So we just had a guest stay recently who communicated very little. (In fact 0 after booking was completed) They checked in and checked out without any communication. (We typically do a welcome message if we don’t hear from them to the effect of "we hope you got access to house ok and we’re here to help if you need anything. Still no response. Same thing after checkout, no response. When we arrived to clean, the comforter was covered in “period” blood in 6 large spots. Our cleaner is trying to soak and get the stains out which it doesn’t look like they’ll come out at this point. Is it rude to ask for reimbursement of a comforter his girlfriend bled on? Or is that wear and tear that we should just expect to happen in an Airbnb? I know we shouldn’t be fearful of retaliatory feedback, but I’m worried we’ll get a bad review for having them pay for their “accident”. (About a $90 comforter) What would other hosts do??
Period blood is a tricky one for me. My litmus test for asking a guest to pay for something is this. Would they have done this in their own home or were they just being lazy and disrespectful? For instance, an accidently broken glass? No, I’m not going to ask someone to pay for that. Greasy and saucy pizza stains on the quilt that won’t come out? Yes, I’m going to ask for reimbursement.
But with period blood it’s hard to tell. Some women get totally surprised and blindsided by Aunt Flo in a big way. But it’s possible she was just being lazy about it, knowing she wouldn’t have to clean up the aftermath.
As an aside, most blood, even dried on for a few days, will come out after a soaking in cold water, followed by soaking in OxyClean.
If it doesn’t come clean take photos, message on the AirBnb system the guest and request reimbursement - find comparable replacement with price, let Air know. If they refuse or don’t respond, call Air again right away. If possible do this before another guest checks in.
Accidents happen, adults take responsibility.
Remember, reviews go both ways and if they leave a negative one you can reply with a firm but truthful answer “Since X left damaged property this review should not be considered by future guest in deciding to stay at my place. Please read and consider the many reviews posted before their stay.”
I personally wouldn’t charge for it, but I’ve never made a claim in over 2 years hosting almost full-time. Especially since you and the guest had not previously established rapport (through no fault of yours of course).
I can’t imagine the first time communicating with a host to say “hey, this biological phenomenon I have no control over, and may be uncomfortable about myself, happened in your bed and your blankets are ruined, sorry.” Of course that is a little dramatic, but you could think of it as a “natural disaster” kind of thing. You wouldn’t charge a guest if a storm caused a flood during their stay and you had to buy a new comforter after, right?
Things get ruined in rental properties and need to be replaced. It’s a normal maintenance cost of the business. When you buy a replacement comforter, get one that’s cheap enough that you won’t be upset the next time you have to replace it. Or maybe use a duvet cover?
Of course, the guest’s communication could have been, and should have been better, in an ideal world. But maybe there is a language barrier - it’s hard enough to talk about such a taboo subject in your native language, but in a foreign one where you might not know that vocabulary? To me, there are too many honest mistake caused by panic/anxiety scenarios here to make a big deal out of this.
You could give them a low star rating for Cleaning and mention something about the stains in private feedback, if you really want them to know that you noticed the stains and aren’t happy about them. They won’t see it until after they review you (or after they no longer can review you) so they won’t be able to retaliate, but you can express how it feels from your perspective.
P.S. I have had good results with hydrogen peroxide when trying to remove blood from fabric, but it helps if the fabric is light/neutral colored. Hydrogen peroxide can bleach out color from darker fabrics.
Put in a claim, take pictures. If it washes out, you can cancel. It’s rude to not own up to this. Yes it happens, but it’s still the adult thing to own up.
It doesn’t matter what the cause is, if they ruined your comforter, they need to pay. Put in a claim. But hurry, you don’t have much time.
At first, I was so offended by the carelessness of how guests treated our linens - I was convinced that some people changed their oil, cleaned the car, washed the dog - but no - they just were careless. Some guests were embarrassed, some were oblivious.
Early on, I put these remarks in “cleaner’s notes” in the private message. That always felt a bit petty. I stopped doing that and I started leaving temperate reviews and noted with stars that they were not 5 star guests. Nobody really cares about what caused the stains - there are so many bodily fluids that can be at fault.
Reading blogs, similar to these I came around to the idea that we are in the hospitality business of people who are mostly on vacation. I decided to stop being offended and to just write off the linens that were beyond help. (Boosting my rates at peak times, to offset the costs).
Every time I come across spots, and stains. I remind myself that hospitality is what we offer above all else. A gracious and hospitable host of the highest order would never call out a guest for something that happens by accident.
My 2 cents is that your guest was probably mortified, and figured if they played like an ostrich, you would not notice. We all know how that works.
Understanding the difference between malicious and accident - we, as hosts need to find some kindness and compassion for when guests have these kinds of accidents. Being a host is being hospitable.
I notice the less complaining and the less limitations I have - the higher the guest happiness and guest satisfaction is. I do have rules and I am firm with them. Thank you for your question and consideration of my point of view.
Hydrogen peroxide. Destroys all blood, even old blood as long as the item as not been washed and dried yet. Try it, I promise it works.