The only positive note of this experience was that the place was in a great location. I also must confess she was pretty receptive when I sent her pictures of a dirty sofa bed with a dead roach and food wrapper under the sofa bed. She did offer to send her cleaning crew, but by this point, I wanted nothing to do with her attempts to provide any decent customer service. Plus I know and understand things like this happen. We are all human.
Otherwise, it was a nightmare dealing with the host, Marilyn. Below are some examples of my messaging conversations with her. In all my years using air bnb , she by far has been the most unprofessional.
1. Host response to valid genuine questions were rude, belittling and dismissive.
2. I asked her to call me to clear up any miscommunication there was, she refused
3. She confused me for other guests. Accusing me of not parking in the correct spot. On another occasion she wanted to refund me for my stay for a day I wasn’t even there.
4. She took over 24 hours to respond back regarding laundry and parking spot (someone parked on my spot 2 out of 3 nights)
5. The link for the guidebook she sent before the trip didn’t work. She sent it 2 days into our trip only when I reminded her.
6. She threatened to cancel my reservation 3 hours before my check in time, but then backpedaled after I spoke to Airbnb and they looked at our conversation. I’m sure she wasn’t too thrilled when they called and reviewed their policies with her and her options.
After taking some time to decompress from this experience and my interactions with her, I’m not sure why she behaved so poorly with me, her paying guest. Not sure what her motive was, nor her refusal to speak to me over the phone.
I hope she takes this as a learning opportunity as she continues to build her business, which solely relies on customer service. However, I will not be returning to any of her site.
Very respectfully.