Comfortable 2-bed Condo, Southwestern Travel Hub

Much of this post is not factual or is exaggerated. The best response would be for us to be able to upload screenshots of the conversation but is not a feature option. We will happily provide copies of this for any guests that might be concerned by this review and question the authenticity of our response to it. Additionally, we’ll let our track record of other reviews on vrbo and the other booking platform speak for our reputation as hosts. We strive for nothing short of a 5 star experience for our guests. Unfortunately, vrbo doesn’t do much in vetting the honesty of a guest’s review or protect hosts stating that if we object then we should provide a response to the guest here. There was a small cockroach that our guest had located within the unit. This is a rare occurrence but an insect or two can make it inside especially if we have guests that leave crumbs on the floor and/or leave the doors and windows open during their stay. Given that this property is in the desert, many insects seek a reprieve from the heat (just as we do :) ). We have the property treated regularly for pests to combat this issue but again, can’t always control how guests treat the space. She states multiple times that we did not care which of course other reviews from guests will quickly dispel this. Caitlin is the type of guest to try to leverage the threat of poor reviews and legal action to get things for free. As a host, I recommend you avoid allowing her on your property. After her staying for a day and a half, she demanded a full refund. We tried to appease her and find a solution to her stay by addressing the problem but she was adamant on a full refund. She booked for a week and vrbo policy is that we are under no obligation to refund any amount if within a certain time. We still wanted to appease her and refunded her for the time that she did not stay there which was about 5 nights, despite not being required to do so. We advised that we would keep the cleaning deposit and for two nights (the days that they were there) explain that we could not rent out the unit on the day they leave due to cleaners needing to come in. We also would likely lose business overall by refunding her for the rest of the week and is much harder to get reservations last minute. Despite that, we still refunded most of the stay because we did care and wanted her to feel satisfied with our response to the issue. She did not care and said if she would not receive a full refund that she was going to complain to vrbo management and az real estate commission(?). We tried to explain our stance on charging her for the time she stayed there and we accepted any responsibility for the condition of the space, providing solutions to remedy the experience. She was dead set on receiving a free stay and was the one who actually “did not care” how it affected the hosts. She proceeded to try to take pictures of areas in the unit that she thought were flawed to further justify her reasoning. There are people out there that expect to have things for free and try to exploit the systems by leveraging threats and bad reviews in order to achieve that. Do yourself a favor, avoid hosting guests like Caitlyn, there are many other guests out there that will be respectful to you.

We felt that this review was unwarranted and the negative experience this guest reported could have been avoided with better communication. We have a fully stocked kitchen, with more bowls and cups than mentioned. If a guest is to experience any of this, then we would happily replace immediately. Unaware of the stove being unlevel, we simply had our maintenance guy adjust one of the legs to level it out. Very simple fix. We take pride in our cleanliness and amenities along with our quick response to any maintenance issues that come up. Regarding their complaint of the guest in the adjoining unit, again another easy solution with communication. Each guest is advised to respect others if the other units are booked and in the event that is not happening, then we happily message these guests to address and solve the problem. We were unaware of the noise this guest was producing (the downstairs guests didn't report any issues with them while they were there). Sometimes, you have guests that work abnormal hours and some smoke out on the patio. In the event that this bothers another guest, it is quickly solved as nobody takes pleasure in creating an unpleasant experience for others. The bedroom has blackout blinds so light cannot enter the room at night if the blinds are down. Alternatively, the guest could have been asked to turn the light off as well. The neighborhood is in Black Canyon City, and not a HOA community with Scottsdale, AZ so while it doesn't boast the glamorous appeal of luxury, it also doesn't earn the title of "dumpy." This is also reflected in the more than affordable rates in our listing and generally is understood prior to arrival. Guests did leave early and we had no idea until they had left. I messaged them to check in on how their stay was going and they texted back stating they had left. Ironically, the guest they were complaining about had left the same day they did, so that if they had communicated any of these issues to us or that other guest, it would have all been avoided and had a pleasant experience. Additionally, they didn't lose out on "8 days" as Sharon implied because I provided a complete refund for the remaining days despite us not being requested to do so nor obligated. As a host, we missed out on the earnings but it was more important to salvage the guest's experience and at the very least put money back in their pocket. Seeing that we received a poor and misleading review, it may have been a mistake to not retain the booking earnings although we do not regret providing the refund regardless. Bottom line, a little bit of communication in advance to us can avoid or solve any discomforts a guest may experience. Events do inevitably arise, but we guarantee that we can provide a 5 star experience with quick resolutions.