Accommodation Isn’t Always “Business Travel Ready”.
As an entrepreneur, I take several business trips a year around Ontario. Recently, my travels brought me to Mississauga – the city just West of Toronto, and using Airbnb for my accommodations seemed to be a smart option. For those who aren’t familiar with it, Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects people looking to rent their homes with people who are looking for accommodations.
In planning my seven-day business trip to the Greater Toronto Area, I decided to take up lodging in a quiet subdivision. What better way to experience the bustling city of Mississauga than by staying right in the community, and not in the middle of nowhere, by the airport. The condo unit listing on Airbnb indicated the accommodations were “Business Travel Ready,” so I assumed I’d have no problems. I was wrong.
I’ve heard it said that first impressions are everything, and it’s absolutely true. The damp smell in the condo unit hit me the moment I walked in. I couldn’t put my finger on it and couldn’t even begin to describe the smell. The space also appeared much smaller than the pictures online, which was a problem because I intended on having a few colleagues over for dinner during one of my stays and didn’t want us to feel cramped.
If that wasn’t enough, the closets were missing hangers and there was a real shortage on some of the essentials, like toilet paper and fresh linens. I was really in no mood to argue with the host about the state of the place, and didn’t even discover about the shortage of toilet paper until it became an obvious problem. These are essential items that are supposed to be well stocked up when a renter agrees to stay in the host’s domain.
After returning from my disappointing experience, I talked with a friend about where he has stayed in the past. He plans all his business trips in the GTA with Platinum Suites – furnished apartments for rent in Mississauga’s downtown core. They are comfortable, spacious, and most of all, clean. He claims that Platinum Suites states what is offered and sticks with it – a good thing, in my book. I am going to look into what Platinum Suites has to offer for my next business trip, as cleanliness is now at the top of my list when it comes to short term rentals.