How to handle messy/ dirty guests

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Christene5
Level 2
Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

How to handle messy/ dirty guests

Hi, Im fairly new to Hosting and would like some advice. I had guests recently check out and when I went to check the suite they left it in quite a mess. Stained towels and bedding, stains on the wall, could be coffee and pieces of food left on walls as well. The glass stove top was left with marks and oil including food and dirt left all over the counter tops. There was blood stains on the bath towels and sanitary pads left used and exposed in the bins. There were enough black bin liners yet they through food at the bottom of the bin itself  that completely moulded.  They were quite demanding and making requests for things daily. A brand new rain umbrella was used for the beach and was full of sand even though they had a beach umbrella. Chocolate stains on the couch. They mopped the bathroom with the matt and left it dirty, there is a mop in the unit. There was also cigarette buds  left in the bin and its a non smoking unit. Our place is not even a year old and only started hosting in September.

 

How do I handle this? Other reviews said they would host them again, but I don't think that they were entirely honest. I will write a fair and honesty review so this does not happen to others.

 

 My questions are -

how would you handle this and what charges would you charge for? 

How much toilet paper, refuse bags, dishtowels etc do you allow for a 7 nights stay?

Top Answer

@Christene5  I think a fair and honest review is the best way to handle this. To make sure it doesn't fall afoul of the content policy, steer clear of the graphic details (such as the sanitary pads) and avoid unproven accusations (e.g. smoking). 

 

If the cleaning and stain removal involved a significant extra expense, and you have documentation of that, there is the option of initiating a request for compensation at airbnb.com/resolutions . However, claims are often unsuccessful if there's not clear-cut physical damage, as there's no fixed policy on how much guests are obliged to clean. Looking ahead, you might add some words to your House Rules about what cleaning tasks you expect guests to complete, and reiterate them in your correspondence before the checkout date.

 

Another thing there's no fixed rule about is how much of the supplies to stock. A lot of variables apply - how many people are booked, whether the home has shops nearby, whether there's a washing machine on site, etc.  Being robustly stocked on bin liners and cleaning products does encourage tidiness, but as long as there are convenient shopping options it's no big deal if guests have to restock their own toilet paper or soap after a few days.

4 Replies 4

@Christene5  I think a fair and honest review is the best way to handle this. To make sure it doesn't fall afoul of the content policy, steer clear of the graphic details (such as the sanitary pads) and avoid unproven accusations (e.g. smoking). 

 

If the cleaning and stain removal involved a significant extra expense, and you have documentation of that, there is the option of initiating a request for compensation at airbnb.com/resolutions . However, claims are often unsuccessful if there's not clear-cut physical damage, as there's no fixed policy on how much guests are obliged to clean. Looking ahead, you might add some words to your House Rules about what cleaning tasks you expect guests to complete, and reiterate them in your correspondence before the checkout date.

 

Another thing there's no fixed rule about is how much of the supplies to stock. A lot of variables apply - how many people are booked, whether the home has shops nearby, whether there's a washing machine on site, etc.  Being robustly stocked on bin liners and cleaning products does encourage tidiness, but as long as there are convenient shopping options it's no big deal if guests have to restock their own toilet paper or soap after a few days.

Christene5
Level 2
Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

@Anonymous Hi Andrew, thank you for taking the time to reply, it was most helpful reading your comments! Appreciate the reminder about the policy, I will construct the review carefully according to that. Great idea to add some info and words to the house rules, working on that now. The apartment is fully stocked so it makes sense that guests would try to keep it clean. 

Christene5
Level 2
Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

@Anonymous Hi Andrew, thank you for taking the time to reply, it was most helpful reading your comments. Appreciate the reminder about the policy, I will construct the review carefully according to that. Great idea to add some info and words to the house rules, working on that now. The apartment is fully stocked so it makes sense that guests would try to keep it clean. 

Christene5
Level 2
Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

@Andrew0 ive got to review this guest today & would like to run my message by you if that is okay? Just to make sure its not personal at all