[ad_1]
Skift Take
Staying in professionally managed short-term rentals is no guarantee of an optimum guest experience. When your host’s profile picture turns out to be a free stock photo, you can guess how this ended up.
Online Travel This Week
A vacation trip over the last two weeks to California highlighted to me what a crapshoot staying in short-term rentals continues to be despite the supposed heightened professionalization of the industry.
While I booked a mix of short-term rentals and hotels during the trip, a stay booked through Booking.com and a second reservation I made on Airbnb, both in Los Angeles, made me longing at times for the relative reliability of a hotel where I’d have some sense of what I’d actually be getting.
The apartment hotel I secured on Booking.com in downtown Los Angeles was a guest experience nightmare during the process leading up to checking in although the stay itself turned out well enough.
A Meetup Location, Not a Property Address
The host didn’t give me the name or address of the property, which turned out to be Level Downtown South Olive, even on the day of the stay until actually meeting me there after a protracted process and handing me a key card. Leading up to that the host had sent me a 15-paragraph email informing me I should provide an arrival time, and that the address was a “meet-up location.” I admittedly didn’t read the email because I was driving six hours to the property and not checking emails. So it was partially my fault, but shouldn’t you be able to book a property, get the address, and check in? Duh.
Prior to check-in, the host gave me no property name or precise address but merely provided a Google Maps link with directions to an intersection in Los Angeles that turned out to be 10 miles from the property. When I arrived at the intersection mid-evening on the night of the stay and didn’t find an apartment hotel, I called the host, who told me she was in church, and wouldn’t be leaving immediately so I’d have to wait an hour to check in. Hadn’t I read all of her emails? No, I was traveling, namely driving across the state to get there.
This was all taking place at around 9 p.m. after a long day of driving. The host met me an hour later at the property, and I checked in, although she warned me several times not to tell the Level staff or approach the front desk saying I had booked the stay on Booking.com because then “they will not help you.” The rooms ended up being OK, and the location was alright, but there was nothing luxurious about the amenities in this supposed luxury furnished apartment.
Downtown LA, Not West Hollywood
After two nights there, my Airbnb booking in a supposed stylish, luxury West Hollywood apartment for the next two nights with pool and gym turned out to be worse. First, the property actually was in downtown Los Angeles and not West Hollywood so the host could circumvent “local Airbnb restrictions,” and I had to navigate a two-block-long homeless encampment to get from a parking garage to the apartment.
Again, as with the Booking.com reservation, I had to pledge before the host accepted the booking that I would tell no one in the building that the place was booked through Airbnb.
This “luxury” apartment did not have a single glass or cup in it, and the swimming pool access turned out to be a myth because the host later told Airbnb after I complained that I should ask building residents to let me into the pool because the entrance to the pool was always kept locked. I informed Airbnb the next morning, after staying there for the first of two nights, that I’d be packing my bags and leaving, and I wanted a full refund because the host hadn’t provided the promised amenities, including glasses and cups, as well as pool access.
At first Airbnb customer service told me I wouldn’t get a full refund because I had slept at the property for one night, but after I sent customer service representatives a video of the locked pool doors, Airbnb issued me a full refund for the two nights “given that some amenities were missing.”
The Elusive ‘Vivian’ Used Stock Photo for Profile
It’s unclear whether my Airbnb host “Vivian” really exists. Her profile photo turned out to be a free stock photo. I never actually spoke with her on the phone despite calling her twice. The phone number on the listing went to someone who was clearly annoyed because she had nothing to do with the property, and I left a message and got no reply when calling a second provided phone number. Airbnb initially couldn’t reach “Vivian” either but hours later received a text from a property manager — seemingly Luxury Rentals LA/Yoffa Management — who purportedly was en route to deliver cups and glasses.
“Vivian” sent me what clearly were automated messages throughout the stay, none of which addressed any of the issues I had been texting her about.
All of this made me think I just should have booked a hotel — especially one that had parking. For the Airbnb stay, I had to lug a bunch of bags from a parking lot two blocks away through the homeless encampment to get to and from the Airbnb. All of this for a property that was listed as being in West Hollywood.
The issues here didn’t even revolve around the advantages and disadvantages of individual versus professional hosts because both of the problematic bookings seemed to be for properties that were professionally managed, and should in theory have met higher standards.
This tiny sampling of two subpar short-term rental experiences obviously can’t purport to represent an entire industry. But they offer some random fodder showing how far the industry has to go to ensure a reliable guest experience. Or maybe the nature of the gig economy can never lend itself to that.
In Brief
A Humbled Oyo Aims for $10 Billion Public Debut
India-based budget hotel operator and distributor Oyo filed paperwork for an initial public offering in India that it hopes will raise around $1.2 billion at a $10 billion valuation. Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal owns one-third of the company, second to Softbank with its 47 percent stake. Oyo claims substantial brand strength with a laudable percentage of direct bookings, but the company is also subject to an unusually high number of lawsuits. Skift
Outdoorsy Partners With Subscription Meal-Kit Services
RV rental company Outdoorsy is getting into the subscription game with a twist. It teamed with Marley Spoon in the U.S. to offer renters discounted subscriptions to Marley Spoon’s meal kit and delivery service featuring recipes from Martha Stewart. Nice to have a little culinary star power for meal-planning before heading out on the road.
China’s Trip.com Group Is Developing Rural Tourism
China’s Trip.com Group has opened three rural retreats in Anhui, Henan and Hunan provinces as part of a projected 5-year plan to promote rural tourism and generate jobs in low-income communities. The goal is to open 10 such retreats that house luxury properties of “5-star hotel quality,” according to Executive Chairman Jianzhang Liang.
CEO Shuffle at Russia’s Aviasales
Russian metasearch company Aviasales has a new CEO. Anton Baitsur, who has previously served as chief operating officer and vice president of product, became CEO. Meanwhile, Max Kraynov, who had the top slot for the past 10 years, took on the board chairman role. Aviasales claims a piece of 17 percent of all flight bookings in the Russia.
[ad_2]
Source link