I want to start by saying I do read the reviews of the previous guests. The host was upfront and accurate about the location, check-in, and check-out.
Some of the previous guests complained about the cleanliness of the home. The host made some excellent points, such as the home could not be painted following every guest's departure. He also assured that the sanitary condition of the house was of utmost importance to him, and he would follow up with what previous guests had reported. The home was highly unsanitary. There wasn't just dust around the house; dust and grime accumulated on the walls, air vents, and pictures hanging throughout. I took before and after photos of the upper area of the wall to show the grime that had accumulated. While I agreed with the host that the walls could not be painted following the departure of each guest, I did not expect to see footprints on the wall. I checked in on a Tuesday after 3 pm. I worked all day on Wednesday while my kids spent their time out and about. I checked out before 11 am as instructed by the host. I informed the host of the unsanitary conditions, and he told me had I contacted him, he would have sent the cleaning crew there to 're-clean' the home. He said he didn't know why the cleaning service usually does a good job, and he did not understand how they overlooked these areas.
These areas were not overlooked, it was obvious to the naked eye that the dirt and grime had built up and had not been cleaned well for an extended period of time. The home needed more than a 're-cleaning' I think what added insult to injury was he said he would have 'stern words' with the cleaning company, he is a family- run business and bad reviews are destructive to them. This next part is the host's EXACT word-for-word quote "I don't doubt that you are a good person and that your intentions are not to be destructive. I am sure you just want to make sure we are aware of the issues and we will take care of them. If those are your intentions then it is definitely understood and we are already taking measures to make sure it doesn't happen again. You can also not leave a review because of how destructive it is, if you prefer, but that is entirely up to you" Again, this is an exact quote.
I informed the host that I felt I should be partially reimbursed. The host then asked me if there was any way they could still earn a 5 - star review.
The answer to this is NO. You did not, and cannot 'earn' a 5-star review. I informed the host that this would be lying and therefore I would 'give' him a 5-star review.