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Travis and I were invited to a wedding March 28, in lovely Solvang town, a tiny Danish settlement about 30 minutes outside Santa Barbara. The couple are two sweet kids and the ceremony will be held in the squishy Hans Christian Anderson park! Oh, and did I mention the Ebelskivers. There are many motels in the city, but for trips like these, we prefer to stay at a bed & breakfast or single apartment, even if they are a little further out. The separate units allow us to cook from the market, walk & explore the city, and share between us more local treats!
I originally rented a place 4 miles from town using AirBNB. Unbeknownst to me while booking, they have a mandatory security policy I don't agree with - upload a complete photo of your drivers license/passport, or you can't rent. NOPE! not doing that. So I worked together with the host who understood my concerns and she kindly offered to set up an account through another site. Rad!
Then radio silence.
I was cancelled by the site & refunded the money. I gave plenty of time over the course of two weeks, for her to get the listing up and me the ability to confirm. But she never wrote back. Ever. Now we're like 10 days out from the vacation and we have no place to stay. I sent multiple emails kindly asking for some sort of status, but the lady refused. I had one last ditch effort saying please respond by end of business day whatever and we can still make this work. zip. And the only reason I kept pursuing it was because it looked like a nice place and was extra reasonable, but thinking now, maybe it was never theirs and they skipped town!!!
I found a great place on VRBO, in town, close to everything, from a woman who has been nothing but quickly communicative.
Here's what I sent the first wench Sunday morning, because it needed to be said (even to a lady on the lamb:)
USER,
I hope everything is ok, but I need to send this final email to you. I thought we had developed a little rapport & understanding, but stopping our communication was frustrating & unprofessional. As I said in the beginning, the AirBNB security policy was never clearly listed before, during or even right after the booking. It was only days after your confirmation & my payment, was I all of a sudden being forced to put sensitive information into their database. Had that been made upfront & clear, I would have never gone down this rabbit hole and taken your time. Of course I hold them responsible for that, not you.
But at your offer, we had agreed to resolve the rental by using another site. Then poof - nothing. It's like you were, then weren't ok with the agreed resolution - but never told me. I even stated I understand if you're not comfortable with it - I gave an out. I also gave ample time, but you still didn't respond. It then forced our travel dates to get closer with no where to stay. In the end, because of the time I spent chasing an answer, our new space was a lot more money.
When all is said and done, I'm offering you the courtesy to say it's unfortunate you have lost the business of two lovely people, both now and for any future visits.
I found a great place on VRBO, in town, close to everything, from a woman who has been nothing but quickly communicative.
Here's what I sent the first wench Sunday morning, because it needed to be said (even to a lady on the lamb:)
USER,
I hope everything is ok, but I need to send this final email to you. I thought we had developed a little rapport & understanding, but stopping our communication was frustrating & unprofessional. As I said in the beginning, the AirBNB security policy was never clearly listed before, during or even right after the booking. It was only days after your confirmation & my payment, was I all of a sudden being forced to put sensitive information into their database. Had that been made upfront & clear, I would have never gone down this rabbit hole and taken your time. Of course I hold them responsible for that, not you.
But at your offer, we had agreed to resolve the rental by using another site. Then poof - nothing. It's like you were, then weren't ok with the agreed resolution - but never told me. I even stated I understand if you're not comfortable with it - I gave an out. I also gave ample time, but you still didn't respond. It then forced our travel dates to get closer with no where to stay. In the end, because of the time I spent chasing an answer, our new space was a lot more money.
When all is said and done, I'm offering you the courtesy to say it's unfortunate you have lost the business of two lovely people, both now and for any future visits.
Respectfully,
Brandi
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