Guest review falsely states there were rats on the premises. That’s something that would freak me and many out!
I would love to sue them for damages.
Thoughts?
I hope you have money.
You are lucky if you even have the guests actual name, let alone enough information to bring a lawsuit.
Good luck
RR
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Haha.
The question is though, why did the guests say that? Falsely, you say? So why then?
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Sorry this happened. Many of us have read similar stories. Suing is costly and time consuming and it’s hard to imagine you’ll come out ahead, but if you’ve got the determination, we’d all love to cheer you on.
What’s the backstory? Usually, guests that give low ratings and lie in their reviews are mad at the host for some reason. Usually one or more of:
- The host caught the guest breaking the rules.
- The host asked for more money (pet fee, extra guest fee, etc.)
- The guest asked for a refund and the host refused.
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Is the property in a wooded area or farm? Is it possible that they saw some other critter (chip monk, racoon, opossum) and thought it was a rat? If they were city folks, they might think they saw a rat when it could have been something else, especially at night.
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It looks like @JohnMoriarty is not going to join his conversation, I guess we did not tell him what he wanted to hear. If you are still around John do tell us the whole story, have you reviewed your guest yet? We are good at editing reviews here. I would suggest you put this one behind you, make any needed changes and move on to the next guest. You cannot unring this bell.
RR
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And it’s possible they saw a rat.
Unfortunately the cleanest, most well-looked after homes can unknowingly shelter these awful pests, particularly if they have a garden, are near woodlands or brush, or sewer outlets, building sites, restaurants and food shops if in the city.
Which really covers most homes…
Instead of thinking of sueing them I would engage with the guest and question them closely about exactly what they saw and where. Then call the pest controllers in. If they give you a clean bill of health then fine, you could try to get the review removed, but I wouldn’t assume the guests are lying.
And if you really want to give yourself nightmares, read this:
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Don’t know about over your way, but here after the first heavy rain of the year you’ll see a few in the streets. Normally they are about 1cm thick as they’ve been squished by traffic! There was one at the end of our street the other week, in its flattened state it was about the size of a football, so god knows how big it’d been pre squishing.
JF
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Why would you think that? We’re in a different time zone I’ll bet.
Basically he read the instructions about not using every appliance simultaneously, but failed to observe that. I had a bill then for €140 for the repair. He got ratty(!) when asked to pay. He spent the entire week indoors with his ladybird. Ran my power bill through the roof and blew the fuseboxes on his fifth day. I reckon apart from the damages he caused, I made a profit of 25€ for his weeklong stay. The electricians bill was the last straw!
Now figure this, who would stay in a place there were rats? If he really saw a rat he would have left in haste, but no. And I wouldn’t blame him, that’s what I would have done. He probably heard a mouse or mice, and used this to willfully blow it out of proportion.
This year we’ve had unusual numbers of mice, but I am very attentive to checking and resetting give of the seven traps we’ve laid. Two of them are harder to reach and don’t get checked as often. I know we are on top of the problem because the amount of droppings is very low, the move don’t be long there before they are killed.
I didn’t tell the whole story at first telling because it’s such a drag.
The contrast with the guest in the second apartment could not be greater. He’s appreciative of how I am on top of the problem.
So you don’t have a rat infestation, you have a mouse infestation. 
“Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup.”
“How dare you insinuate our establishment is filthy! That’s not a fly, it’s a maggot!”
Put your efforts toward extermination rather than splitting hairs on exactly what type of vermin guests should expect to see in your place.
You’re lucky he didn’t take the issue directly to Airbnb. Vermin, any sort, is a guest issue they could be refunded for. Personally, I wouldn’t care how “on top of the problem” you are; I wouldn’t want to stay in a place with an active mouse population.
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It can’t be libel if the accusation is true.
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There are roof rats all over the San Francisco Bay Area . They live in the trees, in our attics, and are very hard to eradicate without poison those critters who might eat the bodies.
As expected, as soon as you ask for more money, guests can become ugly.
Unfortunately, this is a deficiency in the apartment since you can’t predict electrical load based on number of appliances. I’m assuming the place is old and re-wiring is not practical, but you should consider having a circuit breaker installed that both prevents damage and allows guests to reset it themselves.
What was the repair exactly? Was is just a service call for a new fuse or breaker? €140 seems small for any kind of actual damage.
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certainly in the case of rats. But mice in October are a certainty in these parts.
Of course it’s false! The onus of proof is on the person making the allegation.
Well in my cabin they are only active when they are, I just vacuumed up a couple droppings this morning after about a year with no activity. Of course I am booked almost back to back until after the holiday. I will put a trap under the cabin and hope they do not show their whiskers while I have have guests. Starting as soon as I can I will put live traps out between guests and feed my friends pet snakes for awhile.
If I have any guest/mouse sightings I will work it out with guests which will likely involve a gift cert for a local restaurant or a bottle of wine or both.
Mice in the mountains in a 1938 cabin is a matter of maintenance, I do not think it is even possible never to have a mouse in the house once in awhile.
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse…
RR
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I don’t know about libel laws in your country but in the US libel must be false, malicious and damaging to your reputation. You’ve admitted that there are mice. So the guest may have seen a mouse; he may have misspoken. You asked on another thread about contacting a solicitor. If you are going to sue this guest for libel you are going to lose your case, at least under the general standard of US law in most states.
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I’d exchange a mouse sighting or two for dinner and wine.
Ever see the movie Never Cry Wolf? One of my all time favorites.
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If you have mice, get some used cat litter to sprinkle around outside (I’m sure you must know of someone with an indoor cat). Mice and rats will smell the cat’s urine & poop and will stay away. Cover it with some soil so guests don’t see it.
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