AirBnb support for refund

[Jennifer2672]

We've been hosts for about a year, and have excellent reviews. (5-stars so far.) We had a guest make two back to back reservations for 5 months. They're from California and our house is in South Dakota. He was friendly and nice for 6 weeks and then suddenly we got a message saying that he and his wife had moved out because our house had a persistent mold smell and their doctor said they have been exposed to mold. I told them that I wished they had said something sooner, but I would accommodate their request to cancel the rest of their stay. It was inconvenient, as they had filled our calendar for the entire summer. (By the way, every guest before and after has rated our home sparkling clean.) Now two months later he's asking Airbnb to make me refund what he paid because my house was "moldy." Any suggestions for how I fight this? 

[Don-And-Emily0]

We had this situation in one of our long term rentals and had to test the air for mold. Turns out the wasn’t any.

I would call several companies to see how much they charge, and if it’s feasible, test it.   I think we paid $250 for the test (5 years ago) 

if it comes back negative, you can present that to Airbnb so you don’t have to refund them. 

[Jennifer2672]

Great idea. I will look into this ASAP. I would love to have documentation if it's not prohibitively expensive! 

[Jennifer2672]

Very good to know. He left almost 2 months ago. I asked him to cancel the reservation, but told Airbnb that I didn't want to charge him past his last day there, even though my cancellation policy for long-term guests would have allowed me to. He made comments to me in the platform about the fact that he would have taken me to small claims court if I hadn't. Ugh. 

[Gregory87]

@Jennifer2672 

Glad to hear that you're going to challenge this accusation!  What proof does the guest have?  A doctor "said" they had been exposed to mold...based on what evidence?  Were they seen in person or was it based on their description of symptoms?  Is there a copy of  the medical report?  Do they have any proof of mold to present?

Perhaps have him put up partial payment for the mold testing.  If his assertion is supported, you can cover his part as well as consider a refund; otherwise, no further discussion or payment is on the table.

Good luck!  Keep us updated.

[Jennifer2672]

No proof. Airbnb closed the case because he didn't submit any documentation. As we had already allowed him to cancel his reservation with no penalty, it felt like he was just trying to get a free stay. The funny part is that I have a suspicion he may have done this at the house he was at before ours.

[Inna22]

Some fantastic ideas by other hosts. Home Depot sells a home mold testing kit. I think it is around $40. And yes, ask for proof. Also, Airbnb requires the issue first be reported to host and give you an opportunity to remedy. It seem like that did not happen. 
read Airbnb refund rules and challenge them on technicalities vs emotion or logic 

[Jennifer2672]

Very good advice! As of now, as the guests submitted no documentation when Airbnb asked for it, it looks like we are finally done with him. What super sad about this, is that we've had great experiences with other long-term guests. In the future I'm going to be very wary about accepting another reservation for longer than a week or two.