Was this a threat. Can I warn other hosts without going 'public'?

[Sarah3696]

A guest just left after staying one night of  10 day booking. She text me on my phone when she arrived that it was lovely and then put on music so loud she and her partner where shouting at each other to hear themselves.
I waited for the initial excitement of arriving to blow over but when it didn't I texted her, saying I was happy she had arrived, etc, but asking if she would mind being considerate about the volume level. She text back saying sorry she was just excited about being here and how everything was lovely.
Half an hour later she said she would be leaving in the morning and demanded a refund as the kichenette was inadequate. I replied it was described as a kitchenette and there was a photo and as I relied on the BnB for my income I could not afford to give her a refund as the days would not get books.
She then sent me a text telling my how many BnB she had stayed in, how my advert was wrong  and how she could not afford to go elsewhere without a refund so she would stay but - and I quote -when I cook "the fat with naturally spray" and "ruin your carpet" and " we will not be held responsible for mess in this factor upon check out if you hence forth refuse a refund. Also next weekend is out last in the UK and we will be playing music as a reasonable volume until a reasonable hour and if this does not suit I suggest you offer a refund and re-advertise the space appropriately. As we would like to keep the remainder of our stay pleasant we hope this is acceptable.'

Am I being over sensitive or was this a threat saying that she would leave as much mess as she pleased,  play music as loud as she wanted and be unpleasant if I did not accept this? I felt very bullied by her text.

If you think this was a threat how do I warn other host, I don't like the idea of posting a public negative review.

[Huma0]

@Sarah3696 

This sounds horrible and, yes, sounds like threats to me. If you can post the full text that would make it easier to give advice. Make sure you keep copies of the text. Perhaps even message her via the Airbnb messaging system (always best to keep important communication on there), copy and pasting what she texted to you and asking her to confirm if that is actually what she meant to say. That might put the fear into her.

In this scenario, I would be straight on the phone with Airbnb customer support telling them that a guest is threatening to damage your property if you do not provide a refund. Airbnb CS can be hit and miss, so hopefully you will get a well trained and responsive rep, but there's no guarantee of that.

However, this sounds so wrong. It's extortion. I think you have a strong case. Better that you alert Airbnb before the guest gets a chance to spin them some sort of yarn.

[Mark116]

@Sarah3696  Yes that is 100% a threat.  I would contact Airbnb and say you feel unsafe to continue the reservation, the problem there is that they will refund the guest unused nights, so you'll still be out the bulk of the guest reservation unless there is some kind of exemption for guests who try to extort refunds.

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3696  That is absolutely a blatant threat to trash your house if you don't give her a refund. Report her immediately to Airbnb, and have them cancel the rest of the booking with zerp penalties to you. The guest will be refunded for unstayed days, but you need to get this nasty person out of your home asap.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah3696 Other hosts have already said it best, but I would like to address one thing.

“...how do I warn other host, I don't like the idea of posting a public negative review.”

I’m curious. Did this guest have any negative reviews? If not, perhaps previous hosts felt the same way you do. Food for thought. 

Best of luck! I hope you come away largely unscathed from this heinous guest. 

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3696  "I don't like the idea of posting a public negative review."

What on earth do you think the purpose of reviews is? It's not supposed to be some mutual admiration society, they are meant to be honest reflections of a user's experience. 

You can bet your bottom dollar this guest is going to have zero qualms about leaving you an extremely negative review, complete with lies.

[Sarah3696]

As hosts how would you want me to word my review to warn you about of her.
Is -
"Cannot recommend, passive-aggressive and bullying to get what she wanted."
too strong?
Is bland better, should I just leave it at
"Cannot recommend.'

Would that be enough to warn you?

[Helen3]

You need to stick to the facts as to what actually happened.  Using 'cannot recommend'  unfortunately is useless for other hosts it tells us nothing about what actually happened. 

You could say something like. 'Unfortunately from the moment she arrived this guest proved problematic playing loud music in a shared home environment. After being told the music was disturbing others and being asked if she could turn it  down - the guest decided she wanted to leave. Sadly she threatened to stay and continue to play loud music and cause damage to the room if she wasn't allowed to leave with a full refund. I would not recommend this guest to other hosts' 

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

I have heard that, when there is a resolution case open (for damages, refunds etc.), if this is mentioned in the review, Airbnb can remove it.

So, it might be safer to leave out the bit about her demanding a full refund. E.g.

"From the moment X arrived, she proved problematic, playing loud music in a shared home and disturbing others. She not only refused to turn down the music, but threatened to cause damage to the room. I would absolutely not recommend this guest to other hosts."

[Colleen253]

@Sarah3696 Refer to Airbnb’s review policy for guidelines when composing a review for a difficult guest. This will help you avoid writing something that will violate the guidelines and risk the review being removed. Be brief, objective, and unemotional. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

[Sarah3696]

Ah, thank you so much @Colleen253 , very useful.

[Lorna170]

@Sarah3696   "Difficult, inconsiderate guest. Cannot recommend."

[Sarah3696]

Great - thanks @Lorna170 

[Mark116]

@Sarah3696  I tend to err on the side of caution when reviewing poor guests.  I would say something like 'XX was a challenging and stressful guest to host.  She was very confrontational and we cannot recommend her to other hosts and would not host her again under any circumstances.'

[Sarah3696]

Thank you @Mark116 , I too think caution is the side to error on.