Guest damages - advice needed

[Dev4]

Dear Hosts!

I recently hosted a group of 4 business travelers, who were in town for a trade show, for 8 nights. They highlighted couple of issues on day 1 after check-in, which were promptly taken care off. At the time of check-out they told me that the towel rod in the bathroom was damaged because it kept falling. It fell a few times and eventually broke. The main guest said that he was too busy to inform me when it happened the first time. There have been no complains in the past about the towel rod. 

I am looking for advice on how to deal with the situation. If I raise a resolution, the guest will decline for sure. On the contrary, they will give a negative review. Similar events happened in the past with a different guest about bathroom door and the guest gave me a bad review because we raised a resolution request. 

When I spoke to the guest briefly, he said that the shower rod was loose and fell down. If it was lose, why didn't the previous guest complain about it. I think the guest is guilty here and is looking for a way out without paying for the damages.

Thanks in advance for your time!

Regards,

Casadell 

[Annabelle---Torsten0]

@Dev4

Good morning.

Be honest to yourself. Are you absolutely sure about the condition of the towel rod?

Then give the guest a honest review.

Never misguide yourself by the fear of a bad review.

Never.

Period. 😉

Personally I would replace the broken rod and forget about it.

Sometimes things simply went to pieces.

I mean... A towel rod. Worth maybe 20 bucks or less.

Come on...

[Dev4]

@Annabelle---Torsten0

I agree with you. If the replacement cost is $20, I wouldn't raise a resolution request as it is considered as cost of running the business. But if it is $100 or so then I need to raise it. 

Bigger question is that "things" break inside an apartment regularly. Do you blame the guest for misuse or absorb the cost in pricing.

Analogy - I have been a badminton player all my life. There have been couple of instance when you lend your badminton racquet to another player and the strings break. Since these players are your friends, you can work out a solution. 

But I cannot work out a solution in case of Airbnb as the guests, in most cases, refuse the claim. Hope the analogy clarifies the situation further.

[David126]

Sort of, I play Squashand if the string break the strings break and I would certainly not expect somebody I had leant it to to pay.

[Linda108]

@Dev4  I agree with @Annabelle---Torsten0 and I think so will Air BNB if you raise it in the Resolution Center.  It seems to fall under the normal wear and tear aspect of any home.  In terms of your review, I think you could consider whether the guests  were either malicious or extremely careless in the treatment of your space.  If you can attribute negative intention, then your review needs to reflect that.  If otherwise good guests had accidental damage, then your review could emphasize the positive and your private message could reflect the damage and your hope that for the future these guests would let a host promptly know so it could be taken care of.

[Dev4]

@Linda108

Agreed to your points. The guests were polite and did not have a malicious intent. However, things happen and I find that only a few guests own up and are willing to pay for it. Most guests say that it was damaged prior to their arrival but they did not notice it or were too busy. 

[Robin4]

@Dev4

Casadell, there is a finite life to everything, and because your equipment is being used by others it is going to be subject to what would be called 'wear and tear'! How long has the towel rail been there? How many previous guests and other people have used it since it was purchased and installed?

If the hot water heater in my cottage broke during a guests visit I would not for a second blame the guest and expect them to pay for it. These things do from time to time happen and when you set your listing price you take into account depreciation on the fittings.

The hot water service in my cottage has served 93 guests, plus maybe a dozen family visits since it was purchased and installed. If it broke tomorrow that would amount to a cost of $4.00 per guest stay, and frankly, I would consider that reasonable service. I do not expect it to break down tomorrow, I expect another 5 years out of it which will mean the cost per guest for it's service would be measured in a few cents!

But Casadell this is not something that would be worth getting a guest offside and penalising yourself in your reviews. Let it go, get that nice review and hope that you get just as much service out of the next rail as you got out of that one....It's part of hosting!

Cheers.....Rob

[Dev4]

@Robin4

Great advice and I fully agree with you. Some of the things are going to break or stop working as "wear and tear" and guests should not be penalized for it. 

I ended up fixing the towel stand withot penaliing the guests.

[Stephen222]

Thank you to the OP, this exactly same issue occured with a guest I am currently hosting.  She is checking out tomorrow and just informed me tonight the towel rod broke.  I was inclince to message her telling her that I would like her to pay, but after reading the general consensus of opinions that its cheap, wear and tear issue, and more likely to result in a bad review - then on balace on see how its not worth submitting a claim.  I can probably even turn it around and get a good review by responding sympathetically and teling her not to worry about it.  Glad this forum exisit, its nice to read other host's approach to problems.