A mum who forked out £2750 for a ‘luxury’ Edinburgh Airbnb property has hit out after making a series of shocking discoveries including urine on the toilet seat and mould in the fridge.
The disgruntled parent, who was visiting her daughter during the Fringe Festival, booked the two-bedroom flat in the city centre between August 20 and 27. But the tourist was horrified to find the grotty bathroom facilities alongside dirt and dust in every room, Edinburgh Live reports.
The fuming mum said she had questioned if the flat had been used as a student sub-let previously as it was so dirty and that she would complain when she got home to avoid confrontation with the host.
Unfortunately during the complaint process, things got worse as the owner of the Airbnb was able to simply reject the complaint she had sent to him. When she escalated it through the company she was told that because it was more than 72 hours after the stay, she was unable to get a refund or even leave a review.
After being contacted by Edinburgh Live, a token of £750 - less than half of the full amount the disappointed tourist paid - was given as a goodwill gesture but the woman is still fuming and would like the listing to be taken down.
The guest, who would like to remain anonymous, said: "When I discovered how shabby and dirty the flat was, I decided to complain when I returned home. I did not want a confrontation with the host. It was not just a quick tidy-up that was needed, it required a deep clean and much more to call it a stunning flat.
"I was there with my daughter, for the Fringe, and would not have been able to find alternative accommodation, so, because we would be spending much of our time out of the flat, and we could eat out, and we would just use the flat for sleeping, we decided to put up with it.
"We do question if it is a student flat being sublet. The photographs show how dirty and in poor condition the flat was." The flat got worse and worse as they examined each room.
She explained: "When we arrived, we found there was urine and a wipe in the toilet which did not bode well. As it was the festival, we just dropped our bags and headed out and went straight to bed on our return.
"The middle section of the shutter in my bedroom was missing, so there was no blackout as advertised in the details and so I woke early each day. On the second day, we began to notice that the flat was not clean and there were parts of the flat that were in desperate need of repair.
"The door handle in the sitting room fell off because there were no screws holding it in place. The bathroom door handle was held in position with parcel tape, as wired on the floor in the entrance to the bathroom.
"In the kitchen, there were cupboards and drawers that had not been wiped clean, a very dirty oven, chipped crockery, and a fridge that had not seen a cleaning cloth on the outside and the water dispenser was mouldy.
"In the sitting room, lifting any cushion revealed dust, debris and hair."
The tourists were in complete disbelief at the state of the house. She continued: "In the bedrooms, there was a broken cupboard, again held together with parcel tape, and more dust everywhere: under my bed, there was an accumulation of fluff and dust and someone's comb.
"There was dust and screws littering the windowsills under the shutters. On the fire surround, there was a stain from a cup. The bathroom was also in desperate need of cleaning: both toilet and basin pedestals were dirty, and there was a disgusting toilet brush holder, we didn't want to touch the brush.
"The bin was in need of disinfectant too. When I closed the shutter, there on the sill were loose clumps of black dirt and dust. It was clear that the bathroom had been given a very quick wipe-over, but had not been cleaned properly in a very long time.
"The flat was shabby too: it had not been decorated to a reasonable standard." When returning home, the mum sent a long letter to the host regarding the awful condition of the flat and was in disbelief when he ignored her.
She said: "Initially, I sent a long detailed letter to the host and waited a few days for a reply. He ignored it, so I contacted Airbnb.
"Through telephone calls and messaging it became clear that because I did not complain within 72 hours of arriving, I had no entitlement to support my complaint. I did not know this; it was not included in any emails to me, but it is, of course, in the Airbnb terms and conditions when you look for how to complain. Who looks at that when they go on holiday?"
Finally she explained: "However, I was advised that I could complain through the Resolution Centre. So, I completed the form, uploading all the photos and the letter I had sent to the host, not realising until it was completed that this complaint and request for a refund was going to the host again and not to an arbiter as the name suggests.
"This had not been explained to me. The host simply declined the request. I think it was that simple for him because I had missed the 72-hour deadline.
"I asked Airbnb what their responsibility was in allowing this process to support hosts who rent out properties in this condition. I got nowhere. Eventually, after much badgering to speak with a supervisor, I received a message from someone who claimed to be a supervisor.
"She reiterated that they could not make a refund without the support of the host. The final message said 'We already made a report and our specialist team will investigate further.
"Once we confirmed that the host violates our hosting standard, we will remove the listing.' Needless to say, this listing is still there, 'Stunning 2 Bedroom Large Flat in Central Edinburgh' hosted by Ben."
"So having exhausted the process of complaining and getting absolutely nowhere, I was still able to leave a review on the website. This would at least make future prospective renters aware of what we experienced.
A spokesperson for Airbnb told Edinburgh Live: "We were disappointed to learn about this experience and we have reached out to the guest to provide a partial refund - worth £750 - and a coupon as a gesture of goodwill.
They added: "All our guests are protected by AirCover for free on every booking and in the rare event that something isn't as expected, we will help immediately when contacted within 72 hours of check-in."
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