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This is the first time I’m going to have to use the Resolution Center and could use some advice from the collective.
The guests were first time Airbnb users, communicated very well, were really sweet in fact and said they read and understood the house rules. They checked out at 11am yesterday and my cleaners are back there again this morning trying to finish up what they just couldn’t get to yesterday. We think, but have no proof (other than spilled dog food) that they brought a dog with them (against our house rules). They left dirty dishes and food in the microwave (easy enough to clean up, but doing dishes is part of our house rules as well. There was urine, feces and vomit on multiple surfaces (dog or human, not really sure) including bed linens (one full set of sheets and an extra pillow case too stained to save), bath and kitchen towels (9 ruined, the rest were saved) and walls and doors and vanities and around the base of the toilet in one bathroom.
So, my question is this: Do I say anything to the guest before I use the resolution center?
They have already left a review for me. She told me in the last message she sent right before checking out how much fun they had at the lake and how much they loved our home and would be giving a great review. That doesn’t necessarily mean they left a good review, it could be a ruse I suppose, but I’m going to try not to approach this worried about a bad review. I would like to be compensated for the extra time my cleaners are charging for and for the ruined linens. I will also leave an accurate and honest review of them.
I wouldn’t call a guest who brought in a dog against your house rules and left the place in that sort of state ‘really sweet’.
As it says in the information Airbnb provides on its website and Airbnb Help, you need to contact the guest initially with the issue and costs involved and only if they don’t reply or refuse do you put it through the Resolution Centre.
As it sounds like you have a remote listing, CCTV outside your listing is an essential this helps you know if guests are bringing in undisclosed guests or animals who are not on the booking and helps you know if guests are trying to party at your place.
Ist damage in 1 1/2 years.
I recently had a custom table damaged beyond use by guests and called Air, and I was encouraged to contact guest directly 1st, they also told me that the guest had left a review. I wrote to guest on Air thread and by text. She paid the 200$ to my paypal right away.
My guests knew of the damage but didn’t know how bad it was because it was just an evening rental for a music video shoot, and when they left it was dark.
Perhaps your guest also realizes all the damage is something you will notice and ask them to pay for. A personal note might go over better to start, on the Air thread. I would never mention a review to guests, as it would feel like blackmail if you did. Are you certain all the linens are ruined? It sounds like they were partiers…
Thank you @Helsi and @gypsy for the replies. I will contact her first. I know it sounds crazy to say she was very sweet, but honestly something makes me think that they are really young and a bit clueless.
I will contact her first and see what she says. I’m hoping that she’s open to learning a lesson from this. Ha!
And, yes @gypsy my cleaners spent most of yesterday and this morning working on the laundry. She was able to save one other set of sheets and all of the other towels (they used every towel in the place). She used every trick up her sleeve to try to save them all. She’s been an Airbnb host for over 6 years herself and says she’s never seen anything quite like how our place was left.
And @Helsi, I know we need CCTV. It was on our list of things to install this winter/spring while we were there. Then we lost all of our income due to Covid-19 and had to put it on hold. Hopefully we can get that taken care of soon, though.
Thanks again. I’m heading to Air to send her a message now.
I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to broach this with you, but my cleaners have just finished cleaning up the house after your stay. I’m not exactly sure what took place while you were there, but they found one bed urine soaked and fecal matter on the other. Also, there was vomit? all over the 2nd bathroom. One set of sheets was ruined along with one extra pillow case. And 2 bath towels, 3 hand towels, 1 face towel and 3 kitchen towels were also stained beyond saving.
My cleaners are being very generous and only charging another $40 for the extra hours of cleaning. The ruined sheet set was $22.00 and the towels add up to $13.00.
I’m going to send you a request for money in the amount of $80 to cover my losses.
I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter."
I’m trying really hard to not make it too personal. LOL. Not easy for me!
You’ve been given good advice and I would do the same. As for coming with a dog against the house rules: for goodness sake get a camera when you are not an onsite host. If she refuses to pay I hope you have lots of pictures. Since you don’t have other claims and you aren’t asking for much Airbnb will just comp you.
I’m hoping she will pay. I’ve sent her a message stating that she can pay me with paypal and avoid the resolution center, but if I don’t hear back soon I’m going to go ahead with the resolution center request. I have guests coming in tomorrow, and I know it needs to be started before that. My cleaners took lots of pictures, so hopefully if she doesn’t pay Air will.
I’m going to look into a camera after work tonight. I’m afraid the biggest issue will be finding someone to install it. I don’t want a ring doorbell camera, because the front door is on the patio and I don’t really want to feel like a voyeur watching everyone hanging out on the patio. It’ll have to be mounted on the front of the mobile home facing the street, where the guests park and access the property from.
$80 for all that damage??!! I would charge double or triple that. Pay for the cleaners, pay for new bedding, pay for the food residue, pay for them being stupid (what you’ve told is way beyond “clueless” or “young”. They also need to be told how the violated your terms and conditions!!
Yes, good advice on this thread. In addition to not mentioning pet damage to AirBnB (guests can claim that this was a service animal), I would also avoid statements that could be refuted. How can you prove that the vomit was in fact vomit. Instead, I would say it was dirt with the photographs attached as proof.
As for the lack of a camera, that is really an issue and I would see if you can invest into a Ring system while you are saving up for a more expensive CCTV system.
Last I knew shit washes off, how is it that so much is ruined? Or is it that the housekeeper just does not want to deal with it? Soak wash rinse repeat.
I had a guest break a dining room chair. I sent him a request through the resolution and he paid immediately. Try the resolution center first, if the guest refuses, then contact Airbnb but they will require pictures and you have to report it within a specific time frame. Hope it works out. Keep us posted.
Doh! @gypsy, you are absolutely right on the math. I should know better than to try to figure easy stuff in my head. LOL.
Well, I sent her a message before going through the resolution center and she was very apologetic. She said her father got sick out on the lake, but she was not aware just how bad it was. There are 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, so it’s possible that she never even went into those 2 rooms to see the carnage. She paid me within about 30 seconds of my request. I didn’t mention anything about a dog since I’ve read enough on here to know that could cause problems and I have no proof.
@RiverRock There were a few towels with something red/pink on them that she couldn’t get out and the feces sheets and towels after bleaching twice still had a yellowish brownish hue. I use all white sheets and towels. I don’t know why it wouldn’t come out, but I trust my cleaner, she goes above and beyond for me.
So now, I would love some advice on leaving her review. She paid what I asked for so I don’t feel that I should slam her completely, but I do feel that I should mention how the place was left. I told her that in the future if she chooses to use Airbnb again, that she should not leave a place in the same condition she left mine. She thanked me for the advice. I honestly don’t know if I would host her again. Maybe, if I could actually charge her a real deposit up front.
I operated on prayers and hope with no cameras the first several months. But unless the guests were breaking the rules about not letting the animal run at large unrestrained or I saw them hanging out a car window, my cam wouldn’t catch unauthorized pets.
If my cleaner told me there had been an undisclosed pet, I would just send a cheerful note hoping that Fido had a great weekend and enjoyed the off-leash area, dog door, dog dishes, and dog treats, welcoming him back next time with the pet fee request. I would have photographic evidence on file in case they tried to deny.
If they refused to pay, blacklist.
In this case I would blacklist because of the excess disgustingness and would be requesting a extra cleaning fee.
There is a lot of good advice in this thread so I won’t repeat any. However, if you list as pet free and a dog has been there, you need to think about the next guest. Routine cleaning doesn’t always adequately address the deep cleaning required to protect a subsequent guest allergic to dogs. That could really raise your cleaning costs.
So, I’m working on the review. I’m really having a hard time with this, especially since she took responsibility and paid what I asked without question.
Here’s where I’m heading, but I’m open to any and all suggestions:
XXX was very nice and we had good communication. Unfortunately, one of the guests traveling with Kylie left a pretty big mess to clean up. Kylie took responsibility and paid for the damage and extra cleaning fee right away.
