AirBnB 656 Atlantic Ave, Vacation Rental listed as "Entire Home" but is actually shared with dozens of the owner's friends and family, Westerly Rhode Island
Anecdotally, I have a tremendous amount to say about this experience but will limit the review to only statements which can be proven.
THE PROCESS
On 2/15/2022 I reserved a listing and paid a 50% deposit; then paid the remaining 50% due for rental on 6/16/2022. Having heard nothing from the owner since 2/16/2022 I reached out using AirBnB’s messaging system on 6/29/2022. The owner responded the same day, asked to follow-up via a personal email address, and I received a message later in the day indicating “ Attached is our rental agreement with all the house information, details, check-in, check-out, parking, etc.”
The “rental agreement” contains new details which were not included in the AirBnb listing, see applicable items copied and pasted from the rental agreement below:
New details - “Automobiles are not allowed to park on the street. Two (2) parking spaces are available for renters. Vehicles parked on the side of road may be towed as these are No Parking zones. Please note that owners use the parking space in between the cottages, please park in this designated “Renter Parking” area only, under the front porch, against the rock foundation:
Note: the Property Owner uses the lawn area for parking at all times, which is the space to the left of Tenant Parking, as well as, the Basement is restricted to the Owner's use only.”
THE DECISION
I had already paid for the rental in full upon receipt of the rental agreement. This situation forced me to make a choice; cancel my childrens beach trip at the last minute and plead for my money back, or attempt to cope with new terms in an unexpected situation. I chose the latter.
THE REALITY
With the exception of the two tenant parking spaces the remainder of the property is an active parking lot for not just the owners, but dozens of their friends and family that come and go throughout the day and into the late evening hours; the “owner’s only” basement is effectively used as a cabana for this large group. There were points in time where there were up to eleven vehicles on the property, only one of which was mine. Please see the photographs linked below
Street side
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xxr1azh7i5km812/-1084772107317778784.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sc1ibudovqjmay0/8901642583394679592.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cnqwgoxk16m75xv/8329783513469035234.jpg?dl=0
Wedged in opposite street side
https://www.dropbox.com/s/06wa0y29j3neuz2/IMG_20220704_131100.jpg?dl=0
Front lawn
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mmnti5wx39uus4t/IMG_20220704_131054.jpg?dl=0
Basement is for owner’s use only
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1tirqx802lxm5wu/IMG_20220705_145153.jpg?dl=0
THE REACTION
I have three daughters ages 10, 8, and 4 who made the following statements while we were on-premise:
8 year old - “Daddy, I thought this was our house, why are there so many people here?”
10 year old - “Daddy, I can’t sleep with all the noise and car lights shining through the window”
4 year old - “Daddy, when will it be safe for me to ride my bike?”
THE EXIT
We paid for a week and left two days early. The next day I submitted a request through AirBnB for a partial refund, sharing the statements made by my children (cited above) as the primary reasons. The owner responded this morning with the following message:
I am sorry you did not enjoy your stay, it is very unfortunate that you are making these complaints and exited early. To respond to your comments; First, our description on Airbnb (see screenshot) clearly mentions details about the areas owners use (parking and basement).
Second, the cars parked in your photos are isolated to solely July 4th holiday which I explained to your wife; for all our rentals, we reserve the right to park our lawn. Next, this house is located on the 'main beach strip' of Atlantic Ave where all Misquamicut beaches are accessed to/from which is told in my airbnb description, therefore I cannot control the level of beach traffic on any day.
You should have done more research/ google earth or asked questions about the location of our beach house if you had any doubts prior to booking. The intersecting road we are located on is Breach Dr, that is a long dead end residential road clearly safe for bike riding.
Guests enjoy that all the time. Or, just over the Weekapaug bridge are elite quite residential small safe neighborhoods to bike ride, if you did not like Atlantic Avenue sidewalks and designated Bike Lanes that are there.
You exited/checked out without my knowledge, prior to your booking date which is not appreciated. This house is enjoyed by so many guests steps to a private beach access, so it is hard to understand justifiable facts regarding your dislikes. Everything about this rental is clearly communicated in this posting.
Screenshot
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yyecrhu022wb2sn/ownerScreenShot.JPG?dl=0
AIRBNB'S FINAL RESPONSE 12 DAYS AFTER REPORTING THE INCIDENT
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Hi Michael,
Thank you for your reply and sorry for the delay as we are currently experiencing an unusually high volume of requests.
Upholding the policies and standards that protect our community is very important to us. We’ve given your case and its details careful consideration, and we have determined that we can’t offer any further refunds outside of your Host’s cancellation policy.
Our review is complete now, and we won’t be able to offer additional support on this case at this time.
If you’d like to provide feedback on Airbnb’s policies or your experience, you can do so any time at:
airbnb.com/feedback
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