We generally use AirBnB for higher priced accommodations, but I think you pretty much got what should have been expected for $40/night. I’d certainly comment about the light bulbs but I don’t think any of the other items are valid. The towels, sheets, and 10 minutes of hot water seem in line with the price. The decorations don’t even warrant a mention. The lack of checking on you and no visitation are perfectly in line with the type of lodging.
The only one I’m not sure about is the temp of the room. Was there AC and it just wasn’t turned up? Some places are warm and there’s not much you can do about it without a major renovation. But again, probably in line with the price and accommodations you chose.
If they showed a bed with a ton of bed linens and quilts & you didn’t get that, there’s an issue. If the picture had a room with tons of pictures and local knickknacks and yours was spartan, there’s a problem. If the written description said something like “hosts will be onsite and take you out on the town” (or there were a bunch of pictures of the hosts hanging out with the guests) - you shouldn’t have been left alone.
But other than that, then I’m not really seeing anything wrong. The room should match the picture on the box. If you get that, then it was what was promised. (The warmer/cooler thing is perspective. That might have been “cool” to them.)
I would say to leave the review of things you’d wish you’d known. (e.g., “the room is minimally decorated”) so that future guests know what they can expect there. But I don’t think the hosts deserve a negative review. Just an honest one.
$40 a night sounds like a great deal. If it was in Europe, washcloths are not standard in hotel rooms costing much more than that. They are considered a personal item, like a toothbrush.
I think you got what you paid for. AirBnB has its advantages and disadvantages, but the main advantage is that it gives you, the consumer, some leverage in finding accommodations. You’re not just stuck with hotels. You want a cheap place? AirBnB’s got that. You want a posh, quiet condo and live like a rich dude for a weekend? They’ve got that too. You want prime location? They’ve also got that. They give you more options. The disadvantage that I find is that with a hotel, you don’t have to worry about someone reviewing you and getting nit picky over a misunderstanding, and you don’t really have any rules to follow. You stay there, check out, and pay. You know what to expect with a hotel. And with a hotel you can complain and get immediate attention most of the time.
Be careful about writing negative reviews on AirBnB – you might get blackballed from using it again. AirBnB is not just for people who want to get into the hospitality business on the side; it’s seen as a serious business and investment by many who do it, so if you write up someone, especially if they already have a good rep, future hosts will see that and say “Uh, sorry, booked already.” What I have done with hosts who were less than satisfactory is written them privately and explained what I liked and didn’t like, and they’re usually appreciative. You can say things like that privately, but if you want to use it again, I’d be hesitant to go public with grievances – unless there’s a real reason like you were mistreated or got double-booked without apologies or redress – something like that.
I haven’t stayed at an Air B&B but the people I know who have come in two varieties. One group is looking for the cheapest accommodation around- and if that means their room doesn’t have individual climate control and they have to shorten their shower, they are fine with that. The only complaint they would have had about your room would have been the dead light bulbs.
The other group is not looking for the cheapest accommodation possible. They want something that doesn’t really exist as a hotel room - a three bedroom apartment/house that the whole family can stay in for a week or a private one bedroom guest cottage where the host lives in a separate house on the property. They have higher expectations and would not have been at all happy with your room - but they never would have expected to get what they wanted for $40/night.
I’m curious, you paid $40.00 a night for this Airbnb. What was the lowest price, but acceptable to you hotel cost in the area?
I’m asking, because I happen to be looking at Airbnb today for an out of state trip. The costs for what people want for an Airbnb for anything decent was more than good quality hotels in the area. I’ve never stayed at a Airbnb, but unlike a hotel, Airbnbs are not run by professionals.
Ten minutes is what I’d guess an average shower length is, judging by my years of living in a dorm, as well as having lived with family members, roommates, guests, etc.
And looking at other various surveys, somewhere around eight to nine minutes seems to be the average, so, yes, a 10-minute shower is pretty normal. While I admit those don’t look like the most scientific surveys, they do comport with my observation of shower length. To me, a “long shower” is something like a 20-minute shower.
ETA: Actually, here is a Dope thread about it. Plenty of answers in the 10-15 minute range. Heck, back then I defined “long shower” as 30-45 minutes. :eek:
ETA2: Crap, I totally wrecked the coding in the previous post.
And looking at other various surveys, somewhere around eight to nine minutes seems to be the average, so, yes, a 10-minute shower is pretty normal. While I admit those don’t look like the most scientific surveys, they do comport with my observation of shower length. To me, a “long shower” is something like a 20-minute shower.
I think the OP’s expectations are completely unrealistic, and without meaning to insult but trying to give on topic feedback, as a guest the OP sounds like a complete nightmare.
For $40 a night the list of complaints offered up just seem very petty to me.
The only thing I would really say is a legitimate complaint is if they didn’t even have a blanket for the bed. I think that assumed to be included with the bed and not something a guest would bring with them.
The thing to consider in this type of rental is that they’re not competing with a hotel. They’re offering you a room in their home. Maybe it could compare with an actual B&B, but I’ve only stayed in them in South Africa and don’t really have a basis of B&B comparison anywhere else.
I typically only reserve whole-house/apartment, but when I did my bicycle tour over the Fourth, there was nothing available, so I took a “private room” at a hundred bucks (tourist town). I knew that I wouldn’t have full run of the place, and that I was sharing the home, and that it would be uncomfortable compared to a whole flat. The hostess exceeded my already-lowered expectations, because I didn’t expect a whole lot in a shared situation to begin with.
(Note that I’m a Warm Showers and Couchsurfing host, and so my expectations were partly predicated on that.)
If you’ve not left feedback yet, go ahead, and be honest but reserve the overly-critical aspects for the private part of the review. Publically you might say, “Basic, no ability to adjust the temperature, but the hosts were a great couple!” And privately you can suggest ways for them to improve to the point that they exceed expectations.
I’m only basing “expectations” based on what you wrote, but (acknowledging my aforementioned biases), I think you had expectations not in line with a typical shared home experience.
Personally, the only thing I would have complained about was the light bulbs being burned out, and then only if I had mentioned it to them. If I hadn’t, it would be on me to to suffer needlessly over something that they were probably unaware of and didn’t know needed attention.
These two sections, it seems to me, perfectly encapsulate the problems you’re encountering here.
First you say that their competition is a hotel, but then you note that they’re one-third the price of a hotel. In my book, when one thing costs three times as much as another thing, they’re not really competition in the normal sense of the word. That’s sort of like arguing that the $50 roadside motel is in competition with the five-star Sheraton in the center of downtown. Yes, they’re both accommodation, but if you think you’re going to get an equivalent experience in the two places, you will be disappointed every time. A Jaguar F-Type costs three times as much as a Honda Accord. Are they competing with one another just because they’re both cars?
And if one thing is one-third the price of another thing, but is also one-third as good, as you’ve suggested in your post, then it seems to me that they are, in a very real sense, equivalent in terms of their value for money.
I’ve used AirBnB about a half-dozen times, although i’ve only ever rented whole apartments, and i’ve never shared with an owner. But i’ve also never paid less than $100 a night, and sometimes considerably more than that. If i got a room for $40 a night, all i’d really be expecting is a clean and dry place to sleep, and the opportunity to take a shower.
I think the lack of hot water, light bulbs, a washcloth, and proper bedding are reasonable complaints. If I knew that a place had insufficient hot water, especially if there are other people who might empty the tank before me, that would be a big deal. Having a basic set of linens is also a big deal, and stupidly cheap for the hosts to correct - we’re talking ‘stop by Walmart and spend $20’. Same with the light bulbs, they’re more expensive but last for years.
Expecting climate control for an individual room, daily changes of towels, and fancy decoration are unreasonable. The first two are something I’d only expect at a hotel, and the last is just nitpicking. And complaining that the hosts didn’t come into your private space to interrupt your time with questions is ‘opposite day’ material for me.
So I’d think a bad review is justified for the the missing basic items, especially since that’s something they can correct for less than they get for one guest staying one night. But if you put all of that in, then your review will probably get ignored because you’ll sound insanely picky and unreasonable.
Be careful about writing negative reviews on AirBnB/QUOTE]
That’s a good point. The OP wouldn’t want to unexpectedly be visited in the middle of the night by a group of Airbnb ruffians to get worked over while one of them reads out loud their complaints.
As one other poster has mentioned, there is an important aspect to Air BnB reviews - the difference between the public review, and the private feedback that is only seen by the hosts.
I would definitely mention the lightbulbs, squeaky fan, and the fact that you expected better bedding in the private feedback.
I do agree with other posters in finding some of your complaints unreasonable. One bath towel and one hand towel for a three night stay? Fine. No washcloth? Fine. And I definitely wouldn’t want someone sticking their head in my room and asking if everything was fine - leave me alone, please!
I’ve been using Airbnb for years as a guest, renting everything from rooms in homes shared with the host to large villas with the host nowhere around, and I also host. Your expectations are unreasonable, but unfortunately a lot of guests seem to have them.
My description, for instance, says that I’m strictly renting one double bedroom, that the bathroom and other “public” areas of the home are shared, and that I don’t offer any food (though guests are welcome to use the kitchen themselves). It says all this right there in the description before you book, but I still get people who come into the living room in the morning, sit down at the table with me and my partner, and wait for us to serve their breakfast. Um nope. You’re paying practically nothing to stay almost in the centre of London. We’re not cooking your eggs as well.
I also don’t do “housekeeping” in the room while someone is renting it. You keep it tidy. If you’re here for several days and you want clean towels, you can ask and I will provide, but if you don’t ask I’m not going into the room you’ve rented to check. As far as I’m concerned, it’s your room for the duration, and I’m not going to bother you while you’re renting it unless you’re causing a problem. I’m not a hotelier, a housemaid or a short order cook, and that’s why you’re not paying me the £100 or more you’d pay for a hotel room with similar facilities.
I would mention the lightbulbs - that’s one of the things I always check when I have guests arriving - and maybe the lack of a bedspread/blanket (though maybe they didn’t provide one because they knew the room was warm - it’s not that uncommon to sleep under a sheet), but I’d mention it in private feedback not the public review. I wouldn’t mention the facecloth at all; depending on where you are in the world, that isn’t a normal thing to want to borrow. As someone said, to me, that would be like the guest expecting me to provide a toothbrush. I also wouldn’t complain about the lack of pictures on the walls. You were there to sleep, not to admire the art.
Airbnb isn’t a hotel. That’s the point of it. If you want hotel service, go to a hotel and pay hotel prices. If you want to sleep in someone’s spare room, keep using Airbnb. It’s a different experience: you get to see other people’s homes and ways of life, and if you’re friendly and amenable you can make some friends and have a laugh in a way that an impersonal hotel stay doesn’t allow. A lot of my guests have been really lovely and we’ve ended up spending a fair bit of time together during their stay. Some have been very quiet and appreciated the privacy, which was fine too. I wouldn’t say that you need to lower your expectations, necessarily: just change them!
