Guest falsely accused of having bed bugs manager refund money to guest and cancel my next reservatio

[Ami14]

Hi Everyone, 

I’m a host on Airbnb and I know that you take your business very seriously. So I would like to ask for your help since I know that your time are valuable. I would like to tell you that I also take my business very seriously too. Apparently, your manager Zachary and supervisors Stuard W. Hasn’t taken me seriously. One of my guest made a false statement and had fake pictures and video saying that I have bed bugs. So when she message me that I told her I didn’t mind giving her a full refund, but because she kept accusing my guest house of having bed bugs I felt wrongly accused because prior to that I had Terminix coming to my house to take a look at the whole house already. Also prior to her stay there was three guest that stayed there before her and they haven’t said anything about bed bugs or any bite. I made sure to do the best I can to provide for mjy guest and family. Her falsely accusation can hurt my business and yet it has already. Instead of being protected my Airbnb I was taken lightly. They decided to refund her 2 days of stay and cancel my next reservation. I called right away after her complaint and gave my report and I was told a manager will call me and take care of my case. The next day Zachary didn’t even check if I called in the day before to make a report of a scam he decided to take it into this own hand. He tried to called me ONCE and emailed me ONCE and decided to take action on his own claiming that, that was the company policy. I felt I was wrongly treated. I’ve been a host since June and not once have I had bad reviews. Before hearing my side of the story they decided to take all of those actions own their own hand. I then spoke to Stuard and he made promises to me. I said if I have proofs and documents stating that all of this was a lie and that with their rush decisions they would have to reimburse me for all of my loses and that is recorded in our phone conversation. And he said,” yes.” I also asked for a written document from him, but yet he never provided that for me but he did agree to it. He said he will get it sent to me ASAP written documents stating he is willing to reimburse me for all of my loses. Around 1,500. Of course that’s is nothing to you, but for a family that is having difficulty with her pregnancy and isn’t able to work beside renting her living space out to Airbnb for extra income and only her husband is working living off of paycheck from paycheck is worth a lot. It’s not even about the money but about my pride that is taken lightly. Airbnb support has all of the documents I have sent to them a before and after of any bed bugs inspections. The pictures and video that she provided for you isn’t even my mattresses that I bought. She was trying to get a free stay and that is just wrong for what she did. I have been so stressed out just to prove my innocent. I hope you will look into this matter. 

Ami Nguyen

[Matthew285]

@Ami14, sorry you are having to go through this!

It sounds like you are being very pro-active in dealing with these accusations, and also that you are doing the things AirBnB would want you to do regarding documenting that you do not have a bed bug infestation.

It is a constant worry for a host to be falsely accused like this. 

Please keep us up to date on the progress of this! 

(I have heard that posting to AirBnB's twitter or facebook can help get a quicker response.)

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Everything-Else/Using-Twitter-to-get-AirBnb-help/m-p/157934

[Ami14]

I’ve emailed him, tweeted the ceo, fb him and instagram him already. I just wish before they even made any decision they should’ve gotten my statement first. After providing them a before and after documents of no bed bugs infestation they still brush it off like it wasn’t their fault for reimbursing that lady and canceling my reservation. Prior to her visit there was 3 other guest and no one said anything about being bitten by anything. My rating are great too! So much for being protected by Airbnb. 

[Indy1]

I have just had aguest make a similar accusation against me. I understand you feeling affronted by these false accusations.

[Janet392]

Hi Ami,

Just wanted to know what resolution you reached with AirBnB on this. Are you able to share please?

Thanks!

[Maureen233]

Had this happen, wasted 1,000, lost maid fee, lost a 3 day weekend and they got a free stay while airbnb shut down my site. Still not a sign of a bug as these people know the ropes...they scam freely. My last scammers were homeless, had their free food from the local food pantry with them.  They move from place to place for free, using airbnb and using pics of bed bugs they buy online, then videos from YouTube and they get away with it.  I've rented my immaculate luxury condo since 2006 with no issues but now in 2 years, 2 of the same type of scam. I called the police and filed a report and gave them his and her drivers license. This is fraud and needs to be stopped. !

[Chris1931]

Think I am having this happen also.   What is airbnb's guidance on how to prove/disprove this?   I stayed at place before and no issue....now aqusations and some inconsistent pieced like - bites around my ankles (sounds more like ants or mosquitos and this place is at the beach).  Also all mattresses are encased, pillows same, cleaning person said nothing seen, place is new and ALL tile which isn't a bed bug type enviroment.

Told him- exterminator coming on July 3 after current guest with no issues checks out and if he says issue, I will refund and if he says all clear, I won't.

Chris.

[The-Snug0]

I just had 2 men stay 2 nights. After they left they started messaging me that they got bedbug bites at my place. The mattresses and box springs are encased. I deep cleaned and checked everywhere and found no sign of any bugs. When I didn’t respond they got more aggressive - threatened to give me a bad review, to call the board of health, report me to Airbnb. They sent me photos of an arm with a rash and said they went to the hospital and were on antibiotics. They are total scam artists trying to extort money from me.  Then they tried to come back - I just knew it was them, probably wanted to accuse me again while masquerading as someone else. Or plant evidence since they didn’t get a response the first time. So these people have multiple accounts. The first one was called Mart. The second one Marshawn, just joined, wanted to stay one night. The thing is, they never did report me to Airbnb. So they don’t want to draw attention to themselves. But they have left a review, which I haven’t seen yet, and will possibly kill my business.  It’s awful, these scumbags will ruin everything.

[Helen3]

Hopefully you contacted Airbnb when the guests threatened you with a bad review. It is important to be pro-active in contacting Airbnb so there is a record and they see the threats your guest made. @The-Snug0 

What do you mean they tried to come back. Did they try and book again?

[Kevin1056]

The same thing happened to me I need to check again and see if any money was every taken. Ten guests before and 10 guests after no one ever complained about bedbugs. I think the guest was just trying to get some cash back. He didnt say anything about bedbugs in his review.

[Tim2523]

OMG this is crazy...  I was looking through the hosting community because I just had this happened to me! I personally take bed bugs, pests  and sanitation very seriously. I'm really upset because I take great pride in my airbnb/hospitality and someone just accused me of bed bugs! Now a future guest is wanting to cancel... I would have given a full refund and called an exterminator immediately if that was the case, but there wasnt any bugs... In the end, they left a nasty review that just says "possible bed bug" and I got my first 1 star... I don't think they realize how serious this is. I really hope Airbnb has a public comment tracker for guests claiming "bed bugs" and should be some requirement proving it or having an exterminator come in to check within 24 hours, pausing future listings to confirm and confirm from the "exterminator" that the bed bug issue has been resolved to let future guests be aware the past issues have been resolved if there was a bed bug found. I really hope Airbnb takes this more seriously because it helps attrition out guests who are scammers and protects hosts that really take this seriously. How did everyone else deal with this? This is my first time ...

@Ami14 @Kevin1056 @Chris1931 @The-Snug0 @Helen3 

[Pete69]

If someone pulled this kind of false beg bug crap on me, I'd hire an exterminator JUST to test and search for bedbugs, then provide me with a written report. Then I'd demand reimbursement for the false claim. If they didn't pay and Airbnb was of no help, then it's off to court to be made whole.

[SkyRun5]

good luck, lol

[Theresa509]

I had the same thing happen to me. A long term guest said I had bedbugs and I provided an air mattress until I could get the exterminator out. In the mean time she moved out because she said she couldn’t stay at a place with bedbugs.  When the exterminator came they found no signs of bedbugs.  I usually provide linens but the guest asked that I let her bring her own. She didn’t want me to use “chemicals” in the room. AirBnb gave her a refund for the days she did not stay. I am now banned from hosting. I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’ve been used. My space is in my home and is very clean. I think Airbnb should make her pay. She probably got fleas from her dog at home because she stayed at her home on weekends and didn’t use flea control on her dog most likely. I’m dumbfounded as to how Airbnb could let her get away with the this. 

[Jennifer3712]

I just had a guest falsely accuse me of having bed bugs. She didn't report it until a week after checkout (had 2 other guests during that time frame) and said said she wants a full refund for her 6 day stay. Airbnb suspended my listing and required documentation from a pest company. I had a k9 inspection and to no surprises there were no bed bugs! This nightmare guest (who was 19) accused me of stealing, left trash all over the room and ruined the bedspread.  Worst Guest Ever.