When I went back to Las Vegas in October of last year after staying in Bally’s, I decided to do Airbnb instead. I picked a house near the Southwest area where I went regularly so I could save on the travelling time and Uber costs. I also wanted to stay away from The Strip where hotel lobbies and access to the hotel rooms are typically interspersed with the main casino floors where smokes permeate the air.
I’ve stayed at this particular Airbnb house in Las Vegas a few times last year. It is owned by a Mexican male. His house is a two-story 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath he bought brand-new in October 2016. He rents out the two extra rooms and occupies the masters bedroom.
My first few stays were okay. I thought he was nice and I even gave his first cousin and family some projects. And since he lives by himself, his house is quiet and most of the time empty. I sincerely thought we could be good friends.
Bong and Len had stayed at his house too for two nights when they visited me. That was the weekend when about 50 people died following the massive shooting in Mandalay Bay.
In December of this year, after our fancy family holiday in Anaheim, we stayed in Bellagio for 4 days. When my kids left for the east coast on December 30, Edmund and I stayed behind in the valley, checked out of Bellagio because the place was swarming with thousands of tourists it was so chaotic. We moved to Tuscany All Suites Hotel which I found on booking.com. At first we were anxious Tuscany could be some crappy hotel but to our delight the hotel was nice. Our room in particular and I think all the rooms are double the size of what a typical hotel room is. My husband particularly liked the ease in getting in and out of the parking area which is complimentary. The hotel rooms are also separated from the casino floor which makes guests feel more relaxed and tranquil. It was like staying in a Mediterranean resort.
When Edmund left, I stayed at the Tuscany for 9 extra nights but when I had to stay for another 9 nights, they were fully booked. There was a big convention at the hotel and I wasn’t able to decide soon enough whether I would extend my stay or not. When I did, the hotel was booked to the brim. There would be a few rooms available after two days but the rates would be $400 per night. The inconvenience of checking out of Tuscany, finding a place to stay for two nights then coming back to Tuscany after 3 days and paying $3,000 for the rest of my stay made me decide to just do Airbnb. I’ve done it before and it was okay. Since I was by myself lang naman and cowboy naman ako. I am only picky when I am with my family because I want them to enjoy their hotel stay and be comfortable.
I booked a room with a Chinese family for 4 nights and booked a room at the Mex house for the last 5 nights. I thought the Chinese family’s house was full so I only booked for 4 nights.
On my second day at the Mex house, while I was eating some noodles while standing up in his kitchen, I noticed a big dog peeping thru the kitchen door. I didn’t know that the owner now has a dog, and a big one at that. I am scared of dogs. Yes, despite my love for Twinkle, Lilo, Simba, Lincoln, Tyler, Stitch, Jazzy, Jack, Lucy, etc. I don’t cuddle them because I am simply afraid of dogs.
From the moment I discovered that there’s a dog in the house (even if it’s in the backyard) I became uncomfortable and scared. I immediately went back to the room. And every single time from then on I became paranoid that the dog could sneak into the house. I was scared to go to the bathroom and back to my room. I was scared to leave or lest I could find the dog staring at me. I was afraid to go back to this house.
That night, after having dinner in a Filipino restaurant some 4 miles away, I was too afraid to go back to the Mex house for fear of the dog. You know even if the dog is assigned to the backyard, the dog could sneak into the house without the owner noticing it.
I texted the owner that I didn’t know he now has a dog and expressed my worry that the dog could bite me. He said his dog doesn’t bite and it’s his baby. He lets him in when he is in the kitchen and cooking. He assured me that the dog would stay outside while I was still there. That was fine. But then he added “now you know I have a dog so you don’t book here” and he followed that with the praying hands icon. I felt offended and found that rude and arrogant. I took Uber back to his house at 8 pm, made the driver wait for 5 minutes, I rushed to the room and took my belongings and left. I was still courteous, the typical me, I even arranged the towels and texted the owner that the towels had stains even before I used one. I also returned the door key under the front door mat where I first found it. Instead of staying for 5 nights, I only stayed at his house for 1 night.
When I told my daughter and husband about it, they told me to give him a bad review. I did. Syempre he retaliated by posting that I have mental problems because everything that I had said was a total lie. He even said I got mad when he told me to turn down the volume of the tv at 3 am. Huh? If I have mental problems then that makes us two.
My daughter asked me why he would say those things. Some crazy gay.
The very first time I had stayed in this house was sometime in July 2017 if I am not mistaken. I remembered he did call my attention at around 11 pm that the volume of the tv was loud. I was watching CNN. I apologized and immediately lowered it down. It was not very loud except that the room was tiny and every movement could be heard from the outside of the 4 walls. In the same way that I could hear his other guests’ phone conversations, dragging of suitcases, coughing, snoring, steps, toilet flush and simple movements.
I was appalled that some people could really invent stories and invert facts. He also told me I need medical attention because I pee in the bed. My first impulse was to buy a big mattress and one dozen bed sheets and have them delivered to his house.
But after praying and taking deep breaths I just shrugged my shoulders off and wished him well.
My husband lectured me on being so mabait daw and I always think of strangers as possible good friends. Actually that’s true. I am not always mabait but I always think that every person I meet is mabait (kind), sincere, good-natured and we could be good friends. I am wrong.
My daughter said just like in Uber, if you get bad reviews, no driver will pick you up. So in Airbnb if house owners or hosts see that I have a bad review and most likely they would believe them, Yen said I might not be able to book an Airbnb anymore. I am not at all bothered. I’ve traveled far and wide long before Uber and Airbnb came into being. I managed being comfortable by staying in hotels of my choice. Hotels will not go out of fashion. I’ve stayed in the grandest of hotels and when I was in the mood to cut back on expenses I stayed at cute boutique hotels. I managed 30 years ago, I’ll manage for the next 30 years. I can go to Las Vegas anytime I want to without the need for Airbnb.
