Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner • Hacker News Board

Re: Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner

#51

Post by dandv » Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 3:54 AM UTC

godelski wrote: post #26

mc32 wrote: post #3

So apparently it had A/C in bedrooms but not other areas. Host suggested leaving doors open and having a fan redirect air from bedroom(s) to living area. Looks like guests were looking to work while on a trip, so wanted and expected A/C throughout. I can see both sides. On the one hand it did have A/C —just not central A/C. On the other hand it was (they claim 100F) and were trying to “work from home.” On the other h…

Why couldn't they just work in the bedrooms? There's AC there.

Because there was no "laptop-friendly workspace" in the bedrooms. The host claimed that in the listing, and the only thing that remotely qualified was the dining table in the kitchen.

Context: I'm the OP's roommate. See my detailed reply at https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/d1i53n/its_10....

Re: Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner

#52

Post by dandv » Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 3:55 AM UTC

mhuck0625 wrote: post #20

mc32 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like I said, split the diff. It wasn’t outright deception but it also wasn’t up front about the totality. It didn’t explicitly say either it only had AC in bedrooms nor did it claim to have Central AC. Plus it was $60/night. Don’t expect Hilton class accommodations for 60/night.

agree 100 percent. Split it. keep the customers happy, but the owners need to make a little too. Fair is fair.

Yep - https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/d1i53n/its_10....

Re: Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner

#53

Post by dandv » Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 3:56 AM UTC

chronolitus wrote: post #43

Twirrim wrote: post #4

As is ever the case, dig in deeper and oh look we see the apartment did have A/C as advertised. https://old.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/d1i53n/its_10...

Copy paste in case it gets deleted: """ I'm OP's roommate and I was involved in this. We booked the place on short notice and came to see it the same day. It was advertised as a "penthouse" but in reality it was simply the top floor of a pretty decrepit ~50+ yo building, with bars on every window, and a filthy "pool". This is the view from the "penthouse". Contrary to what Airbnb says in the screenshot, there was no…

I won't delete it.

Re: Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner

#54

Post by dandv » Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 3:59 AM UTC

bkohlmann wrote: post #24

On the other hand, when an act of god occurs, airbnb holds the host completely responsible. My wife and I own an airbnb (with a/c!). At midnight one evening, the a/c went out due to a mechanical failure. The temperature in the texas heat rose to 80 degrees in our condo. Our guests called us to complain. We couldnt find any techs at that time of night (and at 1am we tried!), but had one come in at 8am the next morning…

How much of a refund did they ask for, and how much did they get?

Before that stay (I'm the OP's roommate), we stayed at another apartment that had 0.5Mbps Internet instead of the claimed 10Mbps, no hot water, no computer desks when there were desks in the photos, no trash cans - for the first 3 to 5 days until all these issues got fixed through us bugging the building's management. All Airbnb was willing to refund was 10% of the nightly cost, times some number of nights, which amounted to USD 57. That was for a $2100/mo apartment.

Re: Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner

#55

Post by dandv » Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 4:01 AM UTC

privateSFacct wrote: post #42

Thorentis wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah didn't realise full context in this specific case. I was referring only to "a fan legally constitutes an aircon". So, if the only thing in an AirBnB is a fan, saying it has aircon is misleading.

The point here is that this guest is misleading everyone and the media is eating it up. Airbnb says that the hosts description of the place was reasonable. It had AC. It just didn't have it in every room the guest wanted. This is not a "fan is AC" - and airbnb never said that, this (spoiled) guest did. What airbnb is saying is some rooms have AC is AC. While that could be argued, the headline should reflect that. If…

No. The Airbnb rep said EXACTLY that, as seen in the screenshot.

Context: I'm the OP's roommate. See my detailed reply at https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/d1i53n/its_10....

Re: Airbnb: A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner

#56

Post by dandv » Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 4:02 AM UTC

pwinnski wrote: post #47

bdowling wrote: post #23

From the Airbnb message: > “This is the last that can be said on the subject.” Why would a customer service representative be allowed to write something so smarmy and condescending?

As a customer, this seems out of line. As someone who has worked in customer service, and observed customer service workers at my company, it seems completely reasonable, especially when dealing with entitled people like the OP and his roommate (from other comments).

That's how Airbnb agents are trained. It's exactly the kind of phrase used in the famous "How I Got Banned for Life from AirBnB" post:

> Additionally, we consider this matter closed and will no longer reply to any inquiries regarding your account.

Source: https://medium.com/@jacksoncunningham/digital-exile-how-i-go...