This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I never thought myself asking this question as a traveler (i’m a host) but hear me out:
so my son and I were in New Orleans for his bday. We stayed in a very nice location, a house that belonged to a nun, possibly the most beautiful house I ever stayed in an airbnb, where we had 2 bedrooms, clean and very nice.
We needed to stay one more day at the last minute and were looking for a one night place, with two beds or two rooms. There was this place ultra cheap that popped up, titled “crash pad near airport” that had a few pics of a living rooms with 2 sofas, pics of the house from the outside,then pics of attractions from the french quarter - although it is literally like 0.5 mile from the airport. The host had very good reviews, mostly one or two lines, everybody saying how clean it was. The description of the place was literally “The living-room is yours the rest is shared”. that’s it. I slept on friend’s couches before, but never on Airbnb. I instant booked it. When we got here that’s a different story: The host told us there are two Airbnb listing on the first floor. So it’s us on the sofas and then she converted the dining into an airbnb also but not being able to put a door between then - because it’s open space - she put some sort of sheer curtain. The shared powder room was between living and dining. It was very uncomfortable because when I went to the bathroom I could see the guests from the dining through the sheers curtain. A solid type of cotton curtain would have offered much more privacy. At some point they tuned off the lights and we realized we have to do the same otherwise our light will upset them. I wanted to read some more, but there was no floor lamp in the living room, nothing. But the thing is there were people going in and out of the house until 11:30pm. They were coming from upstairs - where the host lived - and i didn’t know if they were friends leaving or family members who were supposed to return during the night. I was kind of weary of people passing through during the night, so every single noise, above floor creaking, toilet flush kept me awake. Bottom line i didnt sleep a wink. at about 5am I was about to fall asleep when the host woke up to take a shower. Then she coughed for like 20 min. Is she sick? The shower was so noisy it felt like storm falling on the roof. Then she left the house. Meanwhile someone else from the family took a shower and left.
This was the most uncomfortable experience as a guest I ever had. To me it seems that her 2 listings are kind of “pushed” out there because she desperately needs money -my son’s saying, not mine - but honestly, how can you call that a listing if you fail to provide - at least for my son and I - a certain number of quiet we could sleep? The walls in this house are so thin, everything could be heard. I mean if you know you have to wake up at 5 to go to work you don’t think that the guest bellow need to sleep? To me this living room thing shouldn’t even be a listing.
Then there’s the shower issue. so ok this powder room downstairs it’s shared between the guests from the dining room and the guests from the living room. The shower however is upstairs and the guest share this with the family. I have no idea how many people are in the family but after I arrived I asked permission to take a shower and someone at the door was asking if there’s anyone in the shower. I felt terrible uncomfortable.
To me this listing fails to disclose the fact that it’s hostel like environment which is not everyone cup of tea - definitely not mine and if I knew that I would have never booked it.
Also I think it should have also disclose how many people share that bathroom. You cant have more than certain number. Even 4 sharing the downstairs is too much, but 4 plus how many upstairs sharing the shower?
I also think you should have in the listing the number of bedrooms you share on airbnb and where they are located.
Maybe i’m too harsh in my judgement but this was by far the most horrible experience I ever had as a guest. on top of that from 6am on there was noise from the planes taking off at the nola airport so I woke up, good by sleep.
I don’t know how to review her if ever. I now realize that the other guests had the same dilemma because their reviews were good but like one line kind of thing for ex “I had my own bed in a clean space, which is better compared to the dumpy motel where I paid twice”. Or “nice place to stay for one night”.
The only thing she had right was cleanliness. the bathrooms and the floors were spotless. communication was iffy. I had to call her at noon to ask what about the key? She never sent any info.
I’m confused what to do. If I give her a nice review Id be lying through my teeth. I can give a good review when I didn’t sleep at all. If I leave no review future guests will suffer.
What are the minimum requirements for a listing then? can anyone list their shed for example, take the mower out, put a bed and call it a crash pad? Based on the pic and the description I thought the living room was the only listing in the house and I assumed that at least from 11-7 or something we would have quiet. And definitely not to have to fight for a toilet. I am really interested in your opinions.
It sounds like you got just what you paid for: an ultra cheap crash pad.
Was the listing classification a private room or shared? Your description of the living room definitely sounds like a shared space, which is more like a couch-surfing or hostel set-up. It’s a lodging type for those motivated by price over comfort. In a shared space you should expect to hear people coming and going, perhaps at times that are inconvenient to you. It’s near an airport, so that noise was also to be expected. If they described it as a private room then you should point this out in the review, or take it directly to Airbnb as a misclassification.
No, people can’t list their shed. The space should conform to building standards. In most areas of the US that means a bedroom needs two points of egress. While the living room wasn’t comfortable or very private, it was clearly clean and had no building defects that make it uninhabitable like the shed/garage scenario you’re describing.
It sounds like the one area this host failed was in describing the overall activity of the house, other guest spaces, and the ratio of people to bathrooms. I’d keep my comments in the review to this point.
Well first her description says it all “crash pad near the A/p”. You got what you paid for and now you are unhappy that it didn’t meet your expectation. Did the listing indicate anything different that what she offered? If not, stop whining and go on.
Sorry, I don’t know why you are surprised that it was not up to your standards, the title says it all. It appears you are comparing it to your first stay. I’ll bet it was cheaper than a hostel and most likely cleaner.
Good value (ultra cheap) 5 star
Clean (5 Star)
Location 5 star (0.5 to the airport)
Communication perhaps a 3 start
Accuracy 5 start ( crash pad )
Old wooden house, yup you are going to hear every little thing.
I don’t know what ‘crash pad’ means to other people but to me it just means somewhere very basic to lay your head. And with ‘airport’ in the title, guests can hardly comp;lain about the aircraft noises.
If this was in the couple of weeks, during Mardi Gras and its build-up, then everyone is cramming in as many people as possible. And people are willing to pay for the privilege.
I’ve slept in some very strange accommodation during Mardi Gras.
“Crash pad” has a specific meaning pertaining to short term, shared space stay near an airport for airline employees. They expect, and get, a random clean sleeping spot and access to a bathroom for a reasonable price. (I’ve done some research on this niche short term stay product as my space is close to an airport.)
Bottom line, your host did nothing wrong and should not be penalized in the review, unless it’s “Some difficulty in communication about picking up the key.”
Seeing the listing, I’m feeling more sympathetic to @adrienne12.
It’s listed as a private room, so guests should have some expectation of privacy. To me, this means a door, not a curtain with a stranger on the other side. As a single woman I’d find that sketchy as hell. The host has reviews, but I know nothing about the stranger on the other side of the curtain.
From the host’s other listing (the dining room Adrienne described) you can see how she curtained off the dining from the living room, but in the living room listing there’s no curtain visible. There’s no verbiage to describe the setup in either listing. Both should be listed as “common space”
I would also feel mislead and uncomfortable.
Private home = I can make coffee in my birthday suit without the host walking in
Private room = I can privately change clothes, have a conversation, sex, and sleep
Shared space = I expect as much privacy as a hostel
Your wrong there. All my listings have airport in the title but I occasionally have guests complain about aircraft noise and we have a curfew. Burns me!!!
I decided not to review her. I checked the dictionary and the word crash pad means a place where someone could sleep in an emergency, which this was. I just wonder you know, if I’d have seen other reviews describing the setting anything at all than the generic good reviews of one line I would have never booked this place. So are we doing more bad than good for guests by giving a general good review and shoving the unpleasant stuff under the rug? Just wondering.
Similar here, called a tree change. They bought next door to a dairy farm and did not realise that the cows turn up at 4 am to start the process and are noisy with it. Multiple complaints to our council regarding the noise and wanted the dairy to change the routine. Needless to say nothing happened…any one who grew up in a rural area would just look at them in stunned amazement.
Why on earth didn’t you review? It didn’t have to be all negative, but you could at least have explained to other guests what they will be getting. I also think it’s a bit wrong of this guy to call it a private room, when it isn’t.
Wasn’t the lack of a picture of a bed or a bedroom, or even the bathroom a heavy hint?
Even if you only look at the pictures, as we wish guests to read as well…but it sounds like you got exactly what you paid for
I was wondering that too. You, with a host’s experience, felt that you didn’t get what you expected. If you still feel that way, then it would make sense to let others know too, I think. Unless you’ve re-thought the situation and realised that you should have taken a bit more care in choosing where to stay?
And even then… @adrienne12 Why not leave a very factual review, that wouldn’t hurt his business but would make it clear for other guests what they are signing up for?
