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Any lock can fail. I once had a friend go in my hall bathroom and he couldn’t get out, the knob malfunctioned and there’s no window in that bathroom. However, years ago I put a cabinet in that bathroom that can be accessed through the closet that the furnace and water heater is in. So my friend got out that way and I got in to take the knob off that way.
The problem in this case is a host who is not available in emergencies. I don’t know if it’s “expected” for a host to be on duty 24/7 or not but it’s clearly a problem if they are not. I would not stay with a host that I knew had that approach. If it was clearly a one off accident and the host made amends, I would stay with that host again.
I can think of valid reasons why a host might be unavailable for three hours. I don’t think that’s excessive. At a medical appointment/hospital where phones are turned off. In an area with very poor cell coverage—can happen in a lot of places. A malfunctioning phone.
Anyway, I think the host’s reaction to the event (and the refund given, although I wouldn’t mention that in the review) are the things to evaluate about this incident in the review.
I really don’t understand this. Yes, it was a bad situation, but how does asking for and receiving a night’s refund change that? It would never occur to me to expect monetary compensation for such a thing.
I also don’t understand why leaving a review has anything to do with a demand for a refund being met.
You still haven’t answered the question as to how the host responded when you did get in touch with them.
Our unusual situation, at Gypsy, the vintage trailer, I specifically removed the locking mechanism from the door handles. Trying to break into an aluminum shell trailer a no-go, and would result in major destruction and impossible rebuild. Guests can lock themselves inside with chain locks, lock themselves out with combination padlocks. This set up has resulted in peace of mind and security and it is nice to have no keys.
A one night’s refund was completely reasonable. My unfortunate situation completed derailed my plans for the day, and it was completely unfortunate and quite unsafe for someone with heart issues, such as myself. If the handle couldn’t have been broken off, and I didn’t have my cellphone with me, it would have been an extremely bad situation.
Technically, it wasn’t locked, the internal parts had shifted, resulting in the handles malfunctioning. By being “locked in” I simply meant I could not open the door. Perhaps that was a poor choice of words.
Locks and knobs and handles will malfunction. We’ve had three threads mentioning this in the last month. Every host should make it part of their regular maintenance schedule to check them. Also doors, hinges, literally anything with screws. This includes wall mounted lights (like bedside lamps), switchplates, the screw on flanges that hold the faucets in place on the underside of a faucet handle. Make sure hanging closet doors are properly seated in their tracks and windows open properly. Make sure chair legs and table legs haven’t become wobbly.
I would like to point out that not all hosts live joined at the hip to a cell phone.
I have a 67 acer property with very limited cell service. I primarily rely on my landline.
Also, I don’t carry a phone when I am out on my trails, riding my horses, etc… I have 3 listings on my property that are booked at almost 100%. I am not at someone’s beckon call. Although I do offer a concierge service for an additional fee.
I see, so your caretaker is available 24 seven for your guests?
The way I understood your post here, you were advocating that all hosts make themselves very unavailable to their guests as a matter of their personal comfort and freedom. But most of us do not have that luxury of a full-time caretaker, we are the caretakers, the greeters, the cleaners, etc. we have to have our phones on at two in the morning, we have to have our Apple watches buzzing during that dinner party, we are tethered to the Airbnb app while we sit at our children’s recitals.
We are all joined at the hip to our cell phone. Please do not mock us or look down your nose at us.
Me too! Here’s what I have done to find that balance: in my apartment’s guidebook and instructions I send guests before they visit, I have a section on the 1st page under our phone numbers that says “After-hours urgencies” that says, " In a real emergency, see the emergency contacts below. For something urgent that you need us to solve, just call or text. After hours, if you ring one of our numbers twice within 3 minutes it will override our do-not-disturb settings."
I haven’t had a 3am call yet, or someone ringing me during a lecture, but if someone was stuck in a bathroom, I would definitely, absolutely be willing to be interrupted. Amongst other things, that’s a really scary fire risk if there’s a window you can’t even escape from!
Why are you taking this attitude with me?
You have completely misunderstood my comment… I dont look down on anyone…
I am a full time professional (super host) host with 3 five star listings on my farm. I have been managing my properties myself for over ten years… And work my ass off! And I do the cleaning too!
I am not fixing a burst water pipe myself, I have a guy who lives in one of my units on the farm and gets free rent in exchange for part time help.
My point was some of us don’t have cell service in our remote country locations… Or access to unlimited internet… I provide my listings with what internet is available here… My satellite bill is over $500. a month just so my guests can access wifi calling.
We often have power outages due to inclement weather. In fact the power company is shutting off our power today due to extreme risks of fire. And I have guests!! My backup generator is on standby to run the water pump. Hopefully it will be less than 24 hours…
I want to be available to my guests, but not at their beckon call…I was in Bali for the month of May, and my 3 properties were fully booked! You can best believe I was answering my phone at 3:00 am and had many a nights sleep lost because guests couldn’t manage to read the full descriptions, Read the messages I sent with the check in/ meet and greet info… Didnt bother to answer their phones if they didnt recognise the number… Never read their texts, etc…
Granted, getting locked in a small room for hours on end must have been horrible…
But I don’t want to encourage guests to be shaming a host because they are not answering their phone.
And I always tell guests when I am not available, or traveling… And I provide them with alternate numbers just in case…
What do you do if you are on an outing for a few hours and your water pipes burst in your house?
I have a co-host that is attached to his cell phone, and offers the kind of concierge service that apparently is expected by many hosts and guests. Pretty much every review gushes about his quick and easy communications.
However, when I travel, other than during checkin, I don’t expect the host or hotel to be available at a moment’s notice. (Well, except at an extreme high end resort, but for that kind of money…). In most cases, if the host or hotel front desk gets back to me in 4 hours I’m pretty happy. Especially in the case of STR when it is apparent the host is not a large faceless company I expect the host likely has other things in their life, and may be on a plane or in a meeting or just plain beyond cell service for hours at a time. If I read a review saying the host wasn’t available for 3 whole hours, I’d give it a pass. Three days, not so much.
I know you’re not asking me but you’re not the first person who’s asked him and he did not lock it. He clearly said,
The internal hardware broke likely because it hadn’t been maintained for a very long time, maybe 100+ years. Maybe 200+ years in Europe.
It was not even possible for him to lock the door because it needed a key that he didn’t have. And if he had been able to lock it and preferred to lock it, he should still be able to exit the bathroom at his own convenience.
The host has a maintenance issue, it doesn’t have anything to do with the guest.
