‘The place was absolutely filthy. It was unbelievable that the host seemed to be accusing us of somehow making the mess ourselves’

had to make a decision about what to do. We decided to stay put and clean the place up the best we could.

However, sleeping on dirty sheets was deeply uncomfortable so most of us slept on sofas. One person even resorted to napping on a footstool. Due to all this I’m afraid to say there have been many tears during what was meant to be such a special time for us all.

After midnight the next day, Airbnb forwarded photographs to us which had been supplied by the host as evidence that the property had been cleaned. They said the photographs were “time-stamped” and proved the property must have been cleaned prior to our arrival.

However, they showed the bathrooms and bedrooms from afar, and the time stamps must have been edited. I know this because the toilet seats were dark grey in the pictures, but in my pictures taken on the 18th, they were white. I sent back photos of each bathroom in the same style they had been forwarded to us.

I also took photographs of each individual toilet up close. It was unbelievable that the host seemed to be accusing us of somehow making the mess ourselves. We arrived at 4.30pm on Dec 18, which should have been recorded by the property’s Ring doorbell. When we first contacted the host with the 65 photographs we took, the time was 5.09pm, meaning we had been in the property for just 39 minutes.

Airbnb then messaged in the early hours asking if we had vacated the building, even though it had given us no option of alternative accommodation. I explained that we were still there, and had resorted to washing the bedding ourselves. We were told someone would ring right back, but it is now past 3pm and no one has called. We also messaged the host in a last- ditch attempt and they said they would “try” to have someone come in to clean.

It is now nearly time for us to go home and, far from the relaxing break we were expecting, this trip has been absolutely horrendous. Can you help? – UB, via email

Awere expecting a weekend of wholesome family fun in a beautifully renovated and wellequipped townhouse, which sadly never materialised.

What you got instead for the princely sum of £1,250 was the opportunity to patrol filthy rooms and gardens, documenting dust and counting crumbs, photograph toilets and inspect a stranger’s boxer shorts, only to be told it must have been your family that caused the mess in the first 39 minutes you were inside the property. Honestly, talk about taking the biscuit. You were feeling so upset by it all that your daughter took over communication with me. She was also the one liaising with Airbnb and trying to contact the host.

She sent me the images the host sent to prove the house had been cleaned, which Airbnb said were “time-stamped”.

However, some of the images appeared to match the ones in the live listing. One showed a toilet with a grey seat. The photographs you took on Dec 18 showed this particular toilet as having a white seat, suggesting at least some of the host’s images were in fact historic and therefore proved nothing about whether the property had been cleaned.

Airbnb said another image of the toilet with a white toilet seat was sent by the host, but it did not share this with me and could not confirm whether it was time-stamped.

The only other possibility is that you planned this situation by buying and installing white toilet seats at the property, scattering crumbs, cigarette butts, dust, cherry stalks and men’s pants, and smearing food all over the kitchen to make it appear squalid on arrival. Clearly the latter is extremely far- fetched and I don’t believe for a second that you did this.

Yet you felt Airbnb and the host were of the belief that you and your family caused the mess, and this was further corroborated by a sarcastic response to the negative review you left online suggesting you were looking for a free stay. This struck me as deeply inappropriate behaviour by the host.

It also sounds like you were let down by Airbnb on this occasion, as it failed to fully interrogate the issue at the heart of this case and provide your family with alternative accommodation. However, I’m pleased to say that following my involvement Airbnb has provided you with a full refund for your stay as a “goodwill gesture” while it further investigates the issue.

It also appears that the host has lost their “superhost” status, although their listing is still live.

An Airbnb spokesman said: “We were disappointed to learn about this experience, and have provided a full refund to the guest. In the rare event of an issue, guests are protected by AirCover for free on every booking, and our global community support team is on hand 24/7 to help.”