Safety issues at our AirBnB [North Shore, Oahu]
Upon arrival to our AirBnB I found some minor issues that I wasn't excited about. But, they seemed too minor to bother the host with (mostly cleaning issues), so I corrected them myself where I could, no big deal.
-Shower curtain was pink with bacterial growth, washed it.
-Bathroom floor mat was soaked, washed it.
-Front security screen door completely caked in lint and debris(cross winds are the only way to cool the main house, no A/C), wiped it down.
-Under-cabinet lights in the kitchen didn't work, let it be.
-Range hood lights didn't work, let it be.
-Electrical receptical missing cover, told my young daughter not to use it.
-1'x1' poorly patched hole in the wall behind the couch, let it be.
-Electric reclining sofa didn't work, let it be.
-Missing lightbulbs throughout the house, let it be.
-The upstairs bedroom portable A/C unit barely works, pumping out room temperature air 80% of the time. I checked the filters and venting to make sure they was clear, they were. My daughter said it was hot, but not too hot to sleep, let it be.
Like I said, nothing that bad. But, as an AirBnB host, I would've been embarrassed renting out a home with these kind of issues. But, if that's the kind of guest experience they want to provide, then I guess that's their prerogative.
The final straws, so to speak, that made me finally contact the host were some blatant safety issues.
-The toilet in my daughter's bedroom. I went up there to use the restroom and immediately noticed that the tank cover was cracked. I further inspected it and saw that the base and bowl were cracked as well. And not just a little, both side had hairline cracks going up to the bowl, and the base on the wall side was in multiple pieces. The chips in the cracks on the side you could see when you walk into the bathroom we're painted while to try and disguise the damage. If you're not aware, this is a huge safety issue. I instructed my daughter to only use the downstairs.
-Only 1 smoke detector in the entire house. 4 or 5 smoke detector bases scattered throughout where smoke detectors should be, but we're removed. I tested the lone detector and it worked fine. It was placed at the highest point of the home (highest point of a vaulted ceiling of a 2 story loft, just outside of my daughters bedroom), which is where you'd want you're only detector, if that were the case. But, state code requires one in every bedroom and outside of each sleeping area, and as a 10 year firefighter, I agree.
When the host replied they stated that the they were unaware of the cracked toilet and the cracks must be new. This is obviously not true since there was an effort to disguise the damage. They also said that the toilet was a special order for a 10" rough in, so they would not be able to replace it until AFTER our stay. This is B.S., a 12" is much more common, but Lowes and Home Depot have multiple 10" rough in toilets in stock, I checked. They also stated that they would not be able to replace the missing smoke detectors until AFTER our stay.
At this point I'm fairly frustrated with the B.S. that they're trying to feed me and I politely call them out on it. I also list the rest of the issues I came across.
They replied that their handyman was suddenly available and would be by the next day to replace the missing smoke detectors and "have a look" at the toilet. Everything else was deemed non-essential and ignored.
So, since I can only see this through me eyes, I ask those from the outside looking in, am I overreacting?
Posted Jul 9, 2025, 10:35 PM UTC