I have been hosting just over 2 years and just had my first really terrible experience with a guest. This guest booked for 3 nights, my husband was home when they arrived, said they were nice enough but something felt wrong, they just seemed a little off. First red flag , in her message she requested for her and her fiance I didn’t notice till problems occurred he was not officially on the booking. All seemed fine through their stay till check out day, I sent my usual message the night before reminding of 11 am check out. An hour after check out time they messaged me that they would like to stay another night, I told them to go through airbnb it but I would need them to be out by 11 the next day as I had someone else arriving. We both were unable to make the change since it was past check out. I called airbnb they couldn’t do it either so I was told to put in a request for money with a message explaining it was for an additional night…check out day. At 8:50 I got a message that she got and accepted the payment request and they would be leaving within the hour. I went to clean at 2 pm and she was still there! The place smelled of smoke(no smoking is in house rules) and alcohol. Her boyfriend was no longer there. I told her I needed her to leave immediately , her response was “I have nowhere to go” big red flag, so I told her to be out in 15 minutes or I would call the police. I waited at the bottom of the stairs, I called up again after a few minutes and she said she just needed to use the bathroom and then would leave. I guess I should have noticed I didn’t hear the toilet flush. She left, we went up to clean and the smell of urine was overpowering. The mattress covers were pulled off and she had urinated on one of the mattresses enough so it was soaked through to the base. Spoke to air, first step is to request money for the ruined mattress (unlikely as her initial acceptance of the first request for the additional night has since been “delayed”) before I can move on to a claim. We will see how this one goes. I left a review to warn hosts and reported her profile.
I am very sorry that you were subjected to this disgusting couple.
Take photos and file a claim immediately. Stay on them for a claim.
I would also suggest closely examining the rest of the room for further damage and missing things. Sorry, but necessary.
Disgusting. Keep on it until you get your refund for a new mattress. I might even get police involved for criminal damage and harassment. No way should she get away with it.
I think this is horrifying and that woman has some serious issues. However, the idea that people are going to involve the police for this sort of behavior is pretty far fetched. People want champagne government services but beer tax rates.
Oh @Jess1 that’s really not a good use of police resources. In most countries police resources are extremely limited. It’s a civil not a criminal matter.
I am so sorry this happened to you @Val_Miller
I do hope you are successful in making a claim. I would also submit a claim for extra cleaning due to the smoking.
Some of us would be prepared to pay. I am a big believer in the broken window theory, adopt a zero tolerance policy and bigger crimes are prevented and money saved. Deliberately piss on a mattress one day, what next?
It doesn’t work that way. You can “believe” in zero tolerance all you want but research shows that zero tolerance doesn’t work in schools or in law enforcement. Even advocates of broken windows theory say it’s not the same as zero tolerance.
In any case no one is saying she should be allowed to do it, she should simply be made to pay in the appropriate way. It’s like people who call the cops on their kids to “scare them.” Most of us don’t want to pay with public dollars to supplement other’s inability to parent…or run an airbnb.
I am not sure I would describe the OP as unable to run their Airbnb. The guest had refused to leave and was trespassing when she vandalised the mattress.
I would probably have hovvered over the guest until they left and wouldn’t have left her alone. However I wasn’t there and thats easy for me to say. Obviously there might be personal safety concerns. The situation sounds disturbing. I am not sure its a just a civil matter when the contract is over.
I wouldn’t either, the OP is not the one suggesting that criminal charges be brought against the guest.
I see “call the police” and “call Airbnb” as advice for a good number of things that hosts should be able to handle. As disturbing and outside the norm we see this particular action it doesn’t change the protocol to be followed. File a request for payment along with your evidence, escalate when necessary, continue to press Airbnb using social media and traditional media if all else fails.
It’s not currently a criminal matter. But I would suggest you keep looking. Better to be thorough
I know that we’re all focusing on the nasty bit, but I don’t get why the guest was still there at 2 pm. I thought she was supposed to leave at 11?
If she was supposed to check out at 11, was she ‘there’ in the eyes of Airbnb? Interesting question as to whether it’s the host’s responsibility to make sure that guest leave by check out time…
If the guest does not pay then Airbnb should pay as part of the “Host Guarantee”. Just do everything by the book so Air cannot use a technicality to refuse payment.
I think it’s possible to do an online report with the police to log harassment and vandalism. This is there in case she returns and helps with claims.
It absolutely is on the host to enforce checkout time. I offer late checkout for a fee, so my guests know its pay to stay so they are usually pretty good about getting out on time.
RR
Then the OP might not have a leg to stand on with Airbnb since the guest’s stay was officially over? I would imagine though that her STR insurance would cover a damaged mattress.
I sometimes offer a late check out (extended by about an hour or so) if possible. I do this without charge but I find that the extra hour often gives the guests more time to clean the place 
Let’s back up and reconsider @Jess1’s comment about reporting this to the police.
I can’t speak directly to STR insurance but several homeowners (including me) in my neighborhood had a recent experience with vandals. Our personal property owner insurance did cover the damage BUT a police report was required or the insurance wouldn’t cover it.
By filing a police report there was verification by a third party of the damage & it is perceived to help prevent false claims by owners who actually do the damage.
A mattress can be a large expense. There have been many threads in this this forum about Airbnb not paying for damages. While yes there have been threads about Airbnb paying out for damages, it feels like a potential risk.
To contact the police non-emergency line & file a report either in person or via the internet site for reporting may be needed for insurance coverage.
Also in order to pursue this in civil court, for this type of damage you may need a police report to start / support the process.
I’m in the USA and realize that different areas of the USA may have different processes and definitely other countries will have different processes.
I understand your point @Annet3176 but I can tell you if you tried to make a police report in the UK because a guest peed on your mattress I can only imagine the reaction.
Of course if you had been assaulted by a guest or there was illegal drug taking at your premises that would be a criminal act and should be reported.
This is no doubt true as far as it goes, but I’m not sure how far a host can “enforce” this in the type of case posted by the OP. She may not have been able to physically go to the listing at 11. Even if she had done so, the guest sounds like the type who would be unlikely to leave quietly until she was damn well ready to! What is a poor host to do in such a situation? Physically drag the guest out and be sued for assault? This is something I often think when reading advice to hosts to “enforce” checkout time, when basically the worst you can do is stand in the room with your arms folded looking disapproving!