An Air B and B Nightmare
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.”
— A.A. Milne
We arrived about 6:00 p.m.; we headed to the ball field to see our future son-in-law hit some dingers. Our daughter picked us up at the airport; our team was Carly, her bride’s made Josie, cousin Mike, Bay, my wife, and myself.
I had secured a cottage about 10 minutes from the ball field for our accommodations. I texted our host when we landed and advised of our arrival at about 10:00. The game was excellent; our kid hit a home run and drove in two runs; the team won, he’s on pace to be a major league baseball player, and we look forward to that journey.
After the game, we left the ballpark and headed to our Air B and B. We’ve Air B and B’d many times, probably over a hundred times in the last few years; we have never had a problem. We arrived at our house about 10:00, the host was supposed to text me the code to get the key, but she never sent me the information.
Air B and B are good about allowing you to connect with the host, and when we arrived and did not have the code, I called to get the information. A young man answered the phone and said that he didn’t know the code but gave me another phone number to call. So I called, and the number went straight to voice mail.
I called ten times; we contemplated breaking in but thought we would settle it in the morning. We went to a hotel; it was completely booked. We called another, again, booked. Finally, about an hour away, we found a hotel that had a couple of rooms. I paid for two rooms; cousin Mike and Bay had one room, my wife and I another.
We got settled and had a bottle of wine before retiring. As we were checking in, our host finally called me. She explained that she had sent the code to the wrong person; she apologized and would pay for our hotel rooms. I did not get upset but pointed out a few facts that were inconsistent with reality.
First, the Air B and B number is usually the host; why is the number to your son who has no idea any information about the accommodations. Second, I felt sorry for the young man fielding my calls, he felt horrible, and his mother’s phone went straight to voice mail.
I learned a lesson last night, be a little more diligent on the checking in of the property; as an Air B and B owner myself, I have people that manage this and are available 24 / 7 / 365. Our kid will pick us up in an hour; we will head back to the Air B and B, code in hand, and get settled; we have a call with a potential new teammate, my coaching call was canceled; I’ll learn why later.
We will hang out this afternoon in Charleston and then watch Nick play tonight and tomorrow, then head home on Sunday. I wrote yesterday about my happiness, and I would like to share I never got angry last night. I rolled with the punches and knew that we would be fine; I was a little frustrated with the situation but found peace to understand that everything always works out.
On a side note, the folks at Air B and B were beautiful; I spoke to a representative last night; he was in full accommodation mode, we communicated once we were safe in “shelter.” So to my fellow Air B and B travelers, be careful, make sure you share info the morning of, but remember everything works out; sometimes, you just need to be patient.
I’ll end this soup by sharing our home Air B and B information. If you ever travel through Indy and want a unique place to stay, might I recommend our home?
We have a young man, Cameron that manages our property; if you have trouble getting in, he will answer your call no matter the time. It’s a beautiful home, and we are happy to share it with friends, family, and strangers; just don’t break our stuff! Cheers from Charleston, S.C.; I’ll have another adventure to share tomorrow.
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.”
— A.A. Milne
Well written, Anson, and very well said. Also a great example of dealing with an issue without becoming rude or bent out of shape. Thank you.