I stayed in an apartment in NYC last fall for a couple of months. I had minor but specific requirements, one being that there was a microwave oven. The photos in the ad showed a kitchen with a microwave. Everything else I needed (or compromised on) was fine and I booked the place. I come to find out there is no microwave, and the host removed the photo and tried to gaslight me. Whatever, I'm going to be there for a couple months, I ordered one from Amazon and had it delivered- $65. I also ordered a couple of other things that I specifically use/need that I would not expect a host to provide, certain pillows for the way I sleep, etc. And I made sure it was okay to have deliveries, etc. I also told her I would toss everything when I left or she was welcome to keep it.

I get into the apartment- it fucking has nothing. No silverware, no bowls, tiny, shitty teacups (no mugs for coffee), moldy towels that reek, and even after washing, still reeked. The tub had the shower head on the side, not the top. The shower curtain and liner was full of mildew, so much so that it stunk from another room.

Besides the microwave, I wound up having to buy towels, silverware, bowls, a coffee mug, a shower curtain and liner, a handheld shower head (I suppose I didn't NEED that, but it was the only way to be able to shower without getting water in my ears every day. Also, she neglected to mention that she had a bunch of plants that needed watering. She was polite about asking, and I didn't mind, but disclose this stuff beforehand. She also neglected to tell me that there was construction going on outside the building, and it went on overnight. I had to buy earplugs and sleep with them every night, but more than that, the constant jarring sound of a jackhammer really grates on you after a while.

The first weekend I was there, I got locked out of the apartment. It was a freak accident. I stepped outside the door into the hall to toss the garbage into the bin for the floor. There was a woman who was standing in front of my door, talking on a phone. She startled me, and I jumped to the side to avoid her and moved out of the path of the door, causing it to close and lock. The super lived 2 hours away, did NOT have a key, and had to come and break the lock. I stood in the hallway for four hours, no cell phone, no nothing. The neighbor was kind enough to call him. He charged me $300 to get in and for him to change the lock.

The week before I leave, I tell her about it because I have to get her a key. I call her and explain, she has a fucking meltdown on the phone at me, screams at me asking why I didn't call her when I was locked out (with what, my shoe phone?) because she had a friend a few blocks away who had a spare key. Of course, never mentioned this- not that it would have helped.

So I Fed Exed her a key (she lived in another part of the country), and she came back to the place a week after I left. I get dozens of angry texts from her that she got locked inside the apartment and the lock is faulty, etc. I have no idea what's she's talking about. I lived with that lock for two months with no problem, she's freaking the fuck out, hangs up on me, calls me back 10 minutes later completely calm and fine, says nothing about all the extras her apartment now has, except for the microwave, which she criticizes me for needing.

Fucking AirBnB's, man. I hate 'em.