How I got compensated for smoking guests

Hi my dear fellow hosts,

First of all, Happy New Year! Stay healthy and stay blessed!

Just want to share with you how I got compensated for smoking guests. A couple of guests smoked in our 30m2 studio on the ground floor of our house. We noticed it the first night of their stay because they left a window below our room wide open and we heard the TV turned on at its maximum. I went to talk to them and noticed that the husband was smoking on the bed while watching TV. They had the 3 radiators turned on at their maximum also. I asked them to stop smoking and to close the window if they wanted the heat on. I reiterated the same things on an Airbnb message.

Three days later when they checked out, the windows were opened and there was an extremely heavy smell of perfume. I turned off all the radiators and let the windows stay open for a few hours before going back to do the laundry. When I went back and closed the windows, I started to smell the odor of tabacco. I washed everything in textile which means also the 2 pillows, the 2 cushions, the 2 duvets and the 3 mattress protections (1 water-proof and 2 in thick cotton). I also used the steam cleaner to clean the mattress and wash all the walls and ceilings to get rid of the odor.

I took pictures of all the bed linen, pillows, cushions and duvets on my drying lines and sent them to the resolution centre to claim for 3 hours’ extra work to get rid of the tabacco odor. I got paid.

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Thanks for this information. I hope you also included the information about them being smokers in their review. Many of us would be unwilling to host smokers. If I saw (or in my case I would smell it) a guest smoking inside my Airbnb, their reservation would be canceled.

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Do you have a security deposit?
Did the guest voluntarily pay?

This—I think this documentation probably set the stage so Airbnb could act on your claim.

Good for you!

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Yes, a security deposit held by Airbnb. The guests never answered to my claim but they had written me a very positive review almost right after their departure before I opened the file. At least they didn’t deny it. I have impression that when guests didn’t answer to refuse your claim 48 hours after the file is opened, Airbnb usually compensate you. But I have no idea if Air paid out of their pocket or from the security deposit of the guests.

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Airbnb doesn’t hold a security deposit from guests.

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I was lucky because they wrote me a good review soon after their check-out before I filed my claim. So they couldn’t write me a retaliation review. It’s important to make it a habit to write everything down in Air’s message thread. Don’t you think the photos of my 4 drying lines of 3.5m long each full of bed linen, pillows, cushions and duvets helped also?

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True, but Air does for an authorization hold on a guest’s credit card for the amount of the security deposit requested by the host.

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Not exactly, but they do put a hold on the guest’s payment method for the deposit amount.

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I did leave them an objective review and advised them to choose an Airbnb that allows indoor smoking. The third photo of my 2 listings is a big “NO SMOKING SIGN” and it is also clearly written among my house rules. They knew they could smoke outside but it was cold.

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does ask# for an authorization hold

It may be well to note that time is of the essence when dealing with damage caused by guests. I was denied compensation when I didn’t enter a claim before the next guest’s stay began - 5 hours after the damaging guest checked out! (This procedure may have been changed since my experience).

My experience involved hair-dye-stained linens. The cleaners notified me (with photos) of the damaged linens and I asked them to try to bleach out the stains. If the stains would come out, there was no problem. They contacted me the next day that the bleaching was unsuccessful and the stains were permanent - $100 of linens was ruined. I messaged the guest several times (via Airbnb messaging) with no response.

With no response from the guest, I entered a claim. However, because by then the next guest’s stay had already begun, I was too late to enter a claim. I thought I had two weeks to enter a claim but the time limits were “2 weeks or before the next guest checks in, whichever is sooner”.

The best advice is, if damage occurs, enter a claim through Airbnb immediately, even if the value of the damage is as yet unknown.

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This has changed just recently. The Air Cover that they announced end of last year now gives hosts a 14 day filing window even if they are “booked back to back”.

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Good to know. I thought the policy might have been changed.

Still, I recommend filing claims asap for best results.

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Brings back horrible memories about guests abusing my utilities, thermostat on 60 degrees in July. I was left with a $350 electric bill.

I had a similar situation. I have now changed my booking to allow non smokers only. If a guest is seen smoking anywhere, I can then ask them to leave. I previously had a no smoking in or on the property rule, but chain smokers won’t abide. They also think it is okay to discard their cigarette butts all over the property.