Kevin’s listing, behavior and the location of this space is dismal to say the least.
Before we arrive in Boston we messaged Kevin requesting an early check in (even by just an hour would be fine) as our flight was getting in that morning. The message was completely ignored.
The directions provided in the listing and via the auto email we received stated that the lockbox code and checkin information would be emailed to us closer to checkin, in a follow up email from Kevin he said check in instructions were located in a tab on the listing but he didn’t know where. This check in email was never received. An hour before check in at 2:00PM we reach out to Kevin for the lockbox & door codes. When Kevin finally decided to answer he just says something to the tune of “look in your trip tab it should be there” I respond immediately that we can not find the directions and we need to the codes to checkin. Kevin does not respond so we call Airbnb support to let them know that we should be checking in, in 5 minutes and Kevin has refused to send us the necessary information. Finally at 3:15, 15 minutes after the agreed upon check in time Kevin is so kind as to send us the codes needed.
When we check into the place we first notice that it is a shared entrance with a second room in the basement of someone’s townhouse.
To get to the entrance you have to walk down a dark side ally next to a run down apartment building. The entry door is entirely glass with no security or privacy covering.
The room itself had some kind of dried up fecal matter on the carpet and flooring. It was clear nether had been properly cleaned. The shower still had hair on the wall from a previous guest.
When we reported this to Airbnb they contacted Kevin. While still on the phone with Airbnb Kevin arrives at the apartment begins yelling at my husband to hang up the phone with Airbnb as he is “the host and will handle this situation” in a highly aggressive tone of voice. When we show Kevin the unclean floor and carpet he first attempts to gaslight us and pass it off as construction debris stating “I’ve been around construction for years I know what debris looks like” he went as far as picking up the fecal matter, sniffing it and analyzing the color - which was “not brown enough to be poop” in the end my husband showed him the the unclean substance could be scratched off so regardless of what it is it should have been cleaned up. Kevin’s response to this was “well if your not happy you can take your money and go” then he storms out of the apartment.
Obviously since we had waited since 8AM to check in to this room and had a wedding in the morning we did not have the energy or time to find alternate housing.
We ended up cleaning the floor ourselves. Something Kevin should have offered to do immediately when the issue was brought to him rather then starting a bizarre and childish argument over what was or was not on the floor.
Now beyond Kevin’s extremely poor & unprofessional hosting skills and the cleanliness of the room. There were other factors that made this stay widely unpleasant. The room is located in someone’s basement and there is an adjoining room next door that is also on Airbnb. If the home owner at anytime opens the garage your entire room shakes - not recommended for anyone with earthquake PTSD. You can also hear every single sound happening above you and in the room next door. I am from NYC and we have both lived in apartments for years, so for us to feel like there is a lot of neighbor noise I feel like the average non-New Yorker would be beside themselves. You have no control over the heat or AC in the room. At noon, 1 AM & 3AM dry heat starts blasting into your bedroom on full this is in the beginning of June with outside temps ranging from 70-90 on any given day. There is a large and loud refrigerator located right next to your bed in such a tight space you can’t even open it properly to use. The pillows provided feel extremely old and those that you would use for shams not to actually sleep in resulting in neck pain for most of my visit.
The location itself is a desolate suburb located far from any public transit or downtown amenities.
Overall I sincerely wished we had just paid an additional $100/per night and stayed in a hotel as this experience was both emotionally and physically taxing from the hosts ludicrous and immature behavior to the poor living conditions that were provided. Based on the reviews and photos I had high expectations and an optimistic outlook however the reality could not be further from how it appears online.