Broken House Rules and AirBnB's participation

[Crystal249]

We just hosted our first guest and oh my!  The guest was a traveling nurse with a dog (German Shepherd) and we agreed.  She said she was uncertain about her contract and if we would allow her a longer cancellation terms with no penalty and we did.  

This home belonged to my Grandmother and we spent the month before she moved in, removing, replacing and updating this home.  The interior of the home was freshly painted, the hardwood floors were cleaned and polished, brand new curtains, sheets, towels, etc.  

The original check out was supposed to be 9/17 but almost immediately she gave me an earlier check out date.  I said I would agree to it.  That date changed.  I agreed to the new one and then she gave me another date.  I decided at that point that I would no longer accept an early check out.  She also asked if I would refund her for the days she wasn't at the home.  Initially I said I would but the date kept changing so I said I would not.  Out of the  blue, she sends me a text from AirBnB around 11:00 p.m. telling me she had a family emergency and she was leaving then and would I refund her money for the days she wasn't there.  I got the same text the next morning.  So I asked her when she was checking out and she said I'm already out and she asked me to refund her for the time she wasn't at the house and her security deposit.

We went to the house this weekend to clean it.  Before we could get out of the car, the neighbor asked where she was and where were her two dogs!  Two dogs!  She told us she had one!

I know why she wanted the security deposit back.  I've NEVER seen a home in such bad shape.  Stains and spills (yes spills) on the walls - it looks like she threw a Coke/Pepsi on the walls and it dripped down to the baseboard the floors.  The same spill was on the bedroom walls, the kitchen wall and the bathroom wall.  Dog hair EVERYWHERE!!!  Every surface was coated with dog hair.  Damp, dirty, moldy and stained towels on the hardwood floor in the middle bedroom, overflowing trash, a dog crate on the front porch, hypodermic needles on the floor and table, scratches on the hardwood floors, damaged sheets and curtains, blankets, pillows.  Scratches on the wooden doors and frames.  

I've never been so sick in my entire life.  I have filed a claim yesterday but this loss is so major that it makes me rethink using AirBnb.  I am also seeing a common theme with AirBnB on this forum and how they treat hosts whose property has been damaged.

This woman was there for two and half months and I can tell you that she never cleaned anything.  It was so disgusting.  If we ever do a long term rental through AirBnB again we will do monthly checks.  I am just horrified at the damage.  We have to start all over again.  On top of this we have another guest checking in at the end of this month.  We have our contractor out now working on the home.  

Any suggestions?

[Allison2]

Yes, READ, READ, READ the forums so you can avoid these kinds of headaches.

Forewarned is forearmed.

MANY hosts would tell you Airbnb is better suited for STR, and doesn't give enough protections for LTR. You'd be better off renting LT in a situation where you can have a contract, first/last month's rent and a real working deposit.

Be clear in your listing. You are hosting GUESTS not TENANTS. As a host you need to know the legal difference between the two or you'll be in a world of pain. If a GUEST stops paying at a hotel, the police will remove them for trespassing. If a TENANT stops paying you'll need to go through an eviction proceeding. You want guests. Not tenants.

Those who do host LT thru Air would tell you they include a weekly/biweekly/monthly cleaning or service that puts them on-site so they can catch issues before they fully develop.

Others would have suggested a video doorbell or other way of ensuring you know who is on your property so you aren't surprised by extra dogs, keg parties, meth lab, etc upon checkout.

I'd suggest renting for shorter periods initially so you can build up your reviews. I feel these bad guests target new hosts, so learn through the experience of hosting shorter stays. Then you know your value and won't let someone mess you about with their changing dates. A more experienced host wouldn't have entertained a wishy-washy request with imaginary check-out date. 

The request for refunded days she didn't stay is bad business, too. She wasn't going to move out and let other guests use the space. She's using the space, so of course she should pay for it!

Read more. Make smart policies and stick to them. Don't let people walk over you.

[Crystal249]

After she checked out.  I called AirBnB and did give her a partial refund the day before we went to check the property.  You are right - forewarned is a good thing.  This is great information!  Thank you for sharing this with me!  

[Teresa102]

I have been blessed with an overwhelming supply of amazing guests, and three extremely naughty ones.

Those three naughty ones, only two left a mark.  The third one was disgusting, and took an extra day to clean up, but otherwise was simply red-lined from ever darkening my door again.  Those other two, I will say that 'repairs were needed' on my vintage apartment.  I found that taking numerous HIGH QUALITY photos and promptly submitting them to AirBnb, along with my phone call and the obvious disgust over the situation, ended up with not only AirBnb billing the guest in two situations, and reimbursing me for repairs in the other.  On one of the billing to the guest - the guest refused to pay, and AirBnb reluctantly paid me - it took me complaining about their lack of follow through for about 8 months before they did it, but they did finally do it. 

All that said, I rarely have issues.  I rarely have any type of complaint from my guest or from me.  I have never not been a SuperHost (not that there is any big star in one's crown from such an honor), but I think that not sweating small stuff like a scuffed wall, or an occasional stained towel, that should be part of the cost of doing business, goes a long way when we have an actual strong valid situation such as Crystal has experienced.  I know that many of us have had bad outcomes, and I'm waiting for the day that I find myself with that, and saying to myself, 'They warned me...' but right now, I can say they have been fair with me.

[Mark116]

@Crystal249   Long term rentals are problematic because if people are dirty, they have a lot of time to do damage as you saw.  So, I would either not do any rentals more than 28 days, or if you are going to do them, set up a system of every 2 weeks to go in a do a light cleaning so you can check on the place, build that into your price and make it a positive.  Never give anyone a refund until you have seen the unit.  

[Christine615]

Yep - NEVER EVER review or give refunds before you inspect the apartment. For anything over a few weeks, go physically inspect the apartment (to change light bulbs, furnace filter, or whatever other excuse you can think of).

I've only done one 30+ booking and the guests were somewhere in the middle on cleanliness. Not perfect, but not enough for me to report them.

And Airbnb has got to get a grip on compensating guests for damage from animals.

But for sure - the minute she started flaking on the check-out dates, that was a clue there were problems (mental illness, maybe?)

Sorry you went through this. Try again but with some rules:

1. No long term guests until you get more experience.
2. No local guests.
3. No pets or untrained service animals.
4. Service animals must never be left unattended.

That will help a lot.

BTW - Just looked at your profile. I worry about the Superbowl listing. 10 people but only 3 beds and a sofa couch for SuperBowl weekend? That feels like a problem waiting to happen. We have not enjoyed hosting groups for Chiefs weekends because of the drinking and the mess. On the other hand, the rate is more than enough to cover damages so good luck!

[Sarah977]

@Crystal249  I'm very sorry this happened- I  can imagine how devastated you must feel.

But to let a guest stay for 2 months without having any arrangement to go in to clean or do maintainance so you can check how the guest is living in there is sheer madness. This is why when people rent a place long-term, they do so with a proper lease agreement, a real damage deposit, and check the tenant's references. It's not something you do as an Airbnb listing when you don't live on site to keep an eye on things.

[Kaylee18]

@Crystal249   This is why I don't offer long term rentals. The majority of my guests are 2 -5 days and I love it!!! Things stay relatively clean! 

2.5 months is a long time (especially with two dogs) for a home to get really dirty if no one is cleaning it. 

Do you have in your house rules that guests are responsible for cleaning the home during their stay? Guests will take advantage of whatever rules you do not set, so if that was not stated I can see how she wouldn't bother to clean (although most people would). 

As for dogs... I LOVE dogs and we allowed dogs our first few months of hosting. After hosting 2 irresponsible dog owners, we are no longer pet friendly (which I now LOVE!). Less cleaning and I also noticed it did not effect our booking rates anyway!

I hope Airbnb helps you out with the damages! Best of luck!

[Crystal249]

I am not offering long term rentals and I am not longer accepting pets.  My no pet policy breaks my heart but I can't go through this again.  

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Crystal249 ,

So sorry to hear about this dreadful situation. Just to confirm, you have opened a claim for the damages with the customer support team? 

Thanks