Being threatened by a guest, what would you do?

[Jian-Hui0]

Hi everyone,

I am a new host and I have hosted a couple guests recently. They are very satisfied with my smoke-free and pet-free house. Also, I have stayed in the house for about a year, putting descriptive photos and info for my listing for my guests.

A week ago, there was a guest (and his mom) made a reservation (30 days of stay) and wanted to take a look of the house before moving in on Mid-Aug. As the booking was confirmed, I want to make sure my guests have the best stay so I let him to check the house. Throughout the conversation, he asked me whether my place is 100% smoke-free and I told him yes. During the visit, I gave him a tour and asked him whether he has any problem or questions regarding the room, please feel free to ask me so I can make it better before he and his mom move into the room. He said everything was great and neat. He then checked the rooms and asked who else will be staying in this house. I told him that my fiance will be back to stay with me after a month (which wont be here during their stay) as she is working in other state. He said cool cool. Before he left, I asked him again whether he has any question or issue. He said nope, it is great.  So I sent him off and said see you in Mid-Aug, he answered see you soon.

2 days later, AirBnB contacted me about the guest wanted to cancel the reservation and get back the full refund because he said my house has smoke and mold odor which makes an unsafe and healthy environment. I was surprised because the guest did not mention anything during the meet-up! I then told the representative everything. The rep was trying to help him at first but I explained nicely why I would not refund the guest due to the long-term cancellation (strict) policy. I set this policy because I have seen some before. Then, the rep instructed me on how to solve the problem. I followed and responded the guest that I cannot make a refund. Then I thought things are settled.

The next day, the guest threatening me that If I don't refund he will report to police or make a lawsuit to sue me because I keep his money for nothing (excuse me?) I gave AirBnB a call and a representative told me do not worry because I have the cancellation policy, and AirBnB wont refund to the guest and will protect me if the guest is going to file a lawsuit against me. I felt relieved because I got assurance from AirBnB that they will protect the host. 

Few hours later, another representative (let call her K) called me with a rude tone, kept insisting me to refund the guest. K did not even listen to whatever I explained. Kept asking me "If there any possibility you would refund the guest full amount of money? We will cancel the reservation on your behalf without penalizing you. ", I was driving at that moment and kind of pissed because I did not do anything wrong, the rude rep wanted to close the case very badly, as this thing has been emotionally affected me, I told K that I would refund 50% and cancel the reservation. That's the best I could do because the guest has the responsibility to read before booking, he needs to learn a lesson. K said okay and the conversation was ended. 

During that night, the guest sent me another threatening message that he will check in to the house on the first check-in day with lawyer and police if I don't provide a full refund. My fiance and I couldn't fall asleep, we couldn't understand why this guest wanted to do so? why wouldn't he address the issue during the meet-up but 2 days after? Did he find a better place so he made excuse? Why is he accusing my place has mold and smoke odor when he did wrong?

 Lastly, my fiance and I decided to give him the full refund due to the mentally tortured. I called AirBnB to refund the guest. K then called back for confirmation with her happy tone (because she can close the case). The case is then closed.

This is my first time facing this issue and I am kind of disappointing because I expect AirBnB to protect me when circumstances like this happen. Now I feel that, as a host, no matter what cancellation policy you have, flexible, medium, strict or super-strict for your listing, it will become ineffective when guest makes false statement and request to refund. I learned a lesson and will be a better host in the future. Learn to protect myself before someone protects me.

If this happens to other host (you), what would you do? Please feel free to share your advice and suggestions, so everyone will be alert and knows how to handle when it happens. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate it.

[Suzanne302]

@Niel3  Perhaps you missed the part where @Jian-Hui0  said the guest had prior BAD REVIEWS. Based on what @Jian-Hui0  wrote, this guest reeks of a scammer. And the fact that he's pulling the lawsuit card and threatening the host makes it seem even more so. At the very least this guy has some anger management issues.

A host is not greedy simply because they wish to enforce their cancellation policy. If the place didn't seem suitable after the guest did a walk through, there are many other ways he could have handled it. Instead, he chose to pretend everything was okay, call Airbnb with a dramatic claim, and then proceed to threaten the host with legal action for refusing to let him out of a contract HE AGREED TO.

Had the guest simply said during the walk through, "Hey, I'm really sensitive to smells and I'm not sure I'll be comfortable here. Is there any way to work out a refund or partial refund so I may book someplace else?" perhaps the host may have felt differently and offered to work with him on a refund if the dates could be rebooked.

Attitude matters.

[Niel3]

@Suzanne302  How exactly is the potential guest scamming the host? What are they scamming the host out of? Perhaps it's different in the USA but in the UK when someone scams someone they obtain goods or services from them by deceit at the expense of the victim, the potential guest is not trying to obtain anything other than a refund.

Also in the UK someone can put whatever they like in their T&Cs but the law of the land will take precedence. If this went to court in the UK the guest would win a refund (plus costs) regardless of any cancellation policy, not sure about the US but I suspect given the large amount of money in dispute here it's worth looking at legal action to recover hence the guests's threat of legal action. (Plus we do not know the tone and content of the hosts initial response to the request of a cancellation, if they were combative the guest may have felt they would have no recourse from trying to argue with the host and went straight to legal threats)

Regarding the guest not saying anything during the visit, perhaps they are one of many people in the world who do not like direct confrontation. It's not really easy to say "Sorry your house smells" to someone and as is often the advice given on these boards communications are best kept through the AirBNB platform anyway.

[Suzanne302]

@Niel3 That would certainly be nice if we could just ignore all the terms of a contract, wouldn't it? Rental agencies would have a good laugh if people simply said they don't want to stay in their rental anymore so they deserve a full refund and if they don't get it they'll sue them.

A contract is a contract and here in the U.S. they are not just meaningless pieces of paper.

I'm not interested in your defense of this guest anymore so have a great day!

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Niel3  i would agree with @Suzanne302 too, even here in the UK.

We're not talking about arbitrary made up T&C's here, Firstly there's the Airbnb Terms, then there's the House Rules, with which the Guest and Host agree to be a binding contract. Any refunds would need to be made based on the terms of that contract so it would be foolish to try to obtain a greater settlement outside of that contract.

The guests harassment does seem to have worked in obtaining a refund, but a fair conclusion should have been decided based on the facts of the contract and not by harassment.

The guest had plenty of opportunity to discuss his concerns directly with the host and he should have done that. Making threats was not the way to handle things.

It is worth remembering that the contract is based on ABB Terms AND House Rules. If a host wanted to take a guest to court over failing to adhere to ABB Terms and their own House Rules, they could. I would. Any prosecution/defence would need to be proven in fact and on the contract agreed.

[Suzanne302]

@Jian-Hui0  Since you are new, my advice is the next time if 20% of hosts who review a guest say he is the worst guest they've ever had...Believe them! Do not accept that booking!

[Linda108]

@Suzanne302   One of the greatest aspects of this forum as I have participated for the last 3- 4 years is that hosts come from different perspectives.  Your perspective is popular with some hosts that believe the rules are the rules.  @Niel3  appears to have a perspective that hosts should look at each case and make an individual decision.  I believe for new hosts, this dialogue of different perspectives can be very useful and educational.  It has been for me. 

@Jian-Hui0   I agree with @Suzanne302  that you really should take into account the reviews of a guest.  Many hosts are reluctant to post a negative review so when there are negative comments, it can often be just the tip of the ice berge and are not good guests in the shared home environment.  They are not necessarily "scammers" or bad people, but they just don't fit into someone else's home.

Frankly, I think you avoided a bad situation and that soon you will have the lovely guests that most of us have most of the time.

[Suzanne302]

@Linda108  I am actually one of those hosts who believes in looking at it on a case by case basis. As I mentioned in my previous post, attitude is everything. Had the guy simply contacted the host in a nice manner and said he would be uncomfortable there, that, for me, would warrant some sympathy and perhaps they could have worked out a solution that might not be 100% what both parties wanted, but they could have met in the middle somewhere.

But once the guest becomes dramatic and threatens to sue, yes, then I'm going to refer to the TOS and say rules are rules!

[Lee150]

There's a whole new "Industry" of Guests threatening Hosts to sue to get their money back
OR threatening the Hosts with bad reviews

NEVER but NEVER let a guest look at your house before they book. They are either one of two things
1. Looking for something to complain about after they stay
2. A scam artist like the above

I had a guest who threatened me the other day . I thought he was going to hit me.
The weird thing is I almost CANCELED his reservation because he had no reviews . I will NEVER accept another guest with no reviews.

What happened afterwards when I called Airbnb was another story . I had 4 Case Managers
and promises were made . Not sure what is going to happen
As soon as a Host .ESPECIALLY A WOMAN HOST calls about a MALE GUEST threatening her ?
The call should be escalated to the safety department