8/10 Good
Pareen S.
15 Sept 2021
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, location, listing accuracy
Disliked: Communication
Nice place, nice pool, disconcerting pre-arrivaprocess
The house is well kept and clean, and in a nice neighborhood close to grocery stores and restaurants. The pool is great, and we spent much of our stay playing in the pool.
There’s not an abundance of plates and kitchen amenities, so plan accordingly. Also, as noted in the description, there’s no dishwasher, so plan ahead there also.
The one issue that left an unsettling feeling happened far prior to the stay. After making the reservation, the owner contacted me to get a picture of my family so that “we both can feel comfortable with each other” and so she could “get to know [her] guests better before the stay” (note: this was a one way request, and there was no sharing from the owner). Failure to send a picture would result in the reservation being canceled.
I probed the owner further as to why, and she said it was needed because she is a very honest person but prior renters were not — implying that a family picture was necessary for us to show our honesty. (Of course, anyone could grab any picture from the internet and make up any story about who is in the traveling party, so it’s not clear how sending a family picture proves anything). After much discussion within our family we did ultimately share an actual family picture, and the owner was satisfied. (We don’t post pictures of our kids online or on social media, so this was not a trivial request.)
Nonetheless, as a person of color, of a family of color, with very ethnic names, the idea that we needed to show our family pictures to make the owner comfortable and as “proof” of our honesty was disconcerting, to say the least. I cringe at the thought of what family composition would have made this owner uncomfortable.
To make a long story short, don’t be surprised if (some? all?) future renters must share family pictures as a condition of rental.
Pareen S.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2021
