I'd like to contribute my review as a onefinestay host. In the past, we have been vey successful with letting rooms through AirBnB, however, when we moved out of our home for four months, we chose Onefinestay because we liked the idea of a bespoke personalised service for us as well as for guests. Indeed, when the team came to register our property they were charming, even if they seemed somewhat disorganised. They made a great effort to note down details of how our home works and of specific instructions which, they said, would be carried out. We then let the house out to four different parties of guests over a ten week period. Three of the four parties lost, broke or stole items, one a quite precious collectable,very well secured, and could not, strangely, be contacted afterwards to explain themselves. A lot of shoulder shrugging by onefinestay ensued. Our instructions and clear definitions of how, for instance, the heating system works, were largely completely ignored, resulting in them calling out contractors to fix problems that weren't there and then attempting to bill us. All they would have needed to do to clarify the situation was to refer to the notes they took. They also did not report losses and damage to us as they occurred.
They pay hosts only 30% of the fees they receive but bill guests well over market value, so, in effect, both host and guest lose out. Hosts are not informed of who stays in their home, so have no control over whether renters are appropriate for their type of home, nor have they the opportunity to chase up lost or mislaid items.
Our house is our home and in response to some previous reviews, it is to be noted that one person's 'junk' is another person's precious collectable. The whole idea of outfits such as Onefinestay is that guests get to stay in someone's home rather than in a hotel. They have the opportunity to check out photos before they book and if the property is not to their taste, they should find something that is. The same principle applies to the fact that, as it is a home, there are going to be personal items which are stored in rooms or cupboards that are then sealed and not accessible to guests.
Our house in London is a typical smallish Victorian terrace in a pretty and upmarket residential area. It is interior designed with many beautiful antiques and valuable paintings. Sadly, it was clear that the guests who rented through Onefinestay appreciated none of these, nor the fact that they were living in someone else's home rather than in an anonymous hotel. Furniture was moved about, efficient settings were fiddled with and the property was left looking less than its best, not to mention that one of the guests found it necessary to remove a valuable item.
In stark contrast, we had 47 short term rentals through AirBnB in the same period of time in another property without any such issues.I will not be using Onefinestay again.We found them to be inefficient and very amateur. read more
