Nadine’s apartment was both spacious and cozy, with excellent access to public transportation. The gray front door to the building needs a key and key code, so it’s a bit tricky to coordinate both tumblers to open it. The motion activated lights over the first staircase were pretty useless, as they only turned on after I had passed the stairs and walked down the hallway. The electric keypad on the door to the unit had a critically low battery upon my arrival, which prevented me from accessing the space. I reached out to the host, and she responded immediately, but could not allow access remotely through her keypad, and would need about an hour to return to let me in. We agreed to keep the reservation, but I’d stay elsewhere the first night, and begin my stay the following evening (by which time the keypad batteries would be replaced). Upon my return, the keypad worked fine, and I found a handwritten card, bottle of wine, and a microwave popcorn packet on the table from Nadine, apologizing for the inconvenience. Climate control was easily managed with the mini-splits, and a small Keurig started the day off right with coffee pods. WiFi was consistent and adequate throughout the space, but speeds were not reliable for streaming (there’s a TV in the living room with a Firestick, but watching a show I experienced a lot of buffering and syncing issues). Like several other reviewers, the mattress was more firm than my preference, but the bed was large and the comforter was very comfy. As a native New Yorker, I found it to be an overall quiet location, but if you’re not from a big city you may consider it noisy.
I was using Airbnb for alternate living arrangements while my own apartment underwent some repairs, which wrapped earlier than expected. Nadine agreed to allow me to check out early, and I departed late afternoon about 3 nights ahead of schedule. Everything went sideways from there, courtesy of Airbnb. The app wouldn’t permit the alteration request to reflect the dates accurately, so the host had to reject the request, after which the host’s app was not functional and caused a 2-day delay in resolving the matter, after which my reservation dates had passed entirely, meaning alteration request functionality was disabled, and Airbnb Support is no longer obligated to be supportive. Copious amounts of back and forth with the host via the app and texting, several unpaid hours of effort including 3 phone calls to customer service, 2 representatives via the message center, and a promised (as yet unfulfilled) return call from a supervisor later, and all that has been accomplished is that the refund due me has decreased from over $500 (as calculated by the app) to under $350 (as per the most recent representative). As of the time of this posting (May 28) I have received a refund for the nights I did not stay at this Airbnb directly from the host via a separate app, and as per this platform’s policies their fees (14.2% of the total) will not be refunded ever due to the timing of our escalation to involving Support, and Airbnb is conveniently absolved of any responsibility toward resolving this matter appropriately. Despite the quality of Nadine’s apartment, as I prefer to operate amicably and Airbnb is clearly committed to an acrimonious dynamic, I am no longer interested in being an Airbnb guest regardless of host. If you’re considering Airbnb vs. a traditional accommodation, I suggest this evaluation: do you consider yourself a lucky person? If so, you’ll be fortunate for things to go smoothly, and Airbnb’s involvement will be minimal. If not... book someplace via Airbnb for your best frenemy and get your schadenfreude on.