Frustrated newbie in Ireland -- guest cancels after check-in, leaves and demands a refund

[Gabrielle190]

Last week, I painted the living room of my old cottage in the west of Ireland and cleaned like my life depended on it. I had my first guests and their dog (it's listed as pet-friendly as I have dogs myself and went away for a few days. A local Airbnb superhost recommended a cleaner for me and the cleaner arrived last night, but I don't charge a cleaning fee. Today, the second lot of guests, a couple with a child and a dog (and no previous guest reviews!), arrived.

A couple of hours later I received a message through Airbnb that they had left the house because there was a "strange smell", dust under a bed and that the property did not meet their expectations and they wanted a refund. I called the cleaner and she said the only smell she could get was that of an old house (some parts date back to the 19th century). But she did admit that she hadn't cleaned breadcrumbs on the kitchen counter, remove a dog toy left by the previous guests and hadn't swept under the beds. Then I rang the guest and said I could send the cleaner straight over to rectify the situation but they left they had already left town. They couldn't identify the smell but said his wife refused to stay there.

The guests were due to stay for three nights and it's too late to secure replacement bookings for today until Sunday. I have a strict cancellation policy, so I assume I don't have to give them a full refund. But what if I give them a full refund out of goodwill and they still leave a negative review? I contacted Airbnb and they said it's up to me to decide whether to give them a refund. I'm thinking of offering one night's refund -- is this the best approach?

Thanks in advance for your advice!!

[Dimitar27]

In my opinion, do the best you can, to cover up that smell. Or set accent on the age and historical significance of the building. It looks nice, close to the nature. Check other listings in the area and find the "spices" , good for you. Note, that 1 picture tells 1000 words. It's true. 10 photos are not enough. Very soon the system will ask you for more. Change them all. Guest expectations are based on the photos. When you enter the room, you must feel the same, as when you looked at the photo.

[Gabrielle190]

Thanks! I especially take your point about highlighting the historical significance so that guests aren't surprised by an old-house smell! I'll also take more photos -- I left out one of the living room because I hadn't finished painting it. 

[Mark116]

@Gabrielle190   It's a tough call on the refund, because the guests can give you a bad review no matter what you do.  I would speak to your cleaner though, dust under the beds is one thing, crumbs on the counter is something else.   But, I wonder if they just didn't like the place--more photos will prevent that in future--and so were looking for an excuse to get a refund.

[Kath9]

@Gabrielle190, what a shame for this to happen on your second guests. First, I would say, get a new cleaner. Crumbs on the counter??? I don't have a cleaner but I vacuum under the bed in between every single guest. Second, have you had a chance to return to the house so see if there is, indeed, a 'strange smell'? Do you think it might have been the fresh paint? (some people are very sensitive to this).

Honestly, given that you are a new host and you are unable to refute their story, I would offer them a sincere apology and full refund and let them know that you will be sacking the cleaner, tracking down the source of the smell and ensuring that this won't happen again. People love to feel they are 'right', so if you do this, they will hopefully won't review you (no guarantees though). If they do review you, make sure you also review them so you have the opportunity to publicly respond to their review if they leave you a negative one.

[Ellen33]

Hmmm...painting and opening up 1 week later.

Could have been the paint smell. When we painted the bedrooms we had to air the room daily for hours and didnt open the listing because smell was there.

And for the cleaner....seriously. she didnt do her job properly

[Gabrielle190]

Hi Ellen! These were the second lot of guests -- the first guests didn't mention the smell. I used water-based paint, not oil-based, and left the door from the room to the courtyard open the entire time. But I agree with you about the cleaner!

[Paul154]

@Gabrielle190 

First things first.

A guest saying there is a "strange smell" does not mean there is a strange smell.

Especially for a guest who does not want to stay at your place, saying there's a  strange smell is a great way to get out of their agreement. Sorry, but it's a pretty sophiscated way to get one's money back. 

So unfair. But let this one go.

More importantly, you need a better housekeeper. Someone you trust to complete the job.

They don't need to get the dust under the bed everytime, but leaving breadcrumbs on the counter is just lazy and off-putting

[Gabrielle190]

Thanks Paul. I was going to do all the cleaning myself but I was called away to Dublin to do some work so I used a cleaner as a one-off who was recommended to me by a friend and fellow Airbnb host (albeit much more experienced!). 

The general consensus here seems to be to offer a full rather than partial refund so I'll go ahead and do that.

[Ellen33]

@Paul154 

Off course she needs to remove the dust under the bed every time. So a guest leaves socks or whatever under the bed....and cleaning lady does not check nor clean. Nice thing for a new guest to find stuff, hair or dust under the bed. Just my opinion.