Guests complaining house is filthy. Been there 4 days. Leaving tomorrow.

[Adrian47]

Hi guys,on Sunday i received my first guests. They seemed fine when i showed them around. Tomorrow they leave and just sent me an email saying that it was filthy and what was i going to do about it. I spent 2 days cleaning it. They complained that the internet wasnt working. Its slow at the mo. Because a cable is down. But that is out of my control. They dont wish to discuss it with me face to face. They say that the house is not child friendly yet both of my little children have grown up there. At 8.00pm they sent me a msg . Where is the toilet paper? I had left some in both bathrooms. I dont know what to do please help!

[Maj-Britt0]

hi Adrian, sounds like a nightmare group, sorry that you have this kind of stress.

I would stick the facts, ask them what they mean by filthy, ask them when you can bring some toilet paper and then you can enter the house and have them show you what and where is filthy.

Intenet being slow is a pain, ours is like that so I am up front about it not beeing the quickest.

good luck and take a deap breath, they will leave soon 🙂

[Anastasia7]

Looks like they might be trying to set you up to squeeze you for a refund. Of course, there are always two sides to a story but as a host I would...

Ask them to put their complaints and concerns on airbnb messages for the 'record'. Nail them down and don't accept vague sweeping statements.

Take photographs of the apartment when they leave. Do a speed test of the internet and record that on a screensave.

Tell them you don't supply unlimited toilet rolls , if they need more beyond what you left to start them off, tell them where the nearest store is.

Perhaps they want to finish off the meal then complain it was cold !

[Linda108]

I agree with the preview response.  Your home is lovely and I see there is already one positive review.  Try looking at your home through a guest's eyes.  You might be able to make small adjustments or include comments like about slow wifi.  Always, always avoid being defensive.  You will be able to review the guest and respond to any guest review.

[Helen3]

Hey Adrian

Interesting that they don't want to talk to you about their complaint face to face and that the arriving on Sunday but didn't complain until today :(.

I like the suggestion of using the need for extra toilet roll for you to drop over and then they can show you in what ways the house is 'filthy' and any particular hazards they are concerned about in terms of their children. Make sure you photograph everything.

Do make sure you pop over today.

I would as others have mentioned, then record discussions with them via BnB and attach photos to back up that your house is clean and child friendly. (do remember though that some people are much more safety concious then others ).

There maybe some issues that you might want to address,  but I very much doubt if you cleaned the house for two days that it could be seen as 'flithy'.

[Sharon64]

These folks are creating a paper trail to set you up for Airbnb to give them a refund or partial refund. In my life I have known people like this.....I used to date a guy who would take me to expensive restaurants and we would order expensive dishes. We would both enjoy them and before the waiter came with the check he would tell me his food was one thing or another and did I experience the same thing. He did this twice and the third time when he was setting me up to agree with him of his complaint to the waiter (a get a free meal) I told him not to embarrass me again...he ate the food; now he needs to pay for it!! After 6 months of this and other "cheap" tricks I dumped him!!! So beware, these people are doing the same thing...it is a way of life for them and then they brag to other people of what they did...which is why they need a paper trail...good luck!

[Ange2]

@Adrian47 I would be curious as to why they didn't say it was 'filthy' and 'not child friendly' the moment they arrived.  Why did they wait until the last day to address their concerns?  They will need to use the Airbnb platform to request a refund. You can choose to deny it and it will be escalated to Airbnb arbitration. You can also go to https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us and address their issues via the Airbnb platform, has to be before they check out.

[Ange2]

"has to be before they check out". Actually I am not sure about that if could be after too, you would need to check.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

First of all, if it was filthy, why did they stay 4 days before saying anything. That makes me very suspicious - you would always say something within the first few hours or at least the first day. Sounds like you are being set up to be honest. They are also tagging on other issues, one of which is valid (slow internet).

I would ask them to document what was filthy and where, and what parts of the property were not child friendly. 

Make sure all your communication with them is via the AirBnB platform.