Unpleasant guests

[Arsine0]

I am a new host to airbnb, and I just had our first guests stay in my home last week. I am torn between leaving them a bad review, or taking money out of their secutiry deposit (which I'm not sure how to do). They stayed for 2 nights, and the first problem was when my cleaners went inside the day the guests checked out to find a pile of dirty dishes, pots, and a blender with food still on/in them. If they didn't want to wash they could have at least rinsed the food out then left it at the counter in my opinion. If this was the only problem, I would not bother with asking for help, but there was more.

The second problem was the BBQ. The trays were set aside (they did not use them) and the BBQ itself was left a mess all around even though we have written in our manual in the guide book in our home that the grill should be cleaned after use. Maybe they didn't read it, but I find this should be common sense with guests renting out a home. The third problem was that 3-4 drops of dark colored stains were on the carpet in the master bedroom.

We ended up paying our cleaners an extra fee of about $100 for the extra cleaning. My question is that since they were my first guests, should I just let it slide? Should I leave them a bad review, charge them extra, or even both? I messaged them the day they checked out asking how their stay was before I was notified by my cleaners of the inconvenience, but they did not respond. I'd like to hear any opinions whether anyone has experienced something like this or not. Thanks in advance.

[Rachael26]

@Arsine0

I am sorry this was your first experience with guests. They won't all be like that.

But I don't see a listing attached to your profile. Was this your home, or someone elses?

It would be helpful to have read your house rules and the description and details of the listing before replying..... but here goes.

So let's point out a few things that may help or at least clarify.

Airbnb is not like VRBO - there is no actual deposit to claim funds back for damages. it is a gesture/ preapproval/token only and is used (or not) totally at Airbnb's discretion. And in order to claim money for damages you will need to go to the Resolution Center, contact Airbnb and follow procedures. (so definitely read up about deposits, damages and claims in the useful Community Help Guides available here in the site).

So that answers your dilema of whether to leave a bad review or claim on their security deposit.

And before we talk about the review - lets' talk about the behavior of the guests and the mess. Unforunately, there are lots of people today who believe that if they pay extra for a cleaning fee - then they are not expected to 'clean' the place before they leave. And even if you spell all this out in your house rules - it doesn't really help once the guest has left. So expect this to happen again. A dirty barbeque, a dirty kitchen, extra payment to your cleaners and a few spots of stain on the bedroom carpet will not warrant a claim to Airbnb. Just my opinion of course and I am not trying to be nasty or negative. Of course if you want to try yourself, you can contact Airbnb to discuss further, after you have read the help guide and proceedures and perhaps after some other hosts leave their advice/comments for you as well.

So how to avoid this in the future? No real guarantees - but certainly don't rely on guests' 'common sense' as to how to look after appliances and items in the property as you suggest in your post..... everyone has their own views and experiences and they will rarely ever match up with yours. But you can help yourself by communicating with your guest before they book (a nice chatty message why are they visiting, expectations, special requests, plans etc), and communicate again after they check-in (which should be done in person - a 10 minute walk around the house to show where everything is and how it works will be a very positive bonding experience and will help 10 fold with reviews after.......) and if they do not reply then telephone/text on their phone number (which you get on the confirmation email). And then try to have someone there or on their way when the guests check out - and let them know that you are always nearby (even if you are not) and to text if they need anything at all during their stay.

You will soon get a feel for guests who are sincere and will care for your property - just keep reading and learning and it will become easier.

Best Wishes and good luck with your future hosting.

[Arsine0]

I co-host the property, but I thought it would show up on my profile so thanks for the heads up. I did have in mind that some people do not think they should have to clean after themselves if they are paying for cleaning, so I wanted to make sure if that is something hosts happen to charge, or leave a bad review for. Thank you so much for your input, I appreciate it.

[Rachael26]

@Arsine0 - I never got to the question of leaving a review as it should be influenced by your description and house rules etc.. and as I didn't see them I didn't want to say more in my last post ..... but here's a few tips on reviews which I hope might help one day.

ALWAYS take the high road. Being polite and professional will always win you more guests (remember they can read what you write about previous guests). The reviews are what most people look at when booking a place (after the location and description and price of course :-). You will have a chance to write a paragraph (or two), mark them out of 5 stars for communication, cleanliness and house rules observance. And give a thumbs up or thumbs down for other hosts to see if you would recommend them or not.

It is important not to be too nice if the guests (like these ones) don't warrant a good review - but it also important not to be too harsh or negative (or defensive) because it never reads well or shows you in a good light.

So something like this..... X and Y stayed with us for 3 days and are probably better suited to a hotel environment as they were not the tidiest guests we have ever had. I did enjoy meeting them and wish them well on their future travels.

Stars = 4/5 communication 3/5 cleanliness 4/5 house rules,  and a thumbs down to alert other hosts that there may be a problem

There is also a section that gives you a chance to tell Airbnb about the guests - keep it brief and professional but state that additional cleaning fees were incurred as the place was left very messy and some minor damage to the carpets was also noted. You would prefer not to have them back if they ever book to stay again.

Hope this helps!

Best Wishes.

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

@Arsine0,

Your big mistake here was paying your cleaning crew extra.

They will now expect it everytime.

Dirty dishes and a dirty grill are nothing compared to some of the stuff you'll see.

If your crew got $100 for that, be prepared to cough up real cash when guests leave the bathroom looking like a dorm bathroom after an all-night kegger or somebody pukes on the carpet.

Talk to the crew, tell them that was a one-time deal.