patty s.

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I was a first time Airbnb user, and was traveling to Los Angeles for weekend with my 2 teenage daughters. We were driving from a neighboring state, and mainly wanted a house with a kitchen so we could cook some meals, and save money on the vacation. I am a fairly skeptical and through person, and I read the amenities section very carefully. Unfortunately, this host, Kendra G, in L. A, only had one review, which was positive, but I would have preferred more. I have since learned reviews cannot be trusted, that often people are afraid of offending the host and aren't honest, or that hosts even get friends to write fake reviews for them. (They can do this by booking the location, paying for a night or two, writing a review, then receiving the cash back from the host/friend for the "reservation") that in fact never happened I took a leap of faith and after a couple messages back and forth, I booked her 2 bedroom art-deco house in the Eagle Rock neighborhood, for it's seemingly decent neighborhood, and it's proximity to all areas of L. A County, for $129 per night.

The house had no AC, which she had listed on the property description. However, it was during a heatwave in L. A, she only provided one fan, (This was for 2 bedrooms), and worse even, two windows had screens missing, one on the master bedroom, so those windows couldn't be left open at night to cool the house down. She also charged a $75 cleaning fee, per reservation, yet when we checked in, the kitchen counters were dirty, and needed wiping, and the kitchen was also moderately dirty. For a $75 cleaning fee, you don't expect to have dirty feet after going barefoot for 10 minutes, or to find popcorn and other debris sticking to your feet in the kitchen. Her front door also had a broken doorknob lock, (working deadbolt) and the front door stuck SO bad several times during our 3 night stay, we had to go out the back patio slider, around to the front, and physically push our way in through the front door, just to leave the house. It's a very unpleasant thing to do in 100 degree heat, in a sweltering house, as you're trying to leave.

Those were moderately irritating, but the worst was discovered as we opened the house up to cool it down. A large window in the dining area not only was missing a screen, but the lock was also completely missing. NO lock whatsoever, not even a dowel. The patio slider, (Very old, with plate glass), also had a lock that was completely GONE. Missing! It didn't even close all the way leaving a 1/4 gap, even when it was slid shut all the way. The slider had a large dowel in it, but in fact, the slider could still be slid open 6-8 inches, allowing a slender person to possibly slip through and get into the house. Now, we're talking about a house in Los Angeles, not some country town in the middle of nowhere where you can leave your doors unlocked. It was a huge security concern, and we ended up fashioning dowels and adding some makeshift security measures, that made the house feel slightly safer to leave our valuables in. We didn't feel comfortable leaving our laptops, jewelry, anything! I emailed the host, who have a bunch of excuses, but bottom line, it was ridiculous to deal with that. Of all the things you expect from a rental, door and window locks being present and in good working condition are an absolute MUST, and not a trivial complaint.

Air bnb has a double blind review system, to keep people honest. If the host and guest both write reviews for each other, they publish publicly simultaneously, to keep people from basing what they say on what the other person says. Once that's done, the host has one chance to reply to your review, however it's written. Kendra G wrote a pleasant review of myself, and my daughters, as guests. My review was very honest about the lax security, and the hosts blasé attitude about it. I was not directly rude towards her as a person, but I stated the obvious, no one willingly pays for a rental, even in a "peer to peer" community, with broken door. Window locks, and substandard security for yourself and your belongings. She was VERY unhappy, and wrote an extremely snarky response to my negative review. Interestingly, she never denied that the doors/windows had broken locks and missing screens, she just used the public format and her degree in public relations to call me a poor guest, and say my dissatisfaction was "unwarranted." I guess it's laughable that she only had that to say, when she read my negative review. So, in theory, the double blind system is good, keeping people honest. However, the fact that other reviews can either be faked, or not really trusted, makes me leery of EVER using Airbnb again. I certainly would NOT use it if I was going to foreign country! At least, close to home, you can figure it out if your reservation goes completely wrong!
Stay away from Kendra G's L. A home, unless she's made those few small door/window lock and screen fixes, that would make her guests so much more comfortable. Other than that, be very wary going into a Airbnb reservation, and DEFINITELY have a back-up plan!