Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  02/05/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My complaint involves a serious ******al safety issue rather than a healthcare matter. I booked a 7-night stay at a rental home through ****, managed by Carolina Mornings. However, after 3 nights, I encountered multiple large bears on the property, making it unsafe to remain.On the 4th day, a bear appeared just outside the glass back door, only a few feet from where I was sitting inside. My dogs alerted me, and I quickly backed away. Soon after, a much larger bear, likely a mother, was walking around the driveway. Concerned for my safety, I contacted Carolina Mornings for assistance.The first ****** I spoke to directed me to maintenance, but when I called, I reached voicemail instructing me to text instead. I explained the situation via text and expressed that I did not feel safe. Their response was to bang pots and pans or sound my car alarmadvice that I found completely inadequate, especially considering the presence of a large mother bear and an adolescent cub. When I asked for local animal control contacts, they told me to ****** it myself.Feeling unsafe and unsupported, I had no choice but to leave the rental, stay in a hotel overnight, and return home the next day. I later contacted Carolina Mornings via **** to explain the situation and request a refund for the unused nights, providing photos of the bears and a hotel receipt. I also followed up with a phone call the next day, but my request was denied.I was alone with my two dogs, and given the circumstancesincluding large sliding glass doors, multiple windows, and the need to take my dogs outsideI could not safely remain at the rental. Since I paid for 7 nights but only stayed 3, I am requesting a refund for the unused nights due to the unsafe conditions at the property, totaling $1054.54

  Business response

  02/06/2025

  Were very sorry for your experience during your stay and understand the bear encounter was unsettling. Many guests enjoy seeing bears, as they are common in our mountain towns and neighborhoods. They are part of life here.
  In our email correspondence, we mentioned we're not aware of any animal control agency that sets traps for bears. *********** explains on their website that they do not trap or relocate bears simply for being in neighborhoods: **************************************************************************************************.
  Regarding travel insurance, we recommend it to all guests as it covers various situations. While we cant confirm if it covers bear-related concerns (weve never been asked before), we suggest contacting your provider. You mentioned that you only purchase travelers insurance if you think the weather will be bad, so you didnt have coverage in this case. Your safety is paramount. We never want guests to feel unsafe or obligated to stay to avoid financial loss. Everyone must assess their comfort levels, and were glad you made the choice that felt right for you. However, our vacation packages are non-refundable, and we must adhere to this policy. Your reservation held the home exclusively for nearly a month before your arrival during peak season. We did attempt to rebook the unused nights but couldnt do so on short notice.
  For context, **************************************************** 2024 without safety concerns. We also provide a "Bear Safety" section in our guest portal with tips and best practices. While bears are accustomed to human presence, we understand such encounters can be unsettling for those unfamiliar with them.
  We hope you enjoyed the first part of your stay and regret we couldnt rebook the remaining nights.

  Customer response

  02/09/2025

   
  I am rejecting this response because the "bear safety" on your website was added after I had the issue at the house. You did tell me on the phone when we spoke the next day after I left, that I should have purchased insurance to cover leaving early because of a bear. Now you are stating that you are not sure if it would cover it. I do not agree with your reaction to this safety concern and no effort to make this right with me. My safety and my dog's safety was obviously of no interest to you, which can be seen in the response texts from your maintenance crew that your main number instructed me to call for help, when it was happening with them refusing to come by to help, and instructing me to "bang pots and pans or sound my car alarm". Remaining in the house, with the mother bear and her cub on the property and so close to the windows and doors was not an option for me to remain safe. There was no other option, but to leave early.
  
  

  Business response

  02/10/2025

  We are sorry that this guest disagrees with our decision and the terms of the rental agreement she booked under, which is non-refundable. The bear safety information has been in our guest portal for many years, and was not "added after her issue." Additionally, bears have been a part of our mountainous region for a very long time, and shouldn't be a surprise to visitors. As previously mentioned, even the ********************************** has a public page explaining that bears in neighborhoods are not unusual, and they will not respond simply because a bear is on a property or walking through a neighborhood. We maintain that there was nothing wrong with the home that she rented, and that her choice to leave early was by her own decision, knowing that the rental was non-refundable. Her choice to leave out of her personal feeling of well-being is understandable, but was ultimately her choice. We had 4 other reservations stay in the month of August before her reservation, and one shortly after her stay (we had 25 out of 31 nights booked with 6 total reservations) and no one else had any issues, so we do not feel that there is an issue with the home or our policies. We rent beautiful homes in beautiful locations in the mountains, and bears are present in our mountains. We suggest this guest consider traveling to a location other than the mountains, as bears are even known to walk through Downtown Asheville and **************. Examples: *************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

  Customer response

  02/10/2025

  I do not agree with your response. Please see my recent attachment (Final Demand for Refund.pdf).

  Business response

  02/11/2025

  We reject your final demand, and are now tracking our time and hours spent on this matter for our counter-suit should you procede with legal action. The jurisdiction for this matter will be ***************, **, and we look forward to defending our policies, actions, and position on this matter in court, as well as recouping additional costs spent in defending ourselves. We wholeheartedly disagree with all of your claims, and we are standing firm on our rental agreement. If you wish to proceed with legal action, we ask that you please outline exactly which portions of our vacation rental agreement and booking terms were violated. All future correspondence will be forwarded to our legal counsel and we will not engage with you on this matter any further.  A bear on the property is not grounds for a refund, even if it made you uneasy. We wish you would have stayed, and we notified you that we would not be providing a refund when you chose to leave. We wish you well.

• Initial Complaint

  07/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We lost a day of vacation dealing with a septic system / sink clog and Carolina Mornings (CM) is being unethical by passing the charge on to us - taking up our time (yet again - even beyond the repairs) by submitting our name to AirBNB for adjudication. Unethically they passed on an error in the bill. They passed on to us $1550/hour of plumber labor, when it should be $155/hour. I pointed out that this must be an error or a scam. This situation is taking up a lot of my time and my husbands time to refute three false claims. We have picture proof of how the window looked before workmen came to the home. We are having to fight a claim that we damaged a window. We lost a day of our vacation dealing with this, now we are loosing work time dealing with the request to pay for maintenance that should be the responsibility of the homeowner. CM admitted that they pursued us for the septic system charges because they believed the bill to be so large. They did not bother to look at the bill carefully before claiming we were responsible. And once I pointed out the error, they did not tell AirBNB that the corrected amount. They were still seeking $2.2K of us even after the plumber corrected the total about. CM never reached out to AirBNB until AirBNB had to reach out to them asking for confirmation that the amount in the bill was $155/hour not $1550. CM communication is poor at best and a scam at worst. Either way, it has been a huge drain of time and needless stress and energy. Therefore, we do not thing we should have to pay for the day that we lost of vacation time and we should be refunded for that day and for our time subsequently. The bill is included. They have been poor managers that has drained us of our time.

  Business response

  07/05/2024

  These guests arrived to a home in perfect working order. On the third evening of their stay, they reported a backed up sink and strong septic smells. We responded as appropriate by sending the septic company (based on their reports) who said it was a clogged kitchen sink only, and needed a plumber. We sent the plumber who cabled the drain. While the guests were in possession of the home, a window was also damaged. As the kitchen sink was not draining slowly or having any issues before their stay - or until 3 days into their stay - we believe the guests clogged the drain so badly it required a plumber to come cable it out.The guests claim they didn't clog the drain, or damage the window. The guests booked through Airbnb, and Airbnb provides a platform for how to handle damages associated with stays. We're merely following our duty as the property manager and reporting our findings to Airbnb. We disagree that they are due any refund, and we hope for a speedy resolution through Airbnb.

• Initial Complaint

  03/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We chose Carolina Mornings Vacation Rentals because of their high standards of integrity, honesty and professionalism. We also value their task of cleaning the property of their highest standards. I value the company and their standards. The cleanliness and condition of the property were not of quality standards. This vacation experience was not enjoyable, nor relaxing. Having to reach out to them numerous times throughout our stay and at home has caused an overwhelming amount of stress, frustrations and disappointments. We hold utmost respect and professionalism when we stay at vacation rentals. We hope that these issues are addressed so that the next guest will have a better experience than we did.

  Business response

  03/29/2024

  We disagree with this guest's views of the situation. From our records:
  1. They booked a property that has external stairs between the upper/lower levels. They initialed in the lease next to this disclosure (section 19.e). The guest called to complain about this the first night and demanded that we move them or they "would just leave." We told them we could not move them.
  2. The guests reached out later that evening claiming that they were missing towels for the bathroom. We have photographs after every clean showing the towels were indeed there. The guest messaged us back later saying they found them. They expressed disappointment in our housekeeping staff for not responding to them fast enough, although they found the towels themselves shortly after reporting it and let us know.
  3. They reported that the batteries were dead in the remote control. As this was near the end of the business day (they initialed on the agreement awareness of our business hours, section 20) we let them know we could bring them new batteries in the morning. They declined and bought their own.
  4. The next morning, she told our staff she had a good night,but then complained about the cleanliness of the property (our photos show it in a suitable condition). Per our lease agreement (section 14) we offered to send someone out to touch up any concerns they had. They declined due to their work schedule. She requested a refund, or a credit towards a future stay. We offered $75 off a future stay, but they declined. We also offered them an additional ticket to ******************* but they declined.
  5. Upon departure, we found two bath mats that were ruined that needed to be replaced.
  6. The guest called back in to speak with a supervisor. We returned her call, and reiterated the offer of $75 off a future stay, and she again declined, and said she would report us to the BBB instead.
  We tried our best, and regret that we were unable to satisfy this guest. We consider the matter closed.
  Thank you!
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Gross misrepresentation of property and amenities. The Internet WiFi did not work at all and therefore the TVs did not work. The dishwasher was broken and there were dirty dishes. The floors were filthy and the *** player in main room did not work. They said probably because it "was old". Oh really? Not my problem. The company lied in their responses on Airbnb stating that they offer a resolution of $75 which of course was grossly unacceptable. Also lied stating that they directed us to reboot the router and we did not do that. "Liars again" we did that many time before the suggestion. Also lied stating they sent a maintenance tech to house. Which never happened. Horrible people skills and this company will not provide a refund not matter what. This is the worst management company and staff we have ever encountered.

  Business response

  11/16/2022

  We have a different perspective of this situation, although either way we are very sorry that they did not enjoy their stay.
  
  1. The dishwasher did stop working right before this guest arrival. We called the guest to let them know it had just died, and offered $75 (our standard resolution of $25/night for the 3-night stay) for the inconvenience. The said they had a birthday event and didn't want to wash dishes, so we increased the offer to $100. We were told that they would accept the $100 resolution if we sent a housekeeper to wash their dishes for them. We indicated we could not do that. The guest said he'd speak to it in his review.
  
  2. The internet and *** players were reported to our support team.The technician did mention the *** player might be getting old (the report was that it turned off after a while). The internet was satellite and may be due to the weather we were having, although it was suggested to reboot the "modem" (router).
  
  3. The guest called in and spoke to our reservations department who said the internet/***/TV's were noted on the account, and she did not know the status of a technician. The guest said he was leaving for a hotel and expected a full refund. She noted that a full refund may not be available.
  
  4. We called back and offered for the guest to leave the property for the remaining 2 nights and we would refund those nights. The guest chose to stay in the property. At this point, there was no further request for support or help. We thought things had resolved at the home.
  
  5. The guest requested a large refund post-stay through Airbnb.We declined, but instead provided a refund equivalent to 1-night of rent (for the first night the guest was unhappy), viewing the next two nights as the guest's choice to stay.
  
  We have already provided a refund to the guest and view the matter as settled. We wish this entire situation had worked out differently, and we hope the guest had a safe trip home.
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We rented a cabin for the week, but the danger of the cabin was never disclosed. The cabins had an incredibly steep driveway that led right down to off a cliff. It was mentioned that you need 4 wheel drive to access the property but it was never disclosed the true condition of the driveway and the danger is posed. The balcony was incredibly wabbly and also stood over a deep cliff. We could not let our children out around the property at al. *** to the danger of the driveway we had to cancel all our excursions (which we lost out on a lot of money) for we could not risk skidding down the driveway and off the mountain. The house was also infested with spiders and chemical traps which forced us into one trip down the driveway/mountain, which was due to the hospital. My son had a sever allergic reaction to the spiders/chemicals and had to receive treatment. I was looking for a peaceful vacation to take my children on and it ended up being a nightmare.

  Business response

  11/10/2022

  Hi, we  are very sorry that this guest's son had an issue at the home, and we hope he is OK!
  
  Please know that nothing was reported to us about any of these "issues." They stayed 7 nights in the home and never let us know any of their concerns.
  
  1. The "steep driveway" - we have had over ****************** this home just since 2019, and this is the very first guest who has ever described it this way. We disclose it in the description, in photos, and we recommend guests bring 4WD. Our staff accesses it with 2WD vehicles. No cliff at the end,just a hillside home.
  2. Weve never heard reports of a "wobbly balcony" and we'll check it out right away. The guests who stayed before and after have not reported any such issue, and neither has our housekeeping team or our maintenance teams. We wish they would have called us during their stay so they could have shown us exactly what they were concerned about. Regardless, well take a look! Again,no cliff, just a balcony at a home built on a ***************. This is cabin in a wooded area, and spiders do enter homes at times. We have a Terminix plan and treat with all normal treatments as required. Had we been notified we would have come check to see what actions were needed, and/or to remove any pest control items to make the guests more comfortable. We're unsure how we're supposed to stop spiders while at the same time not treating the home to prevent them, but we always do our best to make our guests happy when we can!
  This guest called us numerous times before arrival to thoroughly ask questions (window count, coffee maker type, doors the codes work at). We really wish they would have called once they arrived as they clearly had no trouble reaching us.
  
  Their signed lease agreement requires them to let us know of any issues they encounter, and is clear that we'll do our best to make them comfortable, but that no refunds are available.
  
  We wish they had a better experience and would have let us try to help them!

  Customer response

  11/10/2022

   
  I am rejecting this response because:
  We called the business several times hoping we could get a different location. They never picked up! You can look at yelp and see all the same concerns other had that are what we stated, so it is a lie when the company says they are unaware. I will be happy to provide screen shots for you to read. Please look at the goodle map and you will see indeed the driveway goes right off a cliff if u dont make a sharp left. The cleaning lady was there when we arrived and saw me in tears and said herself that she does not access this property rain or snow because of the danger. Because of the amount of money we lost out on I am happy to bring this to small claims court if the company does not work with us on a resolution. The hospital bill alone is enough.

  Business response

  11/15/2022

  We are again very sorry that this guest was not happy during their stay! To respond to the items individually:
  
  1. Please forward a copy of the hospital bill to ********************************* *** home has insurance on it to protect the homeowner and the renters, and we may be able to start a claim with the insurance company for her. We sincerely hope the son is OK!
  
  2. Regarding phone calls:
  a. We use a professional phone system with no record of calls from ************ during her stay.
  b. After hours, the message refers the caller to check their guest portal for the care team for that home. She could not have accessed the home without access to the guest portal as it also includes driving directions and key info.
  c. *** care team for this home is presented in the Guest Portal as: "Please call or text ************. (This is an automated on-call system. Please leave a message and the first available technician will call you back).
  d. Her signed lease agreement specifically states our on-call hours (9 am to 9 pm 7-days a week), and she initialed next to that disclosure.
  e. Perhaps she called the wrong number? She did call us ~30 days before arrival to ask which doors the codes opened. We have no idea who she was calling for 7 days, but it couldnt have been us.
  
  3. We stand by our original assessment of the home (which two additional reservations following her reservation have now departed without issue, one during Hurricane ******'s storms).
  
  4. *** guest is invited to do what she feels she needs to do. We did not receive any communication from her during her stay (prior to arrival she reached us via email and phone). ***y stayed 7 nights, and now want a full refund. We find no grounds for it and will defend our position with our signed lease agreement, our phone system records, our email thread, and the long list of renters at the home without issue.
  
  (Response shortened due to ***** character limit from BBB.)

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩