Hosts Beware! Share Terrible Guests to Other Hosts

hello, all, I just had a last-minute booking from a new Airbnb user. he does not qualify as a guest, in my home. his group of 7 ransacked our linen closet and used ALL of our towels resulting in damage/stains to many. my host likes white towels, btw. we stock at least 40 towels. they took our first aid kit and a hand-crafted dish. because they did damage and stole items i am charging them.
here’s the kicker: my host gave them a 5 star review before she went in the home after they left. yes, bad,bad,bad. she did the laundry and learned her lesson. i want to warn hosts not to book from this group from ohio…even his profile picture has no face, nothing…
anyway, since H-e is new to airbnb i sent H im an email about sharing our homes and it’s not a hotel,etc… get this: H e said that H e would replace the pottery dish! self-admitted theft!
the moral of this story- my apologies to all American hosts because an accurate review should have been written. H e left 3 days ago, so i will see what airbnb does about my claim. I’m adding my listing so those hosts who are savvy can figure out who this person is. i haven’t disclosed any names. hosts beware! when i mentioned damage to the white towels H e said "that’s what the cleaning fee ($85) is for. cheeky so and so! oh, H e did give us a 5 ☆ review…lol!

Hi cmpipe, sorry this happened to you. This is truly annoying.

Are the towels in a locked closet or did he break in? How long did his party stay? I see you have a two night minimum so you made over $400 minimum. I’d say the extra laundry is just the occasional cost of doing business.

We have discussed towel use before and if 7 people stayed 3 nights, and used a fresh towel each day that’s 21 towels. I’m not saying it’s not excessive, but it’s not OMG this guest must be banned. Sadly, the chance of your post reaching anyone he wants to book with is small. He has a good review and a recommendation so he can now instant book with anyone who requires those things. Sad all around, but again, he’s not that bad. I would rent to him. Maybe the lesson learned here will prevent a worse thing happening in the future for you.

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thank you for responding. yes, lesson learned. i can’t let him get away with theft, though. my host is goung to lock the linen closet and issue towels based on length of stay. we have a washer and dryer.
no, never rent to a thief. anyway, the white towels had Georgia clay on them. can’t remove. I’m charging for 2 towels and a modest fee for what he stole. sigh. i did tell my host to not write a premature review…lol! we do learn, though, don’t we…smile

@cmpipe - So your place is in Georgia, and they got Georgia clay on your towels??? Sounds like they were outside and got dirty and cleaned up with the towels. Doesn’t sound like improper use to me.

Just giving you an outsider’s opinion - they don’t sound like horrible guests. Perhaps the pottery was broken instead of taken, and maybe they needed to use the first aid kit and left it in their car. Since he agreed to pay for them, I’d shrug this off and let it go. Not the best guests ever, but not deserving of a place in the guests’ hall of shame.

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Sorry your post didn’t say he stole the pottery dish, it said he said he would replace it. I’m not excusing theft I’m simplying saying that this is not the worst guest, even terrible. You’ve only been hosting a few months and I hope you never have to learn first hand that this was merely a below average guest.

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hi, we have a mop to use instead of towels. It shows the guy has a mom who didn’t show him how to clean up after himself. also shows a careless and inconsiderate attitude. he admitted to taking the dish, and said it wasn’t worth much.
as we say down south, his mamma didn’t raise him right.
anyway, i engaged airbnb and guest paid for everything.

And the beauty of this forum is that you will learn every trick in the book for getting those impossibly stained linens clean!!

I had a guest last week that I thought had destroyed my new white towels. I did the soaking trick mentioned in another thread and now they are like new again.

Unfortunately, deeply soiled linens are just part of hosting, the cost of doing business.

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Yes and no. Bath towels are for drying oneself after a bath, not before one. In Airbnb hosting and in life in general, The Golden Rule goes a long way with me.

Specifically in Airbnb terms, as a host, I expect you to treat my nice property like you would treat your own nice property.

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This is probably worthy of a separate thread but…

I don’t treat all guests equally. Different guests get different linens. People with dogs have their own sheets, blanket, duvet cover and cheap fleece throw for the dog that they get to take with them.

Guests that pay the lowest rates get the older towels (still nice but not newest). My best, newest sheets go to people paying higher rates and/or people traveling solo. Some things aren’t worth the work to remove the stains. Towels are cheap to replace, the good sheets have to be worked on.

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good idea about 2 sets of towels. told my host that we’re giving away the store, so to speak, and told her what you said.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! i did expect consideration and got stuck with a bloody thief who’s from Ohio, name starts with H (male) and name is 5 digits. he had no profile pic. 7 of those crappy low lifes. they even stole our dishwashing detergent, for God’s sake!
learned my lesson. wish we could collect deposit up front like other sites. i had the IB rule that reviews were required, but this turkeyturd didnt have any.
aren’t they supposed to have a pic? after reading these forums i am wondering why the hell do this until i remember my yearly tenant who cut up my power awning. i thought this short term would be better but it’s eating up my one source of income-disability ck. that i got after working my entire life.
I’m gutted. told my host to lock linen closet. going to make other changes too.
any tips on how to cut expenses?