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.