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When traveling with my husband I also need a king bed, nearby flat parking, air conditioning, and few steps. I haven’t run across a listing that doesn’t specifically give the size of the beds and what kind of air conditioning is available. Rather than attempt to book a place that doesn’t point out air conditioning or bed size I assume the answer is smaller than a king bed and no air conditioning and move on.
I use the same reasoning with parking. If they don’t point out how easily assessable their parking is as an asset it probably isn’t easy parking.
Stairs I can usually figure out from pictures and wording. A third floor condo will mention the elevator if there is one. If not, they leave it out. No reason for me to ask, they don’t have one.
A host that actually has all these things and doesn’t make it clear in the listing is not someone that is into details, which again, isn’t the type of host I’m looking for.
We’ve tried to find Airbnbs in places where there are few to choose from.
And even in cities where there are lots of them, I’ve found it impossible to locate what we need. Portland OR is an example. I probably looked at 200 or 300 places there. There simply wasn’t one that met our needs, or the hosts didn’t answer my questions. We ended up in a boring hotel there.
Same in Santa Rosa CA. And Covington TN.
Many Airbnbs don’t provide enough info. And deciphering it from photos can be tricky.
Absolutely agree. I’ve found I’ve been booking more hotels than I used to. Especially in the US.
In the past I’ve had better luck with filtering for amenities I need: washer, dryer, parking, air conditioning. But recently the app just seems to use the filters inconsistently.
Apparently Sarah Michell Geller aka Buffy the Vampire Slayer stayed at one of the exclusive island resorts for her honeymoon off the tropical North Queensland Coast and asked for a gecko to be removed (they’re everywhere). The staff member recognised her and said something like “maybe we need to call Buffy the Gecko Slayer”. I kid you not SMG cracked it and her and her husband left the island she was so incensed as she had SPECIFICALLY ASKED for staff not refer to her role as Buffy. That was 20 years ago and I’m guessing having done nothing much since she’d probably love it if she was recognised anywhere. I’m a huge Buffy fan btw but even I thought this was peak Hollywood entitled behaviour.
Or the day before they check-in It just happened to me.
This person booked 2 weeks ago and checks in tomorrow. I get a message about noon today telling me that he has “very extreme” chemical sensitivities and asked us to not use any air fresheners before his arrival. Did he just find out in the last 2 weeks? Probably not. I suspect he must not be so sensitive if he didn’t feel the need to verify it earlier. If we did use air fresheners it seems a little late now.
Anyway, we don’t use air fresheners so it worked out but it’s a good thing he didn’t ask about the detergent (Tide) because I’m not washing a set of linens and all the drapery for him. It should have been inquired about before booking or at least before the day before check-in.
I plan to knock down stars in observance of house rules rating to any guests who demand things after booking. Early check-in AND late check-out is 1* from my perspective.
Recently there was a thread discussing a guest who asked a lot of questions. Someone pointed out that anybody who asks a lot of questions will end up finding something they are not happy with. Many hosts (including me) think that rather than hosting a guest who has specific needs, and who will end up being unhappy and leave a bad review, it is better to wait for a guest who doesn’t have as many needs.
I’m guilty of not answering questions if there are too many. IME guests who ask a lot of questions, don’t stop asking questions until they are gone.
Yes. The hotels had just what we needed. But they were boring.
We have found two Airbnbs that had everything we needed. One was well northwest of Seattle. It was lovely and just where we needed to be. It was also the only Airbnb in that area. The other was outside Bowling Green KY. We’ve stayed at that one twice
I needed
Pet friendly (2 dogs 8 lbs each)
Clean
Convenient drive to a specific location
I tried to book an Airbnb. The $95 night rental was $320 by the time taxes, pet fees, cleaning fees, Booking fees were added.
I ended up booking a Holiday inn express. It met my requirements plus a nice breakfast & easy access to grassy area with pet station for an all in cost of $146. I’ve made snarky comments about not liking Holiday inn express-I take it all back. I was very pleased.
Yes, I would need more info. That’s clearly a multi-story structure. How would I know whether there are steps inside? Are both bedrooms on the ground floor, requiring no steps?
This trick worked. I got a five star review from her but 4* on check in. I told her that early check in will not be possible a day before arrival but she still showed up at 10:30 AM expecting that the unit will be ready.
I took care of her in the review to warn future hosts about her tactics.
Luckily we don’t get too many questions and have mainly had great guests. When traveling ourselves sometimes we prefer the anonymity of a hotel room and other times have had amazing full house Airbnb’s. Depends on price and needs. There is a place for both.
@house_plants This pattern of asking questions in “sets” reminds me of a gentleman that seemed to be very anxious. He got more and more anxious as his visit drew near. The sets of questions ran together, finally, into a steady stream. He was not entirely satisfied with everything during the visit, either, as he had not absorbed my answers properly. I came to the conclusion that this gentleman had an unusual and challenging way of thinking and expressing himself. I have worked with young adults and children who have challenges in this way and I try to adapt to them, so I was able to adjust my responses to this man in a way that helped me be patient and helped him and his family enjoy their vacation. I’m not sure he gets to enjoy very many vacations. My rental is geared toward accessibility so it sort of fits and I’m mentally prepared for it. Not always, but somewhat. He gave us a five star review that talked about us as hosts instead of our place, which was kind of disappointing. His wife wrote a glowing thank you note in our guest book.
It just happened to me.
