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Are you implying the issue is with my use of the word "villa’?
As you can see I can also use google:
It’s an unfortunate part of this forum that people try to find fault/blame with the person who has the issue rather than supporting, or in this case just taking an interest in how Airbnb handles this situation.
It is certainly not a forum for sensitive souls. Sometimes I wonder why I bother as I seem to spend most of the time defending myself.
Just trying to help. If you google image just the word ‘villa’ you get the most grandest looking buildings.
So are you trying to discredit my legitimate use of the word “villa” or take an interest in how Air decides what to do about a guest who checks in to a VILLA that has 117 5* reviews for accuracy with a superhost with a rating of 4.9* and 550+ reviews? Your interest in finding google images of “villas” instead of googling " villa meaning Australia" is not supportive but combative.
No wonder “lurkers” are too scared to pop their heads up.
@Poppy - It seems to me that most of the owners here are supportive that this person had some other issue than your property (I’m one of them). But there isn’t much we can do to help - that’s between you and the guest and AirBnB,
I looked up the word villa, and it mentions that the British version can mean a suburban semi-detached home (what we would call a duplex in the U.S.). So perhaps that’s the same for Australia. However, AirBnB encourages us to underpromise and overdeliver, and many, many people have the picture of a large stand-alone home when they hear the word “villa”. So we are pointing out that some people may have a higher expectation than you think they should.
Perhaps you can show a picture of the villa in your photos. I have a picture of my home but it’s one of the last in the photo reel. It documents what you are renting so that guests can come back and say they didn’t know.
In this situation I am not looking for support. I thought other hosts might be interested in following how Air manages this situation.
You might have overlooked the Australian google definition of a villa that I posted earlier:
As I have said before I am not willing to open myself or the places I manage to the possibility of online sabotage.
I didn’t miss it. It just wasn’t nearly as clear because the definition you posted was for the word “unit” and not the word “villa”. As you can tell, there is a lot of room for interpretation.
And yes, we are waiting to hear what happens. But in the meantime, we are assuming the guest wasn’t happy for some reason and are trying to figure out why. There must be something odd going on, because, as you said, $600 is a lot of money to walk away from unless you are pretty sure you are going to get a refund. Most everyone would shrug it off and stay inside. I’m wondering if they expected to hold a party and realized it wasn’t large enough, and are now going to complain it “wasn’t as advertised” to see if they can get a refund.
Any answers from Air?
RR
Also from Wikipedia:
“In Australia “villas” or “villa units” are terms used to describe a type of townhouse complex which contains, possibly smaller attached or detached houses of up to 3-4 bedrooms that were built since the early 1980s.”
What I understand is that the word “villa” refers to the whole townhouse complex which is divided into several units, called “villa units”. You rent out a unit in the complex and not the whole complex. So if I understood everything correctly, the term “villa” is definitely wrong for what you are renting, and you should refer to it as “villa unit”.
Your attack on @Barns is quite ridiculous when he was just pointing out a possible error in your listing description. The fact that 117 guests didn’t care, doesn’t mean anything. Your guest was probably not expecting just a “unit”.
WE are definitely not combative, we are just trying to help.
EDIT: It’s like saying “Castle for rent” when you’re only renting a small apartment inside the castle. Maybe people who’s mother tongue is English, can tell me I’m right or wrong.
What you have described looks like this, except 4 units, not three.
You have also described the units as modest, even disappointing on the exterior and you manage the two center units, not the ones on the end.
If your listing emphasizes luxury and privacy and hints at wild romps in the spa and someone drives up to this there is a possibility they are going to be disappointed. Now as you have also stated you have 400+ reviews for these two similar side by side apts. and most people are happy.
So I really wouldn’t worry about it. You don’t have a question you just wanted to share what you see as being an interesting and instructional experience. Perhaps you should preface all such posts on which you don’t care to hear any critiques with some sort of disclaimer.
I wonder if a large part of the problem here is the disparity between the guest’s expectations and the beliefs of the owner?
And:
If the place is marketed to a couple, I wonder if the property owner doesn’t fully understand what couples want? They do not need a huge space in which to enjoy their activities. They don’t need a fully-equipped gym. Whyon earth they’d need a sofa that seats 8 people or an ‘island bench’ that seats 5 is beyond me. A large laundry and a large garage aren’t needed at all.
‘Luxury’ and ‘large’ are subjective terms. I have stayed in hotels described as ‘luxury’ (by real people - reviewers) and they’ve been quite revolting. A fluffy bathrobe and a chocolate on the pillow does not say luxury to me. It might to some.
The same with ‘large’. (And ‘beautiful’). To the guest, it might have appeared small.
The fact that the privacy issue was raised in the guest’s message makes it seems that they certainly had little use for the large laundry or the seats-eight sofa,
How much space do two people need asks the OP? It’s not a matter of space.
This is not the first time a large number of native English speakers has suggested to Poppy that villa is not the best term to describe what she’s offering. I don’t know what the reputation of this kind of housing is in the community where it’s located.
I very much think this is a case of the couple is having an issue but we have no way of knowing.
I was also wondering why a unit for 2 people need such large couches and dining area.
I think all they need is big luxury bed.
From what she describes, we would call this a townhouse or townhome here in Canada.
Except this building is single story. In the US and Canada ( and I think Poppy said Australia) townhomes have two stories.
The definition for townhome and rowhouse in Canada (my city anyway) is “A townhouse is when somebody owns a unit on shared property. A row house you own not only your unit but you own the land below it. It is a separate legal entity. Each unit requires its own sewer and water hook-up as each unit is entirely independent. For a townhouse development there would only be one water and sewer hook up for the entire development.”
So, we do have some one story townhomes, though they are generally the rarity.
Also rowhouses " are side-by-side units that share a wall and have their own front and backyards."
And Stacked townhouses “are stacked on top of each other, each with its own front door and private outdoor space.”
I always think of a bungalow as being a stand alone, detached, single family house, albeit a small one.
If it has two stories and dormer windows, I’d call that a Cape Cod, though I think it’s a term only used in the US .
A Cape is what I have. The ceilings in the upstairs are on the low side and there are all these *^&%$$$$^ angles. I’m currently taking a break from painting one of the upstairs bedrooms…What an absolute PITA!!!
My grandparents lived in a 55+ community called XYZ Townhouses. All connected, all one story, but some units had basements. I wasn’t aware that town homes have to be 2-story?
In an unrelated story, my realtor friend has a listing for an old 1900’s brick Row home. The units, however are called XYZ Condominiums. Ha! I think that has to do with the HOA though, the HOA takes care of all exterior maintenance, Roofs, water, and landscaping, so kind of condo-esque, in that respect.
As an American, villa definitely means stand alone home or unit to me. I know you don’t want to belabor this @Poppy as you don’t think this is the issue with your guests leaving–but I was just curious if most of your guests come from all over or are they primarily Australian and should/would not be surprised by the attached nature of your Villas?
