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Hi,
So Douglas denied to pay and I had to get Air involved. He said that he called a week before and that I told him he could bring a pet. Um, no I didn’t. He says that we are trying to extort money from him. What??? His unauthorized friend and pet trashed our house! This guy is a piece of work. I am so much more upset about him and his friend disrespecting my home than the money! Here is my review…I tried to keep it as short as possible while warning any other host to decline booking him. Please let me know your thoughts before I post:
Douglas booked a room for 1 adult in our home. 3 days before his reservation he called and asked if a lady friend staying in the area could “visit” with her dog. I told him that we have a no pet policy and the dog could not stay here. He assured me that the dog was not staying. Long story short, the dog and friend did stay at our home and caused $900 worth of damage in 3 days. When they checked out, the room reeked of perfume. I guess they thought if we couldn’t smell the urine, we couldn’t see it. We got a black light out and discovered urine and feces stains all over our bedding and rug. The wooden mini blinds were chewed on with pieces all over the floor, along with dog treats crushed into our urine stained rug. I supply make up wipes with a note to remove your makeup or you will be charged if you stain our towels and bedding with makeup. There was makeup all over every towel and all over the bed. We had guests arriving that afternoon. Luckily, we had an extra set of everything except the blinds. It took 2 people 4 hours to clean one bedroom and bathroom. This guest would be better suited for a pet friendly hotel.
Quick tip: if you speak with a guest over the phone, send a short summary outlining what you discussed via the Airbnb msg system. I keep EVERYTHING in there so when there is an issue customer service can see all the communication. If you have it in writing to the guest, there’s no he-said-she-said because it is there in black and white.
Example:
" Hi Tim, Great speaking with you this afternoon. As we discussed, there is a no pet policy so your friend’s dog is not permitted on the premises. You are welcome to have a guest visit you, however, the added occupancy charge of $40 will apply should the friend spend the night. Safe travels and see you soon."
Here it is. I don’t know how I was unfriendly as I never met the guy. The rug was dirty and stained…after he left. It says very clearly in our listing that our house is on a lake. I never told him he could bring his pet. I am not trying to extort anything from him…I’m just asking him to pay for the things he ruined and I have the pictures to prove it. We had another guest check out on the same day that he checked in and they gave me 5 stars across the board. There was nothing wrong with anything in that room, until he showed up. He sent me a message when he declined to pay saying dirty sheets and towels only need to be washed. If necessary a little bleach will clean any stains on sheets. He says he’s taking me to court. The guy is clearly a delusional nutjob! Now that I’ve vented, here’s the review. He gave me 1 and 2 stars…I don’t think he would have done so had I not had to post on the resolution center so quickly, as his original message thanked me for the great stay!
Not a clean place. Owners were very unfriendly
Lea And Sean
Response from Lea And Sean:
You know that this is not true. I told you that we don’t allow pets and you brought one anyway. The rug was brand new before your dog had several accidents on it. We are not on a bayou, we are on a dune lake which is clearly stated in the listing. Of course there are snakes, we live on a lake!
Accuracy feedback:
Contacted howt before visit to see if we could bring a family pet and host so no problem. I ask to put up extra deposit and was told not necessary. Now host is try to extort $879 for damages that is a totally fabrication. I have contacted a lawyer to handle these fraudulent charges.
Cleanliness feedback:
Rug was dirty and stained
Location feedback:
Location was by bayou. Saw 2 snakes
Liar liar pants on fire
At $400 an hour he did not contact a lawyer, or he may have only to find out it would be cheaper to settle.
I would try and get Air to remove the review based on the lie about the dirty rug, which you state is new and his rule breaking dog pissed on it. If you have receipt for the new rug, plus your previous 5 star cleanliness reviews you may have a shot at getting it removed. I would try at least.
Good luck keep us up to date on review removal and resolution for damages.
He is a big liar. He has lied about everything! I will never answer the phone again if I don’t recognize the number. All of this would be eliminated if he would have asked me about the dog through the Airbnb app. He called me on the phone so he could lie later! Lesson learned. I think you have to talk to the right person at Airbnb to get the review removed. The guy I talked to this morning said that he didn’t break any rules in his review. Even with his review, we are still on track to receive superhost status at the beginning of July for whatever that is worth! I’ll keep trying. Thanks RiverRockRetreat!
We’re in Florida. We live on a lake by the gulf. There are snakes, alligators, sharks, lizards, bears and all kinds of bugs that I had never seen until I moved here. This guy is from Louisiana…he thinks we live on a bayou! We live on the biggest dune lake in the world, which it clearly states in our listing. I bet he’s seen a snake before! I don’t like them either, but they live in Florida!
I am so sorry for all that happened to you @Lea_Whaley_Freeman. This truly is terrible, the damage is more than enough to have to deal with, and disrespect and lies on top of it stings.
The guy is from Louisiana? And he is surprised by a snake? Dear me!
I hope Airbnb resolves this to your satisfaction.
I had a small claim (the guest spilled something on the carpet and it got wavy). Airbnb contacted the guest, who denied to pay, but I did get my damage reimbursed regardless.
Do you have a security deposit? I may be wrong, but it looks like it’s easier to get damage reimbursed if you have it.
Best of luck!
He wasn’t surprised by a snake. He is a snake. He knew he’d be getting a bad review when Lea saw the room so he’s pulled out everything he can think of.
That reminds me of an incident (true story) that happened many years ago when we lived on a marina with a floating dock right off the back patio…
It was pitch black and about 9 pm with only the house lights from the neighboring houses illuminating the water. I was out on the dock laying on my belly and peering into the water. I was holding a hand line with a baited hook in the water seeing if I could catch a crab for our salt water aquarium.
All of a sudden, I felt a very strong pull and figured I snagged a discarded tire or something but as I pulled it up, I felt movement. I was struggling and yelled for my husband to come quickly and help. Somehow I managed to pull the line up with all the strength I had and something long and white landed beside me. It was a 3’ white eel as thick as an arm! (I later learned I could have sold it in Chinatown for $4/lb.) My husband came running out of the house buck naked.
Agreed: Upload plenty of documentation, take the time to post receipts or links to replacements, and you have a good chance of getting at least a partial reimbursement. I’ve several times been reimbursed fully for damages in the $100-$300 range: sheets ruined with hair dye, rug stained with spilled black grease from a fry pan, and so on.
The only time I wasn’t reimbursed after a damage deposit or Assurance Guarantee request, it was because the damage fell outside Airbnb’s damage policy. Until then, I didn’t know they don’t reimburse for odor damage.
In that case, a guest left an overpowering, persistent rank odor that permeated everything in the room, and no amount of washing, sunning, enzymes, or other deodorizer would remove it. It cost me around $1,500 to replace every fabric item in the room (including the rug) and pay for housekeepers to help me scrub every hard surface, multiple times, with soap, water, vinegar, and deodorizers. I also shut down the room for about 10 days, because it was so intolerable I couldn’t, in good conscience, book it to anyone. It was horrible. There’s still a hint of that odor in the room, nearly two years later, and after throwing out even the rug. And Airbnb paid me a grand total of $73. It took me a long time to let go of my anger over that situation. Believe it or not, I can laugh about it now: The stinkiest guy on the planet stayed at my house.
That is interesting. His body didn’t smell? In other words, did you know the room would smell when you went in there after his stay? I’m trying to imagine what caused it.
