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I apologize for any run on sentences or rambling. I am extremely upset at the moment and don’t know where to turn, and instead of spiraling into a panic I wanted to post here for help/advice/commiseration
We had 1 guest book for 1 night at our ski condo. Its small, and states that only 2 people maximum can stay there. The guest messaged me that as they were leaving they realized the couch had a bad smell like someone peed on it. We have a VERY thorough house-cleaner who sends me photos after every turn and she is extremely clean. Our condo has received many comments that it is super clean. Our housekeeper sent me photos of the ruined couch that these last guests clearly ruined - as the entire unit was a mess. Vomit in the trashcans, empty bottles everywhere, footprints in and out of the unit. Our brand new oven was trashed as they made 3-4 pizzas in it. We need to replace the couch immediately but have a guest coming in 3 hours. I am 3000 miles away in California, and my saint of a housekeeper is helping us and I’ve requested damages from the guest but I highly doubt she will pay them.
I am so upset and disturbed, I know this probably happens to everyone but what should I do? Just wait 72 hours to see if she pays the damages and if not contact Airbnb?
@Kate_Barry What helps when dealing with CS is being calm, firm and clear ( and polite) about what you are asking of them. No long rants, no emotional outbursts. Get yourself organized before contacting, state what happened in a clear and concise way in chronological order. Many CS reps are not all that fluent in English- keep it simple.
No, it has never happened to me. The emphasis now is on getting the place ready for your next guests and ensuring that they have a great time. It’s important too to look on guests as a lesson. Think calmly about these guests, why they behaved in that way and what you can do to avoid it in future, if anything.
It’s also important to not be emotional about these things, especially when dealing with guests or dealing with Airbnb’s CS. This is just a business matter. Will your insurance cover the new sofa?
You are far braver than I am, letting a place thousands of miles away. You mentioned your housekeeper, I’m assuming that means cleaner, but do you have a co-host in place?
They were helpful - they assured us that they would reimburse us for the damages if the guest did not. I hope that is the case. We have a lot of photos and documentation
Sorry you are going through this, I have no idea how helpful Air will be. Do you have video saved showing the extra people? How many were there? Why were they allowed to stay if only booked for one?
I have the sinking feeling that the OP didn’t follow the advice given when she first posted here about remote hosting and cameras. Despite that, I sincerely hope that Airbnb does the right thing. This sounds exactly like the kind of hard partying crap guests that Airbnb wants to crack down on.
I don’t know how they did it honestly, we just found the boxes in the trash along with the vomit. Its a brand new appliance and now it looks like its been used and not cleaned for months
I’m sorry this has happened to you. Be sure to take lots of pictures before anything is cleaned, then get cracking on preparing for your next guests. You’ll feel a lot better once it is all cleaned up and may even realize it isn’t as catastrophic as it seems now.
Blink camera systems start at $90 on Amazon and are completely wireless; you could have it completely set up in about 30 minutes. How much is this extra cleaning going to cost you?
There is a reason why “hindsight is 20/20” is a saying. As a active member of this forum I find myself completely frustrated to spend my time offering advice only to have it ignored by the member asking for help. Time and again we post and post about the importance of exterior cameras 360 around the exterior of your rental. I think I have said it’s the single most important thing 100 times already. Some hosts here don’t think remote hosting of any kind is worth it but you definitely need eyes on the place if you aren’t onsite. I live here at my Airbnb and wouldn’t be without my cameras.
@Kate_Barry I’m honestly not trying to make you feel worse. But someone else will come along and read this thread and hopefully learn from it. My comments aren’t directed solely at you since it’s already too late for you.
And I understand money being tight but you would have been better off skipping the new stove and putting cameras first. Not one person here will ever tell you that providing a stove is essential. I know one host who took the stove out of her listing and just provides a microwave and toaster oven.
Hopefully some nice toxic chemicals like Easy Off will clean the gunk out of your new stove.
Great tip - I’m going to order one now. Luckily our housekeeper is really awesome and not charging us extra. It is all cleaned now and my dad is on his way to pick up the couch which is outside now. We have a lead on a new and super clean and free one too. It’s going to be OK. I’m just badly shaken up
The stove and appliances were actually paid for by our MIL. Thanks for the advice, I obviously learned my lesson and I’m sorry that you feel I haven’t been taking the advice. We are trying our best
Ah, I see. Sorry but with this being an international forum and my American not being quite up to scratch, I tend to interpret ‘trashed’ as ‘destroyed’. I didn’t realise you just meant dirty.
Take pictures. Lots of them. Contact Airbnb immediately. They will tell you what to do. If you have the reviews of the previous guests that would show the CS that this current guest did the damage. But you said it was one guest and then there were more unauthorized guests? Invest in a video camera so you will see who is coming in. If this lady had unauthorized guests you could have removed her immediately, before she trashed your place. That is ridiculous. So sorry this happened to you.
