Guest was uncomfortable and left early because of an unruly neighbor, my other guest, is asking for a refund

[Lidia333]

Hi all! 

I host apartments in a quadruplex, so all my guests are each others neighbors for their stay. One of my guests checked-in for their 4 day vacation, spent one night here, then the following day, today, I receive the cursed message. The guest said that they decided to leave the rental because their neighbor, my other guest, made them so uncomfortable they couldn’t continue with their stay. In the message they wrote that the unruly neighbors were being extremely loud including yelling, arguing, and sexual intercourse. Old concrete house and these walls are thick, whoever is being loud must really be trying.

The complaining guest then also mentions that when they first pulled up to the building to check in, one of the unruly guests was PEEING in the shared driveway. Ummm, excuse me? I don’t have cameras (looking into some now), so there’s no evidence of that. I went over to the house to check out the situation after I received the message. There I ran into the unruly guests! They also had a dog with them I didn’t know about? The whole interaction was awkward, I wasn’t expecting to run into them. I told them about the complaints,  just mentioning the noise and the peeing in the driveway. They obviously denied everything and laughed it off. Haha, so funny. I asked them to please be conscious of other tenants. Their stay is short, only two nights. 

I have been in contact with the guest that was made uncomfortable with this situation, they are requesting a refund. The unruly guests check out tomorrow, I told my other guest that but they already found another place to stay. They haven’t cancelled the reservation, I told them to contact Airbnb as soon as they can, I already did so and was advised to not cancel the reservation and wait for the guest to put in a complaint.

Right now, I feel like I’m in a big fat pickle. I feel awful that the unruly guests made my other guests leave this way and if these accusations are true - ew! I don’t believe they would be making this stuff up, especially after running into the unruly guests, but I also wish the the guest would’ve brought these issues to my attention before they decided to find a new place, maybe there could’ve been something I could’ve done to make up for it? The probability of me getting the days rebooked are low at this point, plus the reservation is still active.

What would you do? I really would appreciate any of your help. Thanks!

[Helen744]

@Lidia333 I think you have already missed the opportunity and made the wrong call. The unruly guest should have been ejected holus bolus. My rules state that you are part of a community and please respect the neighbours. Let them plead their case with Airbnb not the ones who were victimised by them .Its very difficult to think on your feet at such a time but sometimes nothing goes right. Whats done is done .It is always better to take a deep breath and think before acting but sometimes the police can be useful.It is amazing how a absolutely out of control tosspot can go from being a complete freak show to a law abiding citizen in four seconds flat thus causing you to doubt yourself . The police are trained to see through them and the other gusts already told you. You can only go with the facts as you know them and err on the side of doing the right thing even though you will probably lose money all round all the best H

[Helen744]

I do not get why your guest cannot cancel . Definitely ask them to do that as it is their choice to leave I am not sure what Airbnb is playing at here trying to hamstring what should be a very straight forwarsd sit . Airbnb are not in fact the main players here it is you and the guest H

[Lidia333]

@Helen744Which one do you mean, the unruly guest or complaining guest? I’m not sure why the complaining guest decided to leave without canceling the reservation or contacting Airbnb…

The unruly guest was staying for two nights total, when I was made aware of the situation they only had the night left. When I contacted Airbnb I was advised NOT to cancel either reservation or I will lose my Superhost status which I really didn’t want to. Why don’t they make exceptions for situations like this? Without any evidence this is just a “he said she said” type situation. 

I was messaging back and forth with the complaining guest yesterday, but haven’t heard back from them today. They were very understanding that this was out of my control. My last message to them was directing them to contact Airbnb because I thought that putting in a formal complaint, mediation and just the fact that I had no idea what to do, I was hoping they could help out. I haven’t heard back from the guest yet, I’m assuming that they are busy with the Easter weekend and I will try to contact them again tomorrow. Their reservation is still active but the place is unoccupied. I am thinking of putting an alteration request myself? Thanks for your reply!

[Louise1073]

I’m sorry to read this, sounds like a sucky situation. Even worse you cannot prove anything. Definitely get driveway security cameras every day, they can be a lifesaver!

Were there other guests at the time or just these two groups? I agree it’s probably going to be a refund for that 1st guest….

[Lidia333]

@Louise1073 Definitely looking into getting some cameras ASAP! I’m hoping something like this never happens again but better to be safe, lesson learned. Do you think one driveway camera will be enough? I was now thinking about getting cameras to see all around the house including entry doors and backyard. Total there would be 4-5, would you say that is too overboard?

There was one other pair of guests staying in a unit in the building, luckily these guys don’t share a wall with each other. I check in with all of my guests during their stay, they said they were having a good time, phew! 

The unruly guest has left me a review and I’m trying to type one up back, I’m not sure into how much detail I should go but I definitely want to warn other hosts. With no evidence I wouldn’t want them to be able to dispute the review if that is a possibility. By the way, the unruly guest has six reviews, all very positive except for their first one being negative claiming they snuck in a dog (ding!) and were super late checking out. This is my first experience with a bad guest, I knew it would come at some point but wasn’t expecting something like this. I appreciate your reply! 

[Tina8199]

@Lidia333 I use Amazon blink cameras. Easy to mount and I have them on each side of the house to see all entrances and driveways. 

Reasonably priced and easy to set up using wifi. At one property,  I even have one mounted on a tree to directly see a blind area. 

Outside cameras are a must to monitor safety,  number of guests and to confirm arrival and check out times. 

[Laura2592]

@Lidia333  I am unclear on why you didn't just cancel and end the stay of the unruly people? They brought a dog that was not mentioned (not sure if you are pet friendly but pets now can be added to the reservation at booking.) They probably peed and had loud sex, but you can't prove it. They definitely disturbed the other people. So why were they able to stay?

[Lidia333]

@Laura2592 I’m not sure why I didn’t think to cancel their stay right away, they had one more night and are gone now. I wasn’t expecting to run into them like that, I would’ve much preferred to confront them about these issues over messages for it to at least be written down and I would have some extra time to think. I was seeing red and I had to go over to the house right away, I don’t know why, maybe I was expecting piss pools all over the driveway. I was focusing on the guests affected by this and was trying to work something out with them instead. 

When I contacted airbnb about this whole situation they said not to cancel either reservation because I will lose my Superhost status. They also said that since there is no evidence and no formal complaint yet it was just a “he said she said” type of thing. They said that I can request an extra charge for the pet, which by the way, no, I am not pet friendly but this unruly guest claimed that the dog is a service animal. To my knowledge, I have no choice but to accept that, right? Them not disclosing that beforehand is still unacceptable though. The Airbnb reps recommendation was to write the unruly guest a review. My recommendation was to kick them off the platform!  

The unruly guests are gone now, luckily they left the place tidy minus the obvious dog hair everywhere. 

I’m curious how you would’ve gone about this situation with the unruly guests, when canceling without repercussions was seemingly not an option for me? I definitely blew it when I went over there and ran into them. Oh well, at least now I know to be more careful. I’m reaaaally hoping this situation is the last of it’s kind, all of my guests until now have been so great and considerate of each other. How would’ve you gone about canceling their stay? There is always a first in something! But I should prep for the next crazies just in case. Thanks for your reply! 

[Helen744]

@Lidia333, the guests who have left may come back at you with a request for a full refund . So get on to that early and offer them a refund plus an apology for the nights they did not stay but ask them to cancel .Neighbours are not really a reason to leave even though they are actually also your problem. The bad guests broke your rules and caused you to lose a guest . Give them a review that reflects this and alerts host that they appear to be a disaster all round. also suggest that they would be more comfortable in very private accomodation, not like yours, where they may meet other people.I would have cancelled those unruly guests and taken the drop in money . Given them a refund and dealt with Airbnb later, then maybe contacted your new guests and tried to get them to stay. Also if you are a woman then the presence of a burly man/body guard might be useful. Try not to be your guests best friend H

[Laura2592]

@Lidia333When you have a poor guest you need to take action by insisting ABB intervene and cancel the reservation. Taking "no" for an answer now gives you the potential for 2 bad reviews which is arguably worse than "losing superhost."

Its your space and your investment. If a guest is so bad that they make others leave they are not someone you want to keep around.

If this happened to me I would have continued to call and insist the reservation be canceled. Insisted the CS rep speak to the exiting guest who was disturbed by the loud people. Often this will take several calls and speaking to multiple people until you get one who knows the rules. Most CS reps know nothing, so you need to educate yourself and insist on the course of action you want to happen. You took a very passive approach as though ABB somehow had responsibility to manage your situation. That is backwards. YOU manage the property and host your guests. You pay the mortgage. right? Understand that ABB is little more than a bulletin board connecting hosts and guests. You tell THEM what needs to happen and keep calling until you get in touch with someone who will help.

[Gabrielle273]

@Lidia333 @If you have a doorbell camera, a keypad lock, and Noiseaware software connected to a security system, you can evict bad guests very quickly

I always check my doorbell cams when guests arrive, to ensure that they aren't sneaking in extra guests or pets.  When a fellow host experienced loud partiers at his place, he called and asked them to quiet down, per the House Rules, or he would have to evict them.  They did not respond, so he set off the Noiseaware alarm in the space ( it is quite loud), they left, and as soon as they left, he changed their doorcode so they could not return.

I don't use Noiseaware, but the door cam and keypad lock are very helpful.  Just be sure to disclose the camera in your listing. I put it right in the description, so guests know it is for their safety as well as mine.

[Mary996]

Wow @Gabrielle273 that was effective. Drive them out with noise if they're making noise...!

@Laura2592 really agree with the need to take control and why would you NOT confront such people and order them out @Lidia333 ?