I had a scammer tonight!

[Denise80]

We Airbnb our holiday home which is 2 hours away from where we live (not that our guests know how far away we are) and we have a lovely lady who cleans for us.

Today's guests arrived and contacted us to say the house was not clean. I replied immediately to ask what was wrong with the house and that I would send our cleaner around. 

Our cleaner was mortified, and she went round immediately to see what she had not cleaned. It seems our guest did not expect our cleaner to turn up and started back-pedaling almost straight away. The best she could come up with is that the remote control was sticky....um, no it wasn't!

Oh well, said the guest (by email on the app) we will cancel but will stay tonight and leave tomorrow. Oh no you won't, I said, you can cancel as I would never want a guest to be uncomfortable in our house, but you will be leaving now. Like right now! By this time, our cleaner had arrived to find them still UNpacking. They had pulled all the duvets and sheets off the beds looking for faults, and all their food was in the fridge. 

I told them if they wanted a refund, that they would have to cancel which they have. But they were not moving out until I rang them and told them that they had to leave immediately. 

Anyway, I just wanted to thank the community. By reading other people's posts I know that these people would have stayed a night or even all 4 nights and then claimed a full refund. OK, it's upsetting that our house is empty for Christmas and Boxing Day, but I would rather be empty than give these people a free holiday!

Thank you!!

[Susan17]

@Denise80 

Sorry to hear you've been targeted by scammers (happens to us all, sooner or later), but well done for standing your ground, and especially for not allowing the tyranny of the review system prevent you from dealing with such unscrupulous people, exactly how they should have been dealt with. You're absolutely correct to remove them from your property - one way or the other, they would have ripped you off and/or made your Christmas a misery, had you allowed them to stay and continue with the reservation. And who knows - while it is a little late in the day, perhaps you may even be fortunate enough to get a replacement booking for at least part of the time. Best of luck!

[Lynette57]

must be that time of year,

I have one too, Checked in at 2 pm and by 2.15 had pulled beds and furniture away from walls   called about some gecko mess one spot on window ledge and 3 spots at edge of wall. Then the BBQ wasnt big enough and asked if we could give her a bigger one. Then there was a small rust mark around the size of a match head on a doona cover that she swears is a blood stain, I know it is rust it has been on the doona cover for about a year and lasted through several washings. Then there is the fact the windows have been open all day so a very fine layer of dust over all furniture. ( We are in the middle of a drought and that dust is a given) BUT we had to send the cleaner back in to dust for the second time that day. The cleaner was requested to vacuum and clean every room again, also clean the front patio again for dust.

Im sure I know what is going to happen next so Ive decided to quit ABB family guests and stick with having workers only.

PS This guest ( 5 adults over 40) is a first timer on the ABB platform wanting Hotel 5 star service for $35 per person per night.

Not going to happen here.

[Susan17]

@Lynette57 

It is that time of year - one of them anyway! Holiday periods and event weekends are the scammers' absolute favourite times of year. By this point (well, long since, actually), guests have twigged that getting a refund from Airbnb is like taking candy from a baby. They've also sussed that in the vast majority of markets now, there are way, way more Airbnb listings than the town or city can handle, and on any given night, there will be a very high percentage of listings lying unbooked. Consequently, there will be a corresponding number of hosts wanting to fill the dates, with many of them dropping their prices to half-nothing at the last minute.

What happens is this.. the guests book a place in advance, as a sort of "marker". Then on the days leading up to the arrival date, they start checking to see if any of the places they had fancied before, but couldn't afford (or just didn't want to pay the asking price), have slashed their rates to attract last-minute bookings. When the find a place that fits the bill, the plan then is to turn up at the original listing they booked, and immediately start finding (or fabricating) things to complain about to Airbnb, that they know full well Airbnb will refund for (some even bring along their own props - a filthy sheet, a few dead bugs etc - to back up their "claims"). Airbnb grants refund, host gets shafted, guests toddle off to the new place (typically with a nice little bonus from Airbnb for their troubles, on top of what they originally paid, job done. It's as easy and as simple as that.

[Mary898]

Wow, that’s scary. I thought something was fishy a couple of times it happened to me they came and left immediately without even talking to me at all. So I did thought it was planned. But what I did with Airbnb is complained about their full refund till now and now Airbnb gives them a refund and pays me too. Airbnb does go with the guests every time, no matter what. But I believe in the company and feel they have done a lot for me since. I now have added a camera to help with guests checking in and out.

[Fran2]

Report this ASAP to ABNB..stay strong and happy Christmas xxx

[Diane944]

Hi that is terrible to hear. I suppose your report the scammers to Airbnb and they get blacklisted somehow? is that what happens? or can they just show up again??

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Denise80 

Bravo! That's the way to deal with scummers, now they will think twice before doing it again :))))

Airbnb raised and nurtured this type of guest for years... and still holds their back and award them with a refund, but at least they will not stay for free at your home

[Denise80]

And the irony @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Lynette57  and @Susan17  is that they took the chocolates and flowers that we had left them as a Christmas treat. At least they didn't take the Christmas tree!

[Susie111]

@Denise80 @Sadly it just proves that some people are just low lifes, that what comes around goes around

Please expose them for who they are with a honest review. 

No hard working host wants guests like them. 

[Giuliana142]

@Denise80  Call Airbnb and report all the expenses. Add up the cost of flowers, chocolate, (maybe toilet paper - I find that’s a common item that disappears) and demand to be reimbursed. Keep receipts of purchases in case Airbnb asks.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year 2020! Hope that was your last bad taste of ABNB.

[Melodie-And-John0]

Wow @Denise80 ,  good pick up and reaction, Remote hosting can be a challenge I'm sure, Its not always perfect living in the same place we rent suites from but were pretty quick to pick up on problems and address them.  Sorry your empty for the holidays but it sounds like you had the best outcome you could, Safe Travels and Stays, JR

[Piotr48]

@Denise80 You made the right decision!

[Robin4]

@Denise80 

Hey, sorry Denise, geez we have to go through some sh*t don't we!

I am probably going a bit off the topic of your thread Denise but, tell me, how old was this guest?

I find if I am going to have a 'critical' guest they will be in their mid to late 60's and I really wish I could somehow block guests in that age bracket from booking! Not possible of course, but I have done a statistical analysis of my 370 guests. 

I have had 27 that did not leave me a review, 24 of them were in their mid/late 60's.

I have 19 that left me a 4 star review and all but two of them were in their mid/late 60's

I am now to the point where I won't review guests in that age bracket and I hope they don't review me.

My last guest in that age bracket left here 12 days ago. She left this note for me....

Denise, to put this in perspective.......

I supply 1/4 block of butter for each stay, enough for about 8-10 slices of toast. This guest was an over-nighter!

Tomato sauce, well that one slipped by me, not something I have ever been picked up on before! Maybe I should include a bit of Ranch dressing, Balsamic, Worcestershire, Sweet Soy! 

Paper towel.....yes it was there right next to the iron and the dish clothes!

Adjusting the shower head, yeah there is a lever on the side of the shower arm, maybe I should have painted it red to make it just a bit more visible!

Yellow stripes on the two steps up to the bathroom....... really, why have I never thought of bastardising my listing by making an industrial site out of it?

Toilet grab rail.....yeah, valid point, I have never been chipped for it before but, guess what, there is one there now. I took that bit of feedback on board!

Cloth for wiping down....Oh, she found it, right next to the paper towel she didn't find!

Box of tissues........ she actually managed to miss two of them, one small travel pack next to the flower vase in the bathroom and another on a wall shelf next to one side of the bed!

This guest lives in her own bubble world, a bit like Hyacinth Bouquet in that British comedy series  'Keeping up Appearances' . Not only is she a moron, she needed to spell out on paper how much of a moron she is!

She, to this point, has not reviewed me, and I am not going to jog her memory of staying here by having her receive an email from Airbnb saying that in order to read my review of her, she has to leave one of me. I don't want her review, it will just be more bumbling nonsense that will make me look incompetent!

I just want to move on, she is out of my life and lets leave it at that!

Denise, I can't accuse these people of being scammers, but they do play their game and they almost all fit into a certain age bracket.....what is your experience?

Cheers.......Rob 

[Lynette57]

You are so right @Robin4  My guests all 5 are aged from 45 to 75yrs) all first time ABB and the worst Wingers Ive had in the last 14 yrs of hosting in the industry. 

Both you and Ade and family have a wonderful Christmas and I sincerley hope the fires stay away from you although I know you wont be able to avoid the smoke.

Cheers

Lynn