Here is a review I posted on an Airbnb host’s site. It was posted for one day and then Airbnb removed it from the post. I contacted Airbnb support and went back and forth many times and they refused to put the review back on the host’s rental site.
You will see in my review that I not only complained about the rental but also provided some positive feedback. It seems to me that the host and Airbnb don’t want negative reviews so they removed it. When I told the host I was posting a negative review, he threatened that if I did he would post something negative about me. I didn’t care about the negative feedback I would receive as I felt it was important to share my experience with others who may rent this house.
We also had five couples in the rental (all over 60) so I can’t imagine what he could have said about us. We were there less than 24 hours and took great care of the house. Since Airbnb wouldn’t post my review on their site I am now hoping to share it here:
Beware of this host. First let me say that we have rented many homes through VRBO and most recently Airbnb for over 15 years. This will be my first negative review I’ve written so I put a lot of thought into this post. Our first interaction with the host was amazing. She was quick to respond to all of my questions and allowed us to rent for only one night on a busy NYE stay – although at a premium rate of $1,600 per night (I believe the normal nightly rate is $500). We had five couples to share the cost so we felt the price was worth us spending a night in a nice house.
Now to the reason I’m writing a negative review. Upon our arrival, we discovered that the pool had not been cleaned; it was dirty and had leaves on the bottom of the pool. I contacted the host and she offered to come over and sweep it for us. We declined as it was starting to get dark and cool for the evening. Again, the host quickly responded to my question so communication was good. As the evening progressed we discovered many other issues. By this time of night it was getting late on NYE so we decided it was too late to call her. A list of issues we found that I want to share with potential renters:
1. When one of the guests went to prepare for bed she pulled back the top sheet and there was not a fitted sheet – only the mattress pad, which had many stains on it and was covered with hair. She found the fitted sheet wound up in a ball in the closet; it was wet so she couldn’t put it on the bed. She had to move all of her stuff to another bedroom which also had bedding issues (holes in the shams and stained sheets).
2. An ice cube fell on the floor so we grabbed a paper towel to wipe it up. The paper towel was black from the dirt on the floor. We tried wiping other areas in the kitchen and saw how dirty the floor was. We decided that we wouldn’t go barefoot in the house. In fact, by the bar area our shoes would squeak from the stickiness on the floor.
3. The fireplace didn’t work – or if it did we couldn’t find the instructions on how to use it.
4. One of the bathrooms had a hole in the drywall, the tub faucet was broken and the sink handle fell off when we turned it.
5. The ice dispenser didn’t work – we had to open freezer to get ice out of the bucket.
For $1,600 we expected a lot more from this rental. It didn’t have to be perfect as we understand many renters come and go through these houses, but clean and in working order was not too high of an expectation.
The next day I contacted the host and she said she was mortified about the linens and would repair all of the items I listed. Although too late for our stay, I hope it is better for the next renter. Her reasoning that things were not taken care of was that no one had ever told her about anything wrong in the house. I understand that others wrote good reviews so she wasn’t aware of any issues which is why I’m writing this review so the next potential renter can be informed.
All in all, the host was good to work with. We just felt that for the amount we paid to rent the house we deserved so much more.
We also have a airbnb story to come. Have been trying for 2.5 weeks to find a satisfactory agreement. Waiting 24 more hours, then taking it to social media.
The host or someone should inspect the property before each guest arrives. How would this guest feel if she paid $1,600 for a night at the Plaza and it was dirty and not well maintained?
NYE or not, for $1600 for 1 night the experience should be absolutely flawless for you for that outlay. End of story.
There is no excuse for any of the issues you experienced, just one lazy, greedy host.
You’re absolutely right to feel ripped off.
I just noticed that the link in my original post did not show the Host Site. I am now including the Host Airbnb listing number. Funny thing, I also noticed that since our stay someone posted how nice the ‘bedding’ was. Interesting that they would comment just on the bedding – as this was one of our major issues with the host.
Thanks for letting me vent on this site since I wasn’t allowed to post on the Host Airbnb site.
Airbnb #20333225
Just a quick update. I filed a complaint against Airbnb with the BBB. Airbnb responded and allowed me post our review. So I will give some positive notes to Airbnb.
Now funny thing about the host. Since the review was posted she was able to reply to my review. Well, she did nothing but lie. I am unable to respond to her post so I’ll try and set the record straight here.
Her reply is below – with my response in CAPITAL LETTERS.
“Diana and her group stayed at our home New Years Eve. I greeted Diana upon arriving and she immediately informed me that one of the guests could not operate the remote control.MY COMMENT – SHE DID NOT GREET US – SHE TEXTED US. I offered to come by, but she rtold me no, not necessary. I instructed them on how to use the remote and gave them all the particulars so they would enjoy their stay. MY COMMENT – SHE DID NOT GIVE US ANY OTHER PARTICULARS OTHER THAN HOW TO WORK THE REMOTE. home had just been cleaned as we do inspections after each clean to ensure a great stay for every guest. MY COMMENT – SHE COULD NOT HAVE INSPECTED AFTER THE CLEANING AS WE ARRIVED WHEN THE CLEANING CREW WAS STILL IN THE HOUSE – SHE DID NOT SHOW UP AFTER THEY CLEANED. SO THIS IS A LIE. Diana had only been there for thirty minutes and called to tell me of a few brown leaves (MY COMMENT – NOT A FEW, THE BOTTOM HAD PILES OF LEAVES) that were in pool. we immediately offered to come by and scoop the leaves. MY COMMENT – THIS IS TRUE AS TO THE TIME WE CALLED (30 MINUTES UPON ARRIVAL) WE ONLY HAD A LITTLE DAYLIGHT TIME LEFT TO ENJOY THE OUTDOOR PATIO AND WANTED TO HAVE A PLEASANT, CLEAN POOL TO LOOK AT. Diana refused and commnented how our price was more than average. MY COMMENT – I WAS NOT UPSET ABOUT THE PRICE AS WE AGREED TO PAY THAT AMOUNT WHEN WE BOOKED THE RENTAL – I COMPLAINED BECAUSE FOR THAT PRICE I EXPECTED A CLEAN, IN WORKING ORDER HOUSE. I explained that we have a premium on holidays. I did not hear from Diana again still after her group left. MY COMMENT – WE DIDN’T CALL AFTER THAT BECAUSE MOST OF WHAT WE FOUND WAS UPON US GOING TO BED OR THE NEXT MORNING AND IT WAS TOO LATE IN THE EVENING TO CALL – WE THOUGHT WE WERE BEING KIND TO RHONDA AND NOT DISTURBING HER. Diana called me to terll me the ice maker wasn’t working and home was not cleaned properly in her opinion. she demanded money back or she threatedened to write a review. MY COMMENT (AND THIS IS THE HONEST TRUTH) I DID NOT DEMAND MONEY BACK. I CALLED TO TELL THEM I WAS LEAVING A REVIEW (BOTH GOOD AND BAD COMMENTS BTW) SO OTHERS WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE ISSUES BEFORE THEY RENTED. RHONDA AND OWNER OFFERED US A LITTLE MONEY BACK $100 – BUT ONLY IF WE DID NOT LEAVE A REVIEW. I TURNED DOWN THE OFFER AS I FELT IT IMPORTANT TO LEAVE A REVIEW. I CALL HER DISCOUNT BRIBERY. We gave her a discount, then she demanded for more. MY COMMENT – I DID NOT DEMAND ANYTHING. I AM NOT THAT KIND OF PERSON. IT WAS A PLEASANT CONVERSATION BUT THEY DIDN’T LIKE THAT I STILL WANTED TO LEAVE A REVIEW – EVEN IF THEY OFFERED US MONEY. DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF HAVING A REVIEW OF THE RENTAL. I do not recommend Diana as a guest. they clearly had a party and did damage to one of our sinks. MY COMMENT – NOW THIS PART IS ACTUALLY FUNNY. WE DID NOT HAVE A PARTY – WE ARE FIVE COUPLES THAT ARE RETIRED (LATE 60 AND EARLY 70). IF SHE WANTS TO CALL SITTING AROUND THE TABLE AND PLAYING A DICE GAME A PARTY THEN PERHAPS SHE’S RIGHT BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WE DID ALL NIGHT LONG. AND THE PART THAT IS TRULY UPSETTING TO ME IS THAT SHE POSTED WE BROKE THEIR SINK. THAT IS AN OUT RIGHT LIE. WE ARE HONEST PEOPLE AND IF WE DID BREAK SOMETHING WE WOULD HAVE OFFERED TO PAY TO FIX IT. They never called to complain during their stay except in the beginning. I do not recommend Diana as a guest.”
PS to Sally – I forgot to mention that the host only offered us the small refund if we would not post the negative review. I call this bribery – not a refund for our troubles. Again, we were not looking for a refund – we wanted others to have a heads up.
To Sally:
First of all, we did contact the host a number of times during our stay. Many of the items I listed didn’t occur until late in the evening and we felt it would be rude to bother someone at 11:00 PM (when we were preparing to use the beds that were filthy). I contacted the host the next day so they could attempt to fix some of the issue prior to their next guests arriving. I thought this was a nice gesture on my part. I did then tell them we would post a ‘partial’ negative review (didn’t you see that I also had some nice things to say as well). At that time he did offer us a small refund. We refused the refund as that was not what we were looking for. We felt it was only fair for us to warn other guest that would stay in this rental – as we wish others would have done the same. So no – we are not guests from hell scraping for a refund. Your reply is out of line.
To Ellen N – To give you more info on the complaints you feel are not reasonable.
The pool – the rental was in Florida – nice enough weather at times to swim but not always. In this case it wasn’t as much about swimming as it was how dirty the pool was. It was not nice to even sit outside and stare at a dirty pool.
Ice Maker – I’ll give you this one. It was not a big deal to get ice out of the freezer and not out of the door. My point on this was that we spent $1600 for one night stay and I was adding it to show that many items were not in working order for this amount of rent.
Fireplace issue – we didn’t attempt to use the fireplace until 9:00 PM – I thought it would be rude of us to contact the owner this time of night on NYE. Perhaps the point I should have made is there was no directions of any sort on how to use the house amenities. We did call earlier to learn how to use the TV. We didn’t fee we had to call every 5 minutes to know how to use every little function. AND we don’t know if it was broke or knowledge.
Thank you for your feedback.
You cant trust the reviews on Airbnb anyway. Hosts have their friends write fake positives. If there are any negative reviews airbnb refuses to post them.
The listing you linked has been de-listed. That is why you can’t post a review.
Some of your complaints are reasonable, but some are not.
If I hosted in New York, it would never occur to me that guests would swim on December 31st. Therefore, I wouldn’t clean the leaves out of the pool. I host in Los Angeles, CA and I wouldn’t expect guests to swim on December 31.
Our ice maker broke. It took several appliance repair technicians and hundreds of dollars to repair it. During this time guests had to get ice from inside the freezer. I would have been extremely irritated if they had found this to be an inconvenience worthy of complaint.
If you couldn’t figure out how to use the fireplace, you should have asked the host. One of our biggest frustrations is guests who don’t ask for what they need only to complain later in reviews and/or private comments.
Listing doesn’t exist…… Why did you contact the host the FOLLOWING day? Sounds more like a guest from hell scraping for a refund 🙂