A Tale of Two AirBnbs - The Horrible and the Perfect

Yeah - the bed photos are deceptive, aren't they? I do like the review of 'the beds were very basic' and they replied - you requested firm beds...

did you tip them?

Very interesting and a lesson for all. Airbnb has a specific protocol that needs to be followed when problems arise or there is no recourse. People need to be aware of the steps involved. Could you elaborate on that in order to help others.

Where are the photos of the beds someone refers to?

Interesting. I'm still not sure about AirBnB as a mostly solo traveler.

I had an unpleasant AirBnB experience (I won’t go into details except to say we arrived to find someone passed out in our bed .... and then it got really bad!) and AirBnB were brilliant in their support of us and we were fully reimbursed.

Since Air BnBs and apartments are so frequently recommended here with high praise, I have been reluctant to post anything negative. Our experience is limited but very mixed so this generally is not our first choice. Interesting that there has been some negative experiences.

The White House Apriltsi
Agree, there should be a more detailed description of the accommodations, but what would you expect for $13/nite?

The ardent defenders of nightly rentals apart from B&Bs/hotels.hostels surely enter the discussion singing the praises and overlooking/excusing any negative consequences for some communities in Europe and elsewhere.

I read through the OP's post. He never wrote to completely avoid.

The OP's detailed account of the contrasting experiences (of the two BNB's) can be most helpful to others and crucial to future bookings. The more details, the better for others to make an informed decision.

It is within reason for him to relay his experiences with the host and with the rooms. There seems to be some misleading information given by the first airbnb.

Perhaps the challenge the OP put upon the host may 'light a fire under them' to update their accoms a bit - or should list the bnb as is - not fluff it up and then get on the defense when called out by guests about the vast differences of the advertisement.

First of all let me clear up something. I paid $815 for 27 nights which comes out to a bit over $30 per night. Not $13. A bargain for a decent place but not for one with no mattress. Especially when you consider I paid $28.20 per night for the PERFECT Airbnb in Plovdiv one of Bulgarias most popular and expensive cities.

When you look at AirBnb pricing you MUST put in the dates and the number of guests. This host uses a lowball number for a few nights a year so the number looks very cheap when you first go to the listing. Most are more honest and have variable or seasonal pricing that makes sense.

Something that I did not mention to either Airbnb or the host was the fact that half the stove did not work, neither did the electric kettle. There was a bowl of filthy sink water under the drain pipes in the “kitchen” and several other minor things. These are things that need to be addressed and we had none of those kinds of problems in any of the prior or later AirBnb’s we have stayed in.

This place is a problem at any price. The hosts need to be honest about the condition of the house and the beds. They need to understand that “Rustic” does not equal dilapidated or uncomfortable. The other thing the hosts should consider is they are in competition for the same customers that will book the Perfect Airbnb in Plovdiv.

aarthurperry: Thanks for your interesting post. We rarely use Airbnb or VRBO. We usually use booking.com and use them for hotels and apartments. Up to now we have had no issues with either. Though we make allowances for the country we're in and we're willing to put up with a certain amount of disrepair, we do expect a mattress, a certain amount of cleanliness, and usable furniture :). Your experience and persistence with Airbnb could probably be applied to other agencies. We just hope we never have to experience it ourselves!

Two questions:

1) Will you post your review, just as you have done here, on the Airbnb site as a warning to others? It would be a good public service.
2) Will Airbnb allow your negative review ("unscrubbed")?

The 5 reviews this property has is obviously insufficient, although it does look like a "rustic" place from the photos.

@Agnes, Since the agreement I originally offered the Host included my promise not to post to the Airbnb site, when AirBnb imposed that agreement on the hosts it was part of it. So they will not be able to review me (as all Airbnb hosts are able to do to Guests) and I will not be able to post a review there.

I agree with you it would be a public service. This host has two very similar properties in the same area. However their occupancy numbers are very low.

I did not agree to, nor could AirBnb legally try to keep me from posting my reviews or views elsewhere which I think is appropriate given the circumstances.

This post is just a continuation of my previous posts about my experiences with AirBnb on this long trip.

I'm going to order my copy of The Able Seaman Albert toute de suite!

Kim, sorry wrong guy. The host is a retired Airline Pilot who I guarantee sleeps on a nice mattress every night in his London home while he expects his guests in Bulgaria to make do with inch thick beach chair pads....

Is a part of the "agreement" for the host to rectify the shortcomings of the house, per your complaint? As a related issue, I'm sure Airbnb has its own standards of compliance to be "Airbnb-worthy" that weren't met. Is Airbnb going to somehow nudge (or push, if you'd like) the owner into making the improvements? How does that work?

I agree that if both parties have issues with a rental, it's probably best not to air each others' dirty laundry on reviews because it will hurt both in future rentals - but if there's a "gag" on reporting the truth, then the hope is that the issues get rectified before the next guest. It is odd though that none of the other guests mentioned these same issues (granted things may have been fine when they stayed there, or they just weren't bothered enough by them). I don't doubt your reports of the shortcomings though, but it's odd how the same place can sound delightful for some and horrible for others (but who knows, that's the problem with very small sample sizes).

I passed through Apriltsi a few years back; then fished a small river southeast of town. Wonderful country. I'm jealous!

@James E and Agnes; yes that area is truly a beautiful part of Bulgaria with many interesting small towns, monastery’s and mountains to walk in.

I am not privy to what AirBnb does with their hosts or would do in this sort of circumstance, nor should I be. But AirBnb has certain standards and asks a guest after each rental if a whole list of things were there such as linens and pillows for each bed. (Which was not the case here). I do know that they have removed listings if certain types of complaints are filed and I am sure there is a set of standards.

I have to say that overall I am impressed with the way AirBnb handled this. My one regret is that I feel I was too generous with the host in my first offer. But I was looking for a quick way out of a difficult and unhappy situation so I could continue with my exploration of Bulgaria.

And Agnes keep in mind the biggest single issue aside from the mattress was the access. Even in a light rain you could not get my rental car up that driveway meaning you had to leave it a hundred yards away out of sight and right next to a rural highway. Being responsible for the total cost of that car one would have to be a true fool to do such a thing. This means that effectively we would be trapped there in any rain. Or if we left having to leave the car by the highway upon our return.

My traveling companion went back to the other reviews and it looks like they were possibly either single guests or couples meaning they would have slept on the ONE good double bed and mattress never realizing the condition of the other beds or not caring. This probably accounts for the discrepancy since we need two separate beds and better yet two rooms.

@aarthurperry -- hmmm, i took that from the captions on (at least) two of the photos of the Apriltsi guest house, where the wife urged people to buy her husband's book! And indeed, her host profile on AirBnB says she is married to a retired British airline pilot, so I thought it was he. My bad.

Edited by the author after his memory was jarred by Kim...thank you

@Kim...Maybe you are on to something here. It took me awhile after I responded to you to remember where I read that reference. So I guess he is both?? All I remembered was the Retired Pilot part. BTW: There is a REAL Able Seaman Albert from the First World War awarded the VC for extreme valor and then sadly died of the flu during the pandemic. But he and the book you cited apparently have no connection.

We booked this on August 29th 2017 so my memory of those details is sketchy. The only caption I remember (now with your help) is the one for the balcony...a good place to read....(excuse me if I don’t add to the web citations and search results for his book more than necessary)

@Kaeleku; I guess technically that would be possible in the AirBnb system and gamed reviews are rampant everywhere. AirBnb has the tightest system I’ve seen to avoid that. But you are right you would have to physically have friends submit their passports, emails, address and phone numbers to AirBnb to qualify as guests then go thru the whole booking process etc...

I certainly would not put it past the Host in this case especially if the guests were Bulgarian/Romanian, but the Reveiws seem real to me, except one. The reviews come from the Netherlands, France, Romania and Ireland and one Bulgarian. We just re-read the Bulgarian review via Google Translate and it certainly sounds Gamed to me. I frankly think until us no one ever needed the 2nd bedroom and were there for short periods. There are things you can overlook for a few days that are real problems for a month.

I suspect that there is some incentivising going on too. You know, if a guest was very positive when they check out they are offered a night free if they come back in return for posting a review.

After viewing this Airbnb listing I get the feeling that some of the reviews are staged. In a couple of reviews the host seems to be put out if they are inconvenienced in the least. Sounds like Airbnb handle it promptly and professionally. Rent from me and buy my husband's book is all they want!

I remained polite and focused in all my communication and offered them
a very fair deal: I would pay 15 days of the booking and they would
reimburse 13. I would not review them on AirBnb. (This was to give
them incentive to accept) And I would leave immediately.

That is a real shame because someone else might choose this property & owner not knowing the crud you endured.

What were the reviews like for the host and the property? Were there no warnings?

To date my Airbnb experiences have been fine regarding the quality of lodging. They have always been exactly what I expected and what was promised.

My biggest miss with Airbnb is location. I've had a couple, including my most recent room in Bordeaux, that turned out to be more inconvenient than I anticipated. It's partly because I always go somewhere new and don't know what to watch for until I get there. It's also partly that Airbnb shows only a rough location that seems to be somewhat optimistic.

Thank you for this good, helpful post.
We had a very similar experience renting an apt in Paris with ParisBesLodge, except in addition, there was extensive mold throughout. I think it’s good to warn others.

Are you still on your trip?

I can't imagine how Jake would have felt having to walk into mud like that. The two of you could make rational choices, and it seems that you did, and lived to tell about it, but the poor mutt would have been in all sorts of trouble.

It seems unfortunate that the owners didn't warn you about the mud when they knew you had Jake with you.

@Susan, I am at his moment writing as I sit in my hotel room in Istanbul after taking the Night train from Sofia. So yes I am still out here.

...And to those that have asked about my ability to post a review to AirBnb. I agree that it would be the best thing overall however my goal was to strike a fair deal and recoup some of my lost money on the Fiasco that is “The White House in Apriltsi”. Posting an honest review would have felt very good and offered some sense of vindication but insisting on that would have hampered my real goal...getting some of my money back.

But I may post the video that was taken of me trying to get the car up the driveway to YouTube.

Posting an honest review would have felt very good and offered some
sense of vindication but insisting on that would have hampered my real
goal...getting some of my money back.

You probably aren't alone and thus the AirBnB reviews are perhaps hit or miss. Is that how you ended up going to the lesser of the two AirBnBs? Were the reviews sparkling or at least positive about the property and the hosts?

@Continental; A few folks responding here have gone to the site and read the reviews and have mentioned them here. It is very interesting to read their take on them above. A few responses up thread I also addressed the reviews.

And let me clarify something; I stayed in Both of the AirBnb’s above. The perfect one was booked after I left The White House in Apriltsi. It was not a choice of either or. In fact I stayed in 3 Airbnb’s in Bulgaria after leaving the horrible one and all were very very good, one in Veliko Tărnovo, Plovdiv (the perfect Airbnb) and in Sofia.

And no I dont think that reviews on AirBnb are affected by this kind of thing very often. According to Airbnb’s own rules a guest can review a host and property even if there has been a dispute but the dispute itself and the final agreement may not be mentioned. But anything that led to the dispute ie,the condition of the property lets say, can be written about.

In my case, as I wrote above in my OP, AirBnb imposed the original agreement I offered the host which included the offer to not review.

The very telling point for me regarding the hosts was the rather curt response to a comment regarding one of the beds, the reply from the host was similar to "You requested a firm bed", nothing more, no apology or attempt to politely suggest some misunderstanding, just a one line, dismissive response. I also fail to see the relevance of the photo of the host lounging by the pool in a hotel that is entirely unrelated to the host's property. That picture says so much more than she intended it to I'm sure.

I’m glad you and Jake are still on the road, I enjoy hearing about it.

Let me add something here about this whole experience; As my traveling partner and friend Mary and I discussed at dinner here in Istanbul tonight, strange as it may seem this problem with the White House in Apriltsi was actually serendipitous. I beleive that when you meet an obstacle such as this issue you do not allow it to define your trip. In fact I take it as a sign that this wasn’t meant to work out and you do something else.

I would not be in Istanbul tonight if it wasn’t for this problem. When we realized we didnt have the place for a month we made other plans. Two friends of ours from London came to meet us in Bulgaria and we spent the time in Plovdiv and Rila and Sofia. Altogether we spent 19 days in Bulgaria, When we parted they flew to London. We departed on the Night Train To Istanbul. I firmly beleive this is what you do when your travel plans are rent asunder.

Trust me I fully realize not everyone can do this to the extent I have, but it is instructive I think. The bottom line is: go on, do something else, go somewhere else and dont let a problem rule your trip.

We are actually considering ourselves lucky and thinking we should send a Thank You note to the Hosts, because we are having a great time in one of the worlds greatest cities not originally on our itinerary. Thanks to them.

aarthur, that was exactly our outlook about our horrible apt in Paris last year... we left the apt, did not stay even one night, and found an amazing hotel that was 1000 times better for the same price that we would never have known about otherwise. We were thrilled with the outcome.
I like having a positive outlook, makes a big difference. Making lemonade out of lemons...
Of course, having money to get out of a bad situation makes a big difference too.
How great you’ve had the chance to go and enjoy Istanbul!

Twenty-four AirBnBs so far, one was a dud. The rest ranged from good to great, albeit with the odd niggle here and there with most of them (as with hotels).

The only dud was during the trip we just returned from, taking in Singapore, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. The best of them was a lovely house in Bad Gastein, the worst in Graz.

The principle problem was that the listing, whilst not inaccurate, was certainly deceptive in my opinion. The apartment itself was lovely (though some of the 'smart home' gadgetry drove us nuts, such as the automatic lighting that burst into searing life every time we staggered bleary-eyed from bedroom to bathroom).

However ...

We started to worry when we turned into the street. Given the swanky style and quality of the apartment, let's just say we were expecting a different kind of area. So convinced was I that I must have the address wrong, I parked in the street and investigated the entrance to 'our' building on foot. Turned out we were indeed in the right place and our state-of-the-art glam apartment was situated in what appeared to be a pretty grimy and downright ugly 1960s government building. Two strikes, but we're still only semi-daunted.

There then commenced a pantomime as two oldies grappled with the puzzle of how to get in using an app and my smartphone. Good grief, what a malarky. Finally hearing a welcome 'click' that announced success, we entered the lobby. I'm not sure which sensation was the most overwhelming - the dirty appearance or the smell. OK, now approaching full-on daunted, we drag our cases to the lift, which clearly had a long journey from wherever it had been, to where we were. Still, we were at least getting used to the smell by the time the doors sighed open. Turned out we'd found the source of the smell - the lift. Sticky carpet and lots of 'character' made us feel we were in a movie where the protagonist visits some seedy gangsta types in a druggie neighbourhood.

Mentally, I was already heading back to the car and out of Graz but hey, we're gluttons for disappointment so up seven floors we went. Act 2 of the smartphone app panto then ensued when we tried to get through the door. By now, I was becoming rather the IT expert. As I said, the apartment itself was fine, and very stylish. OK, we couldn't work anything and there was no house manual, but trying to operate the lighting and turn on the music system gave me an opportunity to utilise my full vocabulary of expletives.

Then there was the "view", sold so well in the description. From every window, it said. Well, I don't call the top of the Schlossberg just peaking out above the pig-ugly wall of similarly-drab apartment blocks (and grotty car park) a "view"., but at least we had curtains.

We had booked four nights but, when an optimistic/hopeful walk into town failed to produce anything that sufficiently compensated for the awful accommodation (the highlights being a row of vandalised cars and an impressive range of suspicious stains on the pavement, requiring fancy footwork to navigate), I was back onto AirBnB and planning our escape. Our next stop was Venice, so I simply explored vacant accommodation not too far off our route. Next morning, the car was hurriedly re-packed and we headed off to a small town in Prosecco country called Valdobbiadene, which turned out to be ab fab. Whew!

ewwwww, that sounds awful. Great recovery and where better to spend some time than Prosecco land?

Did they refund any of your money for the Graz apartment or were you stuck paying?

I haven't bothered chasing a refund. The listing was, being strictly literal, accurate, apart perhaps from saying there was a "view". The host described only the apartment itself, not the building and not the area. On that basis it would be hard to prove unequivocally that we were misled, especially with legals.

I have put it behind me as just one of those things that happen. Overall, the holiday was superb and I'm glad we didn't stay any longer in a place that would undoubtedly have coloured the whole holiday. The unplanned stay in Valdobbiadene turned out to be a bonus, well worth the extra AUD600 it cost us. Also, the hostess, Lucia, was an absolute gem, a lovely person, and we're happy to have met her.

All's well that ends well, as they say.

Oh and I did indeed post a negative review which, so far at least, has remained visible and unedited by AirBnb. That said, I have some experience of law and so I was careful in my review to be factual and, where such was the case, to qualify my comments as 'opinions'. For instance, the first line of my review states that we vacated after just one night of our four-night booking. This is an indisputable fact and is unlikely to be missed, even by those scrolling quickly through the reviews. It should be noted however that 95% of his reviews are wholly positive, so I guess I am representing a particular type of traveller, by no means everybody!

We are actually considering ourselves lucky and thinking we should send a Thank You note to the Hosts, because we are having a great time in one of the worlds greatest cities not originally on our itinerary. Thanks to them.

This is your AirBnb review right there. Nothing else needs to be said!

@steves_8 I think it’s interesting that your experience mirrors mine in that out of many AirBnb’s only one has been a problem. I think that the general very high standard of most AirBnb’s makes a bad one stand out immediately and possibly makes one a bit less accepting of the flaws.

I have given 5 stars to every one we stayed in but the one which is the subject of this post. And each one we had afterwards was great too.

You also make a very good point about reviews. Whether or not one has a background in law a review should always be factual. Reviews that say things like “...the vibe just wasn’t right” irritate me no end. I think it only fair to stick to the facts. And I think this is one reason that AirBnb was so quick in forcing a settlement upon the host of the “White House near Apriltsi”, I stuck to the facts.

Glad that your AirBnb mishap turned out well in the end. But you did exactly what I did...move on and not let the problem define your trip.

steves_8, good post. You’re a brilliant writer, felt like I was there with you, thinking exactly what you were thinking.
“Mentally, I was already heading back to the car...”, “I was back onto Airbnb and planning our escape...”. That’s me exactly.