Airbnb cleanliness...

[jeromedawg]

Hi all

We got to an airbnb we are renting from yesterday and found a few issues: dirty couch where there were pieces of popcorn etc in between the cushions of a sleeper sofa (we discovered when pulling out the sleeper), the sleeper is also super noisy and not very comfortable for my parents who are with us. My mom also discovered old coffee grinds growing mold in the reusable filter inside the coffee maker (fortunately she brought her own paper filters to use) so whoever cleans didnt check everything throughly

For stuff like this should we inform the host now or as we discover stuff or should we wait until checkout? Or are these things not even worth complaining about? I mean, they arent *major* but pretty annoying...

[Kris]

In situations like this, I generally take the approach of assuming that the owner of the Airbnb has a cleaning service doing the work, and therefore the tone of a message I would send would be something like, "Hey, we're having a great time here in (city). Just wanted to let you know that (X Y Z cleaning oversights). I thought you might want to know this if you have a service cleaning the apartment that they missed those things, so you can let them know for the future."

I would send it now rather than at the end of the stay. If you keep the tone very friendly/not blaming them, it will/should build good will instead of bad feelings. At least that has been my experience.

[reeshau]

Same.  In my experience, if the owner does it themselves (or a family member) they will work to make it right; perhaps come back in and clean the kitchen while you are out for the day.  It's harder if they use a service, but they may give you a discount for the inconvenience.

They are small businesspeople, and may not have a systematic way to get that feedback, and improve their service.  It's truly a gift toothed to have honest, direct feedback.  It may also improve your stay.

[GilesMM]

I would raise helll immediately. Give them a chance to fix it.

[lucenzo11]

Absolutely mention it now. I've waited until after my stay to complain and then get the response of "well if you had let me know earlier then I would have come to resolve it". At least give them a chance to comment on it/correct it now.

Additionally, if things go from bad to worse, then you have documentation of it. AirBnb customer service can be hit or miss, but if you find something so appalling that you need to leave immediately, showing that you reached out to the owner is a critical first step as AirBnb usually gives them a chance to resolve it first.

[Kris]

Same.  In my experience, if the owner does it themselves (or a family member) they will work to make it right; perhaps come back in and clean the kitchen while you are out for the day.  It's harder if they use a service, but they may give you a discount for the inconvenience.

They are small businesspeople, and may not have a systematic way to get that feedback, and improve their service.  It's truly a gift toothed to have honest, direct feedback.  It may also improve your stay.

Agreed. Last time I had to complain like this at an airbnb stay, the host brought us fresh-baked blueberry pastries for breakfast on our last day for being so nice.

[cool7hand]

+1 for bringing it to the owner's attention promptly with direct but soft energy

[Paper Chaser]

What kind of "cleaning fee" are they charging? I've seen some pretty ridiculous ones lately, and that seems like a negotiating chip to reduce silly add on fees.

[totoro]

Let them know now, but gently.  They likely hire cleaners and have no idea that these things were missed.  Cleaners are often not ideal and the owner cannot control for this if they are not in town, but they will do what they can to address concerns if they know right away in my experience.

[use2betrix]

A discount on your cleaning fee is reasonable, since it clearly wasn’t cleaned thoroughly before you got there.

A squeaky pull out couch being uncomfortable, that’s probably what I would expect.

[snic]

The question is really, "does this bug me enough that I want this fixed for the rest of my stay?" If yes, politely raise the issue as mentioned above. If not, put up with it and/or clean it yourself. But whatever you do, honestly and neutrally (i.e., not emotionally) describe what happened in your review. This sort of information is invaluable for people considering making a booking. As a frequent AirBnB user, I reason that if there are more than one or two reviews mentioning the same issue, it's probably not just a one-off problem.

[GilesMM]

The question is really, "does this bug me enough that I want this fixed for the rest of my stay?" If yes, politely raise the issue as mentioned above. If not, put up with it and/or clean it yourself. But whatever you do, honestly and neutrally (i.e., not emotionally) describe what happened in your review. This sort of information is invaluable for people considering making a booking. As a frequent AirBnB user, I reason that if there are more than one or two reviews mentioning the same issue, it's probably not just a one-off problem.

Yes except The Parents are involved which adds a twist.  OP should want to look strong and proactive in front of them as their host and son. 

[jeromedawg]

Thanks all. There were several other issues that came up or that we observed during the visit and pointed those out as we went. The owner seemed appreciative. She said she would credit us back some for the inconvenience... She didn't say how much though. The cleaning fee for this visit was $100

[jeromedawg]

One other question - is it *fair* to leave something like a 4-star review in cases like this? Or should I overlook all the issues we encountered and just leave a 5-star review "because the host was responsive"? I still am waiting for the credit back that she said she would give too... no reply from her on that yet

[snic]

One other question - is it *fair* to leave something like a 4-star review in cases like this? Or should I overlook all the issues we encountered and just leave a 5-star review "because the host was responsive"? I still am waiting for the credit back that she said she would give too... no reply from her on that yet

Well, that depends on how you look at it. On one hand, you'd think a 5 star review should only be given to great properties where everything was as advertised and nothing was amiss. On the other hand, stuff happens, and if the host makes it right, that deserves recognition. I think I'd probably give it 4 stars. Here's why: I typically don't rent properties with less than about 4.75 average rating. Lower than that and I worry that there are consistent problems that annoyed people. By giving 4 stars, you bring the average down a bit. If this was a one-off problem the average rating will still be very high, but if what happened to you keeps happening to others, the rating will drop. Because I think others would want to know about your experience, it would make sense to have both the initial state of the property AND the host's response reflected in your star rating. Hence, a 4 makes sense, but not a 1 or a 2, and not a 5.

[Paper Chaser]

If this were a hotel, and you encountered the same issues would you give them 5 stars?
Most of these AirBnB owners are using them like hotels, and should be held to the same standards (perhaps even higher if you're paying more for the privilege).

[Captain FIRE]

I feel like these aren’t really significant issues? I’d rate as 5 if the owner responded promptly and addressed to the best of their ability. A couch not being comfortable is to be expected. I don’t expect that the couch is used as a bed every week or the cleaner would open it to check for stray items, so I can easily see a few popcorn pieces being missed. Coffee pot is annoying but the only legit gripe imo. Worth it to lose a star if they try to make it up to you?

Mostly I don’t leave reviews though. In my experience hosts generally try to be responsive. My favorite is the one who told us within minutes where the bathroom key was located when my toddler locked the door and we asked about tools to take the door off the hinges.Had one offer a $30 benefit when the place would not be available on time (cleaner had a medical issue and they needed to get another one last min) - and we weren’t even up there yet to be impacted. Things happened out of their control, they fixed as best as they could to my satisfaction, there was no need to ding on review rating though you can share so others know.

[jeromedawg]

Thanks... Looks like Airbnb added the ability to send/request money (at least, I don't recall seeing this before). I feel weird requesting money from the host but she said she'd credit me and she hasn't responded to the last message where I asked her about the credit yesterday (long after having checked out). In fact, we left earlier than our 11am checkout time because she had her handyman show up to look at the stuff I called out for repair - he was waiting out there like at 10am and she messaged me asking if we were already out... she said don't worry about feeling like we need to leave but it's kind of hard not to when you have the handyman sitting in front of the rental waiting for you to leave lol.

In any case, the irony is that the listing is described as such: "Escape to the beach - thoroughly cleaned" - it definitely didn't feel that way based on the couch and coffee maker hahaha.

Anyway, I'm wondering if I should 'escalate' this through Airbnb support directly if the host isn't going to be responsive.

[jeromedawg]

I feel like these aren’t really significant issues? I’d rate as 5 if the owner responded promptly and addressed to the best of their ability. A couch not being comfortable is to be expected. I don’t expect that the couch is used as a bed every week or the cleaner would open it to check for stray items, so I can easily see a few popcorn pieces being missed. Coffee pot is annoying but the only legit gripe imo. Worth it to lose a star if they try to make it up to you?

Mostly I don’t leave reviews though. In my experience hosts generally try to be responsive. My favorite is the one who told us within minutes where the bathroom key was located when my toddler locked the door and we asked about tools to take the door off the hinges.Had one offer a $30 benefit when the place would not be available on time (cleaner had a medical issue and they needed to get another one last min) - and we weren’t even up there yet to be impacted. Things happened out of their control, they fixed as best as they could to my satisfaction, there was no need to ding on review rating though you can share so others know.

I mean, they haven't really tried to make it up yet... she only stated she'd issue a credit but hasn't done so. Per my last reply, she seems to have gone pretty unresponsive - I haven't heard from her since yesterday.

With the sofa bed, this definitely wasn't ordinary - I've stayed on many sofa beds (including those at rental units) and none of them looked like this or made sounds like it did. And while I don't expect the cleaner to open the bed fully up, cleaning between couch cushions isn't much to ask for - all they have to do is remove the cushions and vacuum... *shrug* Besides these things, we noticed multiple other issues - it could be that we're ticky-tacky but these aren't like issues I've ever seen at any airbnb/rental I've stayed at previously either so....

[JupiterGreen]

Agreed with others who said to bring it up immediately. That's part of the deal you made with them. If part of your payment didn't go through they wouldn't be wondering if they should bring it up. You aren't friends (unless you are) this is a business transaction nothing more.

oops responded before I read all the responses. My bad. Here is my additional suggestion, ask yourself what exactly you want and avoid a lack of clarity. If you are not happy with the response tell the Air BnB exactly what you want done. Example:
Please reimbursed the entire cleaning fee of $100. Then if it is not honored you can escalate the complaint.

Don't leave anything unclear!

I've had a bunch of bad experiences with these services, sometimes I leave it in the review, sometimes not. I've had a few that had to do with children (running overhead at 6am...) or provision that had to be made because of kids. I learned that I cannot stay at a place attached to someone's home. On those occasions I talked with the owners but even though they didn't do anything (which happened in all cases) I didn't leave it in the review because that may not bother someone else and that might eventually change as the children grow. Depending on the details of cleanliness I might put it in the category of things that could change so I wouldn't put it in the review but you certainly can. I have left things that were physical and mis-advertised.  Like "near beach", but the nearest beach was in someone's yard and it was more like a marsh river. That is not going to change and I think future renters should know that if they are expecting a walk to the beach they will actually have to drive. 

[Catbert]

I would not feel bad giving this a 4 star review.  In the review you should be specific about the problems and owners action/response/refund.  People can make their own decision about how important the items are.  I'd want to know about an extra crappy sofa bed if adults were going to sleep there but not if I wasn't going to use it.  Moldy used coffee grounds shouldn't be left, but I know how easy it is to overlook something like that when cleaning so that wouldn't bother me as a prospective renter.  Others would be totally grossed out.  I'd also balance the review with what you did like...location, size, decor, whatever.

Giving a 3-star or lower review doesn't seem warranted given how punishing a low review can be.

[jeromedawg]

Update: she just issued a $50 credit back which I think is fair overall... That said, i probably will leave a 4 star review based on the consensus here

EDIT: thinking about it more, I'm not sure... maybe I just won't leave a review at all. I don't want to come off as being ticky-tacky in the review. Unless I leave a really short one and don't get into the specifics.

[startingsmall]

Update: she just issued a $50 credit back which I think is fair overall... That said, i probably will leave a 4 star review based on the consensus here

EDIT: thinking about it more, I'm not sure... maybe I just won't leave a review at all. I don't want to come off as being ticky-tacky in the review. Unless I leave a really short one and don't get into the specifics.

I'd leave a 4-star review and say something along the lines of: "We did encounter a few issues during our stay involving cleanliness and needed repairs, but the host was responsive and worked with us to correct the issues." I'd keep it vague, but at least it alerts people to potential problems.

[GilesMM]

You owe it to future potential renters to be brutally honest and lay it all out there, good, bad and otherwise. 


Given the difficultly in getting the partial refund and small amount I would probably go with three stars. That's average, which seems generous in this case unless you really, really loved the place aside from the filth.