Soiled Sheets and Toilet Seat. Reviewing guests with poo problems?

[Cori6]

I'm relatively new to Airbnb and recently had an elderly couple (mid 60s?) rent our place for one night. When I went in to clean after their check out the door was not locked nor was it pulled all the way closed. I guess its possible they could've had trouble with the electronic lock? The room smelled a bit like a public restroom so I went to the bathroom to find a light but large smearing of poop all over the back half of the toilet and it appeared as though one of them might have at least used the toilet brush to clean the bowl. Clorox wipes were available but had not been used to clean the seat. It's possible that they did not think to read the note left for them with the location of everything in the apartment (including the clorox wipes) and were unaware of their exsistence. There were also a few "leakage" spots on the sheets two of which were substantial enough to go through to the mattress protector. The stains have come out of the sheets but the protector after disinfecting, spot treatment, and full wash still holds on to little oily shadows. No big deal, I guess. It's sanatized at least. No explaination or apology message was sent but I don't know that I should've expected one as it's an embarrassing subject. They also dirtied 5 cups (in one night?) and a couple spoons and left them in the sink without washing or rinsing.

Their profile was just created this month and they don't have any reviews so a negative one from me would possibly keep them from being able to book with another host. Is this sort of thing ok and to be expected sort of in the same way I should expect the occasional earwax on pillowcases or makeup on washcloths? Or should this be considered unacceptable? I want to be sensitive to a possible medical condition but would really rather not host these people again and feel that other hosts may appeciate some sort of warning. Should I attempt to approach the guests with my concerns to give them a chance to speak for themselves? And is a poor review warranted? If so how could it be done tactfully?

[Anonymous]

@Cori6 The short answer is, in my opinion  you should write a tactful thumbs-down review, indicating that the bedroom and bathroom were left in a very unsanitary state but leaving out the embarassing details. This may make it difficult for them to get another Airbnb booking, but that's not a bad thing - there's no host out there who wants to deal with fecal matter, no matter how nice the guests are otherwise.

The long answer - well, if you ask any hotel housekeeper you'll hear horror stories like this and worse every day. (In fact, the more you know about hotels, the less likely you'll ever want to stay in one again). Unlike Airbnb hosts, hotels use heavy-dury industrial laundry services, and the rooms are designed to be more easily disinfected than a typical household. The invisibility of maid service (and all the class/gender dynamics that come with it) have conditioned hotel guests to treat their rooms with no concern for the person who has to thanklessly clean them. The closer our listings come to taking a bite out of the conventional hotel market, the likelier we are to get guests like that.

Is it to be considered acceptable? I would say no. Guests are staying in my home, and I expect them to treat it at least as well as they would want their own home to be treated - which at a bare minimum would mean not leaving poo laying around. The higher prices hotels charge include daily housekeeping service, and those who forgo that for the lower price I offer have to accept a bit more responsibility for the state of the household. I did have an elderly guest once who became very ill and suffered incontinence issues during his stay, but he was also considerate enough to clean up after himself and leave the bathroom and bedroom in an agreeable state. So I certainly see no need for hesitation in hosting senior citizens or people with medical issues, but I do pay attention to how respectful and considerate the guest's initial communication is. 

For our part, we should be sure to communicate in our listings what condition we expect the property to be left in; this is especially true for offsite hosts like you. "No poop in the bed" is a given, but it's not obvious to all guests that they're expected to wash their glasses or clean the bathroom, for example. Another suggestion I can offer is that you consider increasing your minimum stay to at least 2 nights; many hosts find that the one-night-only guests make the worst messes since they don't have to wallow in their filth for another day.

[Helga0]

@Cori6, I was confronted with the issue a few times in my life, but not yet from guests. Some treatments impact the person's control and most people refuse to resign themselves to deal with it. They are not yet so old or so sick. But a stranger like an airbnb host should not be exposed to it. 

I would probably write a tactful reply lime Andrew suggests, " some problems maybe caused by a temporary medical condition. " In the private feedback I would write, that I did not appreciate at all how the room and bathroom were left. That is not acceptable and I would suggest the person having the problem should use adult diapers. 

even in a hospital, you can do that only once, they will put you in diapers faster than you can say no.

[Ron103]

Leaving fecal matter for a hosts to clean and not informing them is NEVER ok!
It is a substantial health risk to the person left to clean it.
For communication I would give them no more than 3 stars.
For Cleanliness 1 star.
For House Rules, if there is nothing in the house rules addressing informing the hosts of an accidents that may require particular attention, like a broken blind, chipped dish, **bleep** all over the toilet and sheets, than a reluctant 4 or 5 stars.
Any host paying attention does not need that **bleep** in their lives without having agreed to it.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately the star ratings for guests don't go anywhere - they're just a placebo to make the review process look more symmetrical than it really is. What matters is the text.

[Teresa31]

Well said!

[Todd-and-Reese0]

Eeeewwww. I've had to clean up some pretty gross toilets (vomit, poo splatter) and I do absolutely leave it in their review. It's a health risk to me and my family and pets. I read in another thread that legally you are supposed to dispose of any bed sheets with human waste on them, so this could also cost you a lot of money. I would ask for the cost of new sheets against their deposit.

[Teresa31]

Thank you for this tip!

[Lyndsey2]

I would just write, "These guests left us with an unusual amount of cleaning after their stay" and give them a thumbs down. 

[Nicki29]

great tip, i'll use this in my feedback from last night's guests!

[Kyi1]

I don't think I could ever be as diplomatic as you are if I were in that situation. I would spare details as not to gross out hosts, but for sure, I would let them know the guests left me to deal with fecal matters. 

[Mirella48]

this sure sounds awful.

[Alex939]

An awful story with very good replies, nothing to add.

[Cathie19]

Hi @Cori6. 

Just be mindful of calling a guest elderly who is in their mid 60s, as they can often be fitter than the 40yr old. Separately from medical conditions: including incontinence, colostomy bags, dementia, poor vision:

Faecal issues that blatant, are yuk, and definately on the nose. Just be mindful when cleaning a “poo free” toilet, that the bacteria can still very much be there....

Wear gloves, use good antibacterial products and stay hygienic.

[Christine615]

I had a guest with medical problems. She told me at the time of the reservation but didn’t provide details. First time Airbnb users. She did explain at check in and I realized it involved surgeries and gastrointestinal issues. Over the course of their stay they slept in all three bedrooms and it was clear they tried to do laundry due to accidents.

I suspect the same is true of your elderly guests. Still, they were using your home and should have prepared better to not ruin your belongings. 

My second guest was chaperoning teens who left projectile vomit all over a bedroom from all the junk food he fed them (some found under a bed). It took three people several hours to resanitize everything before new guests arrived. I feel your pain.

Disposable gloves and a face mask are vital.