In a previous post on choosing an Airbnb, I left you hanging with explaining my decision to choose a certain Airbnb against all the others in the city. Now I am here – how did it go?
Well the short answer is very well. (I have now lost 60% of my readers – but if you are still here I will continue!)
The one small issue I have with the place is something which isn’t mentioned in any of the reviews … but I will come to that later.
But before I talk about Thessaloniki, I’ll briefly mention my prior stay in Kalambaka where I made a grade one mistake. As you know wi-fi is the most important need I have, as I teach online on some evenings. I always check that it’s okay, but I don’t always take full note of the hosts’ reply. At Kalambaka, when I asked, the host said that “many of my guests work here,” and I took that response at first sight and didn’t query it. My mistake. The internet was not particularly fast when I arrived and I soon found out the reason. The host had 2 apartments next to each other and the router was shared between the two, so if the guests in the other flat were using wi-fi, my signal became too weak for teaching. For most of my stay that was not a problem, but when someone came for the weekend (when I am busiest) it was a nightmare.
I explained the situation to Airbnb (as I was expecting to have to move) and they originally said that I could have a partial refund for any days when the wi-fi was insufficient (loss of amenity.) So I did what they said and recorded those days, only to be told by someone else that this was not the case. To be dangled that carrot and have it taken away was annoying and although I managed to get a partial refund from talking to the host directly, it has meant that I now no longer trust what Airbnb customer service say. I have also added “is the router shared?” to my list of questions to ask before booking.
But on with the Thessaloniki story. As you may remember, I went through a lengthy process of choosing the place and the choice boiled down to a quick response from the co-host and agreeing to a discount on the (already discounted) monthly price. My concern was that he had another 21 listings as co-host and it seemed obvious that he was indeed the host and was using these other “names” to make his hosting less obvious. Was that a problem? Well not really …
I arrived in Thessaloniki on the 6th February as planned. I had taken a bus and train from Kalambaka and took a bus from the railway station to the nearest bus stop which showed on Google Maps as a 4 minute walk. Make that a 4 minute walk up-hill, but not too bad. I was a bit confused as to the actual location, but asked a passing local and then saw that the co-host (with the 21 properties) was waiting outside the block entrance for me. I have to say that the lobby and lift did not bode well, but I have travelled enough now to know that the public areas may be shabby, but that does not always indicate that the apartment will be, and so it proved.
The apartment is lovely. Half of the flat is a open living room sectioned off into a study space (with a sofa bed for extra guests) and an entertainment space, with the TV, books and board games. There is a small bedroom which just fits a double bed (but against a wall) and a small wardrobe. Then a tiny bathroom which has a shower, toilet and an essential (for a month-long stay) washing machine. Finally, there is a kitchen, complete with fridge freezer, full oven, hob, toaster and a microwave. There are also two balconies, one accessed from the living area with a view across the street and (in the far distance,) the sea, and at the back there is another small one, with a poor interior block view, but it does house several plants and the boiler.
The internet is very fast and not shared, the place is warm with the temperature controlled internally (some places will have the heating controlled by the host remotely, watch out for that!) and there is AC although that’s not needed at this time of year. And it is relatively quiet.
Noise is subjective and is not in the control of the host, but although the apartment is located on a fairly busy road and bus route, being up 6 floors and set back a bit, means there is hardly any sound from outside. Within the building, the only upset was a downstairs neighbour working on the riffs from “Hotel California” repeatedly for an hour or so, one Saturday morning. But (so far) it has been just that one Saturday morning and so something I can cope with. The other noise producer is a little more annoying … and that is the elevator.
Now I know I NEED the elevator as I am on the 6th floor, but it is right next to the apartment, so close that I can open the apartment door and call the lift by just putting my hand out. Then this old-fashioned lift comes up and there is a bang as it unlocks the door for me. Not major stuff, but I do know that some poor soul has to leave the building before 6am for work.
She may well go to work by bus, and the apartment is on a bus route. Two main routes call at the nearest stop. One goes down into the centre of town and the other goes from the centre to the main bus station and railway station. Both have buses running at 20 minute intervals and there is a night service at weekends as well. As my previous post on public transport(ation) outlines, this is important in getting around a city of around 800,000 people.
There have been a couple of instances where I have had to call the host and he has responded well. One was to get a pan suitable for one person (as is often the case in Eastern Europe, all the pans are large enough to bathe in.) He sent a new one over within 48 hours. Second was the need for a new bulb in the kitchen. Again he sent it over with someone else and it took me a while to realise who that the person was … the main host. I am pretty sure he is actually an employee of the co-host who seems to have a finger in many pies locally, but as far as I am concerned every response has been reasonably quick and positive.
Perhaps my main lesson learnt is not to be too concerned if the host has a lot of properties on their books, at least not from a personal point of view. I am aware that this sort of short-term rental is making things difficult for locals to get onto the housing ladder, but I am not sure what the solution to this is. People like me (with no other home) still need to live somewhere and I would rather see short-term lets than holiday homes which lie empty for nine months of the year.
A final note. I can see from the internet that Airbnb owners in Greece have to pay 13% VAT and other taxes on properties if they rent out more than two. This may explain why he is doing this. I would still prefer to rent from an individual host, but this is the reality of what it happening on the ground. At least in this instance the host looks after his guests and is reasonable on prices and the service he provides.
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