no problem when my white husband came by the first time, going so far as to send him into the restricted area to look for a tv, but when my black brother came by, he was accosted on the sidewalk before even entering, and the whole situation went south. It was clear she was profiling us with her comment that people “like us” where having a party at her other property. What would have happened if she did not jump to conclusions, and just left us without making unfounded accusations? She would have found that her place was left in pristine condition, and nothing would have transpired.
This whole ordeal was a terrible experience. Not only did I feel unsafe and threatened, but I also am concerned with the lack of COVID19 precautions the host took when engaging me multiple times (I have ulcertative colitis and high blood pressure, and therefore am in a high-risk group for COVID19 complications). She entered my unit 2 times, and had the cleaning lady enter a third time during my brief stay, just to discover nothing, and achieve nothing but harass me, my friend, and my brother.
I will add that the place was not all that. It is a basement unit, in a questionable area, to access the "farm" you must pass through a filthy laundry