Beautiful Home, But a Disturbing Lack of Professionalism and Communication…read more
The home was beautifully decorated, and most rooms were clean and well maintained--except for the kitchen, which had standing dirty mop water in the sink upon arrival. The location was ideal and within walking distance to downtown, which we appreciated.
Before check-in, I was told I would receive the door code by noon. Since we planned to arrive around the 4 PM check-in time, I wasn't concerned when it hadn't arrived by 2 PM. However, 30 minutes before arrival, we still hadn't received it. I reached out to Nick from Ohio Shores Vacation Rentals(through Airbnb) and finally received the code via email shortly after contacting him.
Parking was another issue. The listing stated "street parking," but when we arrived, the only available street parking had clear "2-hour limit" signs. I asked Nick for clarification, and his only response was, "Street across from Shorehouse," which is exactly where we were. When I explained there were time restrictions, I received no further reply. We parked there anyway, hoping not to be ticketed.
Once inside, we attempted to clear the sink by running the disposal, but it remained clogged and unusable. I contacted the agency around 4 PM on Thursday, and the woman who answered said someone would get back to me. No one did. I followed up via message on Friday--Nick read it and never replied. I messaged again Saturday morning with no response. By Sunday morning, I explained that because we were unable to use the kitchen, we had to throw out groceries and spend extra money dining out. Still no response.
Finally, at 10:47 PM on Sunday--our last night--Nick replied:
"Hi Jessica. We would have to call a plumber to the unit. It's a Sunday night, and you checked in during a holiday weekend. So it's not going to be fixed during your stay. I just assumed that you realized that when we were personally unable to correct it."
At no point had anyone communicated that someone had been to the property. I was unaware of any attempted fixes and found his assumption dismissive. I let him know that I found the lack of communication unprofessional and told him his handling of the situation was unacceptable.
In response, Nick became defensive and demanded that we vacate the property **immediately--at 11:45 PM--with our three children already asleep in bed.** He called my cell phone repeatedly and sent multiple messages telling me to leave. I had to contact Airbnb emergency services, who confirmed he could not evict us as the reservation was still active and paid through the next morning. I stayed up on the couch, scared and waiting in case law enforcement was called.
On the morning of checkout, we followed standard courtesy by stripping beds and placing linens together. While doing so, I discovered a **heavily stained pillow** in the master bedroom and what appeared to be **blood stains** on the bottom bunk's mattress cover--both under clean sheets, clearly predating our stay.
This experience was deeply disappointing and upsetting. The home itself was lovely, but the **unresponsiveness, disregard for our safety and comfort, and threats to forcibly evict us in the middle of the night** were shocking and unprofessional. We were unable to use the kitchen for the duration of our stay, had to throw away food, incurred unexpected dining expenses, and were left shaken by the late-night threats.
I would **never rent from this company again** due to Nick's behavior and the total lack of accountability. To date, no compensation has been offered for the inconvenience, added expenses, or the distress caused to our family.
