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!!
