I have always had 5-star experiences with Airbnb, so I honestly was debating whether or not to leave a review at all regarding this particular stay. I hate saying anything negative, but the reality is there were several missed opportunities relating to my entire experience with this stay. In all fairness, I have worked in the hospitality industry for nearly 20 years, so understand that this review comes with that bias.
Let's start with the good:
- *Vince was very responsive to messages, even prior to booking when I had questions.
- This home was decorated beautifully! I am likely going to be moving in the next year, and I am seriously going to be taking cues from this home; I absolutely LOVED it!
- Location. I have been visiting Seattle for many years, at least once a year for the past 11 years. It is no secret that Seattle has become less safe over the past couple of years, but I felt that this home was in a good area, and I always felt secure in and around the home.
- *Cost. You really cannot beat the per-night rate when you are a solo traveler on a budget.
- Amenities. While I really didn't use any of the amenities provided (other than a small space in the freezer), I probably would have with a longer stay.
Missed opportunities:
- I booked this 2-night stay just over 2 weeks prior to my arrival. My travel plans unfortunately changed, and I knew that I would only be using the first night of my booking. I messaged Vince the moment I found out my plans had changed which was one full week prior to the second night of my booking. When I messaged him, I explained that I did understand the terms of my booking (it was non-refundable), but did ask if there was any flexibility. He quickly got back to me telling me that we were too close to the booking to make any changes. While I do understand this, I feel that there would have been enough time to list the booking again, hence the missed opportunity. If it was booked by someone else, I could have been refunded; if it wasn't I could have still been responsible for the full amount. I understand that it is easier to just take the guaranteed money than to make the effort to re-book, and re-schedule the cleaning crew to come in (which, of course, is covered in the fees for each stay). I am not complaining that I had to pay for both nights, again, I was 100% aware of the terms of my booking at the time of my booking. I really was just disappointed that there was no willingness to make an effort on the host's end. If I am being honest with myself, this probably is what set the tone for the rest of the stay, and how I viewed everything that followed.
- Prior to making my booking, I had reached out asking about the potential for an early check-in. My flight was scheduled to arrive just before noon at SEA-TAC, and check-in was noted to be 3:00pm. I explained when I made this request that I was really just hoping to drop my bags off, as I was planning on heading to meet a friend on Bainbridge Island for an afternoon coffee, and was trying to avoid taking my suitcase with me on the ferry. Vince explained in his response that they did not have luggage storage, and that I should email the morning of my arrival to see if I would be able to check-in early. From this point on, our communication just seemed cyclical. The day prior to my arrival, I received a message from the host confirming that my check-in time was still the same, as the "housekeeper is asking so they can try to accomodate any last-minute requests." I reminded the host in my response that my flight would be arriving around noon, and that I was hoping to be able to check-in early so that I could just drop my bags and keep going; this was not a "last-minute" request, as I had requested this several weeks in advance. The host's response to my message was simply that they did not offer storage, as if this topic had never been discussed. He asked that I message him the following morning (the morning of my arrival) to see if my request could be accommodated. Just a few hours later, I received another message reminding me of the details of my stay, including check-in time. I emailed the host on the morning of my arrival when I was on my layover to formally place my request to check-in early, as he instructed me to do. Frustratingly, his response was again that they do not have luggage storage (which I had confirmed multiple times that I understood this point). I had to remind him again that he had asked me to email him the morning of my arrival to check with him so he could see if the cleaning staff could accommodate the request. When my flight arrived in Seattle, I had a message waiting from Vince stating that my request could not be accommodated due to the cleaning staff's tight schedule. This was such a missed opportunity in my eyes. With my request being quite literally weeks in advance, I would imagine that it could be as simple as asking the cleaning staff to start with my room. When I finally arrived/checked-in at the home later that evening, I was disappointed to see how large the closet was in my room; it could have EASILY accommodated my suitcase and then some! It was obvious that the cleaners did not even go into the closet as well, as there were small pieces of trash in there that I just opted to throw away (figuring the cleaners probably would not see it...)
- Probably the most