My AirBnB Nightmare

I generally think that AirBnB is great. At some point, I’ll write about why I love AirBnB, but today I’m going to write about my AirBnB nightmare. Here’s how it went down:

I booked an AirBnB near Kuromon Market in Osaka for 3 nights. I was supposed to land at around 10pm at the Osaka Airport, and then the plan was to take the train into the city and walk to the AirBnB. Saign and L were on a different flight, and would not arrive until the next morning.

The problem? Well, there were many.

I noticed before I left the US that the AirBnB host had given me an address and a door code, but hadn’t specified where to look for the door code/lockbox, or specified an apartment number. Since I was landing late at night, I wanted to have this straightened out before I landed. The night before I left for Japan, I sent the host a message asking about the apartment number and where to look for the lockbox. He replied, “Just a moment…” and…nothing else…

I had to wake early for my flight the next morning, so didn’t have time to worry about how to find and access the AirBnB. I hoped that the lockbox was obvious, and hoped that maybe there was only one apartment above the restaurant he had instructed me to go to.

My flying itinerary involved a way-too-short layover in Tokyo. My plane landed late, then taxied for forever, then I had to go through a long customs line, and then take a bus to a different terminal to get on my plane to Osaka.

I missed my flight to Osaka, and would have missed the last flight of the night, except the ticketing agent literally ran with me across the airport to a special super-fast security area.

I made it to Osaka, but it was late at night. I was very aware that I needed to get things done fast, because I knew the trains in Japan don’t run very late, and I was at risk of missing the last train into Osaka. I got a Japanese Sim Card and then successfully navigated buying a train ticket. I went down to the train terminal, and while I was down there, I realized that my sim card wasn’t working. If I hadn’t been at risk of missing the last train into the city, I would have gone back up to the airport terminal to access wifi and figure out how to get my sim card working, but, I couldn’t risk missing the train.

I took the train into Osaka and successfully walked to my AirBnB. The host had previously told me the apartment was above a restaurant, so I was fairly certain I was in the right place, though I couldn’t find a numbered address anywhere. The front door to the apartment complex was open, so I was able to get in, but there were several floors of apartments, so I had no idea where to go (since the host had not provided me with an apartment number). It was midnight, and I was alone, and I had no way to get in touch with the host because my sim card wasn’t working.

I should also mention that my phone was running low on battery. I’m generally very careful about saving battery life when traveling, but I had a long layover in Vancouver, so I used it when out exploring on my layover. The terminal I was in at the Vancouver Airport didn’t seem to have any outlets that worked, and then the plane I flew on did not have any outlets. So…I was nervous about running out of battery in addition to being worried about how to access the internet.

I walked around a bit, trying to find some wifi that was not password protected (but this was a drain on my battery…). I was able to get on wifi and send my host a message explaining that I was locked out and alone and desperate…and then that wifi stopped working.

So I was alone, walking around in a strange city in the dark with all my luggage with me, with no way to contact my AirBnB host.

I cried a little bit.

I went back to the apartment building and found that someone had locked the exterior door that had previously been unlocked, so I was now completely on the streets by myself.

I cried a bit more. I didn’t know what to do!

Suddenly I remembered something: My work phone! I had brought my work phone with me, and since it’s a T-Mobile device, it should work in Japan! We’re discouraged for using it excessively for non-work related purposes, but desperate times…

I turned on my work phone, and found that it worked just fine! I was able to log into AirBnB to find that the host had not responded to my plea for help. I was able to find the AirBnB customer service number. I spoke to an agent at AirBnB who said she’d call the host.

She called. He didn’t answer.

At this point, I pushed for a solution. I pointed out that I was a woman alone in the dark in an unfamiliar city. I pointed out that I had already tried to get ahold of the AirBnB host 2x (once before I left the states, and then 30-or-so-minutes before speaking to the agent). I explained that I was exhausted and needed a solution now. She stated that I could get a hotel and that AirBnB would reimburse me. I asked if she would reimburse me the cost of transportation to the hotel, as the trains were no longer running, so I’d have to take an Uber/taxi, and she stated that only the cost of the room would be reimbursed.

I hung up with her, and looked for a nearby hotel on Google Maps. I found several. The problem? It was now 1am-or-so, so I couldn’t book a hotel for that night! I needed a hotel for 4/14-4/15, but because it was already 4/15, none of the booking sites would let me book for 4/14-15!

I didn’t know what to do. In the end, I decided to walk to the nearest hotel. It was only about a block away, and I found it easily. When I got there, the door was locked, but there was a manager on duty. I waved at the manager and he let me in.

He did not speak English.

I do not speak Japanese.

Using a translator app, I asked him if had a room available.

He stated that he did not.

I was very sad.

But wait! While I was speaking to him, I noticed a display with the hotel’s wifi code! Very useful!

I sat on a bench outside the hotel and logged into the hotel’s wifi. I planned to try to find another hotel.

While I was logging onto the internet, the hotel manager came out and motioned me back in.

I followed him in.

Using his translator app, he explained that he could give me a room for just one night.

I took it!

It was a tiny box of a room, but it had a bed and a shower!

After my shower, I got a message from the AirBnB host providing me with the apartment number and another door code. I told him that I’d try to access the apartment the next morning, but that I was safely checked into the hotel.

I didn’t sleep much that night, because I was quite adrenaline-filled.

The next morning, I tried again to re-access the AirBnB apartment. It turns out the host had initially given me only the code for the front exterior door. Oh. And the keypad for the exterior door only lights up to show the numbers if you push one particular button; so while I had touched it the night before in my desperation to get in, it never lit up to reveal the numbers.

I looked through my messages, and the host had provided the apartment number with the address at some point…though (he didn’t realize this), the address didn’t translate to English the way he thought it would, so when I looked at it, the address was a series of numbers and then Japanese characters and then numbers and then Japanese characters, etc, such that I could not tell which was the apartment number.

Finally…he had forgotten to give me the door code for the individual apartment that I was staying in! Even if I had figured out which of the numbers was the apartment number, I wouldn’t have gotten in, because I hadn’t received the door code!

Anyway, I did eventually get into the AirBnB. AirBnB did NOT reimburse me for the entire hotel cost, but they reimbursed some of it.

I know some people are scared of AirBnBs and will read this and conclude that one should never stay in an AirBnB. I strongly disagree, and even when I was locked out in the dark, crying, and speaking to the AirBnB agent, I knew that I would definitely 100% use AirBnB again. The host was human. He made an error. The error was worsened by my late arrival and communication challenges. But, I have stayed at many unique and beautiful and also affordable properties with AirBnB, and I will 100% use them again.

I *may* be more careful about making sure check-in instructions and apartment location are clear next time around though!