The stay was manageable until the last day. To start, the delayed check-in (4:30pm) because the space had to be cleaned was misleading. I made travel arrangements and appointments based on the check-in time stated on the booking site (3:00pm). It would have been nice to know the moment I booked that check-in wouldn’t be available until later than advertised. New York City is not a place you want to be with luggage after traveling all morning because you are waiting to check in, nor is it a place you can easily adjust your plans by one and a half hours. The Bronx is also so far from the rest of the city that dropping my bags off would have been more of a hassle.
The last morning of my stay, I woke up hearing sounds as if someone was in the space with me and I heard a door close. Like most women traveling alone, I immediately called my friends and family members and had even started to convince myself that I was hearing things. However that is not the case. The condition of the door was drastically different than it was when I fell asleep. The digital entry pad was completely ripped away from the door and the door wouldn’t even shut or close. To make things worse the host kept assuring me that I was “100% safe” despite my naming multiple times that I didn’t feel safe. The host dismissed my very real feelings of fear about a situation most people would be afraid of. Even if it really was a prior guest messing with the lock as the host named, it’s the host’s responsibility to make any repairs, etc. before the next guest arrives. I reported to both AirBnB and the host as soon as I saw the door (when a friend arrived and I felt safe enough to leave the bedroom and even approach the door). I didn’t appreciate being told “you should have told me sooner” by the host. I didn’t call the police because I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I quickly packed and called a Lyft. I didn’t even bother to shower at that point.
The many doors with large signs saying “Do Not Open” were also a bit unsettling. The place should be advertised as a room in a place rather than an entire place to yourself. The communication was good apart from the two instances I already mentioned. The space was clean. There were not many plugs in the bedroom and it was annoying to have to walk all the way to the living room to charge. The place is also a pretty lengthy walk to the nearest train station.