8/10 Bien
Pareen S.
15 sept. 2021
Les points forts : Propreté
Nice place, nice pool, disconcerting pre-arrivaprocess
The house is well kept and clean, and in a nice neighborhood close to grocery stores and restaurants. The pool is great, and we spent much of our stay playing in the pool.
Thereâs not an abundance of plates and kitchen amenities, so plan accordingly. Also, as noted in the description, thereâs no dishwasher, so plan ahead there also.
The one issue that left an unsettling feeling happened far prior to the stay. After making the reservation, the owner contacted me to get a picture of my family so that âwe both can feel comfortable with each otherâ and so she could âget to know [her] guests better before the stayâ (note: this was a one way request, and there was no sharing from the owner). Failure to send a picture would result in the reservation being canceled.
I probed the owner further as to why, and she said it was needed because she is a very honest person but prior renters were not â implying that a family picture was necessary for us to show our honesty. (Of course, anyone could grab any picture from the internet and make up any story about who is in the traveling party, so itâs not clear how sending a family picture proves anything). After much discussion within our family we did ultimately share an actual family picture, and the owner was satisfied. (We donât post pictures of our kids online or on social media, so this was not a trivial request.)
Nonetheless, as a person of color, of a family of color, with very ethnic names, the idea that we needed to show our family pictures to make the owner comfortable and as âproofâ of our honesty was disconcerting, to say the least. I cringe at the thought of what family composition would have made this owner uncomfortable.
To make a long story short, donât be surprised if (some? all?) future renters must share family pictures as a condition of rental.
Pareen S.
Séjour de 3 nuits en septembre 2021