Praying these people don't leave a review

Ugh, these guests. It should have been a sign when I got a message the other day that their flight arrived in the morning and they wanted to come straight here. I told them that our current guests have a 11am check out and I will let them know as soon as it’s available. I was able to get it done at noon.

We allow pets, and the guests that left last week left it in pretty bad shape. We had to shampoo carpets and furniture, repaint several places, etc. Ugh. But we got it done. The guests that left this morning were lovely and said they’d be coming back. And while I was cleaning things just smelled humid. I turned on the AC units and the fans to get the air moving and dried out.

But enter this woman and we get a message 15 minutes after check in saying “very unhappy with the wet dog smell in the unit but at this time to late to do anything about it”. Well, most of it is because it’s raining like crazy so everything smells wet…

I head over, apologize and say I will head to the store and pick up an air freshener (ugh) and ask if they have a preferred scent. She just is generally unpleasant. I sent my husband up with the plug-in while I headed out for other errands. He went up to put it in, said he couldn’t smell anything and yet this woman is walking around with her shirt over her nose.

I predict a horrible review even though I have resolved everything. I am doing nothing else for this woman as I have been pleasant, responded quickly, and done everything I can do to resolve the issue. I just hope as this woman has no reviews and has left none that she just moves on with her life. But she seems like the type that will point out to the whole world with a low star review that surprise, on a wet weekend the apartment smells wet. I have a very sensitive nose myself and can barely notice it. I’m just trying to remind myself that I’ve done what I can and have to move on with my life. Thankfully she’s here for just 2 days and then I have a repeat guest coming and busy season is on it’s way and the review should disappear if she leaves one.

They just want a free stay and hoping for a huge refund…

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Yeah, very much hoping that they aren’t that tech savvy and try to do a stupid resolution center process. I’m so thankful I clean thoroughly. Just wondering if I should contact customer service first to get a jump on any possible issues, or if I’m reading too much into it.

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I would relax for now and make notes.

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The good thing is that she can prove a smell. She can’t photograph it or video it. And unless she contacts Airbnb and proves that there’s a pong within 24 hours of check in then she’s screwed for a refund.

But don’t worry if she leaves comments about the smell. Other travellers are smart enough to know that your good reviews far outweigh whatever she says (if indeed she does - she might not bother) so I don’t think it will have any serious effect. One or two reviews with poor star ratings shouldn’t affect you either and you can always appeal to Airbnb.

She has no chance if she’s aiming for a refund and as she hasn’t left any review before, chances are that she won’t. If she does, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. :slight_smile:

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And now they’re smoking in my garage. But they can smell wet dog?!?

Smokers don’t loose their sense of smell and wet dog is a nasty smell for many people.

Do you allow that? They really sound like horrible guests. But we all get them from time to time - it’s the law of averages … or something like that.

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If she doesn’t I hope she puts it in the review. Any sort of surreptitious smoking or violations is something hosts need to know.

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Presuming you have a no smoking property, then I would remind them of this and follow this up through Airbnb messaging.

If they continue you can ask Airbnb to cancel their lbooking - which would be a great result for you I would imagine :slight_smile:

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Sarah. Don’t hate me for saying this, but given the sequence of events–the previous dog occupancy, the shampooing, the rain–I’d be surprised if there weren’t some kind of odor. For me, odors are a real deal breaker like noise, excess heat or cold when I’m staying at a hotel/motel.

We can’t smell our homes because we’re used to it. I have a repeat guest who loves my house because it smells just like his favorite aunt’s house. It surprised me because I can’t smell anything!

Don’t sweat the review. Air the place out as best you can and it’ll be fine!

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Smoking!!! Is that a breach of the rules?If so, contact them, then Air and get them out!

Chances are (sorry) that there IS a wet dog smell in the room from the last guests. Because it is still raining and it hasn’t had the chance to air out even though you cleaned.

I know there is not much you can do now… but this is something you can fix in the future. No pets. Simply no pets. And also… early check in? Just say no. If you had had that extra couple of hours you might have been able to get the smell out a little better. So no more early check in. It never benefits you to let the guests bulldoze their way in.

Don’t refund. That is the mistake I made with my millipede guests. All the refunds in the world will not stave off the bad review. It is probably coming. When it does, post it here and we will probably advise you not to respond!

In their review… you can say they complained a lot, tried to push their way in early and smoked on the property. It’s all true!

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@konacoconutz stated: “Chances are (sorry) that there IS a wet dog smell in the room…”

Sadly, it’s probably true. If there’s carpeting, a fabric sofa, etc., there is generally a distinct aroma that sensitive human noses can pick up that a dog has been in the area. It doesn’t matter that the carpet has been shampooed and the place disinfected. If it’s an enclosed space, there is dander and old pee and slobber that people with sensitive noses easily pick up.

As a former dog owner (but still a lover of small dogs), even I can instantly smell the odor of ‘dog’ in a home or hotel room or wherever. If your guest did not know that two guests before her had a dog but she has picked up on it, she is probably not fabricating.

It’s best not to allow dogs in your rental (or cats!).

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I wouldn’t allow pets either unless you want to really cater to those people and make it clear in your listing that you allow pets and there can be occasional dog smells no matter how well you e cleaned. I love dogs but don’t allow them in the unit, although I’ve thought about having a pet friendly unit on the ground floor adjacent to the yard, but it would be a lot less nice.

I agree that there may be a lingering odor that you can’t detect because you’ve been exposed to it consistently.

I trust my sister to give me the unadulterated lowdown on any rogue odors in my house, LOL!

Anyway, @Sarah_Warren, a small dehumidifier might solve your problem when it’s humid.

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My sis too!!! She never hesitates to give me the unsolicited unvarnished truth on anything and everything relating to my life, LOL.

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There are odor neutralizer products–not “fresheners” for a masking fragrance, but true neutralizers such as Zero Odor. We have used it in our own home for a pet accident and have some on the ready for any bad or lingering smells.

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So she has used Air a bunch of times but has no reviews and no one has left her any?

Let’s pretend there really isn’t a “dog” smell but it smells humid (not sure what that means) - but she may see that you accept dogs and if there is an odd wet smell…then she is calling it a wet dog smell. Did those bad guests maybe have a dog that peed on the floor? I have a friend who has a bad dog and it pees everywhere hiking it’s leg. She gets her carpets cleaned twice a year and whenever it rained or was humid you could really smell the pee. But this smelled like dog pee.

I just don’t like the fact that she says she is very “unhappy” but too late to do anything now. I am thinking you’d prefer to refund her and get her out rather than risk a scathing review. Did she make that comment because there are no other places within the same price range?

I am hopeful for you but I have seen guests smile sweetly and then smack you. I hope beyond hope they don’t do that to you. Sounds like the cousin might be a good plan.

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Oh, There is no way I’d refund her to avoid a review. I just buckled in for a short weekend and am looking forward to my repeat guest who arrives tomorrow. If she was staying longer I would have contacted Air to get her moved.

My husband doesn’t get affected like I do by negativity so I’ve let him handle this one. This is their first Air experience. I think she’s only ever experienced hotels. It appears that our quick handling of situations and positive attitudes have turned the tides. This has always been my experience in other customer service industries.

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