Which Option Would You Choose In This Last Minute Airbnb Situation?

July 30, 2024 3:23 AM

I'm in Bangkok and last minute I've been able to extend my trip for another month. I can't stay in my current apartment though, and the apartment I want - and is the best fit for multiple reasons - has one issue: there are 15 reviews and 4 report an unpleasant smell in the bathroom. My options are (A) book, (B) not book, or (C) check out the apt at move-in time - which would you choose?

If I choose Option A, there's risk that this issue may occur. The co-host says of the smell: "it might happen occasionally but not to every guest. It's normal for high-rised apartment" (note: it's really a low-rise building - 8 floors). So it might not occur, it might occur and be manageable - e.g. with air fresheners or by temporarily blocking drains - or it might occur and be bad. (Additional note: I've been staying in monthly Airbnb's for the past year, so I'm used to each apartment having some issue - often which can be managed - so I'm firmly in the "I'm adaptable" camp here).

If I choose Option B, it will be a huge pain, and I'm also short on time (and my personality type - unless you can't tell - requires me to do a *lot* of research, should I start looking for somewhere else).

If I choose Option C - which came about because I asked the co-host if I could visit the apartment in advance (I'm nearby), but unfortunately it's booked until move-in day and so the only option is to see it at check-in time - then I've gotten out of jail if it is bad, but then I'd be stuck in Bangkok at 3pm in the afternoon with my luggage and nowhere else booked.

If these were your only 3 options, which would you choose?

(Bonus detail: I did go and visit the apartment building and it does look real nice/ not a total dump.)

posted by my log does not judge to Travel & Transportation (17 answers total)

Hmm, really hard to say. I live in a city where two of the apartments I've lived in have had this issue sporadically - it's something about the old building plumbing and/or old city infrastructure, I don't know; gases rise up through the system. It's annoying but doesn't last for more than a few days at most, and the bathroom door stays closed and the smell doesn't invade the rest of the apt. Whether that's the extent of it at this airbnb is anyone's guess, though. Do the reviewers give any more details? Do they say it ruined their stay or just mention it as something to keep in mind?

Do you plan to spend most of your time in the apt? Does the bathroom there have a door?

Option (c) makes no sense to me - if you don't feel comfortable booking at this place, just book somewhere else even if it's otherwise less optimal. But don't leave yourself potentially stranded unless you can afford to pay for hotels the rest of the time or have people who are willing to put you up. (You're also at risk of someone else booking the place in the meantime, or of having to pay a cancellation fee if you do book it in advance, right?)
posted by trig at 4:07 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]

I'd book it. I too am adaptable and it doesn't sound any worse than, say, "camping near the pit toilets" or "neighbors smoke cheap weed." If you're very sensitive to smells that'd change my decision-making process, but you didn't mention anything about that, so. I wouldn't discard "best fit for multiple reasons" just because there's one maybe unpleasant thing I don't personally assign a lot of weight to.

I agree option C isn't really an option. If it doesn't smell in that moment, it tells you nothing about whether it might over the next month. And if it does, you're probably just going to tell yourself you can cope, yeah? So don't put yourself through stress pretending there might be some smell bad enough you're willing to risk being stranded without a plan but not so bad you'd move out even after you'd booked it and also be stranded without a plan.
posted by teremala at 4:26 AM on July 30 [4 favorites]

Having once stayed for a week in a hotel room with an appalling smell of sewage in the bathroom - I'd book it. Option A. (And I *am* someone very sensitive to smells.)

Worst case, you keep the bathroom door closed all the time, make sure the window is open / fan is running when you're using it, and maybe pick up some strongly scented toiletries so that at least you've got something more pleasant close to hand if you need to give your nose a short break while you're in there. If there's a gap under the door, you can jam a towel in it (at least while you're not in the bathroom) to keep the smell more effectively contained.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 4:35 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

Activated charcoal air fresheners can be very effective, especially in an enclosed space like a bathroom. (Thinking specifically of the ones that come as a gel in a plastic tub, haven’t tried the ones that are more like sachets.)
posted by yarrow at 5:13 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

Wouldn't surprise me if this was ubends drying out faster than foreigners were used to and that running water into the drains solves it for the other 11 people.
posted by Iteki at 6:00 AM on July 30 [8 favorites]

I'd book it, or if I were really sensitive to smells I'd skip it altogether and start researching other options ASAP. Option C seems like the nonstarter to me .
posted by Stacey at 6:26 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

I'd book. I have a great sense of smell, and I would dislike a bad smell in the place, but IMO things like that are usually way, way overblown by people online. We recently stayed in a gorgeous, amazing AirBnB in Mexico City. It was a building probably from the 1960s, and there was an airshaft in the middle where all the bathrooms converged. It didn't smell great in the bathrooms, but we kept the doors closed all the time and the windows open and it took about 30 seconds for me to get used to it. Buy a can of Lysol spray or some other air freshener. It's better to deal with that versus larger stress!
posted by SoberHighland at 6:31 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

If it's the sewage bend drying out or if there isn't a bend at all you will be exposed to other people's sewer pathogens, which can include infectious COVID particles. People do get COVID from sewer fomites, absolutely, this is documented.

I might book it and then -- if there was a smell -- look in the bathroom and see what's up with the plumbing and if I could fix it by filling any obvious gaps. I'd also wear an N95 in the bathroom whenever possible if there was a smell.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:10 AM on July 30 [3 favorites]

How much time will you spend in the apartment? I would probably book it if I was only sleeping there, but if I needed to be in the apartment during the day then I'd avoid it. I rented a bad-smelling place once (in India, sewage smell) and will never do so again because it made for such a miserable experience; we abandoned the smelly place early and moved.
posted by anadem at 7:15 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

There is probably no sewage trap in the shower or floor drains, this happens to me in an otherwise very pleasant 7th floor apartment. For me it happens in the spare bathroom so it's probably a function of not running much water down those pipes, it also happens more after heavy rain so this is the season for it - I would check what month those AirBNB reviews were from. You could check out the drain size when you arrive and get some cheap drain traps to pop in for a month.
posted by penguinliz at 7:46 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

Book it. Take an air freshener with you.
posted by Hogshead at 7:57 AM on July 30

I vote "don't book" and I have a lot of AirBnB experience.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 8:40 AM on July 30

I would probably go with Option A. But my general feeling at this point in my life is that if thinking about the smell/worrying about the smell is going to take up too much of your brain space or make your feel more anxious than trying to find a different Airbnb, don't book it.
posted by thivaia at 9:33 AM on July 30

My general experience with Airbnb is that if it's in the reviews, it's true. My London apartment with no hot water that the host said was fixed... in fact had no hot water so I was taking ice cold showers in January. BUT I was prepared, decided I was okay with it (outweighed by price and location) and it did not detract from my overall experience because of the other, more important factors. But I wouldn't have wanted to deal with that for a month. I would eliminate Option C entirely. Decide if you can tolerate it for a month, and if not, find some place else to book.
posted by DoubleLune at 9:57 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I chose Option A: thanks everyone for helping with my decision - I'll report back on how it turns out.
posted by my log does not judge at 9:34 PM on July 30 [1 favorite]

The co-host says of the smell: "it might happen occasionally but not to every guest.

This happens daily, but some of the people are out when it happens. Hence this statement.

Find somewhere else.
posted by hal_cy_on at 3:16 AM on July 31

Response by poster: Update: I've been in the apartment for 24hrs and there have not been any odors to report. I realize that this was a risk (and may still be) and in a way I'm not proud of myself for taking this risk - 30 days in a particularly smelly apartment could be tough - but sometimes you have to manage the cards you're dealt: thanks again for your help with that.
posted by my log does not judge at 8:19 PM on August 1 [4 favorites]