Hello and thank you very much to everyone who has taken the time to respond to me, it has been much appreciated. It's also quite hard to get across in one post the ins and outs of everything, but rest assured we did everything we could for Charlie even accepting her request for a very late check-out at 2pm. She was due to attend quite a fancy NYE party that night so I can't really understand why she was so hung up on very minor points of our property (including the non-existent smell, and outright lies about the council estate, apartment view and 'lack of teas and toiletries') when she should have been all set to have a brilliant time.
In my view, something else came up (other accommodation?) or she had a row with her husband and decided she didn't want to stay at our apartment so made up all this stuff in order to get her money back which backfired badly when I smelt a rat! Of course, this is only my opinion but most people could probably find 1 or 2 negatives about a property if they really looked for them - but not 1 star reviews on every level.
Anyway, to let you all know what happened starting with the negatives and ending with the positives:
1. The Negatives: Charlie dug her heels in and replied to my initial guest review insisting we lived on a council estate (which for those outside of the UK, is extremely uncomplimentary), and then telling outright lies that we don't supply teas, coffees and toiletries. If she thought she was telling the truth, then why not open the cupboards to have a look before commenting on teas, coffees and toiletries? Does she think hosts leave everything out on the surfaces to gather dust? We don't have much on the surfaces, it is all put away in cupboards. Either way, she is not stupid and I'm sure she was deliberately lying on these points to extort a refund from me.
2. Air b&b were friendly but it was really like talking to a brick wall. They refused to acknowledge that a person either does, or does not, live on a council estate and weren't interested in me supplying evidence to prove that we don't. They refuse to acknowledge that Charlie is a consistent aggressive host and guest, and that she was flouting the basic rules of air b&b to remain respectful and honest. Needless to say they refused to edit or take down her review.
1. The Positives: we have since had a last minute guest who has left a glowing review; interestingly he makes a point of saying we live in a well kept area and praises the apartment. We have also had other bookings this week now.
2. We have made small adjustments in the apartment to make it more homely, such as new pictures, a new microwave and planned new kitchen cupboard doors (even though the wear and tear Charlie has pointed out is very minor!). This is more for peace of mind, and we will know for sure in that case that any further negative reviews about the kitchen fixtures are definitely unjustified.
3. We have taken pictures of the road, garden and even the toiletries, teas, coffees etc so that guests can view these pictures if they are in any doubt after reading Charlie's review.
The one point I am unsure on is air fresheners, as the apartment can smell slightly musty if we don't use them. One guest even insisted once that we should be using plug-in air fresheners to which we replied that they are a fire risk. I wonder if other hosts that dislike the air fresheners, include the pots of perfume with the sticks in that?
Either way, I have taken up enough of your time now but thank you for all of your support 🙂
