Needing Help!!!

Thangaveloo0
Level 2
Paris, France

Needing Help!!!

I have 2 listings: 1 for apartment (min 2 days) and the other for the room. There was a girl who contacted me to rent my room (her location was from London, she was verified and I found out she is a local from France - is that sort of negligence possible?). She asked me if I would be in my apartment when she comes and I said yes then she asked me if she could take the whole apartment. I said you can book it on my page and I can make an exception for a day. She said it's her first time and she prefered to give me cash when she arrives and sees. Prior to arrival, I sent her a text that my appartment is 80eros +15 euros for cleaning and if she would be agreable and she said yes no problems. So I had to find myself a last minute solution, I just checked out a couple earlier who were 1/2 late on top of that. So I earlier told her she could come anytime from 14h but due to the previous delay, I was running 30 min late (I vacuum/ mop/ change the sheets prior to every check in). By 14.30 I was ready but she came close to 3pm.

 

When the couple were leaving. I did a quick check around. My apartment was smelling like cigarette smoke (it's a non smoking apartment). My bathroom mat and 2 towels were soaking wet and I have no idea what happend there. They left and I had to hurry for the next check-in. So I picked up my bucket (it is the one where you could squeeze the water out from the wet mop), it was badly broken and there were pieces inside! I called her and said it's so not cool that they left it broken without informing me. She said she wasn't aware of it at all when the mop head placed in it was soaking wet too.

 

I suggested that I would inform Airbnb and she said she prefered to pay me for it and I found the cheapest of it at 16euros and kept a screenshot until she passed. She came and gave me 6 euros but I showed her I will not be able to replace it with 6euros. So hesitantly she gave me the 16euros. So for me it was resolved although my apartment was stinking, I just wanted to be over and done with and gave her good reviews anyway since she was new to Airbnb. 

 

But she wrote me a nasty review, saying my apartment was dusty ( I had people on daily basis and they all gave me a clean review and I vacuumed everyday), she said she had rashes (it's the bed I sleep on for the last 3 years - can't be), she talked about me charging her where I would have not wanted to leave my apartment because it is really extra work just for a day of rental. I'm ok for a day room rental but to let the entire apartment, I needed to go find a friend instantly. She complained of not having a tv - I never said I had one. 

 

Being a new host, this is a tricky situation for me. I didn't want to rent the whole apartment and risk having them at home but they were insiting of wanting the whole place.  And I just needed to clean my place so I wasnt sure how much/ how long airbnb would take to help me out and since I have back to back booking I just wanted to move on.

 

How do I deal with such a comment? Can airnb jump in? Can we both delete our reviews because it's going to affect my hosting because of this very troublesome person. I have had only 5 stars reviews so far!

 

PLease help!

9 Replies 9

Unfortunately, you've really put yourself in a difficult position since she paid you in cash for the full apartment outside of the Airbnb system (a big no-no) and  for the damage (also a violation of Airbnb policy).  Getting a bad review isn't the worst thing, but you made it horrific with your over-the-top response. 

i just didn't know how to deal with it. i asked friends and they told me i should write the truth. 

i never did airbnb before this. i wasnt comfortable with any of the cash nor was i dying to put my entire apartment on rental that day because it was a nightmare for me to find an alternative solution for myself. i tried to accomodate her the best i could.

Their review was certainly something, your reply to it was even more so.

 

Probably best to just delete your profile and start again.

David

I just got off the phone with Airbnb.

They told me to keep my reply as it is important to explain the situation in detail.

Since I am a new host, they are being very supportive and asked me not to worry about it since my other 5 star reviews are more important.

So you are a prosective guest, you might miss one review, especially once you have a few more hopefully to push it down.

 

But your listing now has a big block of text, not likely that will be missed and not read.

David

Hi David,

 

Thank you for your reply. It's my first time but now what's done is done. I have been supported by local hosts and Airbnb, that it was important for me to reply in detail. I continue to learn how this works! And I've had booking since, so hopefully this is not going to be hindrance to future bookings.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

 

Cheers,

Priya

Judith92
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Hi

I am sorry for to hear of this unfortunate situation. I would say do not worry about it and continue to provide a friendly service.

We all learn from our mistake. So protect yourself by having no transaction outside of airbnb system. And be wary of guests who try to do so.

All the best

Thank you Judith! I'm very careful nowadays 🙂

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

The AirBnB system shows them how much they will be charged.

David