Newby guest wants to do work!

[Luann42]

We had purchased the house next door when it was available as it it's very close proximity to our house.  We have used Airbnb and had great experiences, so we thought we would try it with this house.   We put it up in beginning of November and got a month rental for the month of December. We have put a lot of money into this space but some things have not yet been completed on the outside.   It has a fireplace that I did not put in the listing as we have yet to have it professionally cleaned. You can see it in the pictures.  I Also explained this in the welcome letter.   The guest asked about it and I explain that it hadn't been cleaned and I feel it's not safe to have a fire.   When I met the guest he said that he had a lot of skills and that he could clean out the chimney for me.  They just sent me a message saying they wanted to have a conversation about it .  How do I say  no as I'm not comfortable with this but in a nice way so that I dont get a bad rating?

[Susan151]

@Luann42 Ah, here is where the Big Bad Insurance company can be useful. "Unfortunately, Mr. Handy Person, my insurance company requires that all work done on our rental property must be done by a certified and licensed professional. Are you CSIA certified?" This works for ALL trades.