Airbnb disaster

lovely-cup-of-tea

I travelled by train from Devon to London to see a concert along with my partner and one of our friends. I'd booked a nice looking place on Airbnb for us to stay and had been in contact wit the host the morning of our journey and received a cheery response. On arrival it transpired that she'd sent an incorrect key safe code but quickly responded to my message with the correct one.

Once inside we went to switch on the lights but it soon became clear that the power had been either cut off or disconnected. There was no lighting, no heating and no Wi-Fi. I messaged and called the host but this time there was no response. I contacted Airbnb who said that they would call the host and call me back. Of course they didn't.

I called Airbnb again as the flat was now so dark it wasn't safe for us to be there and was assured that they were dealing with the situation.

Then there was a rattling at the front door! It was the cleaner who appeared not to know we would be here.

It was now 5pm and we'd arrived at 3pm our booking having started at 2pm. It was dark and we were cold and angry so we took our luggage to the nearest pub to call Airbnb again. Long story shortened, neither Airbnb or the host ever called us back and with nowhere to store our luggage and, more importantly, nowhere safe to stay we decided that the only option was to return to Paddington and go home.

At 12.20am Airbnb sent me a text offering to put us up in a hotel. I explained that we had returned home and that if this had been offered at a much earlier point we might have had the night we had planned. I asked why this hadn't been offered when it was clear that they weren't going to be able to resolve this booking and they said that I should have found this on their Help Page and asked for it!!!

While Airbnb have refunded the cost of the accommodation the only other compensation has been in the form of Airbnb vouchers which in no way goes towards the cost of the train fares or concert tickets, the uber and the disappointment of a day completely wasted. 

Airbnb say that they will not consider any form of compensation but I'm reluctant to book with them again after this appalling level of customer service. 

Do I have any route for redress?

itsthelittlethings

Why isn’t it safe to stay in a flat in the dark? Why did you call Airbnb and not message the host. Ethical concerns aside, I have never had a bad experience on Airbnb.

Grumpy_chap

lovely-cup-of-tea said:

I travelled by train from Devon to London to see a concert along with my partner and one of our friends. I'd booked a nice looking place on Airbnb for us to stay and had been in contact wit the host the morning of our journey and received a cheery response. On arrival it transpired that she'd sent an incorrect key safe code but quickly responded to my message with the correct one.

Once inside we went to switch on the lights but it soon became clear that the power had been either cut off or disconnected. There was no lighting, no heating and no Wi-Fi. I messaged and called the host but this time there was no response. I contacted Airbnb who said that they would call the host and call me back. Of course they didn't.

I called Airbnb again as the flat was now so dark it wasn't safe for us to be there and was assured that they were dealing with the situation.

Then there was a rattling at the front door! It was the cleaner who appeared not to know we would be here.

It was now 5pm and we'd arrived at 3pm our booking having started at 2pm. It was dark and we were cold and angry so we took our luggage to the nearest pub to call Airbnb again. Long story shortened, neither Airbnb or the host ever called us back and with nowhere to store our luggage and, more importantly, nowhere safe to stay we decided that the only option was to return to Paddington and go home.

At 12.20am Airbnb sent me a text offering to put us up in a hotel. I explained that we had returned home and that if this had been offered at a much earlier point we might have had the night we had planned. I asked why this hadn't been offered when it was clear that they weren't going to be able to resolve this booking and they said that I should have found this on their Help Page and asked for it!!!

While Airbnb have refunded the cost of the accommodation the only other compensation has been in the form of Airbnb vouchers which in no way goes towards the cost of the train fares or concert tickets, the uber and the disappointment of a day completely wasted. 

Airbnb say that they will not consider any form of compensation but I'm reluctant to book with them again after this appalling level of customer service. 

Do I have any route for redress?

Could this have been resolved when the cleaner arrived?
If there is a master power isolation at the property, which had been inadvertently switched off, the cleaner would quite possibly have known where that was located.

Why did you decide that your only option, once at the pub, was to travel straight back home?  
Did you consider booking into any hotel?
Why did you take all your luggage to the pub?  Could you have left the luggage inside the AirB'n'B while deciding what your next step would be?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP, sorry to hear. 

AirBnB are typically an agent with the contract with the host, you can certainly attempt to claim damages but from the host.

Damages need to be mitigated (lessened), foreseeable (could be known at the time the contract was formed) and stem naturally from the breach. 

Do you have a name and address for the host? If not and you still have the address of the place you stayed you could download the deeds from the land registry to see who the owner is.

You'd ned to send a letter before action and if no joy file through small claims, as the person making the claim the burden of proof, on the balance of probability (50/50 rather than 100% certain), is upon your self.

Whilst it could be that host was unaware of the concert, there is loss of enjoyment, covered in detail here:

https://www.dekachambers.com/2020/06/09/general-damages-in-holiday-claims-a-recap/

You could put in a claim for the journey there and back plus (if you don't do this kind of thing very often) say £200 per person. 

The letter before action only costs a stamp and free templates should be on Google, whether it's worth going further to court is a personal decision.  

saajan_12

lovely-cup-of-tea said:

It was now 5pm and we'd arrived at 3pm our booking having started at 2pm. It was dark and we were cold and angry so we took our luggage to the nearest pub to call Airbnb again. Long story shortened, neither Airbnb or the host ever called us back and with nowhere to store our luggage and, more importantly, nowhere safe to stay we decided that the only option was to return to Paddington and go home.

At 12.20am Airbnb sent me a text offering to put us up in a hotel. I explained that we had returned home and that if this had been offered at a much earlier point we might have had the night we had planned. I asked why this hadn't been offered when it was clear that they weren't going to be able to resolve this booking and they said that I should have found this on their Help Page and asked for it!!!

Why? Vs say staying in a hotel, that way you're only out just the hotel cost not the whole train and concert tickets.  Or ask the cleaner to sort out the lights.
Cancelling your trip was an extreme reaction, not surprised AirBnB aren't compensating.  

ButterCheese

Sorry but you decided to travel home and forego the concert.  That decision was out of Air B&Bs control.  You could have stayed in the dark, or stayed in another hotel and sought compensation afterwards

lovely-cup-of-tea

To clarify, the flat was in total, and I mean TOTAL darkness and there were stairs to negotiate in the dark too. The cleaner tried to help but the power had been disconnected. With no power we couldn't take a shower, make a cuppa or navigate our way around the place.

I'll certainly be booking a hotel next time I need to travel to see a concert etc, I won't trust Airbnb with anything like this again.

Lj_likestosave

lovely-cup-of-tea said:

To clarify, the flat was in total, and I mean TOTAL darkness and there were stairs to negotiate in the dark too. The cleaner tried to help but the power had been disconnected. With no power we couldn't take a shower, make a cuppa or navigate our way around the place.

I'll certainly be booking a hotel next time I need to travel to see a concert etc, I won't trust Airbnb with anything like this again.

In these temperatures I can see why you'd choose not to stay! Airbnb unfortunately are known for doing the absolute minimum when it comes to dodgy or unsuitable listings. I'm surprised they've given you vouchers - I'd say that's actually a win compared to many stories I've seen. 
In future, you could try a site like HotelTonight for a last minute bargain if you need a place to stay! 

Ergates

itsthelittlethings said:

Why isn’t it safe to stay in a flat in the dark? Why did you call Airbnb and not message the host. Ethical concerns aside, I have never had a bad experience on Airbnb.

Why might it be unsafe to stumble around in a pitch black unfamiliar apartment?   Really?

Moreover, it's now November and is hitting sub-zero temperatures overnight - with no heating.

Returning home might not have been the OP's only option, but staying in the apartment wasn't really a viable one either.

mikrt

No help whatsoever to the OP. but I'd suggest there was miscommunication between host & cleaner.  The property was probably still shut down from last visit, and would (should) have been opened up (electric back on etc) after cleaning.

Ergates

mikrt said:

No help whatsoever to the OP. but I'd suggest there was miscommunication between host & cleaner.  The property was probably still shut down from last visit, and would (should) have been opened up (electric back on etc) after cleaning.

Except the cleaner had no idea how to turn on the electricity.

Equally likely is that the owner hasn't been paying their bills and got cut off.