Nashville’s Airbnb experience through our eyes.

On a whim, my husband, Matt, and I hit the road and drove up to Nashville. This was a trip I had written on my vision board (yes, I know. Feel free to roll your eyes). The kids were away at camp, and our work schedule was light. This was our chance!

We had a wonderful time. Nashville didn’t disappoint. I’m an Okie, so country music is in my blood. Matt, being a west coast surfer dude, likes the music although it took many years to convert him to a fan. It helped that his momma was a diehard George Strait fan when he was growing up (thank you Lisa).

Discovering the importance of ease of booking, quality, comfort and details through our most recent Airbnb stay.

Being a last-minute trip, we didn’t have anything planned.

Driving through Birmingham, I began shopping Airbnb & VRBO for rentals close to music row and Broadway. I found a perfect rental, booked it and immediately got cancelled. The owner said she didn’t take last minute bookings. Yeah, I understand the reasoning, but why is your calendar open? It was a bit frustrating to go through the process to be told to go elsewhere.

We finally found another suitable unit about a 10-minute walk to the honkytonks and neon lights of Broadway. This booking process proved far more difficult. It was also through a property management company, Auvid Luxury Experience, and not a self-managed property. Auvid doesn’t seem to even have a website which is odd. We also had to purchase a parking pass for our stay through Airbnb. Rather than providing me detailed instructions on how to pay additional funds, I spent 30 minutes feeling frustrated and ignored when messaging asking HOW to pay this. Finally, I found a request within Airbnb’s resolution center. How easy would it have been for them to communicate that simple instruction to me?

The Burnham building, a west downtown condo complex, was our destination. The directions provided took us to the parking garage in the downtown lofts with ease. Glad we got a pass after seeing the vehicles with the yellow boot! We then had to download an app for wireless entry onto the elevator and door. I’m sure older generations would not find this pleasant. It was a bit of a maze and walking through the vast hallways we quickly realized we were in a condo-tel. Our first time to stay in a place like this. The context clues were the many 20-somethings all headed out to a Morgan Wallen’s concert, some interesting stains on the carpets and the noise of inebriated visitors coming from behind many of the closed doors. Hey, we are in Nashville. No judgement!

Finally, we found our room. I’m going to start with the positive.

• Stylish accommodations
• Clean
• Comfortable bed
• Good view of the city

Now, on to the not-so-great attributes of the Nashville Airbnb.

• Drawers and cabinets were sparse. I don’t think there was even a steak knife! There was just enough dishware and utensils for a party of 4, no more. Grateful I wasn’t planning to cook!
• The coffee bar seemed plentifully stocked, but the coffee was awful tasting
• The wine was hard to swallow it was so bitter
• Massive stain on the hotel shower mat
• Style was chosen above comfort and quality. The mattress was the only quality furniture item in the unit. I didn’t even want to sit on the sofas
• The booking process and issues with our keyless entry were frustrating

Overall, our Nashville Airbnb stay was a great experience, and we left a good review.

I am not shocked that the unit was managed by a property management company. I could feel the corporate disconnect from the moment I corresponded with them. Our good review had more to do with our Nashville experience vs. the Airbnb itself in retrospect.

The unit taught me that quality, comfort and details matter. Not everything has to be high-end but providing the cheapest will literally leave a bad taste in a guest’s mouth. Just a few more dollars spent, even if it was Folger’s coffee pods, would have been tastier than whatever they kept stocked. The $3.00 Oakleaf wine could have been replaced with $7.00 Member’s Mark or Kirkland brand wine so I could have finished a glass–not luxury but edible. In terms of how it affected my emotions: I would get excited, then feel disappointed. As a guest, that was a bummer. In terms of cost, the property management company merely spending less than $10 dollars more on the bonus amenities would have wowed me. That is $3.00 per day extra they could have added on their nightly rate to pay for the upgrade. I wouldn’t have noticed and still booked. The property management company doesn’t live up to its name, Auvid Luxury Experience.

Nashville though, will see us again! What a fun city to sing in, laugh, dance and explore.

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