This one is difficult for me- the mom made a reservation for herself and her son for 25 days- great. She would work downstairs and would drop her son off to finish school. Turns out her son 16 yrs. old is in spectrum and has a few issues. He screamed at a roach/palmetto bug outside at night and made his mom promise it was gone before opening the door. O.K. not a problem. They went out one morning and left the storm door slightly ajar and the interior door wide open. 4 days later he saw a roach in the upstairs bedroom and somehow the wooden bed frame broke. We went over the next day and replaced the wooden frame with a metal one. We also sprayed all around t he exterior of the house, window sills, door entrances etc. The next thing I received a call saying the large chair in the sunroom broke the (seat detached) from the frame. After they checked out I asked where the towel bar was and she said it did not fit (that is the bath her son used). Then the table in the sunroom had a huge white mark like a pizza box on it and she said it was already there. I know it was not as I also clean the home. Then she sent a pic. of a roach in the bathroom upstairs. You leave the door open 10hr. 36min. after a heavy rain storm the is an invitation. So I call the exterminator who is under contract and had him come over and spray both inside and outside. I do not believe the mom knew everything her son was doing while she was working downstairs with the door closed and thinks she is correct. I know she flew in and then picked up her son locally - so I suspect he does not live with her. How do I relay that there were too many things broken and I do not suspect it was coincidence. She may not know how destructive he can be.
I think all you can do is give her a bad review and click on “would not recommend.” It’s a case of “he said, she said” and Airbnb usually takes the guest’s side unless you have a video with a time stamp showing that everything was in good shape prior to this guest’s arrival. You might have to increase your rate a bit for the rest of the year to offset the cost of the damages.
“Sorry, no guests under 25”
You aren’t a social worker. Charge her for the damages via Airbnb and move on to the next booking.
I’m sure she knows how destructive he can be.
Even neurotypical teenage boys tend to break things by accident- they haven’t gotten used to their large, strong bodies or rapidly lengthening limbs yet.
Just because he isn’t being destructive on purpose, doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be held responsible for damages caused during her stay. Just as if you have a group of 10 stay and someone other than the booking guest damages something, the booker is still responsible.
As for a review, of course stay away from any mention of her son’s disability.
Thank you for your comments. I will be sure to review her properly to let others decide to rent or not. She also asked for a discount up front which I believe others have stated could be a 1st. warning of potential problems.
Immediately afterwards a gentleman wanted to rent for himself and his son a reservation for 4- and wanted a 30% discount for a 7 day stay. When I asked who were the other 2 people and said no to the discount he disappeared.