Cancelled guest for house rule violation

[Telisa-and-Jim0]

I rented a house to a guest who registered 4 adults staying. Our house rules are clear that no more than 6 people (including children and infants) may be at the house at any time (our town has strict rental rules and we do not allow events of any kind). The guest showed up with 5 people, we informed them the additional person would be an additional charge (same as if they had registered with the initial reservation) and made it clear that only 6 people could be at the house.

The next day, the guest asked if they could have 3 more people stay over. We told them no, this was not permitted and they have agreed to the house rules. Still, 4 more people show up (we have external security cams, which are indicated on the listing).  We told the guest they needed to abide by the 6 person maximum. We contacted airbnb for help. After hours of back and forth with both, the extra people were still there and it was clear they had no intention of complying with our rules (and the security cam picked up on them stating they "would blow us up in the reviews" for enforcing the rules). We asked Airbnb to help us with getting the guests out - we were done and tired of being lied to. Eventually, after being screamed/cursed at and insulted by the guest, they left.

Throughout, we confirmed with Airbnb that we were permitted to remove them for not following rules (after giving multiple opportunities to comply) and that we would not be penalized. Airbnb assured us that the guest would not be permitted to review us and that it was at our option to refund any cancelled nights. We refunded for one night, but not the second as they didn't leave until 9pm (a full 8 hours after we initiated the discussion with Airbnb about the rule violations).

Now, Airbnb is telling us that their case manager made a mistake - that the guest will be able to review us and that we must refund them for the other night. The house was left a mess, damage to our deck, other clear violations of rules (glass by the pool, doors left open/unlocked, pool safety gate left open.... on and on). 

Has anyone resolved a similar situation? These guests were horrible - the names and cursing directed at us when we were clear about the rules and gave them plenty of time to correct the violation. Most of our guests/experience with Airbnb has been fine, we have stellar reviews and now this set of bad apples has us thinking of leaving the platform.

[Kath9]

@Telisa-and-Jim0 that's dreadful, so sorry you had to go through all that. As far as I'm aware, you do not 'have' to refund them and if you do, then there is something seriously wrong with the system (which we all know anyway). I would also be putting in a claim for damages. As far as the review goes, it seems that all guests have the opportunity to review, regardless. The important thing is to leave a review yourself so that you have the chance to publicly respond to theirs. First, I would wait until the 11th hour to review in the hopes they don't leave one. If they do, just go ahead and review them, and don't hold back! You will have the chance to leave a public response to their review and potential guests will see it in perspective with your other great reviews. Not ideal I know and Airbnb should absolutely be supporting you on this but unfortunately Airbnb nearly always takes the side of guests, no matter how badly behaved they are. 

[Kaylee18]

@Telisa-and-Jim0    I had a guest arrive at my rental and they broke a house rule. I contacted Airbnb who tried to resolve it, and the guest refused to pay a cleaning fee and therefore decided to leave. They were at my unit for no more than 3 hours. Airbnb agreed since they were only there for 3 hours they did not "experience" what I was offering and therefore they did not allow them to review me. 

If your guests were only at your property for 8 hours, if you talk to the right customer service rep, someone should take away the review option for both of you. 

Best of luck! 

[Kelly149]

@Telisa-and-Jim0 Please search the cc; read away and see that this is not unusual. 

Everyone gets to review. Your best hope is that your guest curses or mentions that you had abb charge them for damage and overstay. That is your best shot at abb removing any review they post. 

Abb ToS say that anytime past checkin time may be charged so CS is wrong that you have to refund that second night. 

And “no penalty” in ABB CS speak means we won’t charge you for kicking out the guest. It doesn’t mean that you get to keep the guest’s money for days they don’t stay. Cause you don’t. 

Sorry you got got a bad egg. If it were me I’d write up a bill for everything they damaged, messed up, went over on. Resolution center claims are often paid out pennies on the dollar so include everything. Again, read some posts, there are things that help and things that hurt your chances. 

Good luck

[Susan1010]

I just had a similar situation.  Long term guest showed up with a cat they'd not declared at the time of the reservation (which we require). Within 6 days of occupancy the guests had taken the protective mattress covers off and the cat or one of them had urinated on and ruined a brand new mattress.  Housekeeping had spoken with them about cleanliness expectations and still there was food,  toys, trash left everywhere.  Floors, walls and furniture was damaged and the situation wasn't improving.  I called Air B&B and was reassued that so long as I had photos and good documentation of the violations,  I wouldn't have any repercussions.  Now the guests were refunded even for nights spent in the house,  they've left a scathing 1 star review (I'd never had less than a 5 in a single area in any of my listings before) and my listing and superhost status are in jeopardy.  Every time I get another message from Air B&B, it's a new "Senior Dedicated Case Manager" and no one will intervene on my behalf.  It's very frustrating. 

[Velvet-Rental-Group0]

I recently had a guest who was set to stay for 2 months. About 5 weeks into it, I had to ask her to leave for breaking many of my house rules. I emailed Airbnb asking, “will my payout be affected if I end this reservation early?”... I was told, “no, your payout will not be affected”. However, I checked back and found that almost $1000 was to be refunded back to the guest. What should I do?