But it did create a dilemma for travellers! As the service quality tends to vary quite a lot based on the location and the host, how can you be sure that your stay will be comfortable?
A monsoon staycation in Goa
In mid-August, my friend and I planned a week-long budget staycation in Goa to relish the monsoons and enjoy the hospitality of this tourist paradise of India. But the very first day, the long and arduous bus travel from Goa’s Dabolim airport to our AirBnB in Palolem wringed out every bit of our zeal for adventure from our bodies.It was dark, raining cats and dogs and we could not see a thing on our two-wheeler journey from the bus stop to our AirBnB. Only our strong desire to find a mattress (hopefully dry) to rest our weary backs on got us to our destination.
It was 10 PM when we reached our homestay and it was still raining, giving us a real taste of the Goan monsoon we were so eager to experience. The caretaker was nowhere to be found, but our host assured us via WhatsApp that all had been taken care of and that we just needed to get the keys from the security guard stationed outside the gated community.
Struggles at the Goa AirBnB
Soaked to our bones and shivering, we were quick to follow his bidding. As the key turned in the door, I was already thrumming with excitement at the prospect of a hot bath and warm blankets. However, as we stepped inside, the musty scents of mould and rotting wood hit our nostrils. Still optimistic, we warily ventured inside, reassuring each other that the room just needed a little bit of airing out.Peak monsoon was still in its last vestiges and the place had been closed for a long time, it was only normal for the place to smell musty, we comforted each other. But once we’d taken care of our sodden selves and equally sodden luggage, we got a closer look at our accommodation — the one we had booked after much deliberation and thoroughly going through the reviews. The place didn’t just reek of mould, the black stuff was everywhere and the smell wasn’t going anywhere.
One asthmatic looked to the other, knowing that staying here for the entire duration of our trip was out of the question. Amongst them, the socially awkward one told the people-pleasey one to speak with the host and inform him of what was going on. When we texted our “superhost”, he offered to shift us to another property he owned in the same building. But lo and behold, that flat was just as bad, if not worse.
We finally made the tough call of possibly upsetting our host and asking for a refund so we could find another property. Simultaneously speaking with him and AirBnB
The response was pleasantly surprising!
Experience with the customer service
The customer service executive immediately agreed to cancel our reservation and our host agreed to refund all of our money as well. In the meantime, we were panicking about finding another accommodation in the short window of time we had. Every passing moment felt like we were inching closer to a night stranded in the storm.Our refund was guaranteed, but there was a twist! The hosting platform said that it would need about 2 weeks to process our refund. And since we were overly confident about our meticulous planning, we didn’t have enough cash to book a whole other property without the refund.
We communicated the same to our hosting partner’s customer service and they turned out to be empathetic to our situation. After much back and forth, mostly to get a better understanding of our situation, and which location we wanted to shift to, we finally went to bed at the same property, hoping for amicable resolution in the morning.
Within a few hours, the AirBnB asked for our preferences for relocation. We also spoke with our potential new host to make sure their place was mould-free. Soon, customer service got back to us saying that they had reserved the new accommodation for the rest of our week-long trip and also gave us a “one-time courtesy” coupon for the same amount that the new place would cost us.
It slowly dawned on us that this meant that our stay would be practically free! All the hopelessness from starting the trip full of rain and rot turned into glee and we wasted no time packing up our bags and riding off to our new destination — which turned out to be much cleaner, mould-free and in a much better location!
Takeaway
Our main takeaway from the whole experience was that you cannot research a place enough! When looking at reviews, firstly make sure that there are enough of them, and then ensure that they’re recent. Read between the lines and ask your potential host very specific questions. Most importantly, document any issues that you’re having immediately because Airbnb generally sides with the guest if there’s clear evidence, as per reports.Have a few alternative listings saved in case something goes wrong, especially during peak travel times or in popular locations and keep some extra funds handy for emergencies, like needing to book a hotel for a night while sorting out an issue with Airbnb or the host. This way, you can possibly skirt past the problems we faced during our stay and increase your chances of having a positive homestay experience!