Newbie!! Hard lesson to learn

[Irene308]

So I hosted my third set of guests last weekend. The previous two had been FAB! I let them in last Friday and I really didn't have a great feeling about the whole thing but I just said get over it. We had a family funeral at the weekend so I wasn't around when they left. They popped the keys through the letter box as requested. I called in briefly that evening to check everything was off. I was exhausted and everything seemed ok. I got home and I got the email to review and I did that, leaving them a 5 stars. My next guests weren't coming until the next day so I didn't have to deal with it that night. 

I got there the next morning, bright and early. OMG!!! not only was there chewing gum put in side tables, there was used sanitary towels stuck down the sides of the bed. My 500 euro stove was broken with FAIL coming up on it. The energy saving bulbs were taken out of all my lamps, hair straightener was missing. The door on the new integrated dishwasher was hanging off. The 3 scented candles costing 20 euro each were missing. A months wood was missing from the shed and I had 16 bottles of Chianti and 86 bottles of Heineiken to bring to the bottle bank. There was used toilet roll in the bedroom and shells of pistachio nuts EVERYWHERE! To say that they were pigs is an understatement. I think they had a pinata on Easter Sunday because there was shreds of green paper all over the house. 

That was not all, but I can't go on! Thankfully my next day check in didn't arrive until 8pm because it took me 7 hours to get the house back to the way I like to keep it, CLEAN! There was 5 black bags of garbage in 3 days. All left on the kitchen floor, opened. Not in the bins provided outside. 

But I'm an idiot. I left a review with out really inspecting and I've no way of changing it. I would NEVER EVER let this happen again. If I feel that same feeling ever again, I will tell them I'm calling the next day to check in. 

Over 1,000 euro of damage, but luckily because my appliances are brand new they are covered. I've put up my rate and up my cleaning fee by 70 percent and I'm now getting bookings from people who I know and hope will respect my property. 

I didn't let it destroy me. When my new guests arrived last night I had the fire lit, the kids beds turned down, new candles, house warm and cosy, side lights on, and fresh bread and milk waiting for them. One bad egg will not spoil the cake BUT I learnt a very, very valuable lesson!! 

[Danny21]

As for reviews. I believe that if you leave a review and a guest doesn't, it times-out after 2 weeks and YOUR review gets posted anyway.

I've had to leave 2 negative reviews in my AirBnB lifetime and both reviews have been published on the guests' profile.

The other massive problem I have with reviews is that unless you have Instant Book Turned ON, you will never be able to see the guests' star rating (communication, cleanliness etc).

I confronted AirBnB about this as my concern was they are breaking their own Terms and Conditions. They claim to be transparent yet hide vital information from Hosts unless you have IB turned on. Personally, I find this behaviour of AirBnB disgusting and potentially putting Hosts at risk.

[Elizabeth688]

 Bummer for you, and bummer for the next host that confirms them based on your review!  

[Irene308]

Thanks guys. I'm pursuing this and hoping to get the review changed. That was exactly my thought, the five star reviews this guest had before me, I wonder did the same thing happen. I would hate for someone to take them in thinking they had been a great guest in my house.

On  brighter note, my fourth set of guests left this morning and boy oh boy, they have redeemed my faith in humanity. Dishwasher was put on, dirty towels in the washing machine, not a scrap of dirt anywhere in the house! If I could give them 10 out of 5 today I would. 

[Helen3]

Hi @Irene308

Sorry this happened. I do hope you put in a claim for all the damages they caused and the items they stole before your next guests arrived?

Going forward do make sure you have CCTV at your place and that you check with guests about the plans and background about themselves befoe accepting a booking.

If you have Instant Book I would always recommend you remove it so you can vet guests before accepting the booking.

You can also flag their profile. And if you can change the review give them a thumbs down.

Thankfully if you host with care, these guests are rare.

[Hugh37]

Hi Irene

I feel your pain!

Weve had lovely guests so far which is great then we had one who didnt complain or mention anything the days they were here,they abused the check out though as were still in the room 30 mins after and i had to remind them that check out had passed.

I left a review for them and was rewarded with a piece of crap for a review! i wont go into details but they one starred me for cleanliness due to finding a cobweb on the window! I immediately spoke to air b and b who wouldnt take the review down but i insisted they remove mines as i didnt want un suspecting hosts allowing this person to book with them(silence speaks volumes!) I replied to their review publivly adressing their "issues" with a very level head and tbh all my other reviews knock his out of the water!

Lesson learned but hey you have to give your review before you can see theirs? so what can you do x

[David2095]

Do you have a c.c.colateral?

[Sean251]

This sounds bloody awful! Has anyone here had experience with the Airbnb host guarantee, is that not in place so that hosts can avail of it when terrible stuff like this happens? I have never contacted them about it but I'd be very curious to hear if anyone has had experiece in getting Airbnb to actually pay out for damage done by guests based on their guarantee??

[David126]

@Sean251

There are hundred if not thousands of posts about the Host Guarantee.

Basically you should not rely on it, I assue @Irene308 is talking about her own Insurance.

[Louise231]

I've seen a lot of host complaints about the Host Guarentee but I had a guest wet the bed (yeah gross) and airbnb told me straight away if the guest didn't pay up (he did) that they would cover it.

By 5pm the next day I had new heavy stuff delivered to the room, old stuff taken away, and airbnb had paid for it all into my account by the end of the week, including extra £ for me to go buy new bedding the same as the old.

Plus a 'sorry' airbnb travel credit added to my account.

Plus the booking who were supposed to be arriving on the same day the guy was leaving were placed somewhere else and I still got paid for them.

I think if it's something that means you can't host if its not sorted (bed, floor, windows, walls ect) they pay up quick, if it's an 'extra' -decoration, addidtional amenaties (even when its listed and people may only book because of them, like say a cooker) then airbnb is a bit less forthcoming...

[Stephanie365]

Ugh, makes my last horrors pale in comparison. 

Definitely do not post reviews until you can visually inspect the property.

Also, my last horrors (aka "guests") seemed to feel that because there was a cleaning fee, that gave them carte blanche to trash my house. That was the underlying message in their response to my review, which I hope future hosts will pick up on. Fortunately, they and only one other party have been jerks. Everyone else has been wonderful.

[Andrew157]

Undoubtedly the review should not be left until the listing has been serviced. This allows for the whole place to be inspected.  Airbnb do not mark you down for taking 13 days to write your review or not leaving one at all.

Also leaving a review after a few days means that the guests get a reminder (look what Andrew has said about you) to write a review. 

[Ritaanne0]

I'm sorry to hear you have had the guests from hell but you bounced back strong and quick. Good for you!!  Keep going girl.

Ritaanne

[Donna13]

Host guarantee didn't work for me when Airbnb guest dumped oils into the Hottub that damaged the gaskets on the jets. Just a slimed, disgusting mess. 

[Thuy21]

Hi Irene, 

So sorry for the damage you had to go through. As much as we are trying to bring the most pleasant stay to our guests, unfortunately not all of them appeaciate it. Many many of them mistaken Airbnb as a hotel service and treat our place like gabarage. 

I had guests who left my place with empty bottle all over the places, even on the bed so the matress got so wet enough that I had to get dry cleaning service the next day. More terrible, they didnt throw their used comdoms after having sex, but leaving it on the floors. Then they gave us 1 star saying our service is not hotel service (their standard) and that his friends got biten by moths (which is untrue as I lived there before so I know) 

Painful lesson, but this is what I learn:

- Never leave a review before we come and check the apartment 

- When things like this happen, make sure you took photos and have a clear proof about the issue. When it happened, and what is the total damage 

- Report to Airbnb right away when you found the issue. 

- Put on deposit. Guests will be charged by Airbnb up to that amount for the damage they made 

- Have your house rules printed. And make sure to send the message to guests on Airbnb to tell them to comply your house rules. 

- Have clear statement on the exchage charge if guests violate your house rules. 

Hope this helps and I truly wish you don;t have to use those tips on the next guests. 

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Irene308 I am so sorry to hear that you went throught such a situation.We all learn from our mistakes and next time always check everything before reviewing a guest.By the way you can still send them a request and ask them to pay for all the damage they have done.If they refuse you can contact Airbnb and tell them exactly what happened and report those bad guests.Good luck and happy hosting. Contact Airbnb on twitter @AirbnbHelp .