Totally understandable. I’m just so bummed this happened; and especially on a special bday getaway.
I hope y’all had a nice time and that you can put this unpleasant part behind you quickly.
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I have a few not-great pictures of the bathrooms. It’s because I haven’t been able to find a decent angle to get pictures. And since Air and Vrbo want landscape pictures and not portrait, it’s hard to get the whole toilet in the same picture as the adjacent sinks. I know that’s not a great reason, and I’m going to try again on my next trip, but I don’t really want 10-12 pictures of the bathrooms (three - four pictures each of three bathrooms).
I know what you mean. It’s even hard to take landscape photos of my guest room, because it’s small and oddly shaped, but has high ceilings. I don’t think you need to get the entire toilet in a photo, though. It’s nice to see the layout of the room, but everyone knows there’s a toilet in a bathroom, I figure.
I rented an apartment for a few months, years ago in another part of Mexico. The whole complex was really cool and funky, each apartment was totally different and it was somewhat rustic, and the place was full of interesting people.
But my apartment had a toilet that was separated from the small kitchen by a 3/4 high wall. Fine if you’re living there alone, which I was for awhile, but when my boyfriend came it was “Um, you might want to stop cooking breakfast for a few minutes, I have to use the toilet.” 
Uh… no. To me offering tea means not only the tea, but a kettle.
But I don’t consider instant coffee to be coffee, either. I know that I’m skirting the edge with a Keurig, but avoiding the coffee ground mess is worth it to me (for my own Keuring downstairs, I have a reusable pod, but guests destroyed 2 of them). There is also a Melitta single cup cone and filters.
From her report of the condition of this place, I would have taken pix of the worst, messaged him on Air that it was obvious that the place hadn’t been cleaned, and that you were not checking in, but calling Air to report it and find another place to stay. Then I would have packed everything back in the car (I always look the place over before bringing in anything if I’m driving), and called Air CS.
He does not belong on the platform.
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So I’ve been doing some reading of Airbnb policies today and have come across some interesting articles including this one:
It says very clearly that what this host did popping in and his insistence that doors remain unlocked so he can enter is in violation of Airbnb policy. If you have his requests in writing I’d report him to Airbnb. I understand why it was a hassle you didn’t want to deal with while trying to vacation but this behavior really needs to be stopped on top of the place being filthy.
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As far as what I’ve read of other hosts’ experiences, a report of privacy violations results in an instant suspension of the listing, pending investigation.
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That seems like what needs to happen to this host. The more I think about it the more creeped out I am.
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Are you waiting for day 14? Has he left a review for you yet?
You know, my OH (who is also my co-host) and I were just discussing this yesterday. I told him that I know that I’ve said this when someone else reported a bad stay. I’ve said this more or less exactly - that I wouldn’t stay and I’d just call Airbnb then find another place to stay. But that’s the luxury of not actually being there.
We didn’t arrive until 7:30 or so and this was after a long car drive and a lengthy ferry ride to an area that isn’t not very “open” in November. And we had our dog with us which further complicates finding another place at the last minute and we had guests that were arriving the next day. So finding a place for 4 adults and a dog in a semi-shuttered beach area in November at 7:30/8 at night was daunting if not impossible. But if I was traveling by myself for work and staying in Dallas or some other city, I would’ve been out of there and at a hotel without a blink.
As it stands we got ripped-off in multiple ways but were able to salvage our vacation otherwise at least. I can warn other guests though and will do that.
There’s lots of situations where it just isn’t practical to turn around and leave. Families who’ve had a long journey, with a couple of tired, hungry, cranky kids in tow, a young woman alone after dark in a strange city.
That’s what reviews are for. You either turn around and leave and get a refund, or you make the best of it and leave an appropriate review.
I would only be critical of a guest if they tried to do both- decide it was too much hassle to leave, but then try to demand a refund after they’ve stayed for the whole booking, claiming it was unacceptable.
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Please be completely honest, and do report the privacy/no locking issue because he SHOULD be shut down for that alone.
I, too have arrived late and found a place wanting. Not reportable in that case because she had just bought the house a month before and had obviously opened because she needed the income. Very nice female ex-military officer with no furniture except for a couch, the kitchen table, and the bed in my room. She had one other guest on my floor, her room was downstairs.
Just the bed, with a nice pillow and good bedding. A very good mattress. No nightstand, no lamps, just the overhead light. I rated her all 5s because it was clean, comfortable, a good value and she communicated well, and left her a handwritten note in the morning, along with some links, including to this forum.
In the review I said “A friendly new host who is rapidly making improvements. Very comfortable bed. Great coffee maker!”
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You’re absolutely right. I don’t have it in messages. But he’s not providing a key. It was in person when he told my husband to leave a door unlocked for him. I guess I could still report it though? Not sure if I should just mention in the review or if I should also give a heads up to Airbnb.
I’m not waiting for day 14, I just haven’t gotten it done yet and don’t want to wait too long and miss the review window. He has not left a review, but maybe he waits until he gets one or something. He wasn’t much of a communicator in general. He didn’t even send a end-of-the-trip message. I let him know that we’d washed some towels and put them in the dryer and were leaving. And then there was nothing from him.
I can see the review now, “JJ left my house 10x cleaner than it was when she arrived but she was standoffish (and her dog barked) when I insisted on coming in and shaking her hand without a mask on. I could also tell that she expected me to give her and her group privacy during their stay even though I own the place. And she didn’t eat the rotten apples I left in the fridge for her so obvioulsly not an appreciative guest.” 
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I think you can report it and yes, mention it in the review as it’s directly related to the quality of your stay and it’s something the host has control over.
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I’ve always felt this way too and have always been very plain about it with guests on reddit that say they want a refund after completing their stay. I’ve always said, “then you shouldn’t have stayed”. Which is more complicated than it sounds and now that I’ve had this experience I feel a little differently. I’m not going to ask for any kind of refund but I do think that I would deserve, at the minimum, a refund of the $200 cleaning fee, since I had to do my own cleaning (but I will reflect that in my Cleanliness rating). And probably more since I didn’t get the entire private home that I paid for (but I will reflect that in my Value rating).
Sure, if there are things that aren’t right, or missing amenities, hosts should offer a discount for that. If you have no hot water for a day, that warrants a discount. (I prefer to call those discounts, rather than refunds- just like if you buy something that has some flaw, it will often be discounted.)
And a responsible host would offer a discount for something like that- the guest shouldn’t have to demand it.
I was talking about guests who stay for the entire time, dirtying sheets and towels, using heat and hot water and tp and soap and whatever else, then want to be fully refunded, saying the place was unacceptable. Okay, so it was too much of a hassle to turn around and leave- staying a day until you find another place is understandable, staying a week isn’t.
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I see that!! It’s also great to hear the opinions of hosts who have also experienced being guests to not so great hosts.
I had a great host. Listingb was great too. So I have always tried to emulate that experience as a host myself.
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