Irresponsible guests let baby pee on bedding and into mattress.

[Donald28]

Ugh... yes i know it's my fault for not having a waterproof cover but who in the heck puts an undiapered baby on someone elses bed?!

Pee... through the duvet, through the down comforter, through both sheets and deep into the expensive mattress. I have filed a resolution asking them for $957 (only part of what it cost me to fix this) and much less than the cost of the super high quality mattress they ruined. I'm sure they'll decline and then it goes to an airbnb case manager. I'm told I need a police report for any claim over $300. I told the airbnbCSR that it would be kind of silly to have me call the police for a pee'd upon mattress. It's not like they stole it! He agreed. 

On the plus side, we now have a new $1100 mattress and box spring. I also bought 5 new pillows for good measure. Tonights guests are in for a treat! I am still fuming that someone put an undiapered baby on our bed though. 

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

THIS! is why we do not allow children to stay under the age of 12!  

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Donald28 @Alice-and-Jeff0 

This is what happended to us 3 times out of 4 times we had guests with kids so because of that and few other reasons we don't host kids any more. I can not belive how many children up to age of 8 y.o. pee in the bed. 

And we did have waterproof sheets, but kids managed to pee on the edge of a mattrass where the sheet isn't waterproofed. And after that they removed the waterproof sheet and kid pee again on the mattress. Parents turned over the mattrass hoping we will not notice. So, waterproof sheets doesn't help 100%, plus they wet duvets as well.

[Donald28]

I am interested to see how airbnb takes care of its host with the insurance plan. They did say a police report is needed for any claim over $300. This issue seems to not warrant a police officer coming to my home to make a report about a peed upon mattress. We shall see. 

[Robin4]

@Donald28

Donald I would like to shake your hand and buy you a beer. You have been shafted, and you are still upbeat about it! While others would continue to grizzle and carry on about an injustice they should have seen coming, you have gone out and actually invested more into a comfortable night for your guests....Geez mate, you are a host!

I just hoped you learned from this experience and put a mattress protector on this new $1100 box spring of yours.

Just like to add one thing Don, I cannot emphasise too much how it pays to have a liason with your local dry cleaner! I have a page in my house rules devoted to them for any guests dry cleaning needs, and in return they have been an absolute gold mine to me on ways to remove the unwanted traces of guests who have moved on.

Don, I think I like you.....you have a good attitude!

Cheers.....Rob

[Donald28]

Rob thanks!

I tried to change my house rules and found just 2 boxes to check about young guests... 2 to 12 years old and 2 and under. It would be nice to have an age range for the majority of bed wetters... 6 and under. 

After googling "wetting the bed", I'd like to disallow children 6 and under but airbnb doesn't breakdown ages well enough. I hate to have to check each of those boxes because parents with kids between 6 - 12 will automatically think we don't want them and move to a different listing. 

[Ali40]

On my listing I've checked "Not suitable for children 0 - 2 yrs old" and "Not suitable for children 2 - 12 years old" BUT if someone sets parameters in a search for 2 adults and 1 child 0 - 2 years old my place comes up as a possibility even though my maximum occupancy is set at 2. Airbnb told me this is because (get ready for this) AIRBNB DOES NOT CONSIDER AN INFANT (0 - 2 YEARS OLD) A GUEST! I I told the rep that this setup is misleading to guests searching for a place. 

By the way, do waterproof mattress covers make a bed feel like your sleeping on plastic? I might invest in one any way, just to be safe. 

[Robin4]

@Ali40

No Ali a good quality mattress protector is completely undetectable to someone sleeping on it....and it definitely does work.

Every host should have one as a matter of course. We spent the best part of $10,000 on our guest bed so I have taken every precaution to make sure it stays in pristine condition....and Ali, it has!

The other thing is, and this is an awfull subject but you have no idea how many skin cells an average person looses while they sleep....or what ever! A mattress protector stops those skin cells from entering the mattress....now don't tell me I am being paranoid Ali, I see it on a regular basis, between guests I vaccum the mattress protector and you would seriously not believe what ends up in the vacumm cleaner......YUCK!!!

Cheers.....Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ali40 I know, but when they book they have to set  how much adults, infants and children are in a group-. If they set up 4 adults but instead 2 adults and 2 infants or children is coming,  you can cancel the reservation 🙂

Airbnb do not charge for infants under 2 by default, but you can state in your house rules that you will charge infants as children. In that case you just change their reservation and they have to accept it or cancel reservation.

Regarding waterproof sheets... ah... we bought IKEA waterproof fitted sheets but I do not recommend it. It is not waterproof sideways where wery thin jersey fabric . On top side where people sleep is a fabric like bath towel and under it is waterproof fabric. Of course you have to put normal , cotton sheet on top of this waterproof sheet.

I think it is possible to find waterproof fitted sheet of better quality, maybe those used by hotels,-

Just two guests in a year complained about the "plastic sheet" , but, we have to have it to protect our mattrasses from all kinds of body fluids, not just baby urin. We have back to back bookings and no time to deal with mattrass cleaning and drying bc it takes days which we do not have. Almost all guests understand that, and I think they are happy to know they sleep on clean mattrass.

[Rachael26]

@Ali40

I agree about the water-proof mattress protectors feeling a little too plastic - so I have put the plastic one on first - and then another 'normal' padded mattress protector on top of that. It feels OK and not noticeable - and provides double protection and makes it easy for me to wash the top padded one regularly - and then the plastic one below a little less often which keeps it in better shape.

And get your requirements for NO children into your written house rules. Then any IB can be cancelled without penalty.

Best Wishes.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Donald28 just block all groups with kids under 12 from instant book and they will not automaticly move on, you will get inquiries for kids under 12. Just put in your description and house rules thay you do not host children under age of x 

In fact we had to put -no kids- rule on 3 places to stop parents to send us inquiries and requests on regular basis. Now it happends just from time to time.

[Gordon0]

I use a zip-on waterproof cover (it's supposed to deter bed bugs too, something that is the hosts' worst nightmare, surely). Doesn't make a noise and washes easily.

I've stayed in some Airbnb places with no protector at all. That's just plain horrid (and has seen me 'building' my own with towels).  

[Kelly149]

Yes, yes, yes!!! Each of my mattresses has a zip on cover & then also a mattress pad & then the sheet. There is absolutely no way to spill something down into the mattress unless you sliced thru at least 3 layers first. 

Hosts, for the love of dust mites and all manner of human excretions you must have mattress covers!! Ick

[Robin4]

@Kelly149

Hi Kelly, I once vacumed the mattress protector simply because I thought it looked a little bit off colour and I was amazed by the amount of skin cells trapped in the protector. I then thought...'If this is what the protector looks like I wonder what the mattress itself is like' because some of it's life was spent without a protector!

I Have a Dyson DC 19 vacumm and by the time I had gone over it thoroughly, the whole cannister was brim filled with off white skin cells, YYUUUCKKK!! After every guest I now vacumm and even though the protector looks clean, the amount of skin cells that are removed by vacuming is enough to make you sick. I also put on washed pillow protectors under the pillowcases for every guest...I figure there is a limit as to how much you want to share your bed with someone else!!

Cheers.....Rob

[Donald28]

how do I stop instant bookings from guests with 0-2 and 2 -12 ? That sounds like a solution if I can figure out how to do it.