Cockroaches - Cyprus

[Carla1399]

We have had some guests that now want a full refund for their stay. There saw one cockroach per day which they didn’t kill. One of the party members is ‘terrified’ of insects and sees cockroaches as rats. The house is in a rural setting and we have never had roaches before. We have 10/10 for cleanliness.  On complaint we sent pest control straight to villa but the guests left nonetheless on day 6 of 12. Funnily enough, they managed to rebook another villa in a lively, beach location  in Cyprus and after complaining about taxi fares etc, I believe this maybe more of they reason why they want to move location.  They are suggesting they will seek legal action if we don’t return a full refund and as much I appreciate roaches are not nice I wonder what my legal position is? Please help 

[Mary419]

Tell them sorry you will need to stick to your published cancelation refund policy. 

I have no idea what is normal in your area regarding bugs but "cockroaches" are a big topic where I live and I have to draw a hard line say sorry you saw one, they live outdoors all over this area and sometimes they wander in the houses. Pest control can make them eventually die but cannot make them invisible so guests may still see them despite us spraying poison around the perimeter. And if you are engaged in a threatening dialogue that is actually a good thing because if you have written extortion (threatening you with a bad review if you do not give them money) then the review should be removed by Airbnb with some effort on your part. 

You do not owe them a refund. Do not be scared by threats. That's my opinion based on quite a lot of experience. 

[Kate867]

@Carla1399   I totally agree with @Mary419 .   Cockroaches, spiders and all sorts of winged and crawling nasties exist almost everywhere.  I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that these guests have come across these issues frequently before in their own homes.   You have all five star review so far, so obviously run a nice and clean Airbnb.  The guests notified you of the issue, you reacted very promptly to resolve it but they decided to leave before you had done so.  Hopefully all of this, is on your Airbnb messages.  It might be worth contacting Airbnb and letting them know what has been happening 

[Sudsrung0]

First I would like to say, dont bow down to any threats from a guest but you must contact airbnb about the situation make them aware, Keep your messages on the platform.

We live on an island where most of it is still a jungle so we get everything that moves.

We have to use a pest control company every month they spray inside and outside.

If you do have Cockroaches the main reason is they are looking for food if they dont eat they die,

We have some villas that have BBQ's and we have signs on the wall Do not leave food lying around overnight, the jungle comes alive at night,

[Renee291]

I agree with @Mary419 @Sudsrung0 and @Kate867 . I also caution you to keep all correspondence on the platform so Airbnb can see it.

I once had a male guest message me that I may want to talk to my cleaner because (on day 4 of his stay) he walked into a spider web on the back porch. I apologized but explained spiders can spin a web in 30 minutes so it was probably spun during his stay.  Not sure what people are thinking.

[Sudsrung0]

We get asked by many guest when they arrive, I just say Welcome to Thailand, they have to learn to live in Asia, taking cans of coke to bed with them and then wonder why the place is covered in ants,