Month: October 2021

DO NOT stay with this host on AirBnB (Texas)

/ Prof Hilary / Leave a comment

During my recent trip to San Antonio, Texas, USA, I stayed at this listing on AirBnB (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/46903666?source_impression_id=p3_1634655893_hf0A3g8Q8UtLla8s&guests=1&adults=1), with the hosts Julio, Max, and Juan Esteban (https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/374477111) which have a total of 12 listings on AirBnB.

There were issues before I even checked in, and even though I never even complained, they lied and even called me by the wrong sex in their absurd review of me. This is the timeline:

8 September, 2021

8:15pm – I made an enquiry and specifically asked: “Just to confirm: Your place’s Wi-Fi in the room is strong enough for online meetings, right?”

8:16pm – an automatically generated message from “Julio” said: “Please allow our team a few minutes to review your questions and we will get back to you ASAP.”

I made the booking shortly and they never responded to my question, only with another generic message:

8:17pm – “Thank you for booking our house! We are looking forward to welcoming you and your group! We will be in contact with you closer to your visit with all of the details you’ll need for a smooth check in. This will include address, directions, info on parking, etc.

We will send you all of the info about 3-4hrs prior to your check in. Our standard check in time is 4pm, but if the place is available sooner than that we will let you know!

Please help us with the following info:
– Copy or Screenshot of your ID
– Phone verification (if they are NOT verified yet)
– Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Thank you!”

8:45pm – After I swiftly complied with their requests, I asked further: “Is there public transportation from the airport?”

This question was also completely ignored by them.

27 September, 2021

11:21pm – They requested that I moved my reservation to another one of their listings, which is a little further away from the city centre.

“hello there, due to an airbnb error, there is a double booking with your reservation.

Nothing to worry about!

We have a similar room available, we sent you a request :)please review and accept at your earliest convenience!”

This happened less than a week from the booked time, and I accepted it without complaints after 2 minutes.

Previously, as I posted above, they say they were going to send check-in instructions “about 3-4hrs prior”, and that the check-in time would be 4pm.

On the day of check-in:

1:05pm (less than 4 hours prior to check-in) – I messaged them saying “Just landed”

1:32pm – I reminded them that I had yet to receive information from them, saying “I’m going downtown to just walk around.

Probably will head to your place late afternoon. I haven’t received the Checkin instructions”

1:33pm – Juan Esteban said “they will be sent soon”

Absolutely NO communication from them happened during this time.

4pm – Check-in time PASSED

4:16pm – I mnessaged them: “Hello. It’s passed check-in time now. Do you have the instructions for me yet?My phone data is acting up so I can’t stay online”

4:23pm – Juan Esteban asked “were you able to check in?” despite my pointing out that they never sent me anything

4:25pm – I said: “I thought there would be some instructions sent”

4:26pm – Juan Esteban: “yes they have let me inform my crew”

4:47pm – Max finally sent the information, 47 minutes AFTER check-in time. The message contained 2 links: “HOUSE RULES” and “THINGS TO DO”.

5:11pm – As I was only on my phone, I asked about the Wi-Fi password, as I went on my way to the house.

5:32pm – Max: “For sure!
Please check the house rules linkAll info is there”

5:32pm – I tried opening the document but failed, and I meesaged them, with SCREENSHOTS:

“I see that the WiFi password is in the house rules but I can’t open that documentIt asks me to check my internet connection but I’m obviously connected to the internet right nowI tried using my data and still didn’t work”

In other words, I attempted multiple times to check the document, even trying different methods.

5:57pm – I notified them that: “I’m in and connected now. I’ll try to check the house rules from my laptop”

As you can see, I made numerous attempts to check the house rules sent after check, and I even told them I was reading it.

Yet, despite my effort to comply at every turn, this is their review to me:

Note that they didn’t even get my sex/gender right, calling me a “her”.

Additionally, their listing says they have “HS WIFI” when in reality there’s little to no Wi-Fi coverage in the room, but the Wi-Fi even in the best parts of the house was spotty and weak, barely able to hold any online meetings.