Where to begin?
Lets start with the very nature of Air BnBs. They are, at their very core, relatively cheap alternatives to traditional hotels and motels. The average individual seeks a cost efficient bed to sleep in rather than a resort experience. You don't come home from a vacation praising an Air BnB over any of your other great memories from the trip. You ask for three basic things: A competitive price for the location, basic utilities, and cleanliness. No more no less.
These hosts failed.
To be fair, I will include the good that came with the heaping load of bad. The location was terrific. You have access to great bars and restaurants nearby. Downtown is a very, very quick Uber trip. And other sites to see such as Music Row are a stones throw away. This is the very reason why I decided on choosing the apartment. However, things changed when arriving.
First. Don't be fooled by the photos. The apartment is nowhere near as cozy or inviting as the pictures suggest. But then again, it's a cheap alternative to expensive hotels. Relatively not a big deal.
Second comes the major issue with the apartment and one that I hope all perspective users consider. The cleanliness of the apartment is astonishingly misleading. On the surface, the hosts seemed to have done a decent job cleaning up a rather run down apartment. However, the lack of investment in the infrastructure led to a disgusting encounter.
Roaches. Or to be honest, a roach. But according to our hosts, it was no roach. Rather a Palmetto bug. Otherwise known as the Florida Woods Cockroach. So go ahead and choose your preferred nomenclature. One used by rational and logical people like scientists. Or a name used euphemistically by slumlords, or Air BnB slumlords. Forewarning to all potential renters, these "little"(read as massive) critters are ubiquitous in Nashville. The great tropical and sweltering capital city of Tennessee. Except it's not. Its an urban environment that should be held to the same standard of cleanliness as any other metropolitan environment. Funny, how I never encountered roaches in the countless dive bars and seedy clubs of Nashville. Only in our lovely run down Air BnB.
Needless to say, like any right minded traveler, I asked for a refund. Yet I was punished for not encountering the pest on the very first day. I woke up to the two inch roach no more than 8 inches from my head. Quietly resting on the nightstand, only to scurry across the table and on to the curtains.
Remember folks, this isn't a complaint about gnats, fruit flies, or a random dust spider in the corner of a ceiling. This a roach. And no doubt there were others hidden behind the dated appliances in the kitchen. The hosts had the audacity to claim this was beyond their control and a very common occurrence.
This akin to staying in NYC, finding a rat in your hotel room, and the manager claiming it to be some common shrew or another cockamamie name for the damn pest. The host may not be legally obligated to find more suitable accommodations or financially make the customer whole, but they should do everything in their power to right the problem.
I would not recommend staying with these folks and I'd like users to walk away with three things in mind from this diatribe. One, multi unit Air BnB hosts are essentially slumlords. Do your homework and make sure any listing is in good condition. Better yet, avoid them. Find hosts with one great accommodation. Two, Air BnB is not like other trusted services such as Ebay. They will side with the host/service provider in any dispute. No consideration is given to the customer. And finally, think twice about using a quick and cheap alternative to traditional accommodations. It's a vacation for a reason. Treat yourself, don't cheap yourself.
Btw, here's a link to imgur with said cockroach photo and video:
https://imgur.com/gallery/bMjdlst