Establishing a damage deposit was an exercise in futility.

[Deborah89]

A woman instant booked a 6-day reservation for her adult daughter (on about 12-hours notice).  I hustled to get it cleaned and ready.  I later realized daughter brought along her [unauthorized] boyfriend and on the last day I realized boyfriend also had a LARGE pit bull.  They left the unit extremely dirty, permanent stains on sheets, blanket & rugs (some kind of oil), plus the dog hair.  (I have a strict NO PETS, NO SMOKING policy.)  And to top it off, my cleaning lady found some drugs left behind.

I'll need to replace the sheets & blanket and had to pay extra for additional cleaning.  The Mother made the reservation and ostensibly accepted financial responsibility for her daughter, but has declined to pay for the damaged items.  We exchanged words and now I'm concerned about getting a bad retaliatory review.  Any ideas?

[Sue251]

Take photos of the damage and make a claim through air bnb.  The guests have broken your house rules with the dog and obviously drugs! Airbnb should come to the party in some way.  They cant see your review until you have both posted reviews so dont worry about a retaliation review.  Get on to Air bnb asap.

[Cecilia155]

Hi @Deborah89

I have a question, why did you let them in?

If you saw that they had a dog and a boyfriend, I would've stopped them at the door and refused entry.  I've questionned guests when they've booked the room for 1 person only and someone else walks in with them.

Remember, this is YOUR home, not theirs, YOUR rules.  I would raise the issue with the Airbnb resolution centre.  Advise them of what has occured they will mediate.  I had the issue with a long term guest, left sheets stained, stole bath towels, coat hangers - admitted it, silly guest even text me admitting it, but refused to pay, if you have photos as proof, that's even better..  I raised it with the resolution centre - he didn't pay however, Airbnb reimbursed me.

Some guests use the "I'll leave you a bad review" and hold it over you.  I've looked at your place and you have a number of positive reviews, do you think that ONE bad review will jeoperdise your business?  Don't forget you can always respond, once they've left it and there is always two sides to every story.

Best of luck and let us all know how it goes.

Cecilia

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

You’re now beginning to understand why Airbnb does NOT allow third-party reservations. As soon as discovering the reservation was not for the same person, you should have declined.