Hello fellow hosts, I really need your advice on something that JUST happened.
I’ve been hosting the past 2 weeks and have received back to back 5 star reviews. 2 nights ago, I took in a couple whom are a little anti social. the girl seemed ok (it’s her airbnb account) but the guy never even acknowledged I was there and never even asked me a single question or talked to me. (private room in a 2 bed apartment, so I live there).
This morning, I was woken up by music at 5 am. Not cool. But I kept my cool and politely asked them to tone it down. No response, so I knocked on the door and asked again politely. Then they turned it off without saying a word. No sorry, no nothing. Weird but I went back to bed and went to work after.
So, they stayed at the apartment for most of the day (till 5). After I got home, I discovered that my freezer has been turned off and all of my frozen food are soggy and gone bad. I had called Airbnb earlier in the morning about the music incident fearing that they may leave a bad review because of retaliation but I didn’t anticipate this form of retaliation.I am furious because I brought back a lot of frozen food from the parents the weekend before when I visited them. It’s cool if it is just store bought but it’s not cool when we are talking about home cooked meal made by my mom. (it’s a LOT of food too)
Here is the kicker, the girl had left a thank you note on the kitchen counter along with a starbucks giftcard. So my guess is it is the psycho bf who pulled it off probably without her knowledge.
What do you think should be my next step?
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submit resolution center request and claim deposit and have a he said / she said situation? what would airbnb decide? I am sure the couple will deny any involvement. I’ve read airbnb mediators don’t usually favor hosts unless the damage is severe and gets on TV (like the Calgary couple). The only evidence I have is pictures of rotten food.
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let it go and possibly get a 5 star review by the girl
I am frustrated but also want to deal this with a leveled head and don’ want to spend too much time and energy dealing with immature crazies.
Thoughts?
i dont know if you already cleaned up, but TAKE PHOTOS of the food and the fridge.
Thanks all. I did take pictures.
No, the button is high up on top of the fridge. Very little chance that gets pressed without deliberate act. There is no ice maker
But that’s kind of my point, is there any point in going to resolution Center with a he said she said situation where the damage is frozen food and not something catastrophic on paper of photos.
Or just forget about it and walk away with a five star review from the girl whom may not know about the psycho bf action
I agree with Beach Guy that food doesn’t usually defrost AND spoil in such a short time. You have to consider that it was not a retaliatory move on the guest’s part, especially since they were so thoughtful upon departure. I’m sorry for your loss of food, though. An anti-socia (shy, language issues?)l friend and loud music at 5 a.m. that they turn down when asked is a little odd but not, perhaps, psycho.
good luck and happy hosting!!
Okay, the button is high up on the fridge - but is it on the inside? Could someone have put something tall in the fridge and then when removing it, it hit it?
Also, is this button very noticeable and the guy pressed it to see what would happen? - And he didn’t even realize that it was turning the freezer off? Is the button clearly labeled? Some people are just obnoxious button pushers trying to see what everything does.
The first thing I would do is try to use the gift card and see if there is any money on it. If there isn’t, then you have your answer about the freezer. If it is a brand new gift card then I would think it was their way of apologizing about the music.
I think all of your food is good. Hell…I leave food out outside of the fridge overnight and sometimes eat it the next morning…lol.
If you decide that you are fairly certain that it was turned off intentionally then you could ask the guest directly - “Is there a reason you turned off the freezer?” - Now if they didn’t turn it off then they may leave in a review that you accused them of this. Or just blast them in a review. I would want to feel 100% certain that there was no accident before I blasted someone publicly online
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I just wanted to add that it seems strange all of your food would be soggy that quickly. It almost sounds like this button was pushed before the whole music incident. Do you think one of them could have accidentally pushed it on the first day?
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I think it is a possibility too. the button is on the outside surface. maybe it was accidentally pressed the day before when they put in a lot of food in the upper compartment. If that is the case, what would you recommend as the best course of action? I def want to get a 5 star review and hopefully an admission of accident from the guest and some monetary compensation. not sure if it is possible.
I’m thinking: asking them to leave a 5 star review first. once that’s done. then politely inquire about the fridge via the airbnb message system or is it better via resolution center?
Ok, Am I understanding this correctly? You don’t need to open the fridge in order to press the button?
Or you open the fridge, and then the button is at the outside top facing you, instead of on the inside roof of the compartment?
Without seeing your fridge, it really depends on if the button can be accidentally pressed just by loading food, or if someone has to purposely press it.
If the guy just wanted to see what the button did, then it is kind of lame that he did not ask you first. People shouldn’t be going around pressing buttons. Now if the fridge was dark and they couldn’t see - and he wanted some light, I can somewhat understand if he pressed it. But he still shouldn’t have.
I think you only have 48 hrs. to report any damages through the resolution center. Is this true?
Are you sure all of the food is spoiled? How much do you think it is worth? I know you are more angry because it was special to you. BTW - How much is the gift card worth and have you checked online to see if there is any money on it? I am taking it they only used the fridge and not the freezer, and they did not notice the food defrosting?
here is the picture of the fridge. http://www.sears.ca/product/electrolux-24-bottom-mount-refrigerator-stainless-steel/646-000774190-EI11BF25QS
The buttons were on the top panel (very thin). No, I don’t think they used the freezer.
The food I think is pretty spoiled because they were all soggy when I touched them and they weren’t cold at all.
I don’t know how much the gc value is, guessing $5-10?
Yes I have 48 hours
I have a piece of black tape over the controls in my fridge. And a note to please don’t touch. My fridge is sensitive for some reason and messing with the controls turns it off. The whole fridge… right off.
Frankly, if you don’t mind me saying so… I think you should let this go. If they really wanted to do something to retaliate, there are million other things I can think of… If you make a big deal over a few pieces of food that are spoiled, he could slam you in a review. To me, just not worth the chance.
Also, if I may, I think you are overreacting… Using the term “Psycho” seems a bit over-reactive to me. If you’ve had guests do like a recent one I had: Come into my home, party hard, invite loud local strangers over, get drunk and be disrespectful and sassy when I ask them to keep it quiet, waste water, smoke pot, then break furniture and leave a mess… that’s much more descriptive of a “psycho” guest.
Leaving you a gift card was extremely nice. I’ve never had that in the five years I’ve hosted. Accept the gift in the spirit it was offered and move on already. I doubt Air is going to side with you on this should you take it to resolution… you have to upload receipts, photos and evidence of damage…then confront the guest. Meanwhile the review period is still open and they can slam you hard. Is it worth it? Have your mom make you some new meals!
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It really seems like this happened when they first brought their food in. I do not think they did this after you left for work. I was asking about the amount of the gift card to see if they were just leaving you fifty cents on a card they can’t use (if they don’t have a starbucks) or if they were apologizing for the music at 5 a.m. Only you can feel out if it was really their alarm, or if they were being disrespectful to just play music at that time. It’s kind of like how some restaurant guests will leave two pennies on the table just to be jerks if you didn’t let them walk all over you.
You can always ask them if they know why the freezer was turned off. They may feel bad and apologize if they knew they pressed a button. But I don’t see any of that leading to a five star review. They may not even leave a review. I feel for you. I am currently cleaning up my rental after the guests from hell. This was the first time I have had a heated confrontation with my guests. They lied and said they didn’t receive my email that told them not to arrive early…after they told me they were going to arrive early. They would not have known the address if they hadn’t read the email. Then they still weren’t being honest with the number of the people in the party. There’s so much more to the story. But I get where you are coming from. Are they being vindictive?..it’s so hard to tell.
I just found four bags of very nice organic treats and don’t know if they left them or the previous guests did. The previous guests were all into organic food, and even called me from an organic farm. I had such a tight turn around I may have forgotten to check that cabinet. So I have no idea who left them. But as I bravely snack on my new treats, I wonder if the guests from hell are tempting me to eat their poison!
So only you can know best if things are a coincidence or if you know it was intentional. Check that gift card!
Sorry about your guests from hell. What clods to completely disregard your rules about early arrivals. thank god they are gone.
Because I have had it happen so frequently I have that rule IN MY DIRECTIONS. No early arrivals. And then give them ideas of things to do in Kona before they arrive. If they get here while I am still cleaning I send them to the beach.
But honestly, since I have been so clear in my directions, I have not had it happen lately.
Thanks guys, I really appreciate your comments and I am glad I went to this forum before officially submit a request to airbnb. You are right, it may be an accident. Given the shape the food was in, the damage may have been done the night before. Either way, I’d rather receive a 5 star review vs spend time pursue this.
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and btw, gift card was $12.96, kind of an odd number. but i’ll take it.
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Hey that’s two mocha lattes where I’m from. 
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home made food doesnt has a price tag. the point, that it was very valuable for you. and the other point that they (he?) made it on purpose. this two only important, not the money. and yes, you should report this, because if it happened on purpuse, then it is a destructive behaviour.
We don’t know if it was deliberate… I tend to think not. As I said, my fridge will shut off entirely if someone accidentally touches the controls even by accident. I can’t imagine a guest doing this to get back at a host.
IMHO, think this one just isn’t worth getting worked up over. In the future you could disallow guest access to the fridge.
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I agree with Kona. The bottom line is Euphoria really can’t know who hit the button when and with what motive.
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Euphoria - Yay for the $12.96. Glad to hear it wasn’t a nickel and they were being jerks. I would just explain to all future guests about this “accident.” so that they are careful when using the fridge. And when you have guests staying, you could just quickly open the freezer once a day to check it is on.
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the comment. Ended up not pursuing anything and getting a stellar review as I had hoped. I still suspect it’s the crazy bf who never said a word to me (and not the girl who had the airbnb account). But whatever, it’s not worth to pursue further.
Thanks again for your support.
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