Is this a normal Airbnb experience?

[Anonymous]

I have used Airbnb a couple of times before, each time renting an entire house or apartment. I am currently renting a two bedroom apartment and it seems weird, so I'm interested in others' experiences with Airbnb.

At this apartment, when we showed up it was as if the owner had just left. It was neat and pretty clean but clearly had not been professionally cleaned. The kitchen trash had been emptied, but the laundry room trash was full and there was a q-tip in the bathroom trash. The bathmat was also clearly not freshly laundered and there was hair on the both bathroom floors. It wasn't a disgusting level of unclean, just not a professional level of clean. I also wasn't convinced the bed linens were freshly laundered so I ended up doing that (as well as vacuuming) after we arrived.

The other maybe weird thing is that the owner did not secure her personal items at all. We are staying for a week, and we have nowhere to put away our clothes because the dresser and closets are full of the owner's clothes, including her underwear! She left her jewelry sitting on top of the dresser. Her prescription sleeping pills are visible as soon as you open a kitchen cabinet, and her personal mail is in the silverware drawer.

Is it normal when you rent out a whole house or apartment through Airbnb for the owner's stuff to be everywhere like this? When I texted the owner about the bathroom trash not being emptied and the bathmat being dirty, she responded, "it's not a hotel." Is that right? Is Airbnb not supposed to be basically like a hotel, particularly when you pay to rent an entire place? The places we have rented in the past through Airbnb have been basically like vacation rental houses or hotels. FWIW, we are paying $200/night for a basic 2BR/2BA in an inexpensive city where a nice hotel room goes for maybe $110/night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have used Airbnb a couple of times before, each time renting an entire house or apartment. I am currently renting a two bedroom apartment and it seems weird, so I'm interested in others' experiences with Airbnb.

At this apartment, when we showed up it was as if the owner had just left. It was neat and pretty clean but clearly had not been professionally cleaned. The kitchen trash had been emptied, but the laundry room trash was full and there was a q-tip in the bathroom trash. The bathmat was also clearly not freshly laundered and there was hair on the both bathroom floors. It wasn't a disgusting level of unclean, just not a professional level of clean. I also wasn't convinced the bed linens were freshly laundered so I ended up doing that (as well as vacuuming) after we arrived.

The other maybe weird thing is that the owner did not secure her personal items at all. We are staying for a week, and we have nowhere to put away our clothes because the dresser and closets are full of the owner's clothes, including her underwear! She left her jewelry sitting on top of the dresser. Her prescription sleeping pills are visible as soon as you open a kitchen cabinet, and her personal mail is in the silverware drawer.

Is it normal when you rent out a whole house or apartment through Airbnb for the owner's stuff to be everywhere like this? When I texted the owner about the bathroom trash not being emptied and the bathmat being dirty, she responded, "it's not a hotel." Is that right? Is Airbnb not supposed to be basically like a hotel, particularly when you pay to rent an entire place? The places we have rented in the past through Airbnb have been basically like vacation rental houses or hotels. FWIW, we are paying $200/night for a basic 2BR/2BA in an inexpensive city where a nice hotel room goes for maybe $110/night.

no, air bnb is not a hotel. if you wanted a place with no signs of other occupants you should have gotten a hotel.

[Anonymous]

I have no personal experience with Airbnb, but if you feel like you didn't get your money's worth, you should post a review saying so. You can say you didn't think the place was very clean and the linens needed washing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have used Airbnb a couple of times before, each time renting an entire house or apartment. I am currently renting a two bedroom apartment and it seems weird, so I'm interested in others' experiences with Airbnb.

At this apartment, when we showed up it was as if the owner had just left. It was neat and pretty clean but clearly had not been professionally cleaned. The kitchen trash had been emptied, but the laundry room trash was full and there was a q-tip in the bathroom trash. The bathmat was also clearly not freshly laundered and there was hair on the both bathroom floors. It wasn't a disgusting level of unclean, just not a professional level of clean. I also wasn't convinced the bed linens were freshly laundered so I ended up doing that (as well as vacuuming) after we arrived.

The other maybe weird thing is that the owner did not secure her personal items at all. We are staying for a week, and we have nowhere to put away our clothes because the dresser and closets are full of the owner's clothes, including her underwear! She left her jewelry sitting on top of the dresser. Her prescription sleeping pills are visible as soon as you open a kitchen cabinet, and her personal mail is in the silverware drawer.

Is it normal when you rent out a whole house or apartment through Airbnb for the owner's stuff to be everywhere like this? When I texted the owner about the bathroom trash not being emptied and the bathmat being dirty, she responded, "it's not a hotel." Is that right? Is Airbnb not supposed to be basically like a hotel, particularly when you pay to rent an entire place? The places we have rented in the past through Airbnb have been basically like vacation rental houses or hotels. FWIW, we are paying $200/night for a basic 2BR/2BA in an inexpensive city where a nice hotel room goes for maybe $110/night.

no, air bnb is not a hotel. if you wanted a place with no signs of other occupants you should have gotten a hotel.

Okay, fair enough. The owner also requires renters to pay a "cleaning fee" for professional cleaning after we leave. Given that, is it also unreasonable to expect the apartment to have been professionally cleaned prior to our arrival?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have used Airbnb a couple of times before, each time renting an entire house or apartment. I am currently renting a two bedroom apartment and it seems weird, so I'm interested in others' experiences with Airbnb.

At this apartment, when we showed up it was as if the owner had just left. It was neat and pretty clean but clearly had not been professionally cleaned. The kitchen trash had been emptied, but the laundry room trash was full and there was a q-tip in the bathroom trash. The bathmat was also clearly not freshly laundered and there was hair on the both bathroom floors. It wasn't a disgusting level of unclean, just not a professional level of clean. I also wasn't convinced the bed linens were freshly laundered so I ended up doing that (as well as vacuuming) after we arrived.

The other maybe weird thing is that the owner did not secure her personal items at all. We are staying for a week, and we have nowhere to put away our clothes because the dresser and closets are full of the owner's clothes, including her underwear! She left her jewelry sitting on top of the dresser. Her prescription sleeping pills are visible as soon as you open a kitchen cabinet, and her personal mail is in the silverware drawer.

Is it normal when you rent out a whole house or apartment through Airbnb for the owner's stuff to be everywhere like this? When I texted the owner about the bathroom trash not being emptied and the bathmat being dirty, she responded, "it's not a hotel." Is that right? Is Airbnb not supposed to be basically like a hotel, particularly when you pay to rent an entire place? The places we have rented in the past through Airbnb have been basically like vacation rental houses or hotels. FWIW, we are paying $200/night for a basic 2BR/2BA in an inexpensive city where a nice hotel room goes for maybe $110/night.

no, air bnb is not a hotel. if you wanted a place with no signs of other occupants you should have gotten a hotel.

That depends. We've stayed in 3 - 2 of them were solely used as rentals. No one lived there. The last one was someone's actual apartment and it was a little weird. Shampoo in the shower and pictures everywhere. Overall it was fine, but I prefer the ones where no one is living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have used Airbnb a couple of times before, each time renting an entire house or apartment. I am currently renting a two bedroom apartment and it seems weird, so I'm interested in others' experiences with Airbnb.

At this apartment, when we showed up it was as if the owner had just left. It was neat and pretty clean but clearly had not been professionally cleaned. The kitchen trash had been emptied, but the laundry room trash was full and there was a q-tip in the bathroom trash. The bathmat was also clearly not freshly laundered and there was hair on the both bathroom floors. It wasn't a disgusting level of unclean, just not a professional level of clean. I also wasn't convinced the bed linens were freshly laundered so I ended up doing that (as well as vacuuming) after we arrived.

The other maybe weird thing is that the owner did not secure her personal items at all. We are staying for a week, and we have nowhere to put away our clothes because the dresser and closets are full of the owner's clothes, including her underwear! She left her jewelry sitting on top of the dresser. Her prescription sleeping pills are visible as soon as you open a kitchen cabinet, and her personal mail is in the silverware drawer.

Is it normal when you rent out a whole house or apartment through Airbnb for the owner's stuff to be everywhere like this? When I texted the owner about the bathroom trash not being emptied and the bathmat being dirty, she responded, "it's not a hotel." Is that right? Is Airbnb not supposed to be basically like a hotel, particularly when you pay to rent an entire place? The places we have rented in the past through Airbnb have been basically like vacation rental houses or hotels. FWIW, we are paying $200/night for a basic 2BR/2BA in an inexpensive city where a nice hotel room goes for maybe $110/night.

no, air bnb is not a hotel. if you wanted a place with no signs of other occupants you should have gotten a hotel.

Okay, fair enough. The owner also requires renters to pay a "cleaning fee" for professional cleaning after we leave. Given that, is it also unreasonable to expect the apartment to have been professionally cleaned prior to our arrival?

Yes! This would be worth a complaint if the place was dirty when you arrived. Can you negotiate to waive the cleaning fee? Get Airbnb involved?

[Anonymous]

I've stayed at Airbnbs that the owner lived in and then just moved out for the time we were staying there.

I'd expect fresh linens and the garbage cans to be empty, but everything else...meh. I'll drink the beer you leave in the fridge, no biggie.

We stayed in one place that didn't even have a garbage can (!), so count your blessings. When I asked the owner where it was, he said, "I've been meaning to get one, but haven't gotten around to it"....no garbage can in the kitchen or any of the bathrooms. So strange, but whatever. It's an experience.

[Anonymous]

We stayed with a guy who actually lives there. His personal stuff is in it. Clothes, valuables, medications, all there. Linens were clean. Place had not been "professionally cleaned". I was very happy with the experience. Required a high level of trust on his part, though.

[Anonymous]

OP here. No beer in the fridge, just a bunch of weird herbal supplements. Yes, on the high level of trust. I couldn't believe that the owner's underwear was in the top drawer of the dresser. What if I was some creep who messed with them? Or what if I took some of her clothes or jewelry or prescription sleeping pills? The owner is very young, right out of college. I'm having to resist the urge to give her a motherly lecture about being more careful.

[Anonymous]

i think this is a normal Airbnb experience...and was the original Airbnb model (people renting out a room in their home or renting their home while they were away)...other people who own rental properties starting putting them on Airbnb instead of the other rental sites.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a wide variety when it comes to airBnBs. I have stayed in three. In Atlanta and Paris. For me, the rental was clean and empty. The personal effects were generally books, movies, board games, etc... stuff that they thought we could use. In Paris, I noticed there were some non perishable food items in the cabinet (spices, etc) and the dish soap was not new. But all linens, towels, etc were fresh and the drawers only had extra blankets. There were two closets with their personal things that were locked and I was told this when I checked in.

[Anonymous]

Hope you learned a lesson...stay in a hotel next time!

[Anonymous]

Seeing other people's hair in the bathroom completely grosses me out. Ick.

[Anonymous]

I have used airbnb's a lot and I have never had your experience OP and I would be totally grossed out. I do scour the reviews ahead of time (and PLEASE write a helpful review for the next victims!) I know that some that we have rented are 100% rentals but some we've rented are people's homes though maybe the are more experienced in being 'hosts'? FWIW we rented a huge house in Cape Cod from pre-airbnb from a highly recommended realtor and it was so bad they came right out and "re-cleaned" everything and put on new sheets just to be sure. Ick - airbnb is supposed to be nice enough at that price to compete with hotels

[Anonymous]

I have never stayed in an airbnb, but am not surprised at what you're describing because it's not a hotel with regulations they have to follow and inspections to pass. It's just a person earning extra money on the side by renting out a place. Who knows, some people could even have hidden cameras.