I’m newer to Airbnb but not new to renting houses; I’ve rented many homes over last 10+ years. This was 3-night weekday stay while a home project wrapped up.
Pros: Nice neighborhood close to many good spots in St. Paul; not very walkable to any establishments. Very easy to check-in. Washer and dryer were nice and all appliances worked as expected.
Cons: House had a strong fragrance/odor upon arrival and vinyl floors didn’t appear cleaned, especially by front door. House was darker than the pictures and not enough lamps (personally not a fan of the blue white light bulbs in the overhead lights). Utensil drawer and tray holding utensils was very dirty (pieces of different human hairs and other dirt/debris- gross!). Someone else’s dirty coffee cup in the dishwasher. Sizable pile of sugar in cupboard. Cupboards and kitchen window not cleaned; Required a disinfecting wipe down of all handles, light switches, doors. There was hair/fur on the floor and no vacuum/broom to be found so the hair/fur just kept sticking to my socks like my socks were a Swifffer. No extra paper towels to be found and we ran out; there was a partial roll upon arrival. The outside string lights would be a nice touch, but lights did not work. I wondered why a cleaning fee was charged when the house did not appear to be clean. I reached out to host after my stay was over to give them feedback. Host initially agreed to a partial refund, but then changed their mind and never told me they changed their mind. According to Airbnb Support, they rescinded because I hadn’t told Host of the cleanliness issues while I was in the home. My response to that: I choose not to complain for 2 reasons: 1. security (as Host has access to the house, I did not want to make a complaint until myself and children had vacated) 2. I needed to focus on work & my two children so I cleaned it myself as best I could for sake of efficiency.
Overall, I would NOT recommend this property; the price paid did not match the state of the home upon checking-in. And then the host telling me I would get a partial refund but then a few days later, changing their mind? And never telling me that they changed their mind? I have since reached out multiple times to get some clarity from the host, but they have not responded.
Most rentals are not perfect, and you can find small things here and there that could have been improved, but generally you have level of expectation depending on the price, hence my problem with this one.