Guest with Allergies

Erin173
Level 1
Oakville, Canada

Guest with Allergies

Our current guest has severe allergies, but she booked our place knowing that it was pet friendly. She found the professional cleaning to be unsatisfactory, as she found dander under the couch. I have offered to have a professional steam cleaner come in, but she said no and that she'll clean the place again herself. She is very unhappy. Does anyone have any tips? 

17 Replies 17
Jann3
Level 10
Santa Rosa, CA

Truthfully? I would contact AirBnB and try to get her "reaccomodated" because she WILL probably try to not pay.

"Dander under the couch?" come ON! Guests with "severe allergies" should stay away from AirBnB "shared-units" period. They will always have issues with them if there were any pets, people with cologne that stayed prior to them, etc...

How long is she there for? (ie: how many more days is she there?)

Allison116
Level 10
Walnut Creek, CA

Sounds like you are trying to be good, caring host. And you say your listing did say pet friendly.  What is clean to one is not clean to another so without seeing your place I assume it is satisfactorily clean for most guests.  I'm assuming the dander was in the common areas and not her actual bedroom.  Make sure your communication is via Airbnb, so there is documentation as to the helpful alternatives she has been offered.  Also make sure if she is declining your assistance, that she also do it via Airbnb so you have documentation.  I think that is all you can do.  Occasionally some guests can't be pleased and accept that can have nothing to do with you.  Someone that has pet allergies should never book a stay at a pet friendly house because it is impossible to completely de-pet a place no matter how good a cleaner you are.  

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

Many hosts say something like “while we clean well for every guest those with allergy concerns may prefer a less pet friendly space” or such. 

Also my Roomba vac does a great job getting under beds/couches/cabinets that a regular vacuum can’t get to. 

Id guess the odds of making this particular guest happy would be slim

Good luck and please let us know what happens 

Actually, my Roomba 650 and 880 smart floor cleaners gave my guest allergies since it was throwing dust up in the air. Very bad experience. I never leave the Roomba in the house while having a guest (at least I make sure that they have no allergies to dust).

Lyndsey2
Level 10
Stonington, CT

This guest sounds like more trouble than she's worth and may try to get out of paying. Make sure all communications are either via Airbnb messaging or are reiterated on Airbnb messaging. I'd call Airbnb and say that if this woman has "severe" allergies then you are concerned about her health. As a "pet-friendly" listing, you cannot guarantee that she won't encounter a flake of dander. Tell them you are concerned that both you and Airbnb could end up being sued if this woman goes to the hospital and therefore you would like help moving her to more appropriate accommodations.

Kimberly54
Level 10
San Diego, CA

Hi @Erin173, I think you've gotten some great perspective from the others... and I totally agree--if you have or allow pets, gotta cut the host some slack, right?  'Fraid you just got stung, and some people simply can not be made happy once they're out of sorts.

 

When I was preparing to list my house, I spoke to an old friend who has now been hosting for nearly 3 years--as a superhost.  Her first words of advice were about cleaning, and I think the only rating under 5 stars was because it was dusty under the bed!  (NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN.)

 

The other cleaning tips I've picked up reading on this forum that actually surprised me were doorknobs and light switches.

 

I've had the same housekeeper for nearly 20 years now and she is 5Star Hotel PERFECT, but I'm going to mention the doorknobs and light switches when she does the next 'BIG CLEAN' before the next guest.  (Under beds and sofas are already her norm, which I didn't know until the last time she was here and I walked back to tell her about 'under the bed' and she was already doing it!)

 

I think we ought to call it the "C-Word!"  Seems to be a consistent biggie. 

 

Don't let her get your 'dander' up! 😉

 

Best,

Kim

BTW: @Kimberly54, I have a "Neato Robotics 'Connected'" robot vacuum under the dresser. It turns on remotely - if i need to, vacuums w/a HEPA filter (yes, even under the beds) and lets me know when I can mop - cos she's done cleaning (Mabel is her name).

 

I've had guests use her during long stays ... they love it...and the results are great. Especially good for picking up long hair (ugh - and curlies in the bathroom) that you may miss with a big vacuum.

 

Oh, and YES I've had guests check the light switches and plugs, as well as the doorknobs... Mine are/were clean. 🙂 

 

Just an FYI.

Jann

WOW, @Jann3, my guess is that 'she'll' pay for herself in very little time... I just ordered one.

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Best,

Kim
Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

IF a guests devulges the fact they have severe allergies, best not get involved with them. Allergies are serious as is, imagine 'severe allergies', which really is impossible to grasp what that means. Sounds like you have a no-win situation if she stays.

My recent guest knew about his kids severe dog/cat allergies but only asked me whether I had WiFi and a washer dryer 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

She has severe allergies, yet booked a pet-friendly space. You can't fix stupid. Assuming the place was clean, she owns the problem, not you.

Rene-and-Zac0
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Erin173 dander under the couch? Girl, stop it.

That’s why she gets sick all the time because she’s playing in the dirt under the couch.

Tell her if she’s going to be peaking under the couch, don’t forget her little white hockey helmet, so she doesn’t bump her head. Pfttttttttttttttt ! 

‘You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

I agree with everone else, only happened to me once and I knew it was not something I wanted to get involved with and was somewhat expicit that they needed to look elsewhere, sadly could not think of anywhere locally to recommend.

 

There web sites that cater for those with allergies, best to direct them there.

David
David2189
Level 2
Seattle, WA

Had the same thing happy to us but they left before we could work out the problem as we are a pet friendly house. We didn't refund their money and they stayed somewhere else. You'll get a bad review but thats how it goes - just wait until they post their review first as you will recieve a message via email and then you can decide what type of review to leave. 

 

In the future - Amazon sells a ozone generator that kills pretty much everything in the house (bacteria, odors, etc) and leaves a like new scent in the air. Its about $45 and has been great. 

 

As a host I recomend:

 

Ozone generator

Nest Thermostat

schlauge electric door knob keypads

 

Those 3 things make hosting so much easier

 

("Neato Robotics 'Connected'" robot vacuum) - thats a great idea and I'm gonna look into this so thank you!