Marcelle
AUSabbaticalHomes is unaccountable Given that SabbaticalHomes only asks for testimonials about 'what was liked' there is nowhere to register less satisfaction. They claim transparency but exclude the experiences they don't wish to hear about. I returned home after 5 weeks and was not happy with how my first tenant left my home. There were a number of breakages and the clean was obviously hurried. Breakages happen but they did not discuss with me. I sought advice re reviewing and received useless advice (talk with them, which by the way I requested to them...unsuccessfully). As I didn't wish others to experience the same I decided to review them. I gave 3 stars and said I was disappointed. Of course the very next day they gave me 3 stars and a dubious review. SabbaticalHomes claimed their reviewer method of making reviews public rather than waiting until both reviews were posted was because they were transparent (I cant see a connection). I knew that I would not receive a good review after posting theirs. SabbaticalHomes were critical of my review and stated that the tenant's review was 'fact based'. Most unprofessional as well as incorrect. So think twice about this 'service'. Some have good experiences but if you're not one then it's just bad luck.
ode to aubade
GBAt least Sabbatical Homes exercised the Heideggerian Hospitality? Hi, I rated Sabbatical Homes 1 star and changed it to 4 stars after reading the review posted in January 2023, saying they were visited by a grad student from China, and calling her a "scammer" for no reason. I was that unfortunate youngster who had such demoralizing interactions with an ill-mannered local New Yorker. She's an academic, but she couldn't think straight, and obviously had no intention or ability to communicate civically. I didn't know Sabbatical Homes closed her account afterward; at the time, I didn't get any timely response after contacting them. The property owner wrote me a nasty comment after the visit. And before I left the house, she told me TODAY SOMEONE WAS PUSHED OFF FROM THE METRO STATION AND DIED. With the ongoing Asian hate and violence, especially in NYC, I was not so naive to see this random information as innocent. But I didn't know that she would go that far ( to harass me in the comment area of the website after I went back home). I was disappointed that Sabbatical Homes didn't act or react in a timely manner at the time. I was also tired of the USA after so many years -- messy, racist, violent, and performatively progressive yet behaviorally regressive. Unsophisticated. I should have chosen the UK in my teen years. At least they know how to express themselves legally. Well, anyway, it's not my country. I have 2 questions: One, does the USA need police stations? Two, do academia and its outputs have any impact other than acting as self-congratulatory entertainment? Final Comment on this non-crime incident: If Euro-centrism is out of the residue of colonial pride, a noble spirit to include other cultures and then civilize them (sarcasm isn't my intention), American-centrism is out of a self-assured, complacent ignorance that is both historical and ahistorical. If sitting an exam, most Americans know that there are countries other than America. But they don't understand this fact sensually or intellectually (to be precise, the second generation and beyond). To many people I've encountered in the USA, America is the only country in the entire world. I hope Sabbatical Homes get better before I use it for summer vacations during my Ph.D.