Help! How to protect ourself from potential revenge comment?

[K76]

The case go like this: we have a guest checking out from our place today and left a cigarette butts everywhere, plus the electric driller and all the snacks that we kept in the cabinet are gone.....

we ve called the support and they suggest is to write a review and claim the guest for whatever missing, but we're worried that we ll have a bad review in such case..... Any advise?

[Ana1136]

@K76 yes he probably will. Did he burn things with the cigarettes or just left them arround? If he didn't, you just have to clean up the mess, if he did ask for reimbursement for the damage. Nothing you can do about the snacks, I suppose they are there for the guests. You will have other guests take them all. You can ask compensation about the electric driller but I can not imagine how it is a good idea keeping it in a rented space. If it is a shared space, find some storage with a lock and keep it there. Keep your communication in the Airbnb system and write an honest review to warn other hosts. 

[K76]

@Ana1136 @We kept all those stuff in a carton box in a cabinet, how could one imagine it's for the guest?

[Ana1136]

@K76 whatever is in their reach some of them will think is for them especially snacks and extra toiletries. You need locks for spaces that you want to stay private. 

[K76]

@Ana1136  So the electric driller is for them? Or they could take it with them? 

[Ana1136]

@K76 no I was talking about the snacks. The driller should be locked because someone could hurt himself. Common sense is not that common as you will learn  

[David6]

Totally agree @Ana1136 . If they can access it, they will use it. In first few weeks of hosting  i  had guest wearing my clothing, eat food that  was marked ‘don’t touch’. We used to provide basic breakfast and a couple of guests raided it for every meal including for lunch, dinner and midnight snacks 🙂 now everything is locked away in cupboards. Only once did 1 set of guests break the locks to gain access! Claimed via Airbnb and left strongly worded review. 

[K76]

@Ana1136 Well if you said it's not thieving then it's fine

[Ana1136]

@K76 please read carefully, I was addressing the issues in order 🙂 I said it is ok about the snacks in my opinion and to ask for reimbursement for the drill but it is not smart to keep it unlocked because someone might hurt themselves.

[Peter75]

K - Anna is trying to help you . She is not your enemy ! Please listen to her. The guest could in theory use the drill (who knows what on) hurt themselves and then potentially sue you !. Keep all correspondence on Airbnb platform so there is a record of it.

[Cormac0]

@Peter75 @Ana1136 

In some jurisdictions like Eastern Europe and Asia, they don't fall for this American BS, that if the Host left an Electric Drill in his apartment, that this action in some way gives a guest a right to use the aforementioned drill, how about if he left his golf clubs or tennis racket or his car keys, does that give the guest the right to drive his car.

The guest was a scumbag plain and simple, as your probably very unlikely to get redress form Airbnb's “Trust and Safety team (LOL) make sure you give this guest big thump down.

[Ana1136]

@Cormac0 maybe I don't express myself clearly enough so I will say it for the fourth time here - he SHOULD ask for reimbursement for the drill but in the future he SHOULDN'T leave it out in the open. Maybe some kid will hurt himself. This is not about whether guests should or should not use things left out in the open, but there are special places for those kind of tools and they should be out of reach for the guests. 

[David6]

We hosts guests from around the world. Think language issues, cultural differences. We had one guest boil eggs in the water boiler (kettle) which is just for water for hot drinks.  So you have to set a common standard for everyone. I would not leave a drill out, because someone is probably going to get hurt. To accuse this guest of stealing it you need proof. Did you take picture of the item before he checked in? He will most likely dispute it? He maybe was greedy to eat all snacks, but they were there so he took them.

You need to weigh up - is a claim via resolution centre going to be successful? Does he have other reviews. If they are good, this will go against you. Airbnb do not really seem to worry when a guest smokes if there are no burns. You can maybe submit pictures, but it is a regular, common  problem. They will offer maybe 1 hr extra cleaning fee.   

In this case - if no damage - I would not make a claim but leave an honest review. Mention the smoking and perhaps take some responsibility for the drill and snacks issue? Not accuse him of stealing unless you have concerte proof? Because the drill is really your word against his? 

[K76]

@Ana1136 @Cormac0 @Peter75 @David6 

thx for all your response on this, it takes me quite some time to clean up the mess and go back to this thread

claim or not claim, it seems like we'll got a bad comment anyway if the guest write one as we've find no measure to protect us from it

and, the drill's there because it's a new listing, we renovated it recently and the guest come in before we could bring them away. (And we still need it for further perfection when there's time) And indeed, we've hide them well in a cartoon box in the cabinet under the sink, they won't find it unless they intentionally open up everything they could.....

we've been hosting 3 listing for a year.... encountered smoking/ stealing the little toys/ snack.... But have never had something worst like this, and I wish I could show you guys the cigarette butts on every plate and all that.....