Airbnb claims I violated terms of conditions because a guest complained (wrongly) about cleanliness

[Nabil4]

I find it crazy that Airbnb would take the word of a single guest with 1 review, over a host and 27 guest reviews, and hosted 40 different people. I've virtually only had positive reviews and literally just had 4 different guests leave satisfied and leave only good reviews. 

Yet last night I had a guest who felt the sheets were not fresh. They were. I changed them anyway. She wanted a new duvet cover and I told her it was clean, but I could provide her another one the next day. My willingness to provide another duvet cover and to help is the proof Airbnb calims proves I violated the terms and conditions.  Excuse me for not calling her a liar or insane and getting into a fight. Airbnb made their decision without even hearing my side or calling me. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and no one has called me back.

She also complained that there were a pair of headphones on a desk, and that there was a cobweb in the ceiling of the corner.  But to suggest this is violating the terms and conditions is just insane. Keep in mind the room was overwhelmingly clean, and completely free of all clutter. Other than the furniture, there is basically nothing left in the room. I forgot to retrive a single pair of headphones from a corner desk. How on Earth is that violating the terms and conditions?

So why would Airbnb take her word over mine? I have hosted around 40 guests, she has a single review. Who is lying? Me and all those guests or this one person? If she is unhappy, I cannot stop her from reflecting this in her review. But to suggest I violated the terms and conditions because she incorrectly claims the duvet is not fresh, is just insane. Honestly, the place was actually very clean. The issues she brought up were tiny, and its insane Airbnb canceled my cancelation policy over this. What is the point of having a cancelation policy if Airbnb will not enforce it?

It's pretty clear the most important thing is being the first to complain and to reply to airbnb support immediately. I was at work, I could not immediately respon. It's very disappointing that Airbnb have decided that one person wrongly complaining about cleanliness means I have violated the terms and conditions, even when their own proof of other guest reviews proves her incorrect. 

Whats the point of having a strict cancelation policy if airbnb will not enforce it, and will bend to anyone who complains? It really seems like Airbnb has gone to the dogs. 

[Cindy403]

@Nabil4,  @Huma3  and others. I love painting but I’m a messy painter. I find painting walls therapeutic, so I don’t hire it out. I only hire painters for ceilings. Because I’m messy, I always have drips. I use WD-40 and steel wool, which works wonders on removing paint from hardwood floors and tile.  You can remove paint in a minute. Just spray the WD-40 and scrub with the grain of the wood or tile. 

Paint on carpet is a different beast. It requires much more time and a much more detailed process, including trimming the fiber. 

[Michael956]

I don't use white towels, sheets or duvets.  They are just too prone to show any slight imperfection.  Go out and buy a new duvet cover (or two so you have a back up) in a darker color or with a pattern.  You'll be glad you did.  

[Kenneth12]

Much less sheets....   I give up on maintaining high-quality sheets,  the loss rate just isn't worth it.

[Kenneth12]

@Nabil4 writes:

"It's pretty clear the most important thing is being the first to complain and to reply to airbnb support immediately. "

It's amazingly like Family Court in the US,  and just as petty and juvenile-- minus the judge,   as the ABB "case managers" always play the role of the First Cop On Scene who is a newbie to the force,  forgets to separate the parties and get each side.

Neutrality my left petunia cheek.  <<-- is that language too direct,  for ABB admins here? 

[Rachel0]

@Nabil4 I had a look at your listings and one of them has  as its title "Clean Double Room with Private Bathroom."  That same listing has 3.5* for cleanliness.  Perhaps you might want to think about changing the wording on your title page?  

My advice would be to avoid using white duvet covers  - they are a nightmare.  You are so close to Westfield that you could **bleep** along and get some lovely new, darker ones from John Lewis or Marks and Spencers.  

[Kenneth12]

This is the best advice I've seen of the bunch:  remove "Clean" from the title if you are not going to be "squeeky clean."

[Sarah977]

@Kenneth12   I didn't offer my situation as reason for why I am "right". I said that in my opinion there isn't any reason for a place someone pays to stay being less than clean, except that it wasn't cleaned well.

I didn't say anything about the general population of Nayarit- I was speaking specifically of Sayulita, which is the only place in this state that I have direct experience of.

It is not disparaging to other hosts to state that if a host can't afford to pay cleaners who do a thorough job, that they will just need to do it themselves. I'm low-income myself, so your interpretation that I was calling down hosts who "can't afford" to hire a cleaner was mis-interpreted.

I'm not sure what being an anthropologist has to do with anything I said about the area where I live. I was last in Mexico City about 15 years ago. At that point, a taco from a street vendor there was 3 pesos. I came to Sayulita the same year, where a taco was 8 pesos. Now they're 15. The disparity is still much the same, as I know from talking to those from Mexico City. If you don't believe me, I guess you'll just have to visit Sayulita. 

[Fred13]

I may be wrong, but I have always been of the impression, guests forgive places that are not 'perfect' where everything is immaculately finished, nothing is out of place or is not new, but 'cleanliness' is paramount and is a must, lack of it is what would make guests feel uncomfortable, everytime. 

[Sarah977]

I stayed at a small hotel on the beach. Family-run, on site hosts. Place was super simple- furnishings were low-end, construction materials used were as well, nor would the construction guys who built the place win any awards for skilled labor. There was an old fridge in the common area whose outside was more rust than intact metal- it had a sign on it- "I know I'm ugly, but I work!" Minimal decor, and that quite inexpensive or rustic. 

But you could have eaten off the floors, the place was so immaculate. And no small feat, as it was right on the beach, with sand and dirt blowing through constantly.  

I know there's those people who have the Ikea aesthetic who equate old, worn and full of character, or simple, inexpensive, and even ugly, with dirty, but  there's a big difference.

[Fred13]

@Sarah977 Subconciously no doubt I was thinking of my travels through Mexico when I wrote the above. It is full of the simplest of places but  when super clean (true not an easy feat),  I have loved the place.  

[Emily140]

Please, hosts, be respectful and helpful of each other.... hosting without support from Airbnb is hard enough.  I think the OP can improve the cleanliness and will do so, and surely needs to remove *CLEAN* from the title.  But the experience described by the OP with Airbnb is mostly emblematic of the current bias. 

NO MATTER WHAT a guest does or says, they will ALWAYS be supported by Airbnb.  I share a rustic little cabin in the woods and I also, previously, hosted in a stunning architecturally-significant, beautifully-furnished flat in San Francisco.  My flat was disrepected by a guest couple, wealthy young *tech-workers* who smacked up 110-year old wainscoting (beautifully painted, only once, and I am overwrought about being forced to redo it) by dragging golf clubs, bicycles, TV's, vacuum cleaners and all their other belongings up into my 2nd floor flat (rather than keeping sports equipment in the garage area, as I keep mine and require in my House Rules), leaned bicycles against pristine, recently-painted plaster walls, smacked black rubbery/greasy divets into white entry wood work... just basic disrespect for history and someone's home.

This guest also refused to vent the bathroom steam (House Rules require running fan/vent on the timer, with nearby window closed, to vent the steam), guest created the most unusual stains (turned out was oils from heavy hair products) all over ceiling and walls.  And to cap it all off, this guest misrepresented that their 35-lb dog was well-trained.  In fact, they trained their dog to pee indoors on my 110-year old wood floors and hand-made wool rugs.  OMG.  The flat was pristine, and located in an expensive area, and I charged ~$300/night, but that didn't help me get respectful guests.  In fact these guests said Airbnb paid for the reservation out of an issue that occured in a prior reservation (none of that shared with me prior to booking).  These guests treated my home like "rock stars" treat a hotel room, left it damaged, pee-soaked and so filthy after just 33 days. And Airbnb offered me no support on the damage even with photos and receipts, etc.

This guest also refused to leave; they said they loved the place and wanted to stay another month but I wouldn't agree to it after realizing that (1) the dog was leaving large pools of pee as standard practice, and they were lying about it, and (2) they refused to put up a security deposit (my Airbnb listing has $5000 security deposit), and (3) they had fully moved in and clearly wanted to LIVE there, stay there indefinitely, which was not the expectation described upfront (a consultant on a one-month contract with Apple).  After 9 days without paying, they finally agreed they would move on and did move out, on their own terms on their own time.  EXTREMELY stressful experience.  Airbnb would do nothing for me.  Didn't even respond for a couple of months then said couldn't charge the guest for overstaying, and my purchase receipt and photos of the beautiful rug the dog peed on multiple times doesn't really prove that I own the rug, and the list of damages that I made in excel doesn't qualify by their standards because the list itself wasn't prepared by a third-party expert.  Guest said, "False Claim, we didn't do it" and that's that. 

Guest is ALWAYS right with Airbnb.  There will always be another host willing to put their home at risk from rude and disrespectful guests, but Airbnb does not want to lose the paying guest to HomeAway, etc.

This guest now has a lawyer threatening to sue me for discrimination against "ethnic hair" (sorry but showering with ANY hair requires the vent/fan running), harassment, illegal eviction, etc.  Lawyer says their 33 days entitles them to tenant rights to stay as long as they want... and acceptance of dog means dog can pee anywhere they train the dog to pee including my beautiful oak floors.  How about them apples...

REmember, like Facebook, if you're not paying, you're not the customer.  The guest is the customer.  You are a fully replaceable, disposable vendor.  You are a commodity with no standing whatsoever.  Your listing will be DROPPED from the site if you don't start getting 4-5 stars consistently on cleanliness.  JMHO.

You have no choice whatsoever but to do the very best you can to provide a well-cleaned place.  No matter the price.  And please delete the word CLEAN from your title.  You're setting a high expectation with that title;  any variance from that expectation will be annoying to guests, justifiably. If your point really is that it's simple but clean, go with SIMPLE.  Or BASIC.  Or EFFICIENT.  Just my opinion.

Lastly, be very careful about accepting any guest who appears to be difficult as you, the host, will always lose.

As another example, I have a listing which uses the word *rustic* in the description multiple times.  It's Napa Valley location, great spot, super cute and inviting, but I don't want the housewives of Orange County in Manolo Blahniks, I have uneven steps in the pathway, old wood floors, a small old-style bathroom without space for curlers, etc.   I have a window A/C unit in the bedroom that isn't perfect in extreme heat as the place is only 400sf, so when it's 110 outside, it's just surrounded!  The cabin is not brand new like a 5-star resort (which run $700-$1200+ per night around here), and I enjoy the company of people in hiking boots and sneakers, who enjoy an authentic "old-Napa" experience.  I find the simplicity of the place very relaxing, and my happy guests do too.  So I overemphasize the rustic nature and age of the cute, vintage structure, in order to attract the right "fit."  My guests often say Wow, the photos and your description don't do the place justice, we're pleasantly surprised.  Perfect.  (On the other hand, I'm obsessive about cleaning--old and charming is adorable when clean, but scary if spidery and dusty.) 

Point is, sorry, this is long, I have had (only) one bad review by a woman who RAILED about how the cabin bedroom (which is like an old-fashioned sleeping porch, multiple windows, everyone loves sleeping with them open), complained bitterly in her review that the windows were not double-paned and the cabin was not "properly winterized."  This is California, not Chicago... We don't use the word "winterized" around here.  She further stated in her review that while she was unhappy in December, she thought future guests would be equally unhappy in summer as she predicted that the open-beamed ceiling would make it too warm in the bedroom.  It's always 55-58F at night here... Just sayin...  But I should have fully refunded her before her stay; she was complaining before she even arrived and I will always regret not declining her reservation.  I sure don't want people to have a bad experience.  She needed a very high-end, newer structure to be happy.

I will always have that negative review.  Every other review is 5-star.  Except one who graded me 4star on "value" because I had a 3-day minimum and she only wanted 2 nights (um, book a place with a 2-nite minimum??)

Airbnb did not look at 30-some reviews of happy guests, nor trust a *SuperHost* opinion that a central heater typically used in 1000sf+ apartments does just FINE in 400sf...  And, further, I put a ceiling fan in the center of the cabin to ensure the heat is well distributed, and a super nice down comforter to keep people cozy at night, as everyone loves to sleep with the windows open.  But I was stubborn; she booked right before Christmas, knew the weather, knew the cabin's limitations, and booked anyway, on a holiday, so I didn't want to let her cancel at the last minute with no cancellation fee (as my policy, strict, provides).  My mistake.  It wasn't worth the misery.

The guest will always be right.  So you do the best you possibly can, don't overbook yourself, clean the place yourself if local cleaners are poor or costly (which is the case here, it's $30-40/hour CASH only, and they come whenever they want and mostly talk on the phone and won't do anything that requires bending over.)

Good luck.  Luck is all we got, there is no *justice* nor *fairness* with Airbnb... Take to heart the comments here and try to avoid the impossible-to-please guest by setting fair expectations and declining reservations from anyone who is already complaining before they book.