Guest being difficult - please advise

[Gary-and-Allie0]

We are relatively new hosts - we started this adventure in December 2016.  We have a couple that has been staying with us for nearly a month.  They have been very good, clean guests and I have had no complaints.   They are staying with us while they finish building a house.  They are schedued to stay one more week.  Today I received a message from them that they had gotten a puppy and the wife just wanted to let me know before they got back to our house with this new addition.  We have a "no pets" policy and a puppy is especially concerning.  I had a very surprised reaction (possibly even a bit dramatic) to the text and said I was concerned about the challenges with a puppy - lack of potty training and chewing.  She then proceeded to tell me that I was a racist and that she was centemplating contacting Airbnb now that they've got new diveristy guidelines.  I was literally in shock.  We are not even close to being racist!  These guests are of Asian descent - Korean, to be exact - but that has never been an issue.  All of our convos are on the Airbnb platform, so they are easily accessible.  Basically, right now, I think I'm terribly hurt that I would be called racist when that is so very far from who we are.  But, it also feels a bit like extortion.  I just need some info on what my best steps at this point would be.

Thanks, Allie

[Gary-and-Allie0]

Thanks so much for your input.  What I have been unable to find is the contact phone number for Airbnb.  I'm not sure why they make it so challenging to find their phone number.

Appreciate any help you can provide.

[David126]

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M1876...

[Michelle354]

Thats the only # I can find. Sorry +61 2 8520 3333. Try response@airbnb.com

[Cormac0]

@Gary-and-Allie0

Slander is not a pretty word and either is being called a racist when you quite patently aren’t.

Question: If you were a racist would you have allowed them stay in the first place?

Answer: No, you wouldn’t.

I would simply tell them, if they slandered you by making untrue and vexatious comment to Airbnb, that you would see them in court.

 Your entitled to your good name and they must prove otherwise.

These are the sort of bullies and blackmailers that I have mentioned in my previous post, they need to be "blacked balled"

[Gary-and-Allie0]

Thank you for your input.  At this point the guests remain with us WITH their puppy.  I am truly amazed at how powerful it is to threaten to call someone racist.  Like you said, if we were racist, would we have accepted their reservation? No.  They've been here for a month and we have made numerous accommodations for them.  All of our communications have occurred on the Airbnb platform, so it should be fairly straight how these guests have been treated while in our home.

4 more days left on their stay.  All I can do is pray that they keep their puppy under tight control.

Thanks again.

[Andrea9]

@Gary-and-Allie0

I'm shocked at Airbnb's reaction. This racist-calling hysteria is really getting out of hand IMO.

Make sure you keep everything from here on on the messaging page if you haven't before. If you notice that things are getting out of hand or that you have strong doubts about the puppy not damaging things, I would again call Airbnb. In my experience this helps because you never know who you may get on the phone. The first person might have been extremely inexperienced and instead  of backing you with your house rules being broken, they pounced on the racist narrative.

If you get a more experienced helpdesk person, they may actually see what the problem reall is and really help you.

It's too bad you didn't raise the allergy reason on your side... Personally, I'm not physically allergic, but it affects me so strongly and negatively on a mental level that I have discovered to be psychologically allergic to animals brought into my home to the extent that I might not be able to restrain myself with them!

😉

[Barbara459]

Everytime I have a challenging guest I think of new things to put in my house rules.  People never cease to amaze me!  Luckily I haven't had anyone decide to bring a puppy home!!  Outrageous!  Isn't that an uninvited guest?

[David126]

I am not shocked or surprised.

I am disappointed.

Sadly it is a game and they knew how to play it. The deck is stacked in their favour.

[Jaja-and-Chante0]

I am sorry to hear that you have encountered a nightmarish guest. It is well within your rights to cancel their stay. House rules are not to be broken, and By their blatant disregard for your rules, Airbnb will be on your side. Best of luck. 

[David126]

@Jaja-and-Chante0

Well AirBnB were not on their side, that is the problem.

[Gary-and-Allie0]

I must have misspoken somewhere along the way.  Airbnb initially emailed me to make contact and I have since spoken with them.  They were EXTREMELY helpful and definitely on my side.  All convos with our guests were reviewed and I was judged NOT at all to be a racist.  I am very pleased and relieved and grateful to all the support I received from all of you.  Thanks so much to you all!!  🙂

[Jaja-and-Chante0]

Glad to hear Airbnb is doing the right thing. You can cancel their stay and they would have to leave ASAP. If you have no pets stated in your listing, then they are breaking your house rules therefore you can cancel them and they leave it's that simple and if they need help leaving you can call your local police and have them escorted off your property

[Derek6]

Uhhh, these guests clearly violated your house rules (which you should clearly descib in your property profile and in a printed version that's displayed in the property)...I would have kicked them out (after contacting airbnb)...they have no grounds to dispute it and the charge of racism is clearly a baseless retaliation.  Personally I don't encourage long term guests (2 week max) because of this type of situation...folks tend to become more demanding the longer they stay and the aggravation from an annoying guest is minimized when you know they are leaving in a couple days.  

[Crustt0]

Such a strange enviroment air bnb has manufactured, the owner of the property has no power. But really you just need to take control, if a person is disrepecting you on your property, you are in charge not a booking agent. If you kick them out and the booking agent refunds them after you put the case befor them, sack the agent , get another one.

Over the years I have gotten rid of guests that I could no longer tolerate by giving a full refund on the spot ending my contract with them, one time at 1am.  All the money in the world is not worth having some one on your property that makes you uncomfortable, refund move on to the next guest, sometimes you don't have time to consult airbnb, your property your call.

Oh and the guest evicted at 1am was well worth the money to see the look on their faces 

[Jacqueline126]

Its Hard not to react when a guest is being rude, and if your policy is no pets then they should take the pet to a sitters until the day they check out.

I have had a surprise guest of an 11 day old baby so now I state a no child policy, I have had guests say that my room wasnt child safe because when there child was hanging off an open dresser drawer the dresser almost tipped on him, Drawers are not meant to be hung off of, top drawer is empty for guest to use???

So state your case and be firm. 

Dont let them get in your head, Its really quite difficult to be a host only those who know can agree.