I stayed at this listing in Marrickville in late June, 2022. The host informed me a few days before arrival that they would be away that weekend. This was itself strange; I know if I was to host an unknown person (even if OK’d by AirBnB) I would be staying home to meet and greet and generally make an assessment of that person. Hospitality is as much about person-to-person contact as it is about providing shelter and a bed. The general arrangements were fine: the key was under the mat and the front bedroom prepared as expected. However, the house had a general air of untidiness and the kitchen bench had not been cleaned. Although a spare cupboard had been set-aside for guests, there was not a spare shelf in the fridge for the same purpose. Certainly, the price was right and as usual you get what you pay for.
What was not expected was that the host had a dog that “was anti-male”, as was casually remarked upon her return. As well, on the two brief occasions I tried to engage the host in casual conversation, there were curt and/or unresponsive ripostes. Given AirBnB is essentially a hospitality service, it is highly peculiar for a host to give off an air of frosty aloofness. The inner-west Marrickville location is excellent, especially if there is little requirement to spend time at this address. However, a standoffish approach to guests is the very antithesis of a hospitality service. If the host is of a like-mind to her canine companion, if would be wiser to reconsider her approach to hosptiality. The dog and its character should also be more clearly spelt out on the AirBnB profile of this listing.