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Hi all, hope you all well. I ran into this situation this morning (as in the title), I will give some background info and please give me some advice from your perspective. All advices highly appreciated.
This guest booked for 2 people and stayed for 9 nights at my house. She was really nice, kind and polite in my first impression. Then 10 mins before she was supposed to check out this morning, she gave me a message and told me her daughter vomited on the bed last night and she tried to wash the doona and dry it in the dryer and it was burnt. I wasn’t sure whether the doona was burnt or the dryer as well, so I asked her and she never reply a single message since then.
Then I went to the property and she was still there with her daughter and unexpectedly her mother was there too. The check out time is 10am, we have a back to back booking today so I reminded her last night, but in the end l, they left at 10:45am approx, causing me delay to the next check in.
I could smell strong burning smell as I enter the house. And I tried to discuss with her about compensation, she was willing to pay for doona but not dryer (i didn’t even ask for payment of dryer, I said I would run the dryer and if it is broken, they need to compensate for it because it was working perfectly before they check in).
Then the daughter didn’t want to talk to me at all, she yelled at her mother “mum we need to pay for the dryer”, then left me alone. Her mother came to me later and said “I’m not buying you a new dryer” before I said anything. I then started to argue with her, my reasoning: 1. Dryer was working before they check in 2. King size superwarmth wool doona can not go into the 5kg capacity dryer, they obviously caused the mess.
Her mother: 1. Dryer was not working properly since they check in, a few days ago the dryer already created burning smell while they dry their clothings.
Me: 1. I checked at least 3 times during your daughter’s stay, is everything ok? and she replied everything was great. (I checked the 2nd day, 7th day, and the last night) 2. If the dryer had burnt your clothings before, you must have mentioned to me. And I asked if they can show me the burnt clothing, and the mother said it is all packed up and can’t show me.
Anyway, the mother was rude and firm and unreasonable. Also she possibly stayed at my place unreported, which I can’t prove.
Now, what I plan to report to Airbnb:
They burnt my wool doona, with a picture attached.
The dryer is 5kg capacity.
The doona obviously can’t fit into the dryer. And on its label, clearly says dry clean only, do not tumble dry, etc.
Guest let me know last minute, which is against my house rule. In my house rule: I ask all damage to be reported immediately so I can fix things for you and our future guest.
I later tested the dryer, it is still working but with strong burning smell. Anyone had similar experience? Will the smell go away. Can I request to get a new dryer or at least get some technician to check it and make the smell go away (guest pay for the cost)? What is your thoughts? thanks in advance!
I’m not going to let my future guests use that dryer unless the smell disappear. I would need to buy a new one no matter the bad guest pay or not pay in the end. It is really costly to run an Airbnb, I didn’t make a profit, the income just covers my outgoings and interest. I devoted so much time to manage it and clean it, I don’t want to pay for my guests’ fault. There has been many guests since I open the Airbnb, damage occurs three times and all from Airbnb guest, the first one I let go (cost me $30 only). The second one is arguable so I didn’t let the guest pay. And today’s damage is the guest’s fault in my opinion and she is not willing to take responsibility.
You should not let your guest operate any of your equipment.
I have multiple washers and dryers, but all behind a locker door.
If a guest needs something washed, we can do it for them, but they are not allowed to touch any of the equipment themselves. Exactly to avoid these kind of problem.
I do a entire home rental and I provide dryer and washer as many hosts do. I also give them brief introduction on how to use them and I put these in words in my house manual. More than 20 groups are fine so far, but this guest didn’t tell me when her daughter vomited on the bed and she didn’t tell me in the early morning. She told me at 9:50am, knowing I have new guests in the afternoon.
Also when I gave her introduction on dryer, she said easy she used something similar. Also, anybody with common sense should not put the big heavy wool doona into a small dryer. Even some doesn’t have commen sense, the label on the doona reminds them. So I’m so frustrated to have such guest. I understand accident happens and I’m ok to deal with vomit. But she chose not to tell me and tried to cover it up herself and ruined both doona and dryer. This sounds fine, but if she didn’t want to take responsibility, it is no longer fine.
Yes, you can mention it but be careful. You are not allowed to mention the case itself. You can say the doona and dryer were damaged but don’t mention you opened a case. You might want to call Air about this because,it is pretty major. While you are on the phone ask them for advice about how to word the review.
Yes but you can’t mention there’s a claim in place . So you can say: guest broke my house rule to contact me immediately in the event of damage and instead tried to wash a large dry clean only item in the washer drier. This caused the drier to burn out.
You can’t say: guest broke my house rule to contact me immediately in the event of damage and instead tried to wash a large dry clean only item in the washer drier. This caused the drier to burn out. i therefore had to open a case which I won/lost.
Thanks a lot. I will use the wording by you if you don’t mind, English is not my first language so I couldn’t think of a better way to say what you wrote down.
Btw, I called Airbnb and they asked me to use resolution centre. I wonder how does the host guarantee work? Does it work when guest refused to pay but Airbnb agrees I should be compensated, and then Airbnb pays the compensation instead?
Sorry, wish it were that simple. You have to upload documentation and photos. You also,have to upload repair estimates or invoices and damage replacement proof. Think of it like gong to court. The more proof you can provide the better the chance for you to win.
thanks, Kona. I have uploaded evidence. The doona is pretty obvious with large areas burnt. The dryer has strong burning smell, which i think may not be safe to use before a technician does an inspection. But my future guests can’t wait that long and live without a dryer so I need to buy one on Monday. My concern is the smell of the dryer can’t be shown in photos. But if I ask a technician to inspect, the price is probably half of a brand new dryer. And if the guest doesn’t pay for the new dryer and the technician visit, I will be 1.5 dryers out of pocket . In that case, I’d rather only pay for the new dryer.
I thought dryers are pretty robust and simple devices. I’ve used them in the past, but perhaps something has changed. How would attempting to dry an unsuitable article of clothing, made of wool, or whatever, damage a dryer?
Hi faheem, doona is quilt in Australia. It is a very large king size super warmth winter quilt, very big and heavy, and the filling is wool. I don’t even understand how they fit that into a small dryer (5kg capacity). And this morning the mother even said the dryer is faulty itself because it doesn’t stop when overheated, and that caused the quilt to be burnt. But they should not put a dry clean only, oversized item into the 5kg dryer in the first place (label also clearly says do not tumble dry). The dryer is 6 months old and I use it frequently, it functions perfectly before they check in. And the mother is not on my guest list, I felt uncomfortable talking to her this morning, she was aggressive and kept blaming me, and the dryer.
I agree that the guests did a stupid and possibly dangerous thing. But my question was whether it is possible to damage the dryer by doing this, and if so, how? Does such an action (putting a large woolen item in a dryer) make the dryer excessively hot? Does it cause one or more of its parts to burn out? I’m rather ignorant about how dryers work, so can’t ask any more specific questions without researching it.
First clean out and wash all the filters, also the one for the heat exchanger, it is somewhere hidden behind a cover.
Then try to dry some old towels and see if the smell goes away.
Like @Faheem said, dryers are very simple. There is not a lot that can damage. If there is a smell, it is probably in one of the filters.
Btw, the mother said I didn’t provide instruction manual for equipment in the house. I did walk through all equipments with my guests and write a simple step by step guide on how to operate them in the house manual. But I didn’t put words like “do not overload”, I thought it was common sense. What is the standard regarding instruction manuals? Do we have to put them in the house by law?
Anyway, after blaming me, the mother then said the dryer was faulty before and burnt few of their clothes a few days ago. I asked her to show me the clothing, and she said they are all packed in the suitcase and then she dodged the topic.
Also, I asked the guest “how is everything going” on the 2nd day, 7th day, and 9th day(last night). Her reply was “everything was great” or similar. If my dryer burnt her closthing, isn’t that worth mentioning?! The mother said not worth mentioning because they knew I wouldn’t care and I wouldn’t do anything about it. Excuse me! How does she know I wouldn’t do anything, any reasonable person would fix the problem as soon as possible and pay for the burnt clothes. They guest mentioned a portable heater would be good on the second day and I bought them a portable heater on that day. We have gas heater in the lounge and a/c in the dinning. They turned both on when I drop the portable heater. The house feels like a furnace to me and they wear T-shirt, shorts, with bare foot. I think I’m a nice enough host, provide them the heater even if seems (to me) unnecessary.
I don’t understand how dryer works. It has a strong burning smell now. And it still runs but the smell was strong and I googled, some article says stop using he dryer it is a safety hazard.
They would need to provide proof of this if they start down the resolution center route, so just bare that in mind. Make sure you keep all conservations on the platform!
Since you do not know how it works, do you know how to clean all filters?
This should be done on a regular basis, else you can also get that burning smell.
. In that case, I’d rather only pay for the new dryer.