I'm sorry this happened to you. It must be distressing. Not normal, however. I have had 120 or so different guests in the last few years, and have never had this happen. Your listing looks nice online, btw, so you've had some pretty crappy luck. Here are a few suggestions on how to avoid this in the future.
- Screen your guests via messaging. Find out who they are, why they are coming. I'm not afraid to be a bit harsh with my expectations and probably warn off one in four guests with some variant of the "I'm not sure this place is best choice for your group. You will probably be more comfortable in a place with..." People will usually cancel. Sometimes phoning people is a more efficient way to do this in a friendly way.
- One thing I have done with longer stay or suspect guests is drop by - or have my co-host do it - with a bottle of wine or flowers as a pretext to scope the place out if I am unsure of them.
-Contact your guests regularly - every couple days - to confirm that everything is STILL OK. I message a quick "All good"? Then they can't surprise you at the end of the rental with a surprise request for refund.
- I let suspect guests know I am going to be around and I will check up on them - in a nice way. Message them saying "Due to problems in the past, we now drop by to ensure our guests are taking proper care of our property. I hope this is Okay with you..."
- Spend a bit more money "staging" your place, charge more money and generally get better guests. I have stopped renting for more than 7 days because people tend to move in too much and I get back to furniture in different rooms and dishes in random cupboards. This year I've upped my price a bit and I think I'm doing as well financially as similar listings in my area that are selling more days at a lower price.
- I start my messaging by pointing out my persnickety house rules like this:
Hello XXXX:
Thanks for choosing The White House. I can confirm your stay from XX to XX. I look forward to hosting you and will send check-in details the day before you arrive. Please let me know if you have any questions or special requests.
To help plan for your visit, please read the following summary of our House Rules - plus a couple FAQ’s - to help ensure the house & neighbourhood will be suitable for you.
• Absolutely no shoes, sandals, leaky coolers, bicycles, tools etc indoors
• No visitors due to Covid19
• Quiet outside after 9pm - help keep my neighbours supportive
• Leave the place as you found it and follow our Covid19 precautions
• The White House is in a high-density neighbourhood very close to downtown. Although all of our guests, so far, report a peaceful experience, you’re close to the heart of this small town’s action and will occasionally hear some of it.
• This is a very, very small house with one toilet...
Thanks, Colette
I hope thus helps. Good luck. This can be a rewarding and demoralizing business...