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Airbnb queries & info

PLL

We are planning to go to Lisbon in September for our Anniversary. I have been researching Hotels and found a nice one with a pool (which is a must for us) which we will book if nothing else catches out eye.

Someone then mentioned to me about Air Bnb, they used it for a trip over to England for a wedding and found it great. So I had a look and was shocked to find a few fairly central apartments with a pool for only a bit more than the hotel.

What I want to know is if anyone has used Air BnB to stay somewhere on the continent? Is it safe/reliable? Will our booking be honoured. Any experiences?

Also if anyone has any Lisbon tips they would be much appreciated.

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Juran

I have used airbnb around the world as well and no issues about cleaning .... this is in Germany and a good few people tell me they had the same experience in Germany.

Juran

I had already left a review (positive) for her - I believe it cannot be edited?

killbillvol2

Juran wrote: »

I had already left a review (positive) for her - I believe it cannot be edited?

Can you reply to her feedback?

I honestly don't know the answer to that as it's never been an issue for me.

grahamor

Yes, you can reply to her feedback - https://www.airbnb.ie/help/article/32/can-i-delete-or-respond-to-a-review-i-disagree-with

You can only edit your review for up to 48 hours or until the host has posted their review.

Teyla Emmagan

Yeah we had the same in France a couple of years ago. There was a big list left of all the things that needed to be cleaned before we left, including the toilets. Hoovering, dusting etc or threats of additional charges. It was totally OTT, really annoyed me!

Lil Sally Anne Jnr.

Juran wrote: »

I had already left a review (positive) for her - I believe it cannot be edited?

Make sure you leave a reply in response to her review. She was probably angling to get more money from you but you didn't bite. I'd be letting people know that this host is best avoiding.

Suckit

OP, surely you are not the first person that she has accused of this?

Has anybody else commented on it in their feedback?
I agree with above,I would want to avoid that place, or prefer to know before I went.

Especially if they already a charge for cleaning.

average_runner

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Yeah we had the same in France a couple of years ago. There was a big list left of all the things that needed to be cleaned before we left, including the toilets. Hoovering, dusting etc or threats of additional charges. It was totally OTT, really annoyed me!

Its very common in france that you leave the place the way you got it. Fully clean so next person can move in. Even in mobile homes we will clean, dust and mop the floors before we leave.

woodchuck

I've used Air BnB a fair bit at this stage in Europe and have never been expected to do anything like that. I used 2 in Germany recently and they provided very detailed instructions - but it was really just a long winded way of saying tidy up after yourself and take out the bins. I think once before I was asked to strip the bed, but that's about as unusual as it got! I've always gotten comments about how tidy/clean I've left the place.

Presumably she didn't provide you with these details ahead of time or have a booklet at the accommodation with instructions?

I wouldn't take this lying down, as a negative review could reflect poorly on you and make other hosts think twice about accepting you into their home.

Cocobeans101

I recently stayed in a mobile home in France and it was like an interrogation upon checkout. I had paid 100 euro cleaning fee but she chased after me as I'd left the washing up liquid behind. They also counted all the knives and forks etc.. I paid a couple of thousand for the 2 week stay so i was gobsmacked. Turned me off France a bit.

Juran

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will contact customer support about the issue.

ConnyMcDavid

Had a airbnb reservation with a nice apartment in Europe a few months back but had to cancel due to snow.

We are going back to the destimation and wished to book the same, but seeing on the reviews the last 4 entries were cancelled by the host.

You can't see what exact dates were cancelled, it could have been over 1 week. He is still a superhost. Just wondering if this normal for airbnb to have so many cancellations. All other reviews are great.

endofrainbow

Those are automated responses. Maybe someone made an initial enquiry and didn' t follow it up. I've seen these on many accommodations.

naughtysmurf

@Juran, I'd be with you on this one, recently had a great AirB&B in Rome, cleaning fee of €40 as part of the pricing, the way I interpret that is leave the place tidy i.e empty the bins, don't leave dirty dishes, sweep the floor if needed but not much more than that really, paying an end of stay cleaning fee & then cleaning the place is a bit like buying a dog & barking yourself

Other non AirB&B places we've rented over the years may stipulate some stuff like strip the beds & put the sheets in the washing machine, that's no problem as long as it's stipulated in the agreement.

Lil Sally Anne Jnr.

Mr.S wrote: »

Get onto Airbnb customer support and they should cancel out the negative feedback on your account.

Not sure where you are getting this from. When I worked for Airbnb we were basically forbidden from altering or removing reviews for any reason. It is/was company policy.

Juran wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will contact customer support about the issue.

I doubt they will remove the review for the reasons you've given. Short of being racist, misogynistic, antisemitic or illegal they won't remove or edit reviews.

If I was you, I'd tell them I was "very upset" by what happened (insinuate that you have doubts whether you will use the company again) and that you'd very much appreciate it if they'd reach out to the host and try to reason with them. With permission from the host, they will probably remove the review.

Juran

I checked it out, I can only complain about a review if it is racist, illegal, etc... just as Li sally mentioned. I replied to the host's review .... I outlined that I left the place tidy and removed all rubbish, cleaned all dishes, etc... and that as a paying guest just like in any hotel/B&B/holiday let, that expecting the guests to deep-clean the accommodation before check-out was unrealistic and was not normal. I haven't heard from her since ... I don't know if she can add more feedback to mine.
In fact I could have left a lot more to warn others of the host's expectations, but I didn't. Like when I checked in and had paid in full via airbnb contract, she handed me 3 forms to fill in with personal details and to sign ... rental agreement, rules of the house and use of internet agreement. They were in German so only translated the headings to see what they were. I did sign them, but felt it very odd consideringI already had a contract via airbnb. She asked me for a copy of my passport as well, but never gave it. She probably does have the right to ask guests to sign these forms, but she should make it clear on her airbnb page in my opinion.

woodchuck

I think you did the right thing responding to the review.

However I don't think asking for a copy of your passport is unusual. I haven't had to this at all Air BnBs, but it's not unusual by any means. As for signing forms, I may have been asked to do this before, but don't recall. I'd be very reluctant to sign anything I can't read though!!

killbillvol2

Juran wrote: »

I checked it out, I can only complain about a review if it is racist, illegal, etc... just as Li sally mentioned. I replied to the host's review .... I outlined that I left the place tidy and removed all rubbish, cleaned all dishes, etc... and that as a paying guest just like in any hotel/B&B/holiday let, that expecting the guests to deep-clean the accommodation before check-out was unrealistic and was not normal. I haven't heard from her since ... I don't know if she can add more feedback to mine.
In fact I could have left a lot more to warn others of the host's expectations, but I didn't. Like when I checked in and had paid in full via airbnb contract, she handed me 3 forms to fill in with personal details and to sign ... rental agreement, rules of the house and use of internet agreement. They were in German so only translated the headings to see what they were. I did sign them, but felt it very odd consideringI already had a contract via airbnb. She asked me for a copy of my passport as well, but never gave it. She probably does have the right to ask guests to sign these forms, but she should make it clear on her airbnb page in my opinion.

But you should have.

As a regular user of airbnb I depend on people leaving accurate reviews. If I have an issue with a host (rare) I'll put it in the review - it's only fair to others. Although airbnb has moved a long way from the "community" it was initially users still depend on each other to weed out bad hosts. Your host's behaviour might not put some people off but they should be warned.

k123456

Is there a way to search on Airbnb with a percentage off the price

For example,
Special offer: 15% off

Am I better to book last minute or in advance, will be travelling to France, Mid Oct, so not high season

spurious

New places generally are encouraged to give their first three bookings a 20% discount so you can get bargains if you choose a newly listed one.

killbillvol2

spurious wrote: »

New places generally are encouraged to give their first three bookings a 20% discount so you can get bargains if you choose a newly listed one.

But you're risking booking a place with no reviews. I'd never book a place with no reviews but obviously someone has to.

spurious

True, though i find you do get a sense of the people after a little bit of correspondence with them. Much better for the 'original type' Air BnBs where you take a room in someone's house where they live than the 'old office building with mattresses fecked all over the place' ones.

ballyharpat

From my traveling in France, I would book sooner rather than later, the good places get booked early. I even see that with my own place, I get booked out well in advance. Also, the good places have a minimum stay, crap places don't, as they don't get booked as fast, or at all.

gaillimh

I used to use AirBnb regularly but have found over the last year or two that almost every place I have found that I was interested in was also listed on other websites (such as HomeAway and Booking.com) & was cheaper on those sites because they don't seem to have the extra cleaning and service charges that hike up the prices on AirBnb.
That's what I was finding anyway

dave 27

Hi all,

I am looking at booking a place in New Zealand for the end of the year, I emailed the person on the website stating i wanted to stay for two nights for that date, no reply after a few days which is fine but then i also inquired about another place for the same date but no reply after a number of days.

Just wondering do i still get charged this as i had to provide my paypal details on the website as part of the inquiry, i just dont want to be charged two places that i was only asking about.

I hope this makes sense!

Thanks

davemie

If it's an inquiry, there is no charge, if it's a booking for which you will be charged, you should have gotten a confirmation email.

dennyk

On AirBnB, availability should be shown on the listing itself. Do not communicate with any host outside of AirBnB (e.g. via email or via a third party website), and definitely do not send any host payment except through AirBnB itself; that's an excellent way to get scammed, and as you did not use AirBnB to arrange and pay for your stay, you will have no protection or recourse in the event of fraud.

Also, are you sure you were actually on AirBnB's website? You should not have to provide any payment information of any sort to send an inquiry to a host, only to actually make a booking. And when you say "provide your Paypal details", what do you mean exactly? When paying via PayPal, you normally log into your PayPal account on their website as part of the transaction when making a payment, and Paypal then sends the payment to the merchant on your behalf. You do not provide any Paypal account details directly to a third party like AirBnB. If you have provided your Paypal login to a web site that was not Paypal itself, then you have likely been the victim of a phishing scam; you should immediately change your PayPal login if possible, and contact them right away to advise them that your account may have been hacked.

Graham

Mod Note:

thread moved to travel forum.

P.S. What dennyk said, only pay through AirBnB.

SusanC10

New Airbnb Restrictions announced this morning.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/landlords-face-new-airbnb-ban-from-next-june-37456385.html

Wondering how people feel about this from a Guest/Traveller point-of-view ?

We use Airbnb a fair bit mostly abroad for City Breaks and as part of the annual summer holiday too. We have out-grown family rooms in Hotels and 2 rooms is out of our Budget.
We have used it twice in Ireland - in Cork and Donegal. We have 2 bookings made for next year in Ireland - again in Cork and Donegal.

We have found Airbnb great - more choice, more flexibility, cheaper etc. Previously we had found that there was a lot of Sat-Sat rental of Holiday Homes and also things like extra payments for ESB/Heat had been messy.

How will these new restrictions affect Guests ?
How do I know if the houses in Cork or Donegal have Planning for Holiday Lettings ? Does it matter if I don't ?

It will also deter Tourists coming to Dublin and other areas, I feel. But maybe people want this.

Mods:- I know there is another thread on Accomodation & Property but I just wanted this to be from a Traveller / Guest / Tourist perspective but feel free to close the thread if this is an issue.

spurious

AFAIK, the original concept of AirBnB, staying in spare rooms in an owner occupied house is not affected by this.