Terrible guests, no support from Airbnb

[Melissa3002]

I had terrible guests a couple of weeks ago. They asked for early check-in which I could not accommodate. They checked in 3.5 hrs early anyway while the cleaners were still there & finishing up. Guests messaged me the house was in great condition & the cleaners had left it in perfect shape. Guests had 1 pet on the reservation but brought 2 & refused to pay the pet fee saying the 2nd dog was a service animal. Neighbors made 3 noise complaints in less than 2 hours over the dogs being unattended & the continuous barking. After messaging the guests, I received several rude messages in response when they returned to the rental 7hrs later. I contacted support in regards to the dog as well as unauthorized guests not on the contract. The guests told support they wanted to terminate their stay & requested a full refund due to the home "being messy" in which support allowed. Check out is by 10am. The guests refused to leave the property until 2 days later when security at the resort was involved. These guests stole several items from the cable tv boxes, decorations, towels, hair dryers, dishes, etc as well as leaving dog waste all over the property. When they vacated the home they left the propane oven on 350* which caused a significant fire risk. Everything was reported to support. I do not have original receipts for most items that were stolen so I did not ask for reimbursement. I did ask for additional cleaning fees for the pet waste and compensation from the early check in & check out. Its been 3 weeks & support has made no determination, they have requested more photos of the pet waste, they are asking for a website for the subcontractor (which they do not have) & more documentation of the guests not checking out when they were supposed to even though I provided time & date stamped video footage of the guests finally leaving. Do hosts really not have any recourse for guests like these? Does support automatically side with guests regardless of what they do? Im at a loss of what I can do as well as being out of $3k for this reservation. Thanks in advance!

[Joan2709]

@Melissa3002 

Continue to get after Airbnb for reimbursement. You must complete all requests for addl documentation by 30days or they will say you missed the 30day cutoff and deny the claim.

Resolution Center Claims

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279

BTW...service animals may NOT be left alone at the listing according to Airbnb policies. The 2nd dog was NOT a service animal if they left it alone at the listing and it was barking. Service animals are well trained and do not bark continuously.

Service Animals

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1869

Perhaps one of the moderators can forward this to the appropriate Team at Airbnb?

@Rebecca @Bhumika 

[Melissa3002]

I have submitted all the documentation that was requested but there's only so many pictures of the dog poop & camera footage we have. As far as the receipts I submitted, I cant alter or add additional information to a contractor's printed receipt. It shows the business name, address, date, location, email, phone number, description, detailed charges and what amount I paid along with their signature.  Support is asking for a website but this business doesn't have a website. They subcontract for the resort & as property owners we can only use vendors the resort has on an approved list.

[Joan2709]

@Melissa3002 

I would advise Airbnb of the above and perhaps get a letter from the resort stating this is the subcontractor the resort uses. Be cautious though, as because of this incident, the resort may be reluctant to allow future use of the property on Airbnb or other platforms. 

Aircover is very limited and as you have seen has many limitations, exclusions and conditions. If you don't have documented proof (original receipts) for the items stolen and/or photos and video proof the items were present before this guest checked in, you most likely won't be reimbursed for those items as you have stated already.

I always advise my Host clients not to rely on Aircover and obtain their own short term rental insurance policies. 

I would also be prepared for a very negative review from this guest that you probably won't be able to get removed due to the current, mostly AI-controlled, review process.

Your overall rating of 4.57 is very low. Did you have a previous listing that had low ratings and have since deleted that listing?

[Melissa3002]

The resort is in the process of banning Airbnb listings because the hosts are not allowed to enforce their polices any longer. 

This is my first listing on here as I usually do direct bookings. I had a guest that left a horrible review after they were arrested on the property but the circumstances had nothing to do with the rental. The rental is in a campground & I've found most do not actually read the listing description or policies before their reservation so I'm not sure how to correct that.

[Joan2709]

@Melissa3002 

Yes...guests don't read.

I advise my Host clients who are using Instant Book to turn it OFF. 

Then when a guest sends a request to book you have the opportunity to take a look at their history, past reviews and ask questions. This is also the time to include details the guests commonly miss about your listing, then blame you later because they didn't read the listing and House Rules.

What do guests commonly not notice about your listing as they didn't read it? Do your guests miss that there are some amenity limiations? No TV? No Internet? No AC? No driveway parking? No microwave?, No pets?, etc. Then include that in your response to their request to book:

"We would love to host you! Here is some information and details about the property: (blah, blah, blah).

This gives them a chance to withdraw their request to book BEFORE they arrive, blame you for not reading the listing and leave a retalitory review (that Airbnb won't remove, even though they should).

[Melissa3002]

I have instant book turned off & do send them the information on the house polices as well as the campground polices. That doesn't seem to help. Our home sleeps 6 & every guest has to be listed on the rental. That doesn't stop them from bringing in 13 guests & then complaining about the camper with addition not being big enough. It's listed as being in a family campground but they complain about privacy outside the home & not being able get drunk, cause disturbances, fight or be nude outside the home. One 4 star review was because the guest didn't know how to operate the Keurig coffee maker or Bluetooth speaker in the bathroom. My post was concerning a guest with 5 star reviews & is a realtor. Nobody mentioned how these guests had previously scammed other hosts after staying for their entire trip & then seeking a refund for crazy claims like the Tupperware in the cabinet not being organized, a light fixture not being square on the ceiling or a scratch in the lvp flooring. I found this out after they checked out from other hosts that said support had removed their reviews of the guests after refunding their entire reservation. It's very disturbing.

[Joan2709]

@Melissa3002 

Yes...I would call that disturbing.

Suggest you add an addl guest fee after 6guests. I would make it a fine of $150. Add that to your Calendar under addl fees.

Then if they bring more than 6 guests they will be charged $150/guest/night and Airbnb must support that as it is under your addl guest fees. Add to your Addl House Rules that ALL guests are required to be listed on the reservation; no unregistered guests or unapproved visitors. We will charge $150/unregistered guest per night. Add that to your message to guests. 

The other stuff is ridiculous. You might consider not listing on Airbnb any more and/or stop accepting pets.

[Melissa3002]

Thank you for your kind responses & helpful advice. It is truly appreciated. 

I had a member of support reach out to me & they have handled & reimbursed the refund from these guests which is satisfactory to me. 

[Helen3]

Please leave an honest review to warn other hosts @Melissa3002 

[Helen3]

I am sorry to hear this  they sound awful. @Melissa3002 

just some advice for future reference 

1. You could have confirmed to the guests service animals could not be left at the property by themselves and if it happened again you would ask Airbnb to cancel.

2. don't let the guests check in 3.5 hours early -  just pointed them in the direction of local cafes/restaurants.

3. if visitors not on the booking are staying then tell the person who booked you will ask Airbnb to cancel the booking if they don't leave 

4. I would have gone over to the property with security to ensure the guests left once airbnb refunded them 

personally I would take Airbnb to court for refunding the guest and use my home insurance for STR to claim for damage/stolen items 

[Melissa3002]

I didn't allow them to check in early. The smart lock only allows the code to be entered at check-in time of 4pm but they arrived while the cleaners were in the house & refused to leave. Their reservation was only for 1 dog & my policy is they have to be in a crate when unattended. They brought the additional dog & then later claimed it was a service animal. ADA specifies service dogs are not left unattended (they wouldn't be of service if not with the disabled person), they are trained to help with a specific task, they are in control at all times & they are housebroken. This dog was old, sick, not housebroken, not trained & barked constantly on top of not being caged & was left unattended for hours. The guest with the fake name was not on the reservation. All of this was reported to support along with the threatening messages but the guests were refunded before I got a response from support or was informed that they were allowed to cancel their reservation. Security was called after I was informed of the changed reservation & the propane oven being 

on was found by them but the guests had already left. Unfortunately I'm 4hrs away from the property so I was at their mercy with the timing.  This was the guests 3rd strike at the resort so they have been banned & trespassed. Unfortunately their reviews did not reflect the previous problems by other hosts but my review is on their profile.

[Helen3]

Ah yes having a local cohost is key in situations like this .

it is sad that your cleaners let them into the property 3.5 hours before check in.

[Melissa3002]

They didn't really let them. They just didn't have the door locked while they were working & the guests walked right in & wouldn't leave. I have it on the door camera. 

I need to look into the co-host thing. Maybe they can help with my listing as well to get my reviews up. Everywhere else I have maintained 5 stars for over 4yrs.

[Joan2709]

@Melissa3002 

Yes...having a local Co Host will help.

Tell your cleaners to lock the door when they are inside working.

I didn't see the review you wrote for his guest? Did you write a review?