Air BNB Trip From Hell!

[OnMyWay]

If you recall, we were supposed to fly to Mactan for a week, leaving Christmas Day and coming home on New Years Eve.  Then for New Years Eve, we booked two nights in BGC.  Odette cancelled Mactan.  We spend last week scrambling for for something to do, and decided to take the kids to Enchanted Kingdom, then 1 night in MOA area so we could take the kids to DreamPlay, then the 2 nights at BGC.

There are only a few AirBnB close to enchanted kingdom.  There are several at San Jose Residences condo, right next door.  I was able to book one last minute.  Pictures looked ok.  Condo was so so, but ok.  The building was pretty bad.  Missing and loose floor tiles.  Dirty walls.  May bills stuck in most of the doors, like no one was there.   The elevator barely worked.  Next to the elevator on the 4th floor, some guy had the overflow from his small condo stacked in the hallway.  The lady who gave us the keys lived across from him and also appeared to be a packrat. 

After we arrived, we went to grocery at Waltermart Sta Rosa, across the street from the old BI Sta Rosa office where I had extended a few times in 2012-13.  Ate dinner at a really shabby Bon Chon there.  When we arrived back at the condo, this was in the doorway.

So after 2 nights there we headed to City of Dreams and took the kids to Dream Play.  That was very nice, and expensive.  They changed the pricing when they reopened.  You use to be able to get 2 hour or 4 hours or all day.  Now it is all day or nothing.  P1500 a head for the 3 kids and just p250 a head for the non-participants.  So, p5000 for the family, then we paid for my wife's sister and boyfriend to join later.  They babysat while we ran over to check in next AirBnB.

We had booked a place at Shore Residences.  One hour before the 3 pm checkin, the host said she could not accommodate us because her cleaner fainted.  We could take the place uncleaned.  No thanks.  We scrambled and found another place at SEA residences for about p1500 more than the original.  The "manager" met us and we had to give her another p1000 refundable security deposit, which I against AirBnb policy, I think.  The condo was ok for us, but was not the one pictured.  There are dozens of AirBnBs in the SEA residences, Shell residences and Shore Residences.  The owners and manager think they can just move you around anywhere.  I have seen many complaints in the reviews.  Anyway, it was last minute and the condo was fine, so I can't complain too much.

Next, two nights in BGC.  We wanted to be near Uptown Mall, and this one was one of the cheaper ones, but cost almost 10k for two nights. Small place that really didn't fit us well, but the location was great.  There were a few minor issues.  When I was choosing the place, I read all the reviews and the owner (Filipina living with her husband in New York) would get in very strong arguments with guests over what they said.  So I knew she was picky.  I will leave you with her welcome message a few days before checkin.  Quote:

Thank you again for booking with us. Pamela, my property manager will be on-site and start preparing the room between 12pm till 3pm. Her contact # + You won't be meeting her in the lobby to avoid crowding the area. She will let you know where to meet outside the building . Check-in time is at 3PM. Please let me know if you can't make it during this window so I can let her know in advance. Pamela will give 1 RFID registered under 1 of the main guest.
On the day of your check out, Pamela will be back at exactly 12noon to pick up the keys. If you're checking out earlier please give us a heads up. You need to leave the key and RFIDs. A fine of 1800php will be charged if you fail to leave both keys and RFID

We want you to have a five-star experience. We try our best to make that happen if you find anything that doesn't live up to that we ask that you give us the opportunity to make it right. We are all living in an unprecedented time so any negative public feedback will surely hurt our small business. You can message us anytime (I'm in eastern standard time) and I will try to be online and respond as soon as I can.

**COVID19 IMPORTANT ADVISORY!!
-All guests are required to present their Covid vaccination cards. NO EXEMPTION, everyone coming in the building MUST be fully vaccinated. Kindly prepare all necessary documents to avoid delays during your arrival.
-Please be reminded to WEAR MASK AT ALL TIME
-ALWAYS coordinate with Pamela regarding checking in and out.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please REFRAIN from uttering “AIRBNB” at any time in the building common areas during your stay. Few of my neighbors feel weird about a co-sharing space setup. When speaking with building staff please say you are my guest/s.

Check-in is at 3PM
Check-out is 12PM
We hope you understand both times are strictly implemented because of other reservations. We really appreciate your understanding.

Please bring and present IDs to the front desk upon check-in. No ID, NO ENTRY.
VISITORS (those who were not originally declared as guests) can only stay until 7 p.m. and PLEASE let us know in advance if you will be entertaining visitors. I also need to register their names in our building security system

WIFI:
SSID: HG180_24G_D1950 or HG180_5G_D1950
Password: qmEnTLcm

ATTENTION!!!
To use the projector simply pull the blackout window blinds down. Use the amazon fire stick to turn the ENTIRE SYSTEM on/off.
No cables needed to play from your phone or computers. Have your devices connected to our wifi network then tap the rectangular cast icon from your device and you should be all set. Please avoid direct contact/unplugging/plugging cables to the projector mount to avoid it falling off the ceiling. DO NOT ADJUST OR PRESS ANYTHING FROM THE PROJECTOR BUT THE ON/OFF BUTTON.

NO parties and other noisy activities and NO SMOKING policy. There will be a 3500PHP fee.
NEVER leave any trash in the hallway. There will be a 2,000PHP fee.

*blood disclaimer - for the safety and health of our cleaning specialists we ask that any blood on towels, sheets, comforters (or anything else) be washed out immediately and then laundered. Anything with blood on it will be thrown away and guests will be responsible for the replacement fee. 500php each towels. 2500 for the complete set of pillowcases, sheets, and comforters, we buy them in sets.

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything.

We look forward to having you guys! Enjoy your stay!

Best Regards,

Edited January 2, 2022 by OnMyWay

[Jollygoodfellow]

I dont see much wrong with airbnb hosts conditions except not sure what a RFID is for. The word fine could be changed to cost of replacement. Other fines which could be building fines which they threaten here like smoking in the condos so the host is warning you.

The problem is these days airbnb guests often think they paid some money and can do as they like but its not so for reasons such as building rules and personal property rules since they are the owner.

In my case when I was managing other peoples units before covid I would tell them to leave the keys in the room and lock the door then use a second set when I needed to get in except for one building where its was constructed that you had to lock the door with the key so in that case I just told them to leave the key and close the door.

As for blood stains etc I have not had much trouble with. Women wiping makeup off with the towels was a bigger problem and in one case someone using candles above the bed then wax dripping ruined a set of sheets or blankets as its known here.

The stuff left in the hallways would not be tolerated in my building so management or lack of is the blame.

Anyway from the sound of your vacation I suggest next year buy a game of monopoly and stay home. 

[earthdome]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience but that aligns with our last trip when we had 4 different AirBnB bookings. One required a cash deposit and the building/unit was at the low end of acceptable. Another near Ortigas and EDSA was very nice and reasonable cost but I got the impression that the staff gave a wink and a nod to those doing AirBnB hosting which was against the rules.

We have had the experience in the US where the AirBnB we were given was not the one pictured. This was in a tourist area and the unit was in a time share complex. Of course they tried to get us to attend a sales event. Can't believe there are still people who would buy a time share.

Having  turned our former home into an AirBnB after buying a bigger home I have some experience being an AirBnB/VRBO host. That only lasted 6 months because a neighbor was on the HOA board and rallied all the other owners to amend the covenant to ban short term rentals Even though over 6 months there were only a couple of minor problem, no different than if we had turned it into a rental.

 

[earthdome]

5 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

I dont see much wrong with airbnb hosts conditions except not sure what a RFID is for. The word fine could be changed to cost of replacement. Other fines which could be building fines which they threaten here like smoking in the condos so the host is warning you.

The problem is these days airbnb guests often think they paid some money and can do as they like but its not so for reasons such as building rules and personal property rules since they are the owner.

In my case when I was managing other peoples units before covid I would tell them to leave the keys in the room and lock the door then use a second set when I needed to get in except for one building where its was constructed that you had to lock the door with the key so in that case I just told them to leave the key and close the door.

As for blood stains etc I have not had much trouble with. Women wiping makeup off with the towels was a bigger problem and in one case someone using candles above the bed then wax dripping ruined a set of sheets or blankets as its known here.

The stuff left in the hallways would not be tolerated in my building so management or lack of is the blame.

Anyway from the sound of your vacation I suggest next year buy a game of monopoly and stay home. 

The RFID tag is likely for a security door.

With our AirBnB we didn't sweat the small stuff getting damaged. Not worth the effort to try and get compensation. Just part of the cost of doing business and should be built into your nightly rate and cleaning fee. For example we had some young men get very drunk and broke the toilet seat. I just spent the $10 for a replacement and a few minutes to replace it. Not worth the effort to try and get compensated for it. But I did give them a bad review.

That type of attitude or approach is less common in the Philippines where people are more likely to covet every single peso they can squeeze out of you.

[earthdome]

12 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

The problem is these days airbnb guests often think they paid some money and can do as they like but its not so for reasons such as building rules and personal property rules since they are the owner.

 

My experience hosting in the US was that most guests treated my property like they were a guest. WIthout us asking they would strip the beds and put the sheets in the laundry, do the dishes, etc. Usually it didn't take us very long to get the unit ready for the next guest. Of course there were the exceptions. But that was 2 years ago.

[graham59]

Just give me a hotel room and spare me all that nonsense.  

[OnMyWay]

14 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

I dont see much wrong with airbnb hosts conditions

It is not so much about having rules to be followed, it is more about the over-the-top way she wrote it, often using ALL CAPS, etc.  And as Earthdome said, if you have a rental of any type as a business, you have some associated costs with running it.  Occasionally replacing a towel is part of the expenses of doing business. 

Actually I was wrong on the cost I mentioned.  We paid 12743.39 for two nights.  For that much, she can afford to buy a towel.

And, I didn't mention other small issues.  The handle on the kitchen faucet was not functioning and I had to temporarily fix it, but kept coming loose.  The shower had only a rain shower head.  No hose, no pail and scoop, no curtain.  The entire room would get wet from the splashing.  They had junk lying around taking up much needed space.  Like this broken (I assume, because she mentioned in response to a review that they got a new one) taking up a bar stool, and this unusable water cooler and two empty water bottles.

 

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

17 hours ago, earthdome said:

That type of attitude or approach is less common in the Philippines where people are more likely to covet every single peso they can squeeze out of you.

Well a big percentage were not Filipino guests and its different for each individual no matter where they came from. Some do as you say and strip the beds, others leave all the trash and dishes stacked high but to me there was no pattern as to who was a better guests.

I had mostly good reviews but just a few were not fair. One Chinese group gave a bad review and mentioned that not all beds were made up even though we knew when they were comming which was mid afternoon. Now because the extra beds are a sofa which faces the TV and two double size floor mattress we dont make them up because you could not move around with mattress on the floor and could not sit on the sofa if it was made up as well l dont expect a group of 6 sleeping as soon as they got there so what's done is for practical reasons and linen is placed on a shelf ready which wont take long to throw together.

I could go on about other things but from onmyways experience is plain bad hosting as where I was not the owner of the units but rather charging a fee to take care of everything so the best standards were always what l gave as I dont want bad reviews as I was trying to build more and more clients.

Looking back I dont think I could do it again, issues with guests, building issues, plain stupid people at times and constant being on demand with phone calls and messages. I guess the best part was when I had longer stays like say 2 weeks or a month as not much to worry about. Clean each unit once a week was it.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Speaking of airbnb and guests reminded me of what was left behind from a 2 night stay. All food was refrigerated or frozen so most was good and unopened. Had enough chicken for a week. 

I think there was still more than what was pictured.

    

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Looking back I dont think I could do it again, issues with guests, building issues, plain stupid people at times and constant being on demand with phone calls and messages.

People think hosting an AirBnB is easy money and a piece of cake.  I can see that it is very hard work if you have a lot of activity and want to be a good host and get good reviews.  Without good reviews, the bookings will dry up in most markets.  Basically you have to be available 24/7.  The lady I mentioned above is trying to be a very hands on micro manager from 13 hours time difference.  Not good.