what happened here?

[Lisa723]

Guest and family checked in Sunday, 2 adults, 4 kids. That evening they used 1/2 of our monthly 15Gb internet data allowance, which had just reset. By Tuesday morning they exhausted it, so I bought another 15Gb at $105. By Wednesday morning they exhausted that, meaning in less than 3 days they used as much internet data as the house's highest one month usage til now. While I was boosting it again, they called my local co-host and told her that all drains in the house were not draining, and they were going out for the day. She got the plumber scheduled pronto, and told them this will be taken care of before they return. They seemed OK with that. Then within 30 minutes they messaged again asking if the plumber could come after 1pm. OK. Then 30 minutes after that we got a message that they have checked out one day early because the house is unpleasant with no drainage (undoubtedly true). The guest messaged me that she wants her security deposit and a refund for the unused night. I told her OK, assuming the plumber confirms that the drainage problem is unrelated to her stay. (The extra internet amounted to almost one night's rent, but of course that's on me, as we do advertise WiFi.) Meanwhile, my co-host went to the house and found that the septic pump was switched OFF, which of course accounts entirely for the drain problem. The fix is to switch the pump back ON. There is no way it was off when they arrived.

What would you do?  (Hosting platform is not ABB in this case.)

[Pete28]

Put a lock on the switch, find a different internet provider 😞 Hopefully the next guest is better. Did you meet them and walk over property / internet costs ?

[Lisa723]

@Pete28 yes, we'll probably need to lock the switch... and internet options in this area are extremely limited. There is no cable or DSL, so it's satellite or cell service, neither of which is currently available unlimited. Guests do self-checkin and we provide a complete house manual but it didn't occur to me to add "please don't disable the septic pump."  🙂  I have added a note about wifi limitations, though. 

[Sarah977]

What does she mean, she wants her security deposit? You know she wasn't charged that when she booked, I'm sure.

They must have been streaming movies and stuff on multiple devices continuously. 4 kids, all watching something on 4 separate devices, as well as the parents.

[Lisa723]

Not Airbnb so she did pay security deposit...

[Sarah977]

@Lisa723   Ah, I see. It sounds like she made up the whole thing about the plumbing so she could check out early and get a refund.

"Uh oh, honey, she says she's gonna send the plumber right away, what do we do now?"

"Ask her if they can postpone it til 1, we should be able to pack up and clear out by then."

Or the kids were playing with the switches.

[Cathie19]

They were streaming, downloading or gaming. I’ve had one guest go through 40-50GB in a day gaming. 

[Lara225]

How disappointing .... it is disheartening when things go wrong and you find yourself out of pocket and a bit disillusioned because of poor guests.  

Make sure you update your house rules in regards to the internet usage or change your plan so you have an unlimited plan as it may save you money in the long run. People these days expect to be able to stream movies unless told otherwise.

With the plumbing issue .... you either need to find a way to prevent guests turning it off or add a point about it in the house rules or go over it with your guests during check in.  

If the guests were were not aware of the potential plumbing issue  and the kids did turn it off, they really can’t be held accountable. If they were advised during check-in, then you could charge back the plumbing fee.  

[Sarah977]

@Lara225   I don't understand this part of your post- "If the guests were were not aware of the potential plumbing issue  and the kids did turn it off, they really can’t be held accountable. If they were advised during check-in, then you could charge back the plumbing fee."

As I read @Lisa723's post, there wasn't any potential plumbing issue. They've never had this situation before. Someone switched off the septic pump switch. It's not for guests, nor their unsupervised children, to mess around with the infrastructure of a listing, touch anything on the electrical panel unless advised to do so by the host, and IMO not something the host should have to specifically mention. It's just common sense not to mess with things you don't understand.

[Lara225]

@Sarah977I run septic too and a guest could accidentally turn it off with a switch that looks like a power socket or light switch ... guests don’t need to go to the electricity board to do it, hence my comment.

When people are new to a house they don’t know what switch turns what light on or off which can lead to accidentally turning power off.

If it was turned off in the electricity board that is a different matter ... though that should be locked for guest safety.  

The other consideration is that if it was off in the electricity board is that it may have tripped or another guest turned it off ... I know our septic doesn’t usually fill up and cause plumbing issues for weeks or months.

I personally dont think a guest would go to the electricity box, deliberately switch off a “septic” switch and expect plumbing issues, just to get out of paying for a few nights.

My advice was given purely in good will and what I would do based on my own circumstance, property and experience. 😊

[Lisa723]

@Lara225 @Sarah977 it is a light-switch-style switch, in a box on the back of the house. And no, I don't suspect the guest of deliberately turning it off. This family had four kids so that's probably the most likely explanation. Just an unusual couple of events with one family, going to happen from time to time I guess. 

[Victoria567]

More entitled guests!

Dont give them your wifi password .

 Increase your prices and provide unlimited broadband

[Lisa723]

@Victoria567 unfortunately in this location there is no possibility of providing unlimited broadband.

[Lara225]

Lisa, maybe just offer a certain amount and only have that amount available, with the option to pay for more if they exceed the amount.

[Lisa723]

@Lara225 yes, good idea, if this sort of thing happens again we will probably do that.