I was a guest at a home in Austin, we rented a “House to ourselves”. When we arrived, I was surprised to find a full fridge and freezer, drawers and closets full of clothes, toiletries, medicine, etc. I texted the host to see if we had made it into the wrong property (a duplex, nor clearly labeled units a and b). He assured us we were fine, he had just forgotten to ask his cleaner to free up some fridge room for our food, he explained, that he normally lived there hence his stuff. I saw in the listing that he noted “is my home, I expect you to leave it the way you found it”, but I assumed that Airbnb is mostly people’s homes and not commercial properties. We rent ours and while we leave our kids’ books and some family photos, we don’t leave medication, clothes, food in the fridge (raw meat.) Lastly, I inspected the bed and found hair, then found hair on the vanity and toothpaste in the sink, unclean toilet etc. I notified the host and took pictures, he apologized and offered to send cleaners in the morning but I declined because I still had to wash the sheets before we went to bed and I didn’t want to feel obligated to leave the house in the morning with 2 kids for the cleaners to be able to clean. Is it reasonable to expect the host to refund the cleaning fee? He didn’t offer anything.
Yes, that is reasonable.
In your shoes, I would contact Airbnb to tell them that you were unable to stay in the place you booked because it had not been cleaned for you, particularly bedding, and that the host only offered to clean the place up the following day. I’m assuming you left and found somewhere else to stay??? I would want a full refund, not just the cleaning fee.
I hope you took some photos.
We stayed because we had just returned from an international trip and I could not stick the kids back into the car and keep driving. I took pictures, but the house wasn’t a mess: there was hair in the bed and hair shavings, toothpaste in the sink.
@ievaluna The host failed to deliver a clean environment as the place was dirty. Whether it was messy or not is irrelevant as the host is required to provide housing that is clean with fresh bedding and towels, etc, and he failed to do so. I would ask for reimbursement of cleaning fee plus some other type of compensation (he should have showed up to deliver a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant), etc. Personally, I don’t think I would have stayed unless I had the time and the tools to clean, launder and sanitize the entire area that I was occupying.
Yes, ask him to waive the cleaning fee since you had to wash the sheets before going to bed. At least he should have stopped by the night to drop off clean sheets or directed you to the linen closet. Not a good way to start a vacation.
Ask for a full refund.
Based on what you’ve said, the host is lying. He didn’t just forget to tell the cleaning person to make room in the refrigerator. It is obvious that no cleaning person ever came.