Guest destroyed my brand new property

[Jonathan1360]

My most recent guest, 4th to stay in the home after construction finished is March, absolutely trashed the home. Below is a summary of damages. I would love everyones opinion on this, am I looking at this correctly/ fellow hosts previous experience. 

No smoking is an explicitly stated rule. We have a sign on the front door stating that smoking inside will result in an automatic $500 charge. Well the guest smoked in nearly every room. Leaving ashes and roaches everywhere. 

Various towels and linen damaged beyond further use. I always expect 1 or 2 towels to need replacing, but these guys destroyed 25 brand new towels. Don't even know how thats possible in three days...

As the cabin is brand new so is the furniture. In the dining area. the guest left very deep scratches on 6/7 chairs, 1/2 benches, and 1/5 saddle stools. My concern is not being able to find matching replacements. If thats the case I would except the guest to be liable for a new kitchen set. Why should future guests have to deal with mismatched furniture on account of another groups negligence. 

I have already filed 2 tickets with the resolution center. 1 for the smoke damage, and one for the damaged furniture. How does it work if I cant find replacements? can I update the amount I am requesting? Should I file a third ticket for the 5 hours of extra cleaning needed? 

Happy to explain further, but I am very concerned how Airbnb will handle this. I expect to be made whole, and I am worried they will not see it that way. This would only alienate me from future hosting on their site. 

If anyone has had a similar experience I would love to hear from you.

[Laura2592]

@Jonathan1360 you got great advice from several hosts here. It's clear that you know everything else that might help you with your business, so I am sure that it will all work out for you. Do post back and let us know if you were successful in getting a new dining room set or that $500 smoking fee paid. I am sure we would all be curious. Again,  all the best.

[Jonathan1360]

Thank you Laura, I certainly will. It's not that I am an expert, but just want to keep the feedback specific to what I am asking. You do not operate in my market, so you don't know the guests, attraction, area norms etc. While I appreciate your concern, I don't find it productive when you call my listing a party listing without actually being able to back that. My point is that what you considering a party listing in your area, could be the market norm in others. Again, thank you for your concern. 

[Laura2592]

@Jonathan1360 You seem very offended by the fact that your house would be a party target. This was not meant to offend, it is merely an observation based on the features and capacity of your home. In reality, any ABB can be a target for a party in any market. Again, I STRONGLY encourage you to shift your focus momentarily from the situation in your space and take a spin around this and the Host Only forum. You will find that your dilemma is mild in comparison to what many have gone through with listings every bit as well cared for and carefully screened and curated. I hope it never happens to you. But its silly to pretend its not possible or that any of your spaces wouldn't be a fit for that kind of activity. Do you really think they only happen in certain geographic locations?

This is a supportive community with a lot of great advice from those who have been doing this a long time, and the feedback here is a gift. We honestly all want one another to succeed in their ventures. We all want to know more about guests we should avoid and those we should be thrilled to have. We all want to share our experiences with ABB to guide others along. Your communication seems to indicate that you feel your situation is somehow unique. Sadly its not. ABB is only here to advertise. The hosts you encounter on this board are your support, your resource center, your source of information even if you don't like what they say. 

If I were in your shoes, I might consider this damage a warning. Scratched furnishings and evidence of smoking are annoying, as are damaged towels. But it could be so much worse. What can you do to protect yourself if and when ABB doesn't "make you whole"? How can you ensure that you aren't setting yourself up for more of this? What have other hosts done to recover from these situations? Is this the right platform for you? Do you understand the terms of use? Security deposits? The claims process? How can you protect yourself from these types of guests (or worse) in the future? How can you leverage the experience of those who have gone through this and more? How do you adjust amenities to make sure you are still profitable when things are damaged? Have you gone into listing on this platform without really understanding this platform and what you might be liable for?

Again, best to you. I would gently remind you that a little humility goes a long way. 

[Helen3]

My advice is to claim on your home insurance for STRs -  I would rely on Airbnb's limited guarantee  for a claim like this . @Jonathan1360 

as others have pointed out if you post on a public forum hosts will comment on wider issues related to your situation. 

I always value advice - as  an STR businesses we can always learn from each other . It does come across as somewhat arrogant to feel you can never learn from your peers. 

[Helen3]

Edit sorry typo on my post above  - I meant I would never rely on the Airbnb guarantee .

[Anonymous]

@Jonathan1360   If you feel the need to micromanage how someone else gives you advice, you should be paying a consultant rather than posting on a public forum.

This is a ridiculous way to treat people who are taking the time to offer suggestions for free. Whatever ideas you don't feel are useful to you, just don't put them into practice. No need to act all entitled about it - the only thing you accomplish there is alienating the very people whose expertise you might actually really need one day.

[Laura2592]

@Anonymous some people are just not programmed to hear anything they don't want to. Even if it is as simple as "Your listing title has a spelling error that is pretty glaring." Still not fixed. I suspect this host will mosey off into the VRBO sunset as soon as ABB settles up with what they think is fair. Ah well. We tried. 

[Sarah977]

@Jonathan1360  And did you leave a review for this guest, warning other hosts? 

[Jonathan1360]

I have not. I am waiting to see if the guest does the right thing. If he does I will note that in the review. 

[Colleen253]

“and they did write me a review..... 5 stars. When I called yesterday to file the resolution I asked  and the agent read me the review.”

Slightly stunned at this revelation. What a massive breach of review protocol. I have to wonder how often this happens, given the general ineptitude of Airbnb CS reps. 

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 I have also NEVER heard of this happening. Not saying its impossible as CS is inconsistent at best. But never once has a CS rep read me any review before it was published. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592I do remember one other mention of this happening, in some post on here, but I can’t recall which one. If I remember correctly it was the other way around. So now I really wonder how often it happens. Supremely disturbing. 

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 very interesting.

I  have had VRBO read me an unpublished review but never ABB. Honestly though I have not had a lot of situations where I would even ask. It does seem very shady. 

[Sarah977]

@Colleen253  I remember that, too. It was a host saying that the guest had been able to read the review he had left before they were published, because the guest was mad about it and had either messaged or phoned the host about it, or written their review based on what the host had written, I can't quite recall. He said there were things she referenced that she never could have known  unless she had seen the review.

Everyone told him that couldn't happen, but apparently it can.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977 You’ve a better memory for details than me! I remember those details, now you mention it. That was the post. I wish I could think which one it was specifically. It was fairly recent.