I’ve been an airbnb user for 5 years and never left a negative review, I had the full intention of still leaving a positive review because what you see in the photos is what you get! However, the host’s lack of empathy or any basic human kindness has brought me to this point. Long story short, I arrived at the airbnb this afternoon and a 6,000 person gathering was happening directly outside with a group of persons seated and standing on the door steps, blocking the entrance of the listing.
All the streets surrounding the listing were shut down by the police and the large crowd. People were racing their motorcycles, reving their engines, horseback riding, a police officer told us to be careful as we walked through this chaotic crowd - complete with a five foot python - for two blocks with our luggage in hand. I spoke with one of the girls sitting on the listing’s steps and she said this happens every Sunday; however, to be fair to the host— I believe a gathering of this magnitude was an isolated incident. As a seasoned traveler, I completely understand surprises like this come up when you’re traveling and there is obviously nothing the host could have done to prevent this.
I called the host immediately and was met with an incredibly snarky tone. I was told it’s a busy time of year and asked if i felt my life was in danger and to call airbnb. My family of 5 proceed to check out within 30 minutes and moved into a hotel. I promptly called airbnb to discuss a potential refund. They filed my inquiry under a noise complaint. After discussing with them, they spoke to the host who wanted to charge me 200 something for the first night plus cleaning fee because the listing clearly states that it’s near a freeway. I felt this was a tasteless money grab as we were in the listing for (no exaggeration) 30 minutes and what we were dealing with was not typical highway noise. Luckily, I took photos of the chaos happening outside and after reviewing the photos, the airbnb team very kindly agreed to refund me fully.
Again, in closing I want to say that the listing is as it appears in the photos. The neighborhood is sketch and next to a freeway but fine if you’re from a major metropolitan area (i’m born and raised near downtown LA.) The overall lack of transparency, empathy, and experience was incredibly disappointing. The host knew, or should have known, this was a regular Sunday event, and disclosed this information. To not do so is deceptive and to not know is unimaginable. Our uber driver said it best, “this is the start of the stupidness.”