When we walked in, we had two serious concerns that Ainsley could not explain or rectify, so we left and did not return. The case went into mediation with Airbnb for 5 days, the length of our booking, with Airbnb help desk siding with Ainsley on every issue. Airbnb refused to refund anything except the cleaning fee. Hopefully my credit card company will come through for me.
The apartment smelled like some kind of strong chemical. My best guess was moth balls. When contacted Ainsley to clarify what the odor could be, she just said “No mothballs. No chemicals.” There were many containers of cleaning products left out on various counters and none of them smelled like the fumes in the air. During mediation Ainsley claimed that we were smelling cleaning products, but we gave her a chance to explain that at check in and she was not forthcoming. Naphthalene, the chemical used in moth balls and some insecticide fumigants is toxic to humans and animals, so we could not risk staying there.
Additionally, the rear exit door was not able to be opened. It was bolted shut, so in an emergency there would be only one exit; the front door. This would be against the city safety code and we did not feel safe staying there. When we asked about it, she said “It’s for emergency use only.” She later told Airbnb that the exits were clearly marked. They were not.