Hi guys. So basically I had a guest book a one night stay at very short notice (red flag I know!). However it was only 2 people and the guest had brief but positive reviews. I communicated with the guest explaining the check-in process and the guest communicated back very quickly. The guest asked for an earlier check-in, so I accepted at no extra charge (they offered to pay extra). I heard nothing further from the guest - which usually means everything is fine.
The next afternoon, I got a message from the guest which was basically a list saying everything was awful.. She complained that she couldn't swim in the pool because it was cold and dirty (That was why she said she booked - to go swimming). She said the house was dirty, the fireplace didn't turn on, the bedrooms smelt bad, the hoover was blocked.. The most positive part of her message was when she told me she broke two glasses.. and offered to pay for them!
It really sounded like an awful experience - but why not contact me at the time? Why message me after check-out time? Why stay in the property for an extra 2 hours after check-out time before messaging me? And WHY DID YOU LEAVE ALL THE TAPS RUNNING?!?
The guest is now demanding a full refund due to this 'terrible experience'. I asked her why she didn't message me at the time.. I explained I would've been at the property within 10 minutes, and issued a full refund if I saw anything like what she claims to have seen. The guest then claimed that her van was stolen 2 days before.. she didn't message me because she was still too 'shocked' to be dealing with these issues.
Basically what she was saying was becoming more and more ridiculous. I just found the excuses completely implausible.. but how can I prove it? When the guest left, the heaters were on 25C and the place felt like a sauna, but how can I prove the heaters were working during their stay?
So this is what I think has happened: Guest has seen the big blue pool and pressed the book button before they've read the listing and the house rules. The listing and the house rules clearly state: "Due to weather/demand, the swimming pool is normally unavailable between October 31st and April 1st. If you would like to use the swimming pool in this period, please check with us BEFORE booking".
In the winter, we don't offer the pool because we don't get high enough occupancy to cover the costs of heating, cleaning, water circulation etc.
Upon arriving at the property, the guest is bitterly disappointed - I can completely understand this. The guest then decides she must now find enough issues to get a full refund. Unfortunately I cannot prove or disprove her comments about cleaning, smells. However, I can confirm that everything she said that didn't work, was working fine. The electric fireplace - it has one button, so it's pretty easy to confirm if it's working! So I have basically come to the conclusion that this guest has gone as far as lying in order to get a full refund.
The guest initially claimed to have taken photos of the issues (to scare me?). I have invited her to upload them to AirBnB messenger.. twice, but I still haven't received anything.
So where do I go from here? I am genuinely quite annoyed at the false claims, I think she deserves absolutely nothing considering she nearly flooded the place and lied about things.. but we're all concerned about reviews and losing superhost etc aren't we? Shall I get AirBnB involved?
Thanks for any advice guys 🙂