I need some advice. I am an airbnb host as well as a current guest of a furnished studio in Hollywood, CA. I rented this place for 49 nights with the intention of working from 'home' and being able to walk to the store, gym, etc., without needing to use my car while my home in Palm Springs is rented out for the winter.
The wifi is terrible because the signal is shared among 5 units (no streaming, often cuts off multiple times during the day), there is a single space heater for 700 square feet (the old floor heaters have been disconnected, so I've been using the stove for back-up heating), I cannot use the non-vented oven because it sets off the smoke alarm (which my host told me to just disconnect), several windows are missing screens, there are two pieces of plywood in a hallway separating my 'private' unit from my host's (which resulted in her complaining about noise from my unit such as moving chairs around), and the window A/C unit seal let in so much cold air that my first night I had to stuff some alum. foil into the gaps.
Yesterday, the power was turned off due for a few hours to an overdue balance. In the meantime, I was working off my laptop battery and iPhone hot spot.
There are very limited cleaning supplies, no broom or vacuum cleaner, and in the kitchen there was a single bowl and two spoons as well as more forks, plates and glasses. I made a trip myself to Goodwill to stock up on these items. When the battery on the smoke detector started beeping, since she didn't have any replacements, I went to the store in order to avoid hearing it beep all night.
Frankly, I had a much superior experience last year renting a private room (via airbnb) in Buenos Aires, Argentina for 90 days.
When I have complained about these issues, the host gets annoyed and has on several different occasions suggested I simpy go somewhere else (I checked, and there was nothing in my area in the same price range for the amount of time I needed on such short notice). As an airbnb host myself, I cannot imagine ever responding in that way to a guest. When my own guests told me that my vacuum cleaner died, I immediately sent a replacement -- no questions asked. When I was delayed checking them in, I comped them the first night.
On one night my host told me she was unable to re-boot the wifi router because she was getting drunk (she said due to President Trump), and then the next day was also unavailable because she was hung over from the night before. She is emotionally unstable and consideres every minor criticism as an insult. Whenever she has received a bad review, she has responded nastily and rarely taken responsibility for anything -- just a list of excuses.
She also likes to invoke the building owner's health problems as a reason for everything that's wrong with the property, including the power bill not being paid. Finally, she likes to remind me about her past 13-year battle with cancer and how she cannot handle any stress at all, so it would be better if I just left.
All of these conversations can be documented by email and text, sometimes via the airbnb system, and sometimes without. From here on out, I will only communicate with her via the airbnb system.
I plan to ask for some type of rebate for the false advertising regarding the wifi, heating and the fact that it's not really a 'private unit,' various code violations (lack of adequate heat, missing screens, illegal separation of dwelling units) and the hassles of having to adapt.
These adaptations have included using the stove for heating, wearing extra layers (I cannot have guests over because they complain about the cold), and using my iPhone as a wifi hotspot, which has more than doubled my data usage.
So, what percent rebate should I be seeking?
