I'd read some horror stories of guests from hell but, somehow, felt I'd escape. I haven't. My last guest booked my place for three months and she made the booking about five weeks before her arrival - timing that I think is important. My cancellation policy is set to Firm so full refund if they cancel thirty days before but less after that. Well, she came and from the first hour the complaints set in, most of them bogus. For example, she said the ac didn't work but that's not true, one simply has to turn on the switch before using the remote. She said there was no hot water, I came and ran it for her to show that you just have to wait a little while for it to kick in. She said there was a toad, I couldn't find it. She said the place was filthy and took a photo of a hair on a light fixture. That the lights wouldn't come on in the bedroom. Etc. Etc. And then she demanded a full refund. We went back and forth with AirBnB Support which was minimal at best as they apparently believed everything she said, even her claim that she hadn't stayed the night (but I have security cameras which proved otherwise). To make a long story shorter, AirBnB refunded her everything except her night's stay. After she left, I discovered that the bulbs in the bedroom had been loosened. I now believe that she found someplace cheaper to stay but knew she would have lost a bigger part of her payment unless she waited until actually arriving so she could create these bogus complaints and get most of her money back. She is or was a host herself so she knows the system.
A friend suggested that the next time a guest arrives (I've had no bookings since her review was posted), I go over the apartment with them in the same way car rental companies do and have them sign that everything works. That seems a bit onerous but I can't think of any other measure that would work and I do believe that Covid probably has many people traveling, more digital nomads and more will be scammers. Wondering what I can do to protect myself from the latter?
