Now seeing airbnb from the guest side

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I was a host for a year and half. I decided to stop hosting and have renters, and then I sold the home.

It wasn’t until this year that I decided to be a guest.

My first experience was lovely and exactly as how I would expect it. I did not have any pets with me.

I decided to travel with my pets. And I’m wondering if the majority of pet accommodations are generally… on the funkier end of things? I’ve documented them below.

The second stay was extremely nice except for a strong odor that the host tried to cover up with air freshener. Upon mentioning it she pretended like she didn’t know what I was talking about, but then later admitted it was “something” that had gotten on the carpet-- possibly from a pet. The smell was like spoiled milk.

The next place I stayed was a charming older home that was well decorated but had a lot of unfinished DIY projects (the house needs a lot of work and is quite unhospitable feeling to be in). The listing was marked as having AC but the space got up to 85 degrees every day until about 10pm when the window units could actually get a handle on the heat and cool the space. It also had extremely creaky floors and I was above the hosts, so I was very afraid of annoying them.

The next place I found has helpful and interactive hosts. I have a large room and can use the kitchen and washer/dryer. AC always below 75. Off street parking. Fast internet. Flowers in the room. But the house is so dirty! There is mold in the shower (and all over and on the ceiling). The toilet exterior is covered in hair, dirt, and dried urine. There are mouse droppings in the kitchen. The rugs never get vacuumed. My floor is so dirty. Covered in animal hair, dirt, and kitty litter.

Since I have pets it’s harder to find accommodations… so I asked to use the vacuum and cleaned the shower stall and a portion of the bathroom myself. When the host noticed I had cleaned she made a surprised “wowza” face but didn’t thank me.

She has another room for airbnb and I checked and the floor is covered in hair and kitty litter.

She has glowing reviews from so many guests! I didn’t go through all of them but only found one where the guy said it wasn’t clean enough so he left early. The host denied the problem and said they never had any complaints before.

I never realized that so many guests just straight up lie about the condition of the rental! Now I wonder what all my guests really thought of me and my home considering all the BS I’ve read on this host’s listings.

What do I do in this case? Leave a pile of BS just like everyone else? Why are people so afraid of being honest? And her cleanliness ratings are 4.9 and 4.8!

Edit: here are some photos I took today: https://m.imgur.com/a/wsKG4gt

Edit 2: and I forgot to mention the kitchen often has a strong odor. Two days ago it was so strong i could smell it on the other end of the house… maybe 40 to 50 feet away.

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Be honest. Overall, 4 stars max IMO, with 2-3 for cleanliness.

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Yes be honest. I suggest increasing your budget if possible. I allow pets and my place is quite clean. I won’t stay anywhere below about 4.6.

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Be honest- you booked based on the ratings and you didn’t look for “hidden dirt” under the fridge!

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The host might be expecting a bad review, now.

Nasty!

Maybe her previous guests had much lower standards of cleanliness. The place is pet-friendly and I certainly know some pet-owners like that.

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They clearly did not vacuum and mop the entire place. Not cool. I don’t even want to mention the bathroom with the way that toilet looks.

I doubt they did anything other than making the bed. That host is begging for 4 stars overall, 2-3 for cleanliness and private notes of what needs remediation. If the stay was otherwise good, that is what we would do.

Better they learn now, before they get a guest who gives them a much lower rating.

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That filth would ruin my stay. There is no way I’d give 4 stars.

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:face_vomiting: x 1000

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I’m in total shock. The place is so absolutely disgusting, pet friendly or not, I would have been unable to stay there. That leaves me wondering about both the host’s standards. and the expectations of some guests.

I would leave 1* for cleanliness.

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Oh my god. The photos are horrendous. In my books this is not just a cleanliness issue, the place is so dirty it becomes a Public Health concern. Seriously. The kitchen looks like a breading ground for bacteria. If mouse droppings are anywhere near the food, then this has got to be a really serious issue.

I am not sure I would “rat” her out (forgive the pun) to AirBnB but I would most certainly give her 1* for cleanliness and 1* for accuracy. Leave her a private note to say that what you have seen and documented constitute health and safety hazards. For the overall stay I would really struggle to give anything more than 2*.

I guess I feel personally a bit offended by this story because we put soooooo much effort into cleaning our listing. To hear that this lady has guests living in this filth, yet her rating is almost not affected, makes me angry because we are so diligent with our cleaning yet we have a similar (maybe even the same) cleanliness ranking.

Anyways, I think you are doing her a huge favour by sending her a private note that this is not acceptable. People get permanently banned from AirBnB for a lot less of a mess.

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I wouldn’t have stayed. I would have got on to CS and ask to be relocated due to the state of the place. I would also leave an accurate review.

I find it hard to accept that you willingly stayed there. It’s disgusting.

JF

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Personally I wouldn’t have stayed in the last property you described. I am surprised as an experienced host you didn’t ask the host to address the issues/ask Airbnb to cancel the booking and help you find an alternative.

Why would you even consider leaving a less than honest review? It’s not really relevant about the reviews that others have left, just that you leave one that reflects your experience. @searchedtobelost

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Because I have pets it’s so hard to find a place to stay unless I want to pay $150/night for a hotel.

I didn’t know airbnb would cover a hotel, so I just did my own cleaning and I wear shoes in the house.

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Also at the place that was 85 degrees from sunup to sundown… they gave me a less than stellar review. It was covert, but they said I was a ‘good guest’ while everyone else they review is a “great guest”

They said I am a “good guest” because I actually mentioned the AC issue to them.

These hosts don’t actually want any feedback from guests.

Ideal and realistic are not the same

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An honest and accurate review is the best and only way. If you saw an accurate review of this place it would have allowed you to form an intelligent conclusion based on need vs cost vs desirability. Nobody should ‘be kind’ or ‘give a break’ on a review - guests deserve it…

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The host also says the house us a rental and they’re not supposed to airbnb

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Those photographs are truly revolting. I wouldn’t have stayed for more than two minutes. As @Suntory says, it’s a health issue. I would have reported it to Airbnb and probably the local authorities too.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a budget place; even a cheap place should be clean.

Then they need to be gone. It’s people like this that give Airbnb a bad name.

I honestly don’t know why you even had to ask about what sort of review to give these people. Yuk.

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I did try to stay at a place for $100/night but the host said she is not accepting guests due to the pandemic and blocked her listing off.

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Based on the pictures, it’s disgusting. I would call Airbnb and ask to be relocated. If you paid a cleaning fee, that should be refunded. You’re better off staying at a motel that allows pets. As for her review, I could give her one star and in the comments I would write that zero stars were not an option.

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I dont think I can call airbnb because I’ve been here for a week already.

I will give a balanced review.