Hi all - so my husband and I have been hosting for over 2 years now (it's a room in our home). We've worked really hard at providing guests with a top-notch experience which is reflected in our reviews (currently at 5 stars). So we had a guest this weekend past. He asked for an early check-in (10am) which I agreed to and also to add a 2nd guest the day prior to his arrival which I also agreed to. At 11am on check in day (with no message or call from him) I finally sent a What's App advising that my husband and I were going out of town for his 50th birthday and could not wait any longer for him to arrive. But that it wasn't a problem as our friend Lucky was house and dog-sitting. I What's Apped him Lucky's contact details and gave Lucky his and then advised him to communicate with Lucky who would then greet him and show him around. I heard nothing all weekend from this guest (his booking was Friday - Monday).
On Monday morning my husband I finally started to make our way back home from our camping weekend with mates. I check my What's App and see a message from an unknown number. It is this guest from another number saying he needs Lucky's number again because he didn't put it in this other phone and our dogs are barking at him. I sent a reply saying 'Sorry but I only picked this up now'. I then called Lucky to ask if everything was resolved. He said it was fine and that he had just stepped out for an hour to get some food. He let the guests in and they then woke him the early morning to let them out after they apparently showered.
We continue driving back home and I start checking my other messages. Now there's a string of abusive SMS messages from this guy. Basically saying that I was deliberately ignoring his messages and his 'last minute guest' and himself are 'afraid' to enter the house because of the dogs. Apparently it's also my fault that he didn't think to put Lucky's number in his other phone. And apparently he chose to ignore the fact that he could see I hadn't picked up his What's App message. Long story short, he:
a) did nasty things in the bathroom I wont' go into here;
b) deliberately dumped garbage on the bedroom floor instead of in the waste bin provided;
c) stole a wash cloth and some other small items from the guest room;
d) left a wet, dirty beach towel on top of the clean ones in the cupboard in the guest room.
Then he insists he slept in the car on Sunday and wants a refund??? So he apparently is scared of the dogs (only on Sunday as apparently no issues Friday & Saturday) but slept in his car, managed to get into the house in the wee hours of Monday morning to wake Lucky and then shower??
The refund request is bogus but that's not what really irritates me. First off, why do guests book at places with dogs if they're not comfortable around them? Our dogs are very friendly and affectionate and often mentioned as a plus in our reviews. Secondly, he's going to give me a crap rating and now everything I've worked to build up over the years (5 star rating and superhost) is wiped out. 1 bad review wipes out everything? How is that fair?
Seriously thinking at this point that it's not worth it.
Advice?
Cheers
Cheryl
