Hello Fella Hosts,
Right now, I'm hosting a family of 4 in my apartment. It's whole apartment to themselves and they will be checking out tomorrow.
Well, this is my first really BAD experience since hosting about 6 months back, have host more than 30 guests. I am prepared for the worst when they check out.
Prior their check in, I sent them an email telling on the direction, check in/check out time, and other information.
We have guest checking out on the same day they are checking in, my check out is fixed at 12pm and check in is 3pm but is negotiable if there's no prior guest/next guest within 24 hrs.
I sent the guest an email on 17 December 2015, their check in was 4th January 2016. On 29th December, she drop me a airbnb message saying she did not receive my email and I resend it on the same day, and I went for my new year celebration. She sent me an email on 3rd Jan, the day before check in but I didn't have the chance to read it. My mobile number was also left in the email stating that for any urgent matter, please contact me directly. And she didn't. Her request in the email was to check out at 4pm, and to have an extra mattress.
So, the current guests conveniently come to the apartment at 2pm, obviously they did not read my email and we are still in the midst of cleaning! Our cleaner is very professional and kind, she quickly clear up everything and told the guests to enjoy their stay and left. My house rule clearly stated 'No shoes allowed in the apartment', and we even told them verbally that no shoes are allowed in the house because we have carpet! We certainly do not want them to step on our carpet as it's the hardest to clean. They requested to check out at 4pm at the same time and we agree to it out of goodwill since we are flexible.
The real trouble starts on the same night they check in.
I received a message from the guest saying that they couldn't find the bedsheet for the extra mattress, and they need the 'bedsheet' in case accidents happen at night. I was shocked, thinking about what kind of accidents could happen. I kindly replied to them that the mattress is already covered with a quilt cover, the reason why we did not use a bedsheet is because we keep the extra mattress inside the wardobe and it's rolled up. A fitted bedsheet means that, well, it doesn't fit well since it's rolled up and we do not want our guest to go through the hassle of fitting bedsheet everynight. The mattress is slotted into the quilt cover, so the quilt cover serves the same purpose and is washed, cleaned and changed for every guest check in. I do not know if we have communication problem or cultural difference. She kept asking where is the blanket when she already saw the blanket. Apparently, she used the blanket as a 'bedsheet' to cover the 'mattress with quilt cover' and now she's asking for the blanket. I explained to her again that the quilt is clean, it comes with matching pillow case(same design as the quilt) and a blanket to cover your kids if they are cold.
And, she continue to asked me this question that I will never understand, 'What if my kids are not cold? What do they cover with?'
Well, in my country, when we are not cold, we cover with nothing. We wish to sleep naked if we can. I asked 5 of my friends if they know what's this about, and none of them have a clue, can anyone here enlighten me?
I also asked her about what accidents could happen at night. She just replied 'You are too young to know about this and I am not going to explain it at this time of the night'. I was in total lost, I agree that I am young since I'm in my 20s, but that doesn't mean that I should not know what happen. You are staying in my apartment and I should know what 'accident' should happen. But in my mind, I'm thinking 'PLEASE DO NOT treat any of the bed as a toilet'.
I replied her 'If it is a toilet accident, please direct your kids to the bathroom'. And I also replied that we do not have any spare bedsheet/blanket she want, but I have extra quilt cover and I can deliver it to you the next day. She gladly agree that it will be great if we can do that.
I went to IKEA to get a new set of quilt cover(YES I BOUGHT IT!!!!!!) as well as a throw(it's basically like a blanket) to please her since I wanted both of us to have a pleasant experience afterall.
Went to the apartment, the first thing I saw is, SHOES. They are still wearing shoes in our apartment.
And now she's arguing that our blanket do not have a cover. Our blanket for the extra mattress is a thick spread that can keep you warm, not a quilt. Why do we need a cover for the blanket? The blanket is clean too, it's washed and change for every guest. But she wanted a COVER FOR THE BLANKET. And I told her, in my country, we do not cover ourselves with blanket if we are not feeling cold. And she says, in her country, they do cover themselves with blanket even if they are not cold. But again, the blanket is right there but she's still asking for the blanket cover. And she said this, 'All the hotels I went to have a blanket cover'. And, I finally understand that she wanted a QUILT and A COVER. Well, the bedroom's bed has quilt cover, but not the sofa bed. Our listing also shows 1 BED, and description clearly stated that it's 1 queen bed and 1 sofa bed. I told myself, if she wants real beds like a hotel, then go to a hotel. We function differently.
I just smiled, tell her have a good day and left.
I wrote her an official email addressing all the issues as well as how airbnb functioned. She just joined airbnb on Nov 2015.
This is horrible.
I had a very nasty experience and she's not obeying my houserules. And she's foreseeing an 'accident'. If she can foresee an accident, why can't she bring her kids pampers? Her kids looks like they are at least 6 years old by the way.
What can I do about it? As a host, if we meet such guests, how do we do? Is it enough to claim their security fee?
