Unfortunately, I did not have a great experience at Hollis’ home like many of the other guests. Before check in, Hollis was GREAT! He communicated, let me know his house expectations, and even sent me places to visit while in New Orleans. After check in, the issues arose.
I stayed at Hollis’ home from Friday - Monday and it was a nightmare. After I checked in on Friday, Hollis told me that there was some work that would be done on the roof Saturday. He advised me that it would not take long. Unfortunately, that was not the truth. On Saturday, I was awakened at 6:30am with loud, continuous, banging on the roof. It was so loud that I could not go back to sleep. This continued throughout the entire day. I talked to Hollis about this and he assured me that the construction workers would be done that day. So, I let it go.
On Sunday, at 6:30am, I was awakened again with the same beating on the roof. At this point, I was very frustrated and contacted Hollis. He apologized, said that it was out of his control, and offered me a $40 refund. He also stated that the workers didn’t speak English, so I’m assuming that he said this to prove that this was out of his control?
At about 11:00am on Sunday, I started hearing banging around the window of my room. Sheet rock started falling everywhere and got all over my clothes. I then started hearing the window being removed. At this point I was absolutely livid because my privacy had been completely violated. The construction workers were literally in the room with me without my permission. Hollis was called and he claimed that he did not know that the window was being removed. I am not sure how he did not know this. I sent Hollis a video of the damages. He did not respond.
On Monday, I was awakened again with loud banging on the roof. Hollis then sent me a text apologizing for the banging noise, claiming that it’s been a “crazy week.” He then offered my boyfriend and I a free stay at his home for a weekend.
I refused the free stay and asked for a refund due to my privacy being violated and not having any peace at his home, like I was assured to have. He declined my refund, but fortunately, AirBnb refunded me.
Hollis took no responsibility for all of the inconveniences that were caused and showed no true concern or care about my experience. The $40 he offered did not compare to the suffering endured at his home. The free stay offer was not suitable because I may not be back to New Orleans anytime soon. Instead of refunding me the money like he should have, he gave offers that HE wanted to give and that suited HIM to make it seem like he cared. He did not, not at all.
Hollis should have been proactive in telling me that his home would be a construction zone BEFORE I checked in, not after. He should have also been honest about the fact that the workers would be there all weekend.
Hollis was hospitable in the beginning, but quickly showed his true colors. It was unfortunate that things could not be handled differently, but ultimately AirBnb made up for his lack of responsibility.