Difficult review to write- was my first experience ever with AirBnb, so don’t really have a baseline to compare to. That said, this review is written in recognition of what the listing was billed as.
The pros: he is quickly responsive, and the listing is honest as to what is being offered by way of the “humble apartment”. I realized this wouldn’t be a “typical” Airbnb stay, as I had rented for just under a month while my house was being renovated. The price for a month-long stay was reasonable, and my expectations were set accordingly.
The process: Some of the initial messages between us were centered around whether or not he would have an issue with me making noise/hoping I would not be loud/partying, and related his neighbor was a cop. I found this initial communication peculiar, especially as I had yet to arrive. A little off-putting as well, but reassuring in a sense in that I, too, was hoping the unit would be quiet. Check-in was seamless, and after a few messages we figured out parking arrangements, which perhaps should have been conveyed upfront.
Quickly realized the dishwasher was inoperable, as there was a sign stating as such- since it was listed as an amenity, I assumed this must be a recent occurrence and would be fixed shortly. After a week or so, I inquired, and the response was that the host was unaware it was broken. I found this odd, as there was a hand written note stating as such. Several days later I received a message that it was not repairable, and that it would be removed from the listing. Didn’t really do anything for me during my month long stay.
Soon thereafter, received a note from the host that the HOA was threatening to tow my car, as a vehicle my size was not permitted in the resident spots. Now, while I did have an oversized work vehicle, nowhere in the listing was this mentioned. I now had to drive home to my house under renovations every night, and switch vehicles prior to coming to the rental. The hosts response was that I hadn’t told him about a large vehicle. Perhaps this should be mentioned up front? This further soured me on the experience.
Rest of the stay was uneventful, left on time and sent a message. The kicker in all this was that days later I receive a message stating that a small knife and two cups were missing from the unit, with a silent implication that I was responsible.
This was frustrating, as there is a host who clearly does not live locally and relies on technicians to drop in and monitor the apartment, who left key, pertinent info out of the listing, who didn’t even know his own dishwasher was broken, who will now silently claim to have a full inventory of all small items in his apartment after I’ve stayed there a month. Left a very bad taste in my mouth.
If you’re going to run your rental unit from afar, fail to be aware of advertised amenities being broken in the unit, almost have your renters car towed, please don’t suddenly turn around and claim your attention to detail tells you you’re missing a butter knife and that it’s my fault. Downright comical.