I just spent 3 nights at my first AirBnB. My quandary involves two items:
A) was I expecting too much?
B) should I leave a review?
My main unease stems not from my experience, but that every single review of this place (over 50) was glowing, with the most critical snippet being “no frills”.
I will admit I am comparing this couple’s spare bedroom to what I would get at a hotel, but why shouldn’t I? That’s their competition.
First the good:
friendly young couple
private bath, access to laundry and kitchen
reasonably clean and quiet
convenient location
PRICE (about $40/night)
Here are the misses and wrongs:
room was warm; I mentioned on check-in that I’d prefer it cooler, but the room was still warm. Unfortunately, for me, this is a deal-killer, but hey - maybe I’m unique in this regard
one bath towel, one hand towel; that’s it. No washcloth (I asked), and no additional towels offered during my stay; no in-room visitation at all (this may be normal, I don’t know)
hot water runs short at the end of a 10-minute shower
bed linens are just two cheap, rough sheets; no coverings
no serious attempt at decoration (what appears to be a child’s attempt at painting, and one botanical print); not even a bedspread. I really don’t care much, but for a business trying to sell themselves, it seems odd they wouldn’t put SOME effort into this
ceiling fan squeaks; several dead light bulbs
no one came to me and asked if I needed anything or how things were
In short: they don’t seem to be trying very hard. Nearly all of these are easily-addressed and inexpensive; the room temperature may just be the nature of the room’s location.
Yet every reviewer has left very positive comments; not a single negative was mentioned (beyond “no frills”).
AM I BEING UNREALISTIC? ARE MY EXPECTATIONS OUT OF LINE?
Could I really be the only person out of scores that has a complaint?
Yes, it’s 1/3 the price of a mid-grade hotel; it’s also 1/3 the comfort.
I’m hesitating writing a review on AirBnB, because they seem like nice people, and since dozens of other guests were happy…maybe it’s just me?
I’ve only ever rented whole apartments on AirBnB before, but I’d say most of your expectations are unrealistic.
You should leave a review and you should be honest, but remember that an AirBnB isn’t a hotel. You shouldn’t really expect in-room visitations or things like that. I think most hosts would much rather err on the side of leaving guests to themselves.
The warmth would have bugged the crap out of me, though. I hear ya.
If you don’t leave a review, your hosts won’t be able to post their review of you and this might make it difficult for you to rent better properties in the future.
The room temp, towels, ceiling fan, decoration, “nobody checked on me” are you having too high expectations.
The dead light bulbs, hot water running out, and lack of a blanket are something I would have expected. (although, if the room was too warm, did you really need a blanket?)
The " no in-room visitation" - if you mean “I can’t bring someone else to have sex with over”, then yea that’s pretty standard, you are in someone else’s house. If you mean “the owners didn’t come by to say hello”, then frankly that’s more than I would expect at the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at, and I wouldn’t WANT that to begin with. Either way I’d leave that off.
I’d leave a review with the good stuff, but also mention the lights and hot water.
I think it’s reasonable to complain about stuff you specifically asked them to address, but they didn’t (the temperature / lack of a washcloth), but not things you didn’t tell them about at the time or things that are essentially frills (like how the room is decorated).
When you leave feedback, you have the option of leaving a public review and also sending a private note. I’ve done that before with places that I overall liked but had a few specific issues with.
Kinda-sorta – I mean, it’s one of those quirks you should tend to expect in low-budget lodgings of any sort and I, personally, would write it off as “eh, not really a big deal” – but it may be worth mentioning in a review, since it IS a legitimate deal-breaker for some people, and there ARE some places in that price range that don’t have that particular problem. I guess it depends on whether your review is intended more for other guests or to give feedback to the hosts, who probably can’t do much about the size of their water tank.
I would expect a full set of towels (including washcloth), but certainly not a fresh set every day. I would also expect full bedding (top sheet, bottom sheet, and blanket/cover). The limited hot water is not typically American, but understandable in the UK and Europe. Do you really need a 10 minute shower?
If the owners are renting the room as a business, then there should be no dead light bulbs and the fan shouldn’t squeak. There should also be some sort of decoration, even prints from the local craft store. Nobody wants to sleep in a cell while on holiday.
I think yellowjacketcoder meant that those are the things he would have expected to be ‘right’, i.e. you have a legitimate grievance on those items. I agree with most other replies and with your conclusion - your expectations at that price point are too high.
room was warm
I’m going to assume that either the ambient outside temperature was warmer than you’d like (i.e. inadequate air conditioning) or you couldn’t open the window for some reason (traffic too noisy, window locked/absent altogether). In either case I think it’s reasonable for you to comment on this, with the caveat that maybe your personal preference is for a cooler room than others prefer.
one bath towel, one hand towel; that’s it. No washcloth (I asked), and no additional towels offered during my stay; no in-room visitation at all (this may be normal, I don’t know)
At that price point I’d be pleased that I didn’t have to bring my own towel. The other point has been well covered by previous posters.
hot water runs short at the end of a 10-minute shower
I don’t think a 10 minute shower is unreasonable, especially away from home. I would mention this in the review. Again though, at that price I’d probably be glad to have hot water for any length of time.
bed linens are just two cheap, rough sheets; no coverings
This is penny pinching on the part of the hosts but I personally wouldn’t bother commenting on it.
no serious attempt at decoration (what appears to be a child’s attempt at painting, and one botanical print); not even a bedspread. I really don’t care much, but for a business trying to sell themselves, it seems odd they wouldn’t put SOME effort into this
I don’t think they need fancy decoration at that price.
ceiling fan squeaks; several dead light bulbs
I would definitely mention these - that’s just sloppy, however cheap the price.
Lol. For perspective: $40 a night won’t even get you a night at the “No tell motel” in these parts.
Anyone paying $40 a night certainly shouldn’t be complaining about the thread count in the bed linens.
I think AirBnB started with the ability to rent whatever space you had. It might even be that you were just renting the fold out couch in your living room. So it’s really for any kind of accommodations. The $40 price is in line with the accommodations you received. That’s probably true of any rental–the accommodations should be in line with a hotel that costs a little bit more. So a $40 room should be like a $50-60 motel.
I’ve stayed in them before, and it was for a variety of reasons. Often the cost savings over a hotel isn’t that much, but the location might be better or there might be aspects of the room that are more useful. I personally will probably just use hotels from now on because I prefer the consistency and impersonal aspect they offer.
When you end your stay, you have a section for public review and a section for a private note only to the hosts (that they don’t see until after they’ve left you a review). I would personally put the complaints about the bed sheets/wash cloth/dead light bulbs/decorations in the private section. These are all complaints that are easily fixed with just a small amount of cash and more likely out of ignorance than malice.
The no visitation is just you having misplaced priorities. Every AirBNB I’ve stayed in, the host has been accessible but it’s always been up to you to engage in communication. If anything is wrong, message the hosts and they’ll usually pretty promptly try to address it. But if you don’t say anything, the status quo is for them to leave you alone.
To a large extent, the price reflects the limitations of renting someone’s room vs a cheap motel. Privacy, accountability, and amenities are often compromised.
Another way to look at it is not to compare the $40 airBnB to a $60 motel room, but to other $40 airBnBs in the area. There’s no sense in giving this place a 5 star review when there’s likely another room down the block listed at the same price where the owners actually put forth an effort, made sure the light bulbs worked, and threw a blanket on the bed.
