“Not picky” Guest just left in the middle of the night. Not sure what to do

1

I had a guest do self check in last night at around 11:30 pm. I was already asleep. I woke this morning to a text that said basically “Sorry, we can’t stay here. Too dirty. We found a hair here and there, the toilet wasn’t clean and there is something in the shower. I think the cleaning got overlooked.”

Now, I personally do the cleaning, so I had changed the sheets on the beds and cleaned the bathroom. I checked and couldn’t find any hairs, toilet looked fine, and the “marks” in the tub are the wear and tear on the tub-it wasn’t dirty, it’s just an older tub. I’m not sure why they felt like leaving at midnight was preferable to staying (Like I said, I had just cleaned the place that evening. It was not gross by any stretch.)
I’m not sure where to go from here. We only just recently started hosting, and I’ve had nothing but good reviews. I’m not sure if I need to give her a refund. Or give her a piece of my mind. What am I supposed to do?

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I would message he/she and ask they they come back to point out their concerns as you don’t observe the issues raised. Paper trail that you are trying to be a good host may be helpful if they ask for a refund.

I would not refund unless their complaints are valid.

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3

Take pictures immediately. Call Airnb

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4

DO NOT REFUND! If they want it, they have to apply for it through Air. Take pictures NOW; call, don’t write, Air NOW.

I also like the suggestion of messaging them – through the AirBnb system, to return and show you their “concerns”.

That being said, do not worry about a bad review. Since they did not stay, I believe they cannot review you.

This is one of the many reasons I would never allow “self check-in”.

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5

Thank you for your input here. I Called AirBnB and sent the non-guest a message asking her to clarify (i.e. prove). I also read some more posts on this forum and feel better. We’ve had a stream of amazing luck as far as guests are concerned. This is my first one who gave us any problems. Now that I’ve read other threads, I see that my experience up to now has been somewhat unusual.

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Are you sure they ever arrived in the first place? This sounds like a great scheme for them to get a refund because they decided to cancel their trip or got a better offer before they even got to your place.

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I’m sure they showed up, because the beds had been messed up. Someone clearly turned the covers down. I didn’t see any of the issues they complained about, but I could tell they’d been there. Honestly, at this point, I’m content just to let it go. If they ask for a refund, I’ll give it and write them off. If they get a refund, they can’t review me anyway.

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Not necessarily. No one comes here to post “I just had a guest with no problems.” I’ve had almost 300 guests, probably 100 self check ins and not a single problem of this nature. The only unhappy guests who cancelled their last night were people who checked in before I arrived home and they had some problems getting in (because they weren’t too bright) and then were upset by dogs barking at them (I was at work). My mistake was letting them check in early while I was away at work. Last straw was the internet going out. I didn’t blame them for cancelling. This was during my first year of hosting and now I have a different set up and know how to avoid problems. That doesn’t mean I will never have one but my experience is not that unusual. Don’t be discouraged.

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I don’t think that’s right. In fact, I’m pretty sure that now guests can review even if they didn’t actually stay. There was an article about it recently, will try to find it. I wouldn’t refund these guests, by the way. “…a hair here and there”, for goodness sake, that’s just ridiculous. If you challenge them through the resolution centre then the likelihood of them being able to leave a review is reduced, as I understand it. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong.

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