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Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

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Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#51

Post by soco »

brabel wrote: post #28

I hope the OP is well and managed to find better accomodation. If it was me, I would bit the bullet and just write off the place and check into the nearest hotel as soon as possible. But regarding fake hosts: I think this is standard practice on BnB. Nobody wants to expose their real names on Bnb and be subject to abuse by unhappy guests... unfortunately that's the reality of it. From the host's point of view, I can…

I had a similar (bad) adventure on Booking.com - dirt, crawlies, so I packed and went somewhere else. Booking.com didn't do anything about refunding "oh we contacted the host and he said nah" so I called the credit card company who refunded me the transaction. Lesson learned. From then on I check Booking.com for locations then compare the offers on hotel sites and lo, often they're cheaper when booked directly. And renting directly from people, that's left to you folks more adventurous than me.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#52

Post by coffeeblack »

dsego wrote: post #48
coffeeblack wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what “common European household” you live in, but that is commonly not a problem over here.

Had issues with several geberit and other cisterns, all started leaking after some time.

Lime deposits?

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#53

Post by soco »

siquick wrote: post #46
2rsf wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pictures changes as your family grows, needing two or three hotel rooms or only special family rooms makes Airbnb more affordable. Unless something has changed in the last months I always found a direct hotel order cheaper and easier than booking/hotels dot com, not to mention fake rates, irrelevant reviews or non existing rooms.

You can book apartments and homes on Booking

Booking.com is only slightly safer than AirBnB though.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#54

Post by pteraspidomorph »

A bunch of remarks:

Lisbon has a horrible housing crisis. Locals are barely (or not at all, in many cases) able to afford living there anymore, and airbnb has been there making the problem worse every step of the way. I hope the author gets plenty of evidence and reports this place to the authorities, then stops using airbnb.

Note that in Portugal garbage is usually collected from nearby (unsaturated green colored) lidded trash cans and dumpsters owned by the city government or entities contracted to it, where residents are expected to leave their trash. Lisbon does have a bit of a trash overload problem ongoing (more recent than the housing crisis), but there should always be a dumpster nearby where people can drop off trash for collection, leaving it right next to the container if the container is full. For this one single issue I imagine there was a miscommunication due to the language barrier.

Sometimes (speaking from personal experience), especially in a place so obviously neglected and unused, the toilet discharge issue can be as simple as grit or rust inside the tank preventing the part that drops to block off the water flow from moving, but it can be mechanically pushed down (or even washed to get rid of the grit permanently). Not to excuse the owner; just a possible way to make the author's stay a little less miserable.

It seems very hazardous to live in a place as damp as the author reported, damp enough that it attracted slugs and the water vapor likely got in the electrical system, causing a short circuit . Must be a real dump if it got this damp with the drought going on before this week. There are probably a lot of hazardous mold spores. They should have set up a dehumidifying solution immediately (three weeks ago); I would depart right away if possible.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#55

Post by soco »

jgilias wrote: post #44

If you still want/need to use AirBnB for cheaper travel, renting a room instead of a whole apartment is actually better. Then the host is an actual host and the reviews are more meaningful. I’ve gotten to know some pretty cool people that way. It’s a trade-off of course, as the set of potential issues is different.

But won't you get a room in an apartment shared with other guests then?

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#56

Post by hef19898 »

mcculley wrote: post #37
mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #16

It's not surprising at all. All of these review-driven P2P marketplace businesses end up with the same problem. After the initial phase of early adopters that offer generally high quality products, a flood of fake or low-quality listing tries to squeeze money out of the platform. These people are not listing their homes on Airbnb, they are trying to make a living by extracting as much money from the platform as they…

This is a useful way to think about how markets/platforms evolve. I have yet to use Airbnb. But it seems that the target customer has changed. I have been aware of them since they first showed up on Hacker News. They were pitched as renting an airbed where hotels are not a useful choice. That target customer is a demographic that I had aged out of before they started. If they were still marketing only to very young p…

What AirBnB missed was to include hotels in its listings, which would have allowed them to over a complete experience for travelers in general. booking.com started with hotels and included more AirBnB style listings.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#57

Post by soco »

dazc wrote: post #2

The host's 'dating site style' profile image is a red flag from the outset, stock image or not. The only practical tip I can offer regards airbnb is to rent places that are also featured on other well known sites, since this does reduce the risk a little.

If it's such a red flag, then maybe maybe AirBnB could have culled it from the start. I mean if listing quality was of concern.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#58

Post by elforce002 »

mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #16

It's not surprising at all. All of these review-driven P2P marketplace businesses end up with the same problem. After the initial phase of early adopters that offer generally high quality products, a flood of fake or low-quality listing tries to squeeze money out of the platform. These people are not listing their homes on Airbnb, they are trying to make a living by extracting as much money from the platform as they…

My family went to an Airbnb (basically they were selling themselves as sort of resort) and when my wife saw she had to cook, etc... She was really mad. The listing didn't say it. Long history short, never again. We're going to resorts and hotels ever since. The extra money is not that much since Airbnb basically ramping up their prices.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#59

Post by elforce002 »

sschueller wrote: post #14

If only there was some regulation for such services that would require some sort of standard. You know some sort of licensing by the state. /s This is what you get when you skirt laws, artificially lowering prices to kill competition and exploit workers. Stop complaining, it's your own doing for supporting this type of economy. Only because maybe some of those existing laws were cumbersome or outdated doesn't mean yo…

Guilty as charged. I saw this and went back to use hotels ans resorts (they employ thousands and help local economy).

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#60

Post by emptyfile »

soco wrote: post #53
siquick wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can book apartments and homes on Booking

Booking.com is only slightly safer than AirBnB though.

The comment said that booking.com is cheaper, not safer.

Which it is, which is why on my trip to London in a month I rented over booking and not AirBnB.

Why would I choose a more expensive service with zero additional benefits? Because their app is more cool?

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