Apologies this is a long post, but I'm feeling VERY unsupported by AirBnB and therefore looking for advice from the hosting community given this awful situation. Please note that this guest completed their 6 night stay indicating they really enjoyed their stay and no word of complaint or negative feedback over this period of time.
After two night of excessive noise beyond midnight, I phone AirBNB to get their advice on how to handle the situation that our guest was not adhering to the house rules which indicate guests must minimise their noise after 10pm as it is a very quiet residential area. AirBnB provided me with suggested wording and I flagged that if I approached them about this issue they may well provide me with a negative feedback as a result and was assured that any review as such could be requested to be removed. I sent this message on the third day of their stay and did not receive any acknowldgement or response but the noise did not continue past 10pm for the remainder of their stay. On departure the studio was filthy and required an extra hour of cleaning for which I sent a request for $22.50 (yes, very minimal cost) and the cost of a replacement latex pillow which they had taken from the studio and replaced in our pillow case their old dirty pillow with their name on it ($50).
I am deeply upset and concerned that in response the guest has put in a request for financial compensation for the full cost of their stay. The complaint is full of spurious claims and lies after they enjoyed their 6 night stay. No issue was raised to me or AirBnb during their stay and they clearly don't meet the requirement to have started an issue within 24 hours of arrival..... as the AirBnB policy states. :
I am now under scrutiny by AirBnB and had to provide a lengthy response addressing all of their nonsensical claims which are malicious and completely untrue which range from indicating we did not supply a powerpoint on a kitchen bench, to lies about the state of cleanliness and missing items.
I am also looking for support and advice from other hosts who may have been through a similar process as it now feels as though I am under question when in fact it is the guest to stole a pillow and left the studio in a state which required an additional hour of cleaning. My initial claim for reimbursement appears to be on hold while AirBnB entertains this guests request for a full refund after completing their stay.
I have a 4.9 star rating and 50+ reviews which contradict this guest's claims.
What should I do now?
Policy for raising requests for refunds:
Start a request within 24 hours
If you still need to cancel your reservation during your stay, we can help you start a request to resolve the issue with your Host. When you do this, you can choose to ask your Host to fix the problem, request a partial refund, or request to cancel your reservation for a full refund. Your Host will then have 1 hour to respond to your request. If they decline or don’t respond, you can ask Airbnb to step in to help.
