HORRIFYING AIRBNB EXPERIENCE IN BEIJING
For someone who had travelled to many countries and had constantly used Airbnb as my first choice for accommodations, I have to say I'm simply appalled by the behaviour of this Airbnb host.
Firstly, this place was located a stone's throw away from the Hepingmen metro station which we discovered only upon arrival that it had no escalators at all. Hence we had to lug 20kg luggage up several flights of stairs. Nonetheless, I still kept an open mind for the Airbnb I'm about to check in.
To my utmost horrification, the unit was located in a building
where the front gate was not code-protected (gate was permanently spoilt when we asked the residents in the building), and
the dark corridor (with motion sensor lights) leading to the unit on level 2 was full of dust, and
not to mention, we seemed to be the only unit that has people inside. (When seen from outside, the whole of level 2 had no lights switched on)
The host’s assistant had already provided me with the passcode to the unit beforehand so check-in was still smooth.
As Beijing's weather was very cold negative 1 to 2 degrees, my knee had started to ache due to the overexertion at the metro station. The most disappointing thing was that the mattresses and bedsheets felt really old and uncomfortable. On top of that, the environment had already given us terrible vibes. Hence, my party of 3 ladies decided to cut short the stay from 7 nights to 2 nights as it was the minimum amount of nights stated for this Airbnb. We communicated with the host (and his female assistant) via WeChat phone call that we would like to make an adjustment to our stay due to personal reasons (my bad knees) and that we would likely change to staying at a hotel near a metro station that has escalator.
We were met with an angry host, who shouted at us very agitatedly that this would be a no refund cancellation and that he would be suffering a loss due to the empty, unrented unit. However, after much explanation, we expressed sincerely that we understood his concerns, but we would still like to stay for 2 nights and asked if that could be arranged. The host then said, he could arrange for a refund of 1000 yuan (out of the 4400+ yuan I paid for 7 nights). Subsequently, his assistant also provided me with China's Airbnb support's number and asked me to inform them of our agreement, which I did.
China's Airbnb support then revert back to him, and to my absolute disgust, China's Airbnb support came back to me with the conclusion that "the host would like to think about this decision (refunding of 1000 yuan) again, and he would be contacting you directly to sort this out. I am sorry that we were not able to help you out.”
After that, the host himself told us on WeChat that he would like to liaise with us directly, face to face, at our Airbnb at night, once we have returned to our Airbnb. Mind you, by the time we return back to the Airbnb after our dinner, it would be about 9-10pm. It was winter in Beijing, so residents do retire early. Let alone, our unit was the furthest down the corridor and we seemed like the only unit with people on level 2.
Now try putting yourself in our shoes, 3 defenceless ladies, in an environment where we already don't feel safe, and yet you are asking us to open doors (the host knows the passcode to the unit anyways) to a stranger, whom had reacted aggressively to a request of changing from 7 nights to 2 nights. Would you do it?
We eventually gave up on that refund of measly 1000 yuan and moved out of the Airbnb instead. Although we did not stay in the unit, we did not cancel the reservation either, we just left it as it is.
Below is a gallery of the entire conversation with the host, his assistant and China’s Airbnb support.
Truth be told, this is really the worst Airbnb experience for me. I've been an active user of Airbnb since 2015, and I've never had such an appalling experience with hosts before. I guess, when in China, it’s better to stay in hotels that has CCTV cameras in its lobby for maximum safety and comfort.
