Hosting: am I being scammed?

[Karl783]

Hosting two guests for a long weekend. We exchanged several cordial messages back and forth and everything seemed squared away (the last message ended in a smiley face, in fact). No more than 30 minutes after check-in, with no other conversation taking place, I get a call from Airbnb telling me the guests want to cancel because the closets and fridge were not completely cleaned out. 

I stay at the house on nights it is not being rented, so of course there will be some clothes in the closet. In the fridge, there are condiments and a few non-perishables, taking up approximately one of five shelves. But because I truly care about my guests, I offered to come over in a few hours and completely clean out the closet and fridge so they are 100% empty. 

They declined that offer and are now demanding full refund, saying they are "not comfortable and taken aback." I've only hosted 3-4 other guests (all 5-stars), including one for 11 nights, and none of them complained about any of this.

I am currently not inclined to cancel because won't that reflect poorly on me and my public reviews? Also, I have pretty good instincts and this feels like a complete and total scam. 

Thanks. 

[Linda108]

@Karl783   Many hosts share their home with guests by vacating it during a reservation.  Whether Air BNB will accept the guest cancellation and refund according to your policy or not, you do not need to agree.  That you offer to clean out the fridge and closet underlines the idea that some guests will not want to be confronted with host stuff.  That the guest called Air BNB requesting a cancellation, just shows that guests often do not want to confront uncomfortable situations with a host.

A couple of suggestions for you are:  1. go ahead and just provide a clean fridge and closet or 2. add to your description of the place as your home and rather than referring to it as "pristine", let guests know your stuff is around.

[Karl783]

Thanks, Linda, but "clean" does not mean "completely empty" in my mind. A bottle of ketchup, jar of pickles, and filtered water in the fridge should not warrant a complaint about how a guest expected a fridge to be completely empty. 

The house is absolutely pristine, which again, does not mean it is completely empty. 

[Kaylee18]

@Karl783  It sounds like the guest was not aware you leave your personal items/food, etc in the house when you have guests. Not sure if it's in your listing, but if it's not I would add it to avoid future scenarios. 

All guests have different expectations as to what "clean" means. Sounds like these guests consider items left in the closet and fridge as "not clean." 

If the guest wants to cancel, let them do the cancelling. Explain to them you have no problem coming over to remove the items. If they still have a problem let them know they have the option to cancel their stay. 

Best of luck!

[Colin106]

I often leave non delicate items that people leave in the fridge.

[Lisa723]

Don’t cancel. Airbnb will penalize you if you cancel. If they want to cancel they can. Your cancellation policy will determine their refund unless they persuade Airbnb to give them 100%, which they may. It doesn’t sound like a scam, they just don’t like sharing the space with your stuff. Make your listing crystal-clear on this front or clear out completely for future guests.

[Sarah977]

@Karl783  Nowhere in your listing do you indicate that you live in the place yourself when you don't have guests, therefore some of the closets have your clothes and belongings in them and there is some of your non-perishable food in the fridge. You really need to make this clear, otherwise people may very well expect that this is purely an Airbnb rental. They won't expect to find clothes in the closets or food in the fridge, unless it's food you've specifically provided for your guests. They'll just assume that the food was left by previous guests and be turned off, thinking the place wasn't thoroughly cleaned. There isn't anything wrong with you doing this, you just have to make it known so this doesn't happen again.

Your listing description is really sparse in general, one short paragraph. I would suggest fleshing it out a bit. And you have written nothing about "Interaction with Host", which is something almost all hosts complete- guests need to know if you live nearby, are you easy to reach if they have any issues, if you aren't around is there a co-host who is in charge? 

[Kaylee18]

@Sarah977  I agree with you. Sounds like the guests were just surprised to find clothes in the closet and food in the fridge, most likely expecting an empty accommodation for their own use. 

[Janelle83]

I think it's likely they were trying to squirrel their way out of a booking without paying fees and just lit on some flimsy excuse.  I had a guest stay one night and then claim I had bedbugs.  Air Bnb said they had to corroborate that with photo evidence and they didn't, and I still haven't gotten paid.  I have called Air Bnb a dozen or so times and they keep making excuses.  Of course they have a lot on their plate these days with the murders and getting banned in several cities.  I think they are catering too much to the guests.