First the good: The property has a beautiful view and largely matches the photos as advertised. The host was usually quick to respond.
Now the bad: TLDR: We felt we were super overcharged for this home given that key amenities were broken. Shortly after booking our trip, I noticed that the listing had come off of VRBO. I reached out to the owner to inquire as to why this was the case and all he said was “that’s odd”. Fortunately, check-in was smooth, but the hot tub wasn't working. The host sent a repair man who quickly determined that the heating element was shot and he couldn't fix before our five nights were over. Note that the hot tub was our primary justification for accepting an $X nightly premium relative to other properties we were considering. The owner clearly agrees that the hot tub is a key selling point, given that it’s the cover photo and mentioned in the property title. That second day the ping pong table collapsed.
Recognizing that things can go wrong during a stay, what matters most is how the host handles the situation and this is where Taylor fell short. Only after we brought both issues to his attention did Taylor admit that the property had recently been flooded mere weeks earlier and they had rushed to complete a major renovation of the basement in order to be able to honor the reservation we had made – I guess it wasn’t so “odd” that the listing had previously come off VRBO . The ping pong table was apparently put together in a hurry and incorrectly, causing it to collapse. In full disclosure, we wanted $X/night refunded as this was the amount of the premium we felt we had elected to pay in order to have the hot tub and game room. When we showed Taylor other listings of similar caliber but without a hot tub that were available for more than $X/night less, Taylor told us that those hosts were “underpricing their inventory” and that we should have booked those instead. Instead of giving us what we had thoroughly demonstrated was fair, Taylor offered to let us stay an extra night for free (our schedules wouldn’t allow) or to refund us 1/2 $X and ask VRBO to refund the service fee we had paid them (they didn't).
I’m sure Taylor’s review of us will not be favorable and will emphasize how he has “never been unable to reach a mutually agreeable resolution”, but at the end of the day he had his opportunity and chose to keep an extra ~1/2 $X in his pocket rather than make things right.