Guests left puke on the floor

[Joey197]

Hello community! This is my first real issue and I'm looking for help. I had a group of 16 20-somethings stay in my house the last 2 days. The first night in I got a noise complaint from them. They were responsive and communicative throughout the issue and all seemed to be well.

Well, they left today. I went into the house to check it out while the cleaners were cleaning and...have never seen it so dirty. Sand was EVERYWHERE (the house is beachfront) as if they took a bucket and dumped it on the floor. Trash, empty bottles, etc. I mean, it wasn't trashed really, but I can't believe it was as bad as it was after 2 days.

The kicker is when I went upstairs and the cleaners told me there was a giant pile of puke in the main bathroom. They didn't even bother to clean it up. Linens in the house are optional (it's a South Carolina thing) but still, no attempt. I was horrified.

How do I rate them? Do I publicly discuss the issue? Give them 3 stars for cleanliness and privately message them without a mention of it? I'm torn. They were young kids and generally responsive considering the noise issue, but wow, leaving puke on the floor?

Please help!

[Helen350]

@Joey197 Leaving puke on the floor = 1* cleanliness imo. And the rest of what you describe sounds like 1* too, or 2* at most. - If you were considering giving 3*, then, How much worse would it have to be to give 1*?  - Sounds like you couldn't imagine anything worse.... = 1*!

DO review this group factually & honestly, so that future hosts are forewarned & forearmed!

Something like:  "X booked my place for him/herself & Y number of friends for 2 days. They were responsive & communicative following a noise complaint the first night and all seemed well. Sadly I was disappointed on check out to find that they had made no attempt to clean up the considerable rubbish from their gathering, and there was some extreme uncleanliness in the bathroom which they had not dealt with.

I would not host again. -  OR:  I would host again only if X could persuade me that s/he has learnt from this experience & intends to be a more respectful & considerate guest next time round."

[Joey197]

Thanks Helen. Do you think I should contact them first and ask them what happened? 

[Helen350]

@Joey197 Up to you, I guess. I don't think I would.

No decent host should gleefully, publicly shame guests over a few crumbs left on the tablecloth, but this incident seems bad enough to warrent you telling it like it is. - Factually & politely.

Don't feel guilty. You are not being unkind nor malicious, just telling the truth to a) warn future hosts, b)let them know that leaving an Airbnb in a bad state is not what is expected.

I think contacting them first is unnecessary, and they don't deserve such conciliation on your part, and of course the 'game players' would say-  Don't send them any pm which is encouraging them to write a bad, retaliatory review of you!!! Don't warn them that you're unimpressed and about to write a stinking review!

[Emilia42]

@Joey197 

3 stars for cleanliness?! Try 1! 1 star for everything! Also, your pictures show beds for 12 people (which is different from the sleeping arrangements noted on your listing) where did all these kids sleep? 

[Anonymous]

@Joey197  If someone leaves behind an item they might want back, it's a common courtesy for the host to contact them about it.

If someone leaves behind rubbish and vomit, you shouldn't expect that they'll want it back, so there's no logical reason to contact them.

It was not an innocent mistake that they left your home in this state. It was a total lack of respect for you and your property. If a puddle of vomit merits 3 stars, what would a guest have to do for 2 stars - burn the house down?

[Clare61]

Joey sorry you had to deal with this, we also had a guest leave us a surprise in one of the closets. I messaged him photos etc as soon as we saw it. Thankfully he was very apologetic and said it was his friend staying there too and he didn’t see it before check out. We charged an extra cleaning fee of $75 which he was happy to pay. I didn’t go easy on his review either!!

[Katrina79]

@Joey197 

Xxx’s group left a horrendous mess of sand,  food, garbage, empties(you fill in the truth) and a disaster in the washroom. There was was a lack of respect, communication and decency. I can not recommend hosting Xxx to any host. 
Do not contact the guest unless it is through the resolution center for damages. Don’t worry about spoiling the review reveal for them, they already know what you are going to say...you’re not exactly holding a poker face at this point. 

[Joey197]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I know it sounds silly but its my first bad review for a guest...just want to be sure I'm not over-reacting. I gave the guest 1 star for cleanliness and respecting house rules and wrote an appropriate review. Thanks again! 

[Samantha761]

Don't feel your over reacting. Your very kind and they were horribly disrespectful. I had 6 vacation rentals in Las Vegas of all places before AirBNB existed. I NEVER in all the years of hosting had a situation like that. I'd definitely give them a 1. It's just rude. I think your gracious in not charging them an extra cleaning fee. 

[Helen350]

@Joey197 - IF your bad guest was Zachary, (whose review of you was "good vibes") - you did NOT write an appropriate review, imo!  - The  review you wrote Zach only critisized in as far as there were "too many". - In which case, you have not warned fellow hosts of the disrespect this guest caused & the mess he left.

- Also, did you give him private feedback as to what is expected of a guest?

(If the offending guest was someone else, who has not posted theirs yet, inside 14 days, so yours is not visible, then ignore what I've written, as it does not apply!)

[Huma0]

@Joey197 

I'm not sure if this is very constructive, but do you normally host such large groups of young people because I certainly wouldn't. It sounds like a recipe for this kind of mess. 

I have no problem with hosting 20-somethings. I host guests over 18 and a huge percentage of my guests are in their early 20s and most of those are respectful, but a group of 16 twenty-somethings? What are the odds that all 16 of them will be mature enough yet to treat your Airbnb with respect? I should think pretty low. And if they are only staying two nights, it's pretty much a given they are going to party.

I would also be upset at the condition they left it in, but it could have been so, so much worse. There is a reason Airbnb have banned parties of over 16 people. There's clearly too many cases of this going very, very wrong. Are you sure you want to take the risk of hosting parties of up to 16 youngsters at a time?

[Joey197]

Huma0 - I had no idea their age or how large their party was. It's not what they noted on their reservation. So it was a surprise all around 

[Helen3]

Sorry about this horrible experience, but it sounds like you need to vet your guests more carefully @Joey197 .

How many was the actual booking for? Why didn’t you have Airbnb cancel the booking when more turned up than had booked and there was a noise complaint (presuming your house rules include only those who have booked and pay can stay)??

Do you ask guests about the purpose of their stay and for names and locations of those arriving to make sure you are able to accept them under your local Covid regs? 

[Huma0]

@Joey197 

You have a few listings so I am not sure which one this was (or are they all the same place as the photos seem the same?) but they all state up to 14 guests, so this group was violating your maximum capacity besides anything else. When did you realise that there were 16 of them and how many did they say were coming? Do you have a fee for additional guests?