New Mattress Spill

[Ayman5]

My current guests spilled a full jug of beverage (lemonade, according to her) on my brand new memory foam queen mattress. Then they took out the mattress pad, ran it in the washer even though the care instructions stated otherwise. They were NOT apologetic. Which is upsetting. They have two more nights here. However, I do not feel comfortable having them anymore. She already had this entitled / spoiled attribute to her.

I gave them complimentary wine, snacks, homemade cheese cake, bottled water in their room, also when they were leaving for few hours.

What should I do? What are my rights!?!?! I am aware I need to invest in the waterproof mattress cover. That’s besides the point at this moment. How can I ask them to leave without having a bad review in return?My Listing and Reviews

[Ange2]

@Ayman5    Not sure it's possible to avoid a retalitory review but you can always respond to it, short and factual is key – in my opinion responses to negative reviews are best when worded to market the host as a professional and alert other hosts.   You can also call Airbnb and alert them to the situation,  possibly they will disallow a review and ratings given the circumstances.   btw: I had a similar experience- they said it was a drink, but turns out  they had pee'd on the bed and tried to cover up the smell with gallons of water!

[Ayman5]

There is no doubt they will get a bad review. I had a conversation with them this morning. I was kind and clear. "It was a brand new mattress. This is disappointing." I allowed her an opportunity to apologize. She still did not. Her BF appeared remorseful. I informed her, I was in touch with Airbnb and per their guidance, I will send them a bill for clean up. She did not want to pay it. As she cleaned up the mess, according to her. Her response, "the cleaning fee at the time of reservation should cover this". It was $12, for both of them, for three nights!! LOL, The Nerve. I mentioned that $12 does not include damage, but gets your room ready. Spillage is a damage. 

[Ayman5]

correction* their cleaning fee was in fact $10.

[Laura1690]

You have spoken to them about it and they are clearly not apologetic.  Be professional in your review of the guest but also clear, in that they were disrespectful of your home.  Do not for a second hesistate to make a claim for the cost of the mattress.  That is what the AirbNb insurance is for.  I would also update your house rules and state something like if you damage the contents of my home you will charge a fee plus the claim with insurance.  That way they cannot go back and claim its not legal or stated or anything like that.  I have a clause in my house rules that there is a $500 penalty for breaking any house rules.  (like no parties)  It enables you to collect.  

This platform is based on trust, and you would be doing a disservice by not giving them a bad review that they earned.  If you can wait until they do their review that might help, but you should definitely communicate with them that they will have to pay for damages to replace the mattress.  

[Ayman5]

I strive to remain professional. They cannot deny I went above and beyond for them. I will certainly give them a bad review. But it would suck if she does the same out of retribution. She has humbled a bit but not shown any sign of apology. Unnecessary pride. She also does not wash her plate. lol.

[Laura1690]

I completely understand, I had a guest break my rules and was afraid of the same thing.  I waited until she posted and was able to reply and address it.  She did not leave a bad review, but her written part was not as good as it could be.  I was able to counter in a professional way and it all worked out.  Hoping for the best for you!

[Rob14]

@Laura1690

i have a group of young women staying in my home. One  of them accidentally left my roof deck door wide open in a major rainstorm.  The rain ran down my steps through my wooden floor and out the ceiling into my living room.  Thankfully my neighbor happened to look out her window and see the door open and called me.  I gave her the lockbox code and she came in and closed the door before the next storm and mopped up some of the water. The father of the renter came and setup a fan to dry out a portion of the ceiling as I had asked. 

 I went to the house last night after work where I found the women getting ready to go out and my house decorated as if they were having a party.  The floor where the water penetrated is damaged and obviously some of the sheet rock in the ceiling will need replacement. 

 The girl, K,  who made the reservation was incredibly remorseful and apologetic. K’s sister was in tears saying K was only trying to celebrate her engagement for her. K then began crying as well. It was quite the scene. 

 I would say these girls are mid to late 20s and seem to be very decent, responsible  types. I pointed out to K that in my texts and emails I had stated that only she and the other 4 members of her party we’re allowed in the house. (There were maybe 1 or 2 others present when I came) I also reminded her that in my house rules it states no parties. Admittedly the “party” was a group of young women who had decorated the house a bit and had a table with food & drinks. There wasn’t loud music pumping through the house etc.  If I hadn’t been frustrated with the water damage I wouldn’t have cared. 

K has said they will pay for any damage or repairs needed. How does one proceed with getting payment and does the Airbnb insurance policy apply? How do you collect $500 if someone breaks your posted rules?

thx,

Rob

[Laura1690]

Hi Rob,

So sorry that is going on at your home!  There are several things at play here.  One is your homeowners insurance, the second is the insurance thru AirBnb and the third is your security deposit, and the fourth is collecting when a house rule is broken.  I always charge a $1000 security deposit that is returned in full if there is no damage.  I have also had a guest just give me a check rather than collect insurance.  If I were to have a guest break a rule, then before giving back the deposit I make a claim on it and state why.  By having the rules and penalty stated in my home rules, this allows me to collect in the event of damage.  AirBnB insurance only covers the contents of your home I believe, and you will have to begin inquiring with them and your homeowners policy to see where best to make a claim.  Since you have damage to flooring from water I would call in a professional immediately to asses damage so you can begin to figure out how to collect for it.  

I hope this helps clarify things and wish you good luck in resolving everything!  I would be interested in hearing how things play out so please keep me posted!  

[Sarah977]

@Laura1690   The $1000 security deposit you have is not "returned in full if there is no damage". Airbnb does not collect the security deposit when a guest books, there is only the threat that this could be charged.

And airbnb will not charge on the security deposit for guests breaking house rules, only for damages, which the onus is on the host to prove if the guest does not agree. Often extremely difficult to collect on, as evidenced by the ocean of host reports regarding this.

[Laura1690]

I do charge a security deposit Sarah!  For the reasons you stated above!

[Rob14]

Laura,

How do you charge the $1000 security deposit? You do this with the guest directly upon checkin or?

As for collecting anything from or through Airbnb, appears I'll win the lottery first.

[Laura1690]

It is in your settings where you add fees and taxes.  You have the option to add additional fees.

[Ayman5]

@Rob14, as remorseful as they are, please do not enable them by letting it go.  Accept their apology.  Make sure they pay for the damages. 

[Rob14]

Having read many posts regarding Airbnb's utter disregard for hosts having suffered property damage and/or loss, I absolutely intend to charge the renters. After I had asked for a call back from Airbnb support (10 minute wait time purportedly - call never came) I began to write an email to support regarding my issue. Mid sentence I went back to the forum to rediscover how pathetic Airbnb really is concerning issues like mine.

Why can't Ben & Jerry run Airbnb?

I'm not going to waste my time contacting Airbnb. I will send pictures of all the damage to my guests and persue getting reimbursed by them.

Of course just getting someone to come and give me an estimate will be a full time job 🙂 

Thanks for your comment!