Guest breaking house rules and penalties for cancellation

[Ljupka0]

Hello there fellow hosts, 

I wanted to bring to your attention an issue I have had and also to warn other hosts. I tried to find the answer in the community center but was unable to. 

I have been a super host for a year and half now and am currently hosting my first problematic guest. She is a first time guest on AirBnB as I really like to provide a chance to first timers. This time I was wrong. Within a 4 hour timeframe of her checking in, I was contacted four times for random things that were already stated in the extremely detailed check in brochure I provide to all my guests (ex. where are towels and trash bags).

I have heard of guests trying to get away with refunds when they falsely claim there are insects in the house to AirBnB, but did not expect this from my guest. She claimed there were fruit flies in the kitchen. I would have believed her if the exterminator had not come that same week before her check in to thoroughly spray the inside and outside of our house for the summer.

With the guest's permission, I went in the house to check and of course there were no flies around. What I did find was a cigarette butt by the trash can. I took a picture of it Since this guest has already been difficult, I called AirBnB to see what my options were. I seriously considered cancelling the reservation. Basically I was told that if I were to cancel and kick them out of the house, the cancellation would still be on my profile and I would lose my SuperHost status.

At this point, I am not sure why we even have house rules. This means that no matter what the guest does, you have no right to cancel their reservation after check in. I find this very unfair to hosts. I am planning to chalk this up and let the guests leave tomorrow and then possibly file a claim for cleaning fees. But I am also seriously considering removing my listing from AirBnB. 

[Linda108]

@Ljupka0  What I wonder is what has been your communication to this guest following your visit to the space?  Did you advise there are no fruit flies but there was a cigarette butt and remind of the house rules?  Could she smoke outside and dispose of the butt inside?  It seems you are seriously irritated by this guest, but you haven't shared other information that would warrant cancellation.  Perhaps there is more to the story?

[Ljupka0]

Hi Linda

My communication with the guest has been beyond friendly so far and I plan to keep it that way. I am the type of person who always tries to not let situations escalate. I did let the guest know via the messaging portal that no bugs were found but did not raise the smoking issue. I wanted to consult with AirBnB first. I can already see the guest has been lying to me and raising the smoking issue at this point seems meritless. I am already expecting a bad review and do not want to make things worse. My listing clearly states in all caps as well as my house rules and brochure that smoking is not allowed anywhere on the property, including the yard and parking spot. 

I personally feel that smoking inside a house is a reason to cancel a reservation as I will have to scramble to call a remediation team to clean a house when I have guests showing up the following day. If there is one thing I pride myself on is the cleanliness of my space. I have actually never received less than 5 stars on that category. So it might not seem as a big issue, but it is to me.