What would you do if your airbnb is a disaster?

My sister and sister-in-law and I decided to celebrate autumn with a week in Paris. We planned the perfect adventure for 3 seniors.

We wanted to book an airbnb instead of a hotel so that we would have some common space to lounge and chat and laugh. A place to drink coffee in the morning; wine in the evening.

We decided to treat ourselves with luxury accommodations so that we would each have our own bedroom and bathroom. We spent hours pouring over airbnb apartments in Paris. We finally selected The Residence-Luxury 3 Bedroom Paris Center 1. It sounded perfect!

We were in for a BIG disappointment

Below is a photo from airbnb of what we expected to get:

We were gobsmacked when we entered the foyer in the building

We were utterly stunned to walk into a construction zone. The host said that the building was undergoing some renovations. What an understatement. We had to navigate our way through the construction zone and up two flights of stairs to access our airbnb.

Below is a photo of the staircase to our luxury apartment

Does this look like the exterior of a luxury apartment?

It was not reassuring to see that the workers drank wine with lunch

We couldn’t use the bannister for our two-floor walk-up

This is the scene that greeted us on the first floor landing

The landing was a storage area for construction debris

This is the view of the staircase from the first floor landing

This is the entrance hall outside our luxury apartment

We couldn’t image walking through this construction zone every time we entered or exited our luxury apartment … and the apartment was not very luxurious.

The agent for the owner met us at the building with the keys. She showed us around the apartment. Yes, it had three bedrooms. It did not have three bathrooms. One bedroom had an adequate ensuite. The other two bedrooms had a shower and a sink but no toilet. Instead, there was a closet in the hall with a toilet … just a toilet … no sink. We said that a bathroom with no toilet did not meet the definition of a bathroom. The agent disagreed.

What were we to do? This was not the luxury apartment that we expected and we were very apprehensive about walking through a construction zone. We had already paid for the apartment: half when we booked and the other half a few weeks before our arrival.

We immediately told the agent that this situation was entirely unacceptable and we would not walk through a construction zone to access our apartment. She said we could call the owner to complain. I told her to call the owner and put me on the line. When the owner came on the line, I told her to move us to a new apartment. She said no. Then I told her to listen very carefully. If she didn’t move us, my next call was to Airbnb and we would have her apartment banned on Airbnb. She said she would give us a refund for one night. My answer was no. We wanted a full refund.

The agent gave us the keys and left in a big hurry. The three us us looked at each other, speechless. Right then and there, we made a pact that this was not going to ruin our Paris adventure. We were in Paris for fun and we were going to have fun.

Now came the hard part. We had no idea how out to get out of an airbnb disaster. And we did not want this to dominate our Paris adventure. We were tired and jet lagged after our overnight flight but pumped to put some time and effort into getting out of the disaster … and so, with the clock running … we kept tabs on the time and this is what we did …

Step 1: Figure out how to contact Airbnb Paris
Time: 1:30 p.m.

We had internet and a phone so we set to work. We looked at the airbnb site for a phone number in Paris. The site does not display a phone number. We googled it and found a number: +33 184884000. I opened the keypad on my phone. There is no + symbol on the keypad. Had to google it. Hold down 0 and it will turn into +.

Step 2:  First call to airbnb
Time: 2:00 p.m.

I called the airbnb number. A real person answered. Good start.

I had to validate my identity with airbnb by providing the following:

• my phone number
• my email
• the last four digits of my credit card on file with airbnb

I told the airbnb rep that the pathway from the entrance to the building to our apartment was not safe for 3 seniors. We were afraid of tripping and falling over construction debris. He said he would open a file and call back. He did not call back.

While we were waiting to hear back, we took lots of photos of the construction.

Step 3: Second call to airbnb
Time: 3:00 p.m.

I had to validate my identity again. The rep said that our case was marked urgent priority and we would hear back from airbnb. We did not hear back.

Step 4: Third call to airbnb
Time: 4:00 p.m.

I had to validate my identity again. The rep passed me up the chain to another rep. I described the condition of the building again. The rep said that our case was marked urgent priority and we would hear back from airbnb. We did not hear back.

Step 5: Fourth call to airbnb
Time: 5:00 p.m.

I had to validate my identity again. The rep passed me up the chain to another rep. I described the condition of the building again. This rep was different. He listened. His name is Isabel. He said that there was no evidence on file of unsafe conditions in the building. He is the first rep who explained that airbnb needs evidence before it can make any decisions. Did we have photos? He then explained how the airbnb site worked in order for us to send him photos.

Step 6: Send photos to airbnb
Time: 5:30 p.m.

It took us half an hour to sort through our photos and figure out how to send them to Isabel.

Step 7: Airbnb calls
Time: 5:31 p.m.

One minute after sending photos to Isabel, he phoned and said that airbnb was cancelling our contract and we would receive a full refund. Wow! After four hours and multiple calls, airbnb was onside.

New problem: we were now homeless in Paris.

Isabel was very helpful. We could book another airbnb immediately and leave right away or we could stay the night and book a new airbnb in the morning. We opted to stay the night. We were too tired to start searching for a new airbnb.

We walked down the stairs very slowly, helping each other and went out for our first dinner in Paris. The streets were lively and full of people. It was the first time we could actually enjoy Paris. We were in high spirits, not knowing where we would stay, but knowing it would not be in a construction zone. We had done enough for the first day and we would face our homeless situation in the morning.

Step 8: Fifth call to airbnb
Time: 9:00 a.m.

I had to validate my identity again. I explained that I wanted something in writing from airbnb that we would receive a full refund. We did not want to book a new place without this assurance. The rep said that someone would call us back. I said I was not hanging up and would wait on the line until our issues were fully resolved. He passed me up the chain. Isabel was not on duty. Our new rep was Raphael. He was wonderful. He walked us through the whole process of finding a new airbnb. I explained that we had spent many hours finding our original airbnb and now we needed to rebook immediately. I said that we needed to move up-market for a better shot at success. We needed to pay more. Would airbnb spot the difference? He said that airbnb would cover up to a $1,000 extra.

Step 9: Search for a new airbnb
Time: 9:30

Armed with 3 ipads, we started searching. It took time. We narrowed our search to two acceptable places and gave the info to Raphael.

Step 10: Book a new airbnb
Time: noon

We had lots of little problems with our new booking so it took awhile but we finally had a new airbnb fully booked and confirmed by noon. Airbnb actually spotted us $1,300 with the new booking.

New problem: Our new host, Alexandre, was at work. He was not expecting to rent his unit that day. We had to wait until he finished work. We couldn’t get into the new airbnb until the evening. We were okay with that because it was a beautiful day in Paris and we were ready to see some sights. But … what would we do with our luggage?

We googled where to store luggage in Paris and discovered luggagehero. They have more than a thousand storage locations in 30 cities worldwide. We found a storage place near our new airbnb. They charge a euro an hour per bag.

We packed up and made our final trip down the treacherous stairs

We took farewell photos of our airbnb disaster

We found our luggagehero

The cab dropped us at a little convenience store. I expected a storage unit. I saw the luggagehero symbol in the window so I knew we were in the right place. The owner was very friendly. He zip-tied our bags and gave us a receipt.

Luggagehero is a very cleaver idea. It uses convenience stores for short-term luggage storage. Perfect for arriving in a city before check-in, or staying in a city after check-out.

Thumbs up to Paris

We spent the afternoon strolling down the Champs-Élysées all the way to the Louvre. We found this art installation in the park. It captured our mood: a giant thumbs up to getting our of our disaster airbnb

This is the lobby in our new airbnb

It all worked as planned with luggagehero. We retrieved our bags and rolled them up the Champs-Elysées and around the Arc de Triomphe to Avenue Foch, the street with our new airbnb. We were definitely moving up. This is what wikipedia says about Avenue Foch:

Avenue Fochis one of the most prestigious streets in Paris, and one of the most expensive addresses in the world, home to many grand palaces.

 

It is located in the 16th arrondissement and runs from the Arc de Triomphe southwest to the Porte Dauphine at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne city park. It is the widest avenue in Paris and is lined with chestnut trees along its full length.

Alexandre, our host, met us on the street and took us through the lobby to our new airbnb. Wow!

This is the greenhouse in the middle of the lobby in our new airbnb

Alexandre greeted us with champagne and chocolates in our new airbnb

We were livin’ the posh life on Foch

After a day and a half in Paris, we were popping champagne and toasting our good fortune in finding a very posh airbnb on Foch.

You can see photos of our posh digs on Foch in Alexandre’s airbnb listing:

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/34328568?locale=en&_set_bev_on_new_domain=1571400999_NGNkZjZiM2MwOTdl&source_impression_id=p3_1571678961_Kf8vWv56KLjWmSnF

This is the view from our wrap-around terrace

We were surrounded by gardens, a five minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées

These are the gardens that line Avenue Foch

This is my posh selfie on Foch

We had a magical week in Paris

From the outset, we did not let the airbnb disaster ruin our trip. It was an interesting experience to work through a resolution with airbnb. But even in our wildest imagination, we could not conceive that we would end up in a luxurious airbnb on one of the poshest streets in the world.

Sometimes, if you are really lucky, you get sprinkled with Paris magic dust