Objective review assistance - unauthorised children

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Hi everyone,
I would appreciate fellow hosts help regarding a guest review as I feel my personal irritations are getting in the way of writing an objective helpful review for future hosts of said guest, and to be honest I need to rant for a few sentences as well. For context:

My listing is no children/infants. Although I do have the option of self-check in, I am usually on site to greet and welcome my guests. I do state on my listing that if guests want to check-in outside of my specified time (after16h00), it will be self check-in.
Said guest was a last minute booking and requested to check-in after 16h00. Fast forward to check-out…I receive a message from the guest after checking out letting me know that his son broke one of my vases and that he will be happy to pay for a replacement. When I arrived at my listing, there were obvious signs that a toddler was present - books on the bookshelf disturbed only up to knee height, wax crayon residue on the floor, tiny handprints on the coffee table.

I received my reimbursement request for the vase, but it is no longer on the market and I’m just annoyed as I’ve been having a spell of horror guests lately (unauthorised parties resulting in nightmare clean ups, strangely enough from guests who have glowing previous reviews). My listing is not child proofed, and there are two steep staircases and a balcony, to name a few, which could result in a nightmare for unattended children. Even the most dedicated parent cannot be everywhere at once.

On a normal day I would be able to overlook what I’ve mentioned as minor, but I’m still in recovery from the horror guests and need some help with an objective review. Everything I seem to be typing for the review is coming out as subjective and I don’t feel that it is helpful to other hosts that said guest might book with in the future.

Thank you in advance for any feedback, as well as putting up with the rant :crazy_face:

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You need to be more proactive when you accept guests. I get the names, ages, and addresses and phone number and a selfie of each guest. The guest booking must have his face with no sunglasses or hat on his profile picture.

99 percent of the issues will be caught with just this info. I don’t allow third-party (against airbnb rules but many host accept). If anything happens you are out of luck because you broke Airbnb rules.

THEN GET YOURSELF CAMERAS for the entrances. And check them when they arrive. If you see something unauthorized, write to Airbnb about it and then follow up with phone call. (I always use the written messaging system for documentation) but in this case, you would need to have the reservation cancelled so you have to get them involved.

You might decide it’s ok for the toddler but that payment is required.

You need to read through this forums threads and educate yourself to protect your property. Being an airbnb host is not easy and you learn and get experience as you go. Some hosts are much more relaxed about their guests than I am but my guests stay on the second floor of my home, (My biggest asset).

Good luck

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I appreciate your input. I did consider charging an extra fee for the toddler, but I was two minded about it since I don’t have any concrete evidence to submit.

So far I have been lucky with my reimbursement requests because I’ve learnt from various threads on this site that evidence is very important, so I take a time stamped, location stamped picture of the property before any guests arrive so that if there is any damage, I have a documented before and after picture which has so far worked 100% for me. I hope I don’t jinx myself.
Your entrance camera suggestion is something I will definitely follow up on because I don’t live on the same property so there is no way of being certain of who is coming and going.
Thank you!

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The guest admitted the child was there when they said their son broke the vase.

I had the same experience with a vase - paid $300 US for it on Amazon. Wasn’t available on Amazon when I decided I should have an extra in case that one was broken. But I found replacements on eBay for $75US.

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I did consider that argument - he admitted the child was there - but then I played devil’s advocate with myself and realised since he said ‘my son’ not ‘my child’ he could easily say my child is 13 or older since Airbnb catergorises children 13 and above as adults when making a booking.
Pedantic I know, but I was weighing up if it is worth the effort to try charge for extra guests and I came up short in this argument against myself. I let it go since I figured it could turn into a he said she said.

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I think in this case, since the guest told you directly about the broken vase, it’s very possible they genuinely didn’t notice you don’t accept children/infants. If the guest was purposefully deceiving you then they likely would have said they broke the vase. Guests do not read and go through listings with a fine tooth comb. It’s frustrating but reality.

If this were me and the guest had otherwise been a good guest and the signs of the child were easily remedied within your normal turnover time, rather than be harsh on the guest, I would look at modifying my booking practices and getting the cameras.

I think one of the easiest ways to avoid these kinds of unintentional rule breakers is to include mention of your listings “frequently missed” details in your booking message. For you that might be something like:

Dear So and So,

Thank you for booking with me, I look forward to hosting you. Airbnb will release your check in information 24 hours prior to your arrival and I will also send them to you here in the messaging portal.

A few quick notes specific to my place that guests sometimes overlook:

-We do not accept infants and children for safety reasons.

-Check in is x time and check out is y time. Due to housekeeping schedules we never offer late checkout.

If these conditions or any of our other house rules are not going to be suitable to your party, please do cancel your reservation so that you may find accommodations that will be a better fit.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Host

As for the review, I would probably just mark them down one star each on cleanliness and house rules. I would keep the review short and positive, something like:

“Overall guest was friendly and respectful. Unfortunately, it seems that the guest missed that my listing does not accept children. This lead to a broken vase (guest was upfront about it and paid for the damage) and some additional cleaning. That said, I don’t believe the guest intended to break the rules and would be a great guest for listings that are family friendly.”

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I’m sorry that this happened, but this guest did proactively admit the damage and offer to pay. Trust your gut that you might be over-reacting here because of previous ‘horror guests’. [Put your energy there, not this guest who might be caught in the cross-fire.]

As @JWK observes, the guest night well have missed the age 12+ requirement.

@JWK’s advice to include a summary of the key rules with a confirmation message is spot on, as is @Lynick4442 's advice to get an exterior camera(s). Focus there.

IMHO your goal should be to communicate in a way that helps/coaches all your guests become 5-star guests.

This guest has been a good guest. Future hosts don’t need to be warned about this guest. The guest need not be scolded in the form of reduced stars, or otherwise.

There was, potentially, a misunderstanding on the age thing – which you will work on. A vase was broken, accidents happen. The guest proactively owned up to it, ‘happy to pay for a replacement.’ Case closed. The review need not, should not (IMHO), mention it.

Your private message will hopefully acknowledge that accidents happen, explain the the age requirement for children is 12+ which you’ll redouble your efforts to communicate and remind guests about, thank this guest for ‘owning’ the accident, and thank him for selecting your property.

EDIT: We have an inside staircase, don’t take children under 12 (but sometimes approve them as visitors; it happens), and anyone can fall down stairs (hope you have railings). We bought this retractable safety gate, and instruct in the house manual, how to use it (though it’s absurdly simple, except the user does have to twist the knob on top to lock into place). 80%+ of lawsuits in short-term rentals are from trips and falls.

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I’m so sorry they broke your vase and house rules. Unfortunetely, it’s the price we all pay for running an Airbnb : ( I learned not to put anything of sentimental value at my listing.

As for the review perhaps something like:
“Although the listing clearly states it’s innapropriate for infants and toddlers due to steep stairs and home not being childproof, guest had a toddler. Thankfully, the toddler didn’t fall down the steep steps.”

As for the vase, I personally would not mention it because guest alerted you to the fact that it broke and paid to replace it.

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JWK’s advice in every respect is spot on.

I also agree that cameras are essential for any host who doesn’t live on site. Even for those of us who do live onsite they are so helpful in running the business that I can’t imagine not having them.

My personal bias is against vases. LOL. Seriously, I don’t understand them as a decorative item unless they are collectible antiquities and those should be in museums.

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review

Oh, what a delightful surprise! A last-minute guest with a charming toddler decided to bless my child-free haven. The knee-high book rearrangement and crayon masterpiece on the floor were simply heartwarming touches. But wait, there’s more! A rare vase met its end in the hands of this tiny Picasso, and the guest graciously offered to replace it (if they can find its unicorn twin, of course).

Let me take a moment to applaud their mastery of ignoring my non-child-proofed warning and conquering my treacherous staircases and balcony. Bravo!

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Thanks, your advice is just what I needed to snap me back to reality and I believe that your words have cured my tantrum. Your mention of ‘frequently missed’ details is something so simple that I can easily include in my booking message.
Thanks for taking the time to help me

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Thanks for bringing me back down to earth, I appreciate the time you took to respond so thoughtfully to my imagined meltdown. @JWK hit every nail on the head in their response and I will definitely implement their suggestions - things so simple, yet so effective.

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Remember the camera a la @Lynick4442

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I also don’t understand putting expensive or sentimental items you’d be upset about losing in a rental. An adult can accidentally knock something over, too- it’s not an occurrence exclusive to having children around.

I can’t imagine having a $75 vase in a rental, let alone a $300 one.
If a host likes to leave vases of flowers, use an unbreakable one- metal or acrylic. Possible breakage averted.

And when I read:

and

that tells me a host needs to change their vetting procedures (no, past 5 star reviews are not the be all and end all of vetting- they are one small tool in the toolbox). Communication during the booking procedure is key.

There are plenty of hosts who’ve been hosting for years, never had house wreckers and never had occasion to ask for reimbursement. A very small part of that is luck- most of it is the result of effective vetting and communication.

I might mention in the review that the guests seemed to have missed the no infants/no children rule, but mostly I would take this as a learning experience re vetting and having fragile items in a rental.

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I would not host guests name again, they brought a child to my listing which clearly states no children. Their child broke a vase which I cannot replace because it is no longer available.

RR

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I have to say that calling a guest out for someone in their party breaking something, when the guest was forthcoming in telling the host about the damage and also in paying for it is something I think is quite wrong. That kind of response would likely make guests think,“Well, I see no good deed goes unpunished. Next time I won’t even mention any damage or offer to pay for it, if the host is going to slam me in the review regardless.”

Bringing children to a no children listing is a different issue, which I do agree should be mentioned.

And if I read a review where the host said the guest broke something “irreplaceable”, I would just wonder why ahost would be so foolish as to have irreplaceable things in the rental.

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Facts, stick to the facts. I feel like mentioning that the kid broke something shows a reason that the host would not host them again. That, and it is true.

RR

Edited to add: I agree that if the broken vase was the only issue, and the guest paid for it that I would not put in review. That is not the case here though

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Our rates are high enough that I can afford to replace a $300 vase once every few years. Of course, a $75 vase is better! I put a lot of fireplace beads in the vase to weight it and it’s never been broken. It was the perfect colors to tie my room together, so I splurged.

One of our guests’ daughter broke a lamp. She was sleepwalking. The guest told me about it and offered to pay for it. I declined - it was irreplaceable, too, but I did not want to replace it. It was a baby-blue and pink pineapple lamp that came with the house when we bought it, and I had painted it yellow to make it a little less 1980’s.

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To me, the issues are basically unrelated. Accidental breakage happens- I broke my French press beaker a month ago. We’ve all accidentally broken things. Yes, in this case it was the kid, but it could just as easily have been an adult.
I just don’t believe in calling anyone out for damage they, unbidden, fessed up to, and paid for. I feel it’s unneccesary and sort of mean-spirited.

There wasn’t any other actual damage, it doesn’t sound like- some sticky hand prints, some messed up book order, some crayon marks on the floor, which are normally easy to remove. 5 minutes of extra cleanup whether due to a child or an adult is no biggie- ignoring house rules is.

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I’m certain they didn’t read your requirements. Most guests look over the rules. Some do not read
anything except the reviews and description of the property. These guests sound like what I mentioned. They said the child broke your vase.
If the house wasn’t messed up badly, I would just ignore it.
I’m happy you were reimbursed for your vase.

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