I let my guest use my bike for free - but they left it muddy!

[Punam0]

Hi fellow hosts.

I let a guest use my bike for free for a week.  He was in town for work and used it for going to and from work and more. He said they he would clean it before leaving as it was quite muddy. He must have gone onto the bike tracks on the hills.  He left this morning and didnt clean it. The bike it muddy as anything.  I request $25 for the cleaning of it and he has declined twice. I told him he said that he would clean it before he left? He said I should have reminded him? Ummmm, I'm no mother and it's common courtesy to return things that you borrow for free in the same state- but refuses and states it just needs a hose down (I dont have a hose). Anyway, I have taken it up with Airbnb now.

would you guys have done the same thing?

[Punam0]

ok, so an update. Airbnb will pay me the $25. The guest doesn't have to pay anything....quite surprised by this. I guess I will have to write his review to reflect what happened. 

[Linda108]

I am surprised by the response of Air BNB, @Punam0.  Granted it is so frustrating to give a guest a perk and then have the guest be so clueless as to abuse your generosity, but I would have thought Air BNB would have said "suck it up".  Good to see that Air BNB is responding to "guests behaving badly".  That sort of disrespect should be noted in the guest review.  I am not sure the $25 "cleaning fee" is legit, but certainly a negative review is warranted. 

[Linda108]

@Punam0  BTW if you do not have a hose, how was the guest supposed to hose off the bike?  Was there some option?

[Punam0]

He could have used a brush and a bucket of water which is what I've had to use. The mud had dried up so it wasn't a simple wash down.  Or he could have taken it to the car wash place down the road. He used it more then going to and from work, so he's taken advantage of the free bike. I was just trying to be a nice host. 

Airbnb have told me I shouldn't let guests use my bike in the future. 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Punam0

Really surprised that AirBnB is paying you this....

On a separate note - what insurance cover did you arrange if your guest had an accident while using your bike? It's a minefield when you give paying guests access to items like boats, canoes, bycicles etc...

[Punam0]

yeah, I was surprised too.  But still kinda nnoyed that the guest gets away with that. This was their reponce:

"Thank you for taking your time to answer my call earlier, I really appreciate it. The reason why I have taken a loss for this claims is for us have the resolution faster. The NZ$25 will be given to you via payout expect that it be released after 24 hours."

I didnt actually think about insurances with the bike as I am very casual about things.  I just like people to treat my things with respect no matter how small the issue is and they should return things as they found them....but I wont be lending my bike anymore! 

[Farah1]

@Punam0 agreed! It is not only about the $, but the fact that the guest gets away with their inappropriate behavior.

[Farah1]

@Punam0 @Linda108 @Gerry-And-Rashid0 I think it is a pretty common thing that airbnb do: reimburse out of their own pocket "to keep everyone happy" which I actually disagree with. Sometimes, it is not only about the money, but about how inappropriate it is for guests to do such thing and that people should be responsible for their action.

One time, a guest of mine drank my husband's whiskey and POUR WATER BACK IN IT. Yes, you read it right. Drank at least half of the whiskey, then pour water back to the whiskey bottle. I claim it in the resolution center and of course, they did not admit it. Who drank it then? Ghosts?! Airbnb ended up pay me the whiskey price out of their pocket without charging the guest. At that point it was not only about the price of the whiskey but about their action and attitude, they STOLE from us and that is unacceptable!

The "keeping everyone happy" also does not make sense when the ratio of business and $ that airbnb make from hosts vs guests are not comparable.

[Farah1]

I think I need to add that after 30mins of denying, the guest asked me "is X the brand of your whiskey? If yes, we have a smaller bottle of it" after previously stating that they do not drink hard alcohol. Fortunately, the whole conversation was on airbnb messaging system. Airbnb still paid me out of their pocket though...