Airbnb guest disgusted after paying £2,750 for 'shabby and dirty' flat

Airbnb customer is left disgusted after paying £2,750 to stay seven nights in ‘shabby and dirty’ flat in ‘desperate need of repair’

• A tourist visiting her daughter in Edinburgh was left disgusted by state of Airbnb
• Visitors shocked to discover mould in fridge, black dirt and dust in each room
• They paid £2,745 for the week in August and have now been given £1,500 refund

A tourist visiting her daughter in Edinburgh was left disgusted after she was charged £2,750 to stay seven nights in a ‘shabby and dirty’ Airbnb which had been advertised as a ‘stunning’ large flat.

On arrival at the city centre flat, the guest said she was shocked to discover urine around the toilet, black dirt and dust in every room and even some mould growing on the fridge.

The mother and daughter paid £2,745.19 for the week of 20-27 August and have now been given a £1,500 refund and £150 goodwill voucher from Airbnb.

As they were visiting the capital for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, they said it would have been impossible to find new accommodation at such short notice, so decided to see out the week in the grimy flat.

The mother and daughter said they discovered some mould growing on the fridge

The fuming mum said she had questioned if the property had been used as a student sublet previously as it was so dirty.

She decided to complain when she got home to avoid confrontation with the host.

But, she later found that the owner simply rejected the complaint she had sent to him.

The visitor escalated her complaint through the company, but was unable to get a refund or even leave a review was told that because it was more than 72 hours after the stay.

Eventually a token of £750 was given as a goodwill gesture and she received a partial refund, but the woman said AirBnb should go further and take the listing down.

The flat, which is run by a ‘Superhost’ and has a high rating from previous guests, is still visible on the site. All dates for the next two years are blocked off. 

The visitors said they found black dirt and dust in every room

The disgruntled guest, who wanted to remain anonymous, told EdinburghLive: ‘When I discovered how shabby and dirty the flat was, I decided to complain when I returned home. 

‘It was not just a quick tidy-up that was needed, it required a deep clean and much more to call it a “stunning flat”.

‘I was there with my daughter, for the Fringe, and would not have been able to find alternative accommodation, so, because we would be spending much of our time out of the flat, and we could eat out, and we would just use the flat for sleeping, we decided to put up with it.

‘We do question if it is a student flat being sublet. The photographs show how dirty and in poor condition the flat was.’

The flat got worse and worse as they examined each room.

The guest described ‘black dirt’ in the property. ‘In the kitchen, there were cupboards and drawers that had not been wiped clean’

She explained: ‘When we arrived, we found there was urine and a wipe in the toilet which did not bode well. As it was the festival, we just dropped our bags and headed out and went straight to bed on our return.

‘The middle section of the shutter in my bedroom was missing, so there was no blackout as advertised in the details and so I woke early each day.

‘On the second day, we began to notice that the flat was not clean and there were parts of the flat that were in desperate need of repair. The door handle in the sitting room fell off because there were no screws holding it in place.

‘The bathroom door handle was held in position with parcel tape, as wired on the floor in the entrance to the bathroom. 

‘The exposed wooden floor also looked very rough, perhaps the tape was covering splintered wood too. 

‘In the kitchen, there were cupboards and drawers that had not been wiped clean, a very dirty oven, chipped crockery, and a fridge that had not seen a cleaning cloth on the outside and the water dispenser was mouldy.

‘It was not just a quick tidy-up that was needed, it required a deep clean and much more to call it a “stunning flat”‘, the woman said

‘In the sitting room, lifting any cushion revealed dust, debris and hair, possibly even pet hair.’

The tourists were in complete disbelief at the state of the house. 

She continued: ‘In the bedrooms, there was a broken cupboard, again held together with parcel tape, and more dust everywhere: under my bed, there was an accumulation of fluff and dust and someone’s comb!

‘There was dust and screws littering the windowsills under the shutters. On the fire surround, there was a stain from a cup.

‘The bathroom was also in desperate need of cleaning: both toilet and basin pedestals were dirty, and there was a disgusting toilet brush holder, we didn’t want to touch the brush.

‘The bin was in need of disinfectant too. When I closed the shutter, there on the sill were loose clumps of black dirt and dust.

‘It was clear that the bathroom had been given a very quick wipe-over, but had not been cleaned properly in a very long time. The flat was shabby too: it had not been decorated to a reasonable standard.’

‘Under my bed, there was an accumulation of fluff and dust and someone’s comb!’ said the Airbnb guest

When returning home, the mum sent a long letter to the host regarding the awful condition of the flat and was in disbelief when he ignored her.

She said: ‘Initially, I sent a long detailed letter to the host and waited a few days for a reply. He ignored it, so I contacted Airbnb.

‘Through telephone calls and messaging it became clear that because I did not complain within 72 hours of arriving, I had no entitlement to support my complaint. I did not know this; it was not included in any emails to me, but it is, of course, in the Airbnb terms and conditions when you look for how to complain. Who looks at that when they go on holiday?’

The tourists were in complete disbelief at the state of the house, which had been listed as ‘stunning’ and had positive reviews

Finally she explained: ‘However, I was advised that I could complain through the Resolution Centre. So, I completed the form, uploading all the photos and the letter I had sent to the host, not realising until it was completed that this complaint and request for a refund was going to the host again and not to an arbiter as the name suggests.

‘This had not been explained to me. The host simply declined the request. I think it was that simple for him because I had missed the 72-hour deadline.

‘I asked Airbnb what their responsibility was in allowing this process to support hosts who rent out properties in this condition. I got nowhere. Eventually, after much badgering to speak with a supervisor, I received a message from someone who claimed to be a supervisor.

The woman said that the crockery at the Airbnb was chipped

‘She reiterated that they could not make a refund without the support of the host. 

The final message, before Airbnb was contacted by EdinburghLive, said “We already made a report and our specialist team will investigate further.

“Once we confirmed that the host violates our hosting standard, we will remove the listing.”

A spokesperson for Airbnb said: ‘We were disappointed to learn about this experience and we have reached out to the guest to provide a partial refund – worth £750 – and a coupon as a gesture of goodwill.

They added: ‘All our guests are protected by AirCover for free on every booking and in the rare event that something isn’t as expected, we will help immediately when contacted within 72 hours of check-in.’

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