Refund

[Kristy28]

 'I've only been hosting about a month, and have had a great response. However my third guests and her friends threw a huge drunken party, left tequila bottles with lipstick all over the rims, left half-eaten food in the den (stuck on a fork) and in one of the beds, half a candy bar in another, and threw up in another. They ruined a white upholstered chair by putting a dirty sneaker on top of the chair. Has anyone ever had this kind of damage, and how much help did you get from the Resolution Center?'  I agree that I'm not sure it should be called a deposit.  Why don't guests have to pay up front?

[Kip0]

@Kristy28 I would recommend deciding on a reasonable additional cleaning fee, replacement costs, etc and reaching out directly to the guest to have them reimburse you via a payment application. I have never used the resolution center because I think it's really only useful for extreme cases.

I have found that every guest that overstepped the cleanliness rules was willing to pay additional fee when I asked them to.  The key is remaining calm and remembering this is a business transaction.  

Something like,

"Dear guest, I appreciate your stay and enjoyed communicating with you but I am disappointed in the way the house was left and need to ask you for a reasonable reimbursement for the additional costs I have incurred.  Garbage was left around the house, dishware was not cleaned, vomit was evident in one of the rooms, and the upholstered chair in the living room is damaged from sneaker stain. I respectfully request you reimburse me the $100 in additional cleaning costs and fees I will incur as a result. I trust you will find this a reasonable request. You can transfer the funds to my online payment application at xxxxxx."

But you need to do it immediately.

[Kristy28]

Thanks so much for responding!  I did reach out to her much like your email said.  Her reply was quite curt and said she always left hotels and other ABNBs in this condition and besides she thought it was the "NOLA way" (whatever that meant).  I reached out to her again very nicely--always thanking her for her stay.  It's at the Resolution Center now, but they're saying the invoice for the costs is 'homemade."  I use a legitimate cleaning company regularly and had to use another one for the chair.  They are both local entities, and I've asked them if I should take pictures of the company offices or what?  I've also sent them to the website.  Every place I've ever rented, we put the security deposit up front, and if all is well, we get it back. I'm just really frustrated by the whole experience since the 14 days is about to expire, and I'm hearing nothing from ABNB.  Thanks again, Kip, for your response!

[Kip0]

@Kristy28 my only thought to try get reimbursed again is final direct appeal to the guest's conscience. I'd point to the Huff Post article about how many residents feel AirBnB is ruining New Orleans and that while you're happy she had a good time that it is only reasonable to ask her to help contribute to a more positive view of AirBnB guests to the city by taking responsibility for the way she left the house.  I would also offer out that I would still leave an overall favorable review if the guest is reasonable in resolving cleaning fee issue but that the taking of responsibility for one's actions is a bigger part of what impacts a review. (That is not blackmail by the way it's just applying reasonable business transaction standards)

If she still refuses then leave her a bad review still using professional business like voice and suggest she is not suitable for participation in the AirBnB community.

From all I have read unless you have other direct receipts that you're not going to get anywhere with the Resolution Center so you'll have to chalk it up to a business cost and redirect your energies to beefing up stated rules, expectations, and screening.

And above all don't let this one bad apple ruin it all for you.  I'm sure because many people like her have a particular view of New Orleans you'll have a unique set of expectation setting and screening to go through with your guests that other parts of country don't have to deal with.  But in this instance trust that Karma will ultimately resolve in your favor 🙂

[Kristy28]

You are right!  Big believer in Karma--and I'm pretty sure she didn't feel so good the next day! 🙂 Thanks again!