I made a reservation to stay at Rochelle and Brian's place (One Stop Property Shop) on a Friday afternoon at around 2 PM.
I signed up for 30 days stay-time and the cost was around $1500.
Soon after making the reservation, I received a voicemail from Brian (who called himself Anthony on the voicemail) asking me to call him (because he was driving).
I learned a lesson with this.
If you have communications with hosts in any form other than on the Airbnb messaging platform, you will never be able to document what was said to you.
But, like a dummy, I returned his call.
On the phone call, he told me that the unit that I made a reservation for was already occupied but he had another unit in that same building with the same amenities.
I told him that it would be OK if it was as nice as the unit that I had made a reservation for.
I arrived at the unit an hour later at around 3pm.
As is my practice, upon entering the unit, I went straight to the bathtub to make sure the hot & cold water worked.
It worked fine.
But what didn't work was the drain. The water just built up in the bathtub and was NOT draining.
I then noticed that there was no shower curtain; and not only that, but there was not even a shower curtain pole.
I walked around the unit and realized that there was a second bath.
Hoping I could still make the place work out, I went into the 2nd bathroom.
When I entered the bathroom, the shower door was hanging open.
I tried to shut it, but it would not close.
So, with there not being a place to take a shower in this unit and there were no bath linens, (towels), and no household supplies in the unit: I decided to cancel the reservation.
So, I opened my laptop right there to message Rochelle & Brian/Anthony on the Airbnb platform to let them know all the deficiencies with the place that I mentioned above.
Immediately, he called me again (and like a dummy I took the call).
He told me that he would send workers to the place to take care of all the deficiencies.
But I wanted a place that was renter-ready and not a place where I was going to need a construction crew to come in and work a punch list while I was living in the unit.
So, I thanked him but told him that I would need to cancel the reservation.
I left the property at around 4pm.
Shortly after canceling the reservation,
I was messaged by Airbnb saying that I would only be receiving a refund of around $50 (out of $1,500?!?!).
I argued the point with Airbnb and told them that I was not even given the same unit that was advertised on the Airbnb platform.
I was even able to document that point with the hosts photos and his messages to me that showed that the unit advertised on Airbnb was a first level unit and the unit that he was going to place me in was a second level unit.
Rochelle & Brian/Anthony denied sending me to a different unit than the one advertised on Airbnb.
Airbnb discounted this argument completely.
They told me that they needed photos of the bathtub and the shower stall.
So, I went back a couple days later to get those photos, but the host had removed the key from the lock box,
and I was not able to enter the unit and so unable to take the photos.
After long debate about my refund, Airbnb said they would refund around $1,000 to me but they would keep $500.
So…
Lessons learned:
1)	NEVER, NEVER, NEVER communicate with hosts any other way other than on the Airbnb platform.
So that what is said, is documented!
2)	If you cancel a reservation… Do NOT leave that unit until you take pics of whatever it is that is the reason for you wanting to cancel.
Rochelle & Brian are slick!
Beware!
Airbnb Aircover works great for their advertising.
But they will keep as much of your money as they possibly can if you request a refund!
From Airbnb website:
Get-What-You-Booked Guarantee
If at any time during your stay you find your listing isn't as advertised—for example, the refrigerator stops working and your Host can’t easily fix it, or it has fewer bedrooms than listed—you'll have three days to report it and we’ll find you a similar or better home, or we’ll refund you.