Damage to yard

[Lori234]

Hi all, I had a guest that just checked out and made a mess of mud around my firing that looks like he was at Glastonbury. I know grass grows, but here in the Pacific Northwest, it will be a while. For one person to make such a mess is really irresponsible. I won’t be able to have my next guests use this nice feature of my property until the grass can take hold again. I also have to remove quite a bit of wet sticks and magazines he unsuccessfully used to light his fire. My question is, how much would you charge for loss of use of the area, clean up and putting down new grass seed. He also left muddy foot prints all over the deck. Thanks for any advice.

[Flavia202]

That guest sounds downright malicious - not clueless, @Lori234.  You may get another like him in the future, so you could give your guests a heads up when they book (additional rules) and charge any culprits a fee for clean up and putting down new grass seed.

[Lori234]

It’s sad to have to tell people what to do or leave notes. Most guests are great and I have been a host for about 7 years now, so it’s still worth it. After taking out the recycling there were two empty scotch bottles for a two night stay by himself, so I’m assuming he was on a bender. He still needs to pay for the damage. He also had no reviews and it’s the last time I host anyone without at least one positive review. 

[John5097]

 Was it done by his car or by foot? Some comments have said it was by car, but didn't see that mentioned in your first post. For me its not clear enough if this was reasonable use for an amenity that was included in the listing, so won't comment on that, but do hope it works out best for you whatever you decide. It might also help to include some pictures if that's possible.     

[Lori234]

He trampled it by foot. It had been raining and he was still trying to light a fire. He was determined to do it both days he was there, but I didn’t see the damage until he had checked out. People have been using the fire pit on dry days even when the grass was wet and never did that much damage as he did in 7 years as my being a host. I also have security footage from a distance of him out there and it look like he was doing some kind of a crazy dance trying to get the wet kindling started.

 

[John5097]

@Lori234 I'm just seeing this now. From the footprint it looks like very soft ground that is very saturated. Not unusual for the North West. So many claims are declined, then guest can leave a review. I've considered a fire pit for guest but it would be a major project that would need to be over pavers. Once again my only concern is that this works out best for you. I personally wouldn't file a claim over that. Maybe if you posted the picture again so others could offer more advice. Good luck! 

[Helen350]

Yeah, I don't want to sound unsympathetic, but this looks very minor! (I imagined the entire yard turned to mud - with ruts & divots!)

As @John5097  said it's WET in winter where you host! (Same here!) I don't see how using the firepit in a wet winter can avoid this - unless you pave around it, - or make it out of bounds?

I wouldn't claim either.

@Lori234 

[Lynda293]

H there 

[Lynda293]

we have just had a drug addict in our beautiful home and he has done considerable damage and Airbnb won’t pay as we were away and didn’t discover the damage. We weren’t aware we only had 14 days to do so. 
please everyone be aware of this 

[Flavia202]

Oh no... sorry to hear about that @Lynda293 . Try again with your post.

[Sarah977]

@Lynda293  Sorry this happened to you.

You really need to have a co-host or someone who can check the place if you are going to be away. Someone who can keep an eye on things and look the place over and take photos on check-out in case you need to take immediate action.

[Lynda293]

I tried putting up an independent post about this but they wouldn’t let me 

[Helen350]

So sorry to hear this @Lynda293 

Try again with the independent  post, it often happens that gremlins stop posting, it's nothing sinister to censor you! In fact there are hundreds of posts lamenting that guests, often drug fueled have trashed houses. Usually in the USA, it does not seem to happen so often in the UK, thankfully!

If you use the 'search' feature up top, typing in words like 'damage', 'trashed' , 'drugs', you will see countless posts on this subject.

Regulars to this forum will be aware of the 14 day rule, but sadly the average host probably isn't until it happens to them....

[Sarah977]

@Lori234 Looking at your photo, I think it would be a good idea to put flagstones, bricks, a gravel area or whatever around that fire ring, rather than having it just sitting on the grass. It would look nice, define the area, and avoid this kind of damage. 

Of course this particular guest was obviously clueless if he was trying to build a fire with wet kindling in the rain. I could understand if he was lost in the wilderness and trying to keep himself from freezing to death, but it's a head scratcher when he had a house to be comfy in.

[Lorna170]

@Lori234   I highly recommend clearing a 5 foot circle around your fire pit and putting down gravel.  It will not solve the problem of the guest who tries to start a fire in the rain with wet kindling and logs while doing a rain, rain go away dance but at least your yard will survive.  FYI, I think your guest may have stayed here in NC too (haha).

[Lori234]

In the several years I have been doing this, I’ve never had a guest dumb enough to make a fire in the rain, but certainly might not be the last even though it’s the first. When it’s not raining, it’s not a problem, this guy was just heavy booted and I think he was staying at my place to have a bender away from his family and just wasn’t thinking straight. I even found him sleeping outside on the uncovered deck during the day, in the rain and I thought he might have died because he was there for so long! I appreciate everyone’s suggestions and I have some leftover slate from another landscaping project that I will put around it.