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I thought I’d share the conversation with a guest that started last night. Short version is they complained about a terrible smell. When pressed for more info, they were unable to elaborate. And when I suggested a cleaner could be there in the morning to assess, they started to back away.
My suspicion right now is they were angling for a discount or refund.
They booked through Booking.com. I have a very good relationship with our cleaner and I am 100% sure she would have said something if there was a smell when the house was prepped (she was there 11am yesterday). We have never had any issues like this in the past. The house is about 4 years old. I’m feeling quite confident on how to handle it, and if a refund or discount request does come, it will be declined.
Since this is an Airbnb host forum, I can imagine that among other things there is no booking.com help for you. But seriously every time I hear these issues I think why do I even see them in a forum for Airbnb hosts? Yes it’s only a few seconds to click on the discussion and find out that it has nothing to do with Airbnb, but it is annoying.
Aw come on Rolf, surely it really doesn’t matter? Issues like this will appear on any platform from time to time and I for one can’t see the point of such a purist, sentinel view - sorry Tim but it sounds like you’ve got a Booking.com smell so we can’t help.
However, if it was an ABB smell then maybe it’s because the water trap in one of the pans is too low and foul air from the sewer is wafting in. If that was the case then the source would be cut off with the first flush and any lingering smell would dissipate in time. It might be a genuine issue.
While it’s true that low water in the trap could cause a smell, that doesn’t seem likely to happen unless the house was sitting empty with no one using water there for days. Since the OP said his cleaner was just there yesterday, she surely used water, cleaned and flushed the toilet, etc.
They might not be scamming, but it kind of sounds to me like they came up with a complaint right away that they could use to try to finagle a discount or refund.
Surely someone can generally describe a bad smell. (Sounds suspicious that they couldn’t) Sewerish? Dead animal? Mildew? Vomit? Those are all pretty distinctive smells.
Sorry guys, colour me embarrassed - I’ve been here for years and hadn’t clicked to this being targeted at AirBnB. You’d think I’d notice what with it being in the name and all
Many hosts here list on multiple platfotms. I don’t see anything wrong with posting about issues a host is having on any platform. And your current guest could have come to you through Airbnb just as easily, with the same complaint and the same messages exchanged.
The thing to remember is that guests don’t get reviewed on BDC, so bad guests who’ve been booted off Airbnb can book through BDC and a host wouldn’t know their history.
Please don’t take Rolf’s comment to heart. I am happy that you posted your situation. the questions and answers help me know what to look out for and how best to handle similar situations should they arise.
I echo the sentiment that there was no transgression here Tim! STR issues are universal and discussing concerns about discerning if a guests’ complaints are legitimate or refund seeking is helpful to all. Even highlighting differences between platforms is helpful.
No problem at all - after 30 years in the Navy, it takes a lot to upset me. I thought it was funny that I hadn’t twigged to it!
For what it’s worth I tend to think of it all as “short term rentals”, and the platform is just a detail. Most of my bookings are with AirBnB, at just over 50%.
I haven’t had a request for a discount or refund yet. I feel pretty sure that was the aim, but I think she realised I was onto her. In the morning I asked when would be a good time for the cleaner to come round, after a bit of back-and-forth she said let’s wait till she checked out, which was the following morning. I decided to apply a bit of heat & said my preference would be to look into it as I was concerned about damage, and she said it really wasn’t that bad anymore. Ultimately I let it go, but I’d ensured there was a decent conversation in the platform comms that would support my declining any subsequent request.
We’ve been doing this for 15 years now, with 2 houses, and this is the first time something like this has happened.
You obviously have the appropriate responses to cover your butt down.
It seems telling that as soon as you showed concern and a willingness to send the cleaner round to check or come over yourself, trying to nail down a time to do this, she immediately backtracked to “Maybe the smell will be gone in the morning.”
I think a lot of refund or discount scammers bank on the host getting all flustered and over-the-top apologetic over what might actually be a bogus complaint, in terror of getting a bad review, which a lot of hosts seem to do, especially the inexperienced ones.
But as soon as a host does that, they appear to be weak in the scammers eyes, and they move in for the kill, demanding a refund, reporting the listing to Airbnb, etc.
When their complaint gets met with a matter-of-fact, professional “Oh, thanks for letting me know, let’s check that out right away and see what’s going on”, they realize they aren’t dealing with some “scared to death of a bad review” host they can walk all over.
I’ve read so many posts over the years from hosts who said they bent over backwards to try to please demanding, entitled guests, only to get a bad review, which shocked them. They don’t understand human psychology- people who are entitled and demanding or come up with bogus complaints, never appreciate anyone bending over backwards for them, so there is no point in doing so.
I go out of my way for guests quite often, but of my own volition and initiative, not because a guest expected special treatment. And those nice guests show appreciation and leave good reviews.
100% agree. I’ll bend over backwards to remedy a genuine problem as I want my guests to have a wonderful experience. But worrying about a bad review is never part of the equation.
I did have one guest complain about smell and it turned out to be bleach which my cleaner said they added to bucket when mopping floor. I think the guest didnt want to cause a fuss decided to wait to see if it disappeared which is reasonable.
Don’t let the cleaner add bleach to water to mop tile floors! The bleach makes the floors very slippery if the floor gets wet again after drying. Use a floor cleaner.
Or, if they absolutely have to disinfect the floor, they could use Steramine. It’s odorless and non-irritating and a little goes a long ways (one tablet makes a gallon and costs about 10-15 cents US).
Note to those that prefer natural solutions - I’m not suggesting this is the only option. But it’s extremely effective and inexpensive - we had to use it during COVID to meet the government disinfecting standards.
Pretty much everyone I know, whether they use a cleaner for their own personal residence or an str, has forbidden their cleaner to use bleach anywhere, as they seem to splash it all over and get bleach stains on fabric items.
Plus, most floors are tile where I live.
I do my own cleaning, and the only place I use bleach is sometimes in the toilet, as we have hard water that can stain the bowl. But I put it in when I start cleaning the bathroom, and flush it well before guests arrive.
We get some mildew and mold (tropical rainforest, open-air house so no dehumification anywhere), so I have to let our staff use some bleach. But you are right - all my pretty turquoise kitchen towels have bleach stains on them.
I’m open to how to effectively clean mold and mildew without using bleach if anyone has a good solution.
Have you tried hydrogen peroxide? That will bleach stuff, too, but not instantly like bleach does if it splashes.
It’s hot and humid where I live, too, although not year round. My house isn’t open air, but all the doors and windows are usually open, so it’s pretty close to open air and I keep the fans going 24/7 in the hot humid rainy season and don’t seem to get mold or mildew inside the house. Also it’s concrete and tile construction, not wood.
The outside walkways, terraces and walls do get covered in black mold in the summer here, which I have to powerwash off.
And clothing and bedding that is packed away here in plastic totes can get a funky smell if it’s stored too long and needs to be aired out or rewashed.
To be clear, I haven’t actually tried hydrogen peroxide for mold and mildew, as I don’t have an indoor problem with that. I was just thinking that it might work, as it can be substituted for bleach in other applications.
But there are many articles and forums online recommending it for mold. Pages came up when I googled it.
Have you read the safety warnings and reviews on that stuff? Not something I would ever use. Sounds highly poisonous, recommended to use PPE, heavy duty fumes, one reviewer says it smells 5 times stronger than bleach and has a lengthy warning review if you scroll down to the reviews.
Sounds potentially dangerous to both the cleaners and the guests.
