Glad you got reimbursed. Probably because you had video!
My jaw dropped. Iāll bet they donāt let the children take apart and ruin furniture at home.
4 Likes
My personal favorites are the ones that tell you over and over again how they are super hosts while you watch their children eating Cheetos and yogurt on your white linen high-end couchesā¦ As hosts, we can only smile sweetly and say āWelcome to Cozumel have a nice day!āā¦ Hosting is an exercise in humility and patience to be certain.
2 Likes
When does this happen? During check in? I guess if people pay enough you can just have the couches professionally cleaned after each incident.
We have a no children under twelve policy. Our house is old and many of the features are no longer considered safe for young children. We also have lots of antique furniture in the apartment. What surprises me is how many parents still want to book with us and never even took the time to see that we donāt allow young children. It always makes me wonder how many other rules they would ignore. Luckily Iāve managed to catch all of them before it became an issue aside from one booking. That ended up being super awkward when the booking for three adults was actually for the parents and their three year old son. We live below our Airbnb were surprised to hear a very young child running around upstairs. We ended up letting them stay and luckily for us they were great, but I was so nervous until they checked out and I could see that everything was okay.
5 Likes
When it happened I thought for sure the kids must have done it while unsupervised but when I reviewed the video I saw the mother walk out onto the deck and talk to them briefly as they were peeling the bark off my table.
Why would anyone have a white couch in a rental of any kind? White couches and carpets just scream make me dirty!
5 Likes
I was thinking the same thing- a white linen couch in a vacation rental? Madness.
2 Likes
Just got a wedding couple requestā¦ā¦wants to book for 2 for 2 nights, but have the wedding party plus plus plus there to get ready with 3 small flower girlsā¦. Didnāt like the decline and had a hissy!
4 Likes
My neighbor/competitor has one. It is a pottery barn duck cloth slip covered couch. She purchased it when the condo was family use only. When she decided to rent, there was no room elsewhere so selling it then buying a different couch was her option.
She decided to keep it and placed a very nice, color coordinated sofa cover.
The color blends so most people donāt notice it.
She rolled up the white area rug & placed in the ownerās closet. It comes out for family use of the condo.
She rents her condo as 1 br1ba max 2 guests so almost all guests are adults.
My upholstery clients with vacation rental homes, which is most of them here, sometimes want two sets of cushion covers- one for the rentals, and others they keep packed away for when they occupy the house. Smart. One client wanted white covers for the rentals and I tried to advise her out of it, but she wanted white. First set of guests after that decided to apply their blue nail polish while sitting on the white couch
3 Likes
Oh no, not here. I certainly wouldnāt sit by and watch. If hosts donāt take responsibility, no one else is going to. If a host doesnāt call out the kids who do this, and the parents who allow it, then they are all going to think that itās acceptable behaviour when staying in an Airbnb rental.
I agree with others who have said that itās the parents who are at fault but blame also lies with hosts who are too humble and patient to expect, and insist on, normal civilised behaviour in their rentals.
2 Likes
Iād say itās more than humility and patience that lead hosts to stand by meekly while guests abuse their hospitality. Itās that all too prevalent terror of a bad review.
2 Likes
Moreās the pity. It seems that nowadays some hosts will put up with anything rather than risk a poor review. I canāt think how many times Iāve read here about hosts worrying about āretaliatory reviewsā or that they ādonāt like confrontationā or whatever in order to let bad guests get away with poor behaviour.
Weāve been living in the review society for many years now and every business, every book, every product gets a bad review at some time or another.
Itās perfectly possible to deal with less-than-great guests in a firm but friendly way that wouldnāt invite retaliation or confrontation.
4 Likes
I think so, too, but I guess some people donāt know how to do that.
And so many hosts donāt seem to realize that you can seldom ensure a good review by kowtowing to entitled guestsā demands and ridiculous complaints. Those types are actually more likely to leave a good review if you present a friendly, but firm attitude of self-respect and no tolerance for nonsense.
They donāt respect people who allow themselves to be taken advantage of, and that will likely be evident in the review, as it was during their stay.
1 Like
Thatās exactly what Iāve always found. And when guests are aware that hosts are letting them behave badly without any response, then they are only going to get worse.
Thank you Jaquo for the moral supportā¦ Island life very difficult to find high-end anything here no sofa Warehouse so we take what we can get I have two sets off white and beigeā¦ their parents are sitting across from them probably 70 inches away and are themselves super hostsā¦ the piggish 38 year old mother well beyond the age for a teaching opportunity to explain to her basic manners and decency with the kind of personality that wouldnāt thank you for itā¦ Sometimes Iām so shocked I have no way to respond in retrospect I should have offered to bring them some blankets or something for their furnitureā¦āso that the children can have their cheetos and strawberry yogurtāā¦lol
2 Likes
Just what I was going to suggest. 
We no longer host dogs but when we did, I used to provide throws for the sofas saying āIām sure that your boy never goes on the furniture at home but I thought it was a good idea to have these because we never know what he might be like in a strange placeā. Iām sure that there can be a child equivalent.
Iād be inclined to get plastic tablecloths or something waterproof for your sofas. "Mummy has had so much to do getting ready for this trip so she probably forget ā¦ but letās get these under you so no-one has to worry about crumbsā¦ " or something similar.
Iām thinking of the recent thread about whether to sign up for a course in being a host and Iād say what would be a much more valuable course to sign up for, if a host doesnāt have those skills or natural inclination already, is an assertiveness course. Which teaches how to stand up for yourself without coming across as aggressive or offensive or feeling shy or guilty about it. Quite a few hosts could benefit from that.
It seems so. What I donāt understand is why they go into the hospitality business in the first place. 
1 Like