I feel completely let down by Airbnb for the first time. So this nightmare guest booked a room which is clearly listed on Airbnb as a room without an attached bathroom (fact that bathroom is unattched is mentioned twice - once in the listing heading and again in the listing description). The booking was made for one guest. Upon his arrival, I got a call from the guest demanding a room with an attached bathroom and my cleaner also informed me that he had brought another person along although his booking was only for one. These were both red flags and I had a bad feeling but since it was a matter of additional payment, I informed them of the difference in tariff payable to be upgraded to an ensuite room and for the additional guest. Later at midnight, I got a message from the guest (I don’t live at the property) asking if I could “ask our cleaner to stay overnight at the property” as he was “scared of the safety of the place since the courtyard was open from top”, referring to our traditional open-to-sky courtyard - which is what makes the listing unique and sought after! I was annoyed beyond my limit, but still told him politely that the cleaners cannot be called at this hour, that it is a safe locality, and that he could lock his bedroom from the inside and sleep in any case.
Next morning (about 10am), my cleaner sent me photos of his bathroom - the glass ledge used to keep shampoos and other toiletries was shattered with glass shards all over the wash basin. The wash basin itself was cracked presumably by the impact of the fallen ledge. I called the guest to ask what had happened, and as expected, he said it “just happened when he was standing there” and was no fault of his. Now I know that’s impossible considering the glass ledge is fixed to the wall with two steel clamps on either side. But I’d had enough of this guest and wanted no more trouble, so I immediately called Airbnb to ask for a cancellation of the rest of his stay, explaining to them how he wanted a change of rooms, brought an additional guest (without informing me) while booking for one, his midnight “safety concern”, and now the damage to the bathroom. The Airbnb official was very sympathetic on call and said it sounded like a clear case of personality issues on the part of the guest but that he’d call the guest before cancelling the booking. I was also assured on call that any negative reviews the guest might leave because of my decision to cancel could be “hidden” since the guest had committed multiple violations. I got an email immediately after the call saying he would be in touch shortly. I was expecting a quick response considering the situation, but when they did not contact me even 2hrs later (12pm which is our checkout time), I tried calling Airbnb again and no one picked up. I then called the guest to inform them that I had asked Airbnb for a cancellation since there was considerable damage and the bathroom was partly unusable, but that Airbnb was yet to respond. The guest, quite appropriately, just asked me to confirm quickly if they have a booking or not so that they could find an alternative place if needed. I tried contacting Airbnb again and still no response, so I felt obliged to shift them to another room since Airbnb had not confirmed on the cancellation and it was well past check-out time. I never got a call back from Airbnb on the issue again. All I got was an email at 9pm asking ME “if there was any update on my decision to end the reservation”! Their response and reaction to the situation could not have been any more unhelpful and was so late that I was forced to put up with this problematic guest for another night, fearing what more damage and mishap I would have to wake up to the next day. Airbnb remained uncontactable for the next few days and I got their auto email asking me to reply to the mail if my case has still not been resolved. I responded to the mail and still got no response! In the meanwhile, the guest has left me review, which
I have no doubts will be a stinker (I am yet to leave him a review). From his point of view, he must think I charged him extra money, made him feel “unsafe” with the open courtyard and not heeding to his request of having a cleaner sleepover, had questioned him about damaged fittings and had tried to contact Airbnb to throw him out.
When I finally managed to get through Airbnb’s helpline number today, and explained how unsupported I felt through the entire episode, they were barely apologetic and also told me that reviews can’t be deleted / hidden unless it violated their content policy (which this review will most likely not violate).
After being given a super host status and with almost impeccable reviews for the property for 18 months now, I am trying to cope with the idea of a bad review from a guest who behaved so recklessly and the lack of Airbnb support going forward on issues like this.