This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
The unprecedented heat dome effects globally are not something that could be anticipated by hosts or guests (perhaps by climate scientists, although even they seem to have been taken by surprise by the intensity of El Nino effect this year).
If this were a long-standing problem with the rental unit in question, that should have been apparent by prior ratings.
Until hosts adjust by installing A/C, shutting down their lodging if it is not cost-effective, etc. (or humankind succeeds in reversing warming trends), guestsā remedies are to book units with existing A/C or purchase cancel-for-any-reason travel insurance.
Have you explained what this fine was? Youāve tol;d us that you paid $600 for the rental (but not for how long) but did I miss where you explained about the fine?
(By the way, thank you for changing your user name. Much better).
Please post your review here and please let us know what happened when you reported the hosat to Aoirbnb.
One of the things that might come up is how central or even room AC units are sized.
I asked our HVAC vendor (who was not our AC installer) why the AC was not reaching 72 when it was 90 outside, whether it needed maintenance. They said that in our area of MA that it would be standard to size a unit to reach an inside temp of [well, I wrote this down somewhere but misplaced it ā youāll get the idea] of 72 when it is 85 outside.
With global warming I might expect āstandardā sizing to change.
So if someone is about to install new AC they might discuss the effect of global warming in their area on the appropriate size system they should install.
Not necessarily. Many hosts I encounter are very good at managing bad reviews. If they suspect an issue, they will go out of their way to offer you something so you donāt write anything negative. Some have even begged on a phone call with me. Not that I was ever going to.
I never write bad reviews on the platform as it is my primary source of housing for the last 5 years. I cant afford to have beef on there. Iāve stayed in 500+ airbnbs and I do research each one extensively. Not just the unit Iām booking but the entire building.
Overall the reviews on this one were solid, the ratings however were low. That could be for any number of reason such as bad neighborhoods, bad interactions, smells ectā¦ All of which I have no issue with as Iāve lived on airbnb for 5+ years and have gotten used to staying in some complete shitholes.
But this one unit was the hottest Iāve ever booked. And with the new heat trends, I think a lot of this is going to be unchartered territory.
Ultimately I worked it out with the host as he is one of the biggest hosts in a city I like to visit frequently. He owns a monopoly of housing here. I will never stay in that unit again but I canāt afford to burn a bridge with the host. I took a bit of a loss but he also helped me reduce some of it.
For hosts their listings are an important ā for some, their primary ā source of income. Yet Hosts here advocate honest reviews, to benefit the Airbnb community.
Iād encourage you to re-think your policy. Clearly ānitsā can be disregarded and some comments are best left in private feedback. But given your 500+ stays both Hosts and guests would benefit from your honest reviews ā might spur Hosts to take corrective actions.
On air conditioning being ātheā solution, itās complicated. Look at this Time article, āAir Conditioning Will Not Save Usā, but again this forum is not the place to debate such a policy.
Iām glad that you reached a satisfactory arrangement with the Host, and appreciate the tone of your recent posts.
Any host I stay with knows exactly what the issues are. Iām not shy about providing direct private feedback. But ratings and reviews are a two way street and Iām building connections on the platform just as much as they are. Never received a bad review myself and intend on keeping it that way
No one here is saying that. There are many hosts out there who donāt disclose things that could be a deal breaker for guests, which they definitely should.
And many hosts who shouldnāt be hosting and who good hosts would like to see booted off the platform.
No one, not hosts nor guests nor the general population was prepared for nor anticipated the hottest July on record. However, we all now are aware of how hot it is and yes, we all know it can be serious health risk- you are acting like we are stupid and you have to educate us.
But none of that changes the fact that you assumed there was AC instead of checking the amenities list.
In cases like this, itās best to try to work something out with the host- maybe he could buy a portable air conditioner, fans, or move you to a different unit, as it sounds like he has some.
So you are an experienced Airbnb guest? In which case you know well that listings should be truthful and that the guest should make themselves aware of what they are paying for.
As an experienced Airbnb guest, you also know the value of honest reviews to keep the platform working well for all.
Because youāre an experienced guest then you know that reporting an inadequate listing to Airbnb will result in that listing being removed from the platform.
So whatās your problem?
You are either kidding or are a person of very low intellect. Thatās was a joke, right?
We are being trolled. This āguestā has gotten more ridiculous with each post. When a guest equates being on vacation in an Airbnb with āhousingā like he is a tenant in NYC, itās obvious.
Good hosts filter through peopleās interactions. They want to see you arenāt going to be a threat to their reviews. They donāt just look at the reviews you get but also the ones you send.
Iāve gotten plenty of free stuff by not writing bad reviews and building positive relationships. Maybe they have 1 property thatās a dud, but if I donāt go burning that bridge Iāve gotten things like free week stays or free upgrades into better apartments, off the app cash deals, boat rides, free dinners, maybe they know someone in the city etc etcā¦ There are literally so many benefits to not writing bad reviews and no benefits to me for writing them. If I didnāt like their apartment, I just wont stay there again.
Their listings are unlikely to be removed anyway. It takes a lot to have someoneās house taken down. Iāve come across so many terrible reviews on places and they keep on operating.
I have friends in cities all over the world because of this mentality. Maybe you and are just living completely different lives.
A troll that confesses that they have extorted hosts.
ā * Reviews may not be provided or withheld in exchange for something of valueālike a discount, refund, reciprocal review, or promise not to take negative action against the reviewer. They also may not be used as an attempt to mislead or deceive Airbnb or another person. For example, guests should not write biased or inauthentic reviews as a form of retaliation against a Host who enforces a policy or rule.ā
Living all over the world is great. But a short term rental is not āhousingā by definition, by US law, and not by the way most hosts here run their business. We arenāt big corporate hosts; most of us are one home, some with a couple of listings, a few that manage a listing someone else owns, that sort of thing.
You would not be a desirable guest because you expect a listing to meet your imaginary requirements instead of reading the full listing description. You game the system to get free stuff in explicit violation of Airbnb policy. You would take your elderly grandmother to a hot state or country and not book a rental with AC. You come here and act like youāre doing us a favor, posting your guest complaints on a host forum.
This thread should have been closed already but by giving you some rope, you managed to hang yourself, your work here is done.
