Missing and damaged items

[Angélique27]

I had a month stay check out, I read many posts against long term rentals and I now know why.

Upon check out they messaged me a few things they broke which was a bit odd (I let them check out six hours later too!). They broke 3 wine glasses and a few hangers...and mentioned they had to replace the bedroom door hinge screws as they were loose (I mean, if they were loose, why didn’t they just tighten them? Also, they were newly installed properly prior to their check in)

Upon entry, I could smell smoke. I noticed a few things were missing, 1 dish cloth, photo frame, glass container, 1 pillow protector and some cutlery missing. My brand new duvet was stained, also a hand towel (they had removed all protectors from mattress and pillows for some odd reason) my non stick pan was also all scratched up.

The sofa was stained, the dining table is black and now has some white marks from a hot surface being on it. I ask that guests cover the BBQ as it’s in an uncovered area and they clearly didn’t. 

They sat on my floating desk which obviously is to support a laptop/decor and not a persons weight and broke it, they attempted to fix it by installing it wrong, damaged the walls and baseboard. Also damaged a globe that sits there and tried to tape it (sigh, I know...) 

Upon cleaning I found a vape in a cupboard and a jar that heavily smelt like weed. The house was pretty dirty, floors looked like alcohol drinks was spilt and left, plastic cups on the floor and dried sticky tables from alcoholic drinks. There were drink marks on nearly every surface. I mean, I feel as if my place was so disrespected, I’ve never had a guest leave it like so.

Any tips for what I should do?

[Emiel1]

@Angélique27 

The "tips" are rather obvious:

- inform the guests about the damage

- claim the damage by the rules:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

- write an appropriate review

[Mark116]

deleted.

[Heidi588]

@Angélique27 , what to do was well-covered by @Emiel1. 

Not sure if you're planning to continue to offer long-term stays, but if you are, then I wonder if in retrospect you recall any red flags in their communication that can help you going forward.

Did they have a history of good reviews? Did they match their pictures? How many people were in the group and how many would you be comfortable with? Did they say why they wanted a long-term stay? I myself work from home, and a host asked me what I do, which I thought was wise of her. Finally, did they advise you that some of the members of their party were bovine and therefore prone to destruction of indoor spaces? 

[Fred13]

@Angélique27 You have an immaculate place, renting by the month it could go either way with it. IF they are not meticulous, the damage to your place will compound over a month's time. Your place in all probably is a step above what they are used to, perhaps its price is too low to get the clientele that matches it better. Just a thought.

[Ann72]

@Angélique27  What horrible guests to treat your lovely place with such disrespect.

I agree with @Fred13 that you could charge more to attract people who are used to nice accommodations like yours.  

During the pandemic many of us have gotten guests seeking longer stays because of remote work or the need to get away.  I have a pre-booking message that says anyone with a stay longer than 10 days needs to agree to a mid-stay cleaning.  A stay of a month gets a weekly housekeeping refresh.  It's the only way I can guarantee things are kept up over the course of a long stay.  I keep my rates high and don't offer much of a discount, so I have been adding the extra cleanings in for free.  

Going forward I would recommend raising your rate (take a look at nearby hotels and price just under those) and adding the housekeeping requirement for longer stays.

[Anna9170]

@Angélique27  You have a very stylish and beautiful space, plus great new technical appliances! It's a terrible shame when guests behave like pigs, when you do everything with taste, love and invest a lot of money...😑
Broken glasses or a scratched frying pan are not needed in this list - it's a consumable item, find options for a quick and inexpensive replacement so you always have it in stock. 😉
But all the rest - yes, you need to submit a complaint to the guest, the main thing is not to write a review of the weed, otherwise your review will be removed due to the policy of Airbnb.
My advice is to slightly lower the fee for cleaning, when it is equal to daily living, it irritates many people, even if it is really so. A minimum of 3 nights is ok, and limit the maximum number of nights to 14, so that requests for more nights you confirm manually by talking to your guest.
Absolutely agree with @Ann72 , a long stay only (!) with the condition of your cleaning once a week, you will control what happens there.

[Angélique27]

I forgot to add the damage to my engineered floors! Upon cleaning under the bed I noticed a large dried red wine puddle that unfortunately didn’t come out. It’s about $1,500 to repair. There were dried red wine ring marks on every surface too. Even the interior was the fridge was stained and every dish put away was extremely oily. They had shoved TP, paper towels and garbage under the bed, sofa and entry rug. Even melted chocolate and gum on the floors. I can’t believe some people. The reviews on this individual were great BTW hence why I had proceeded with it, I left a very honest review to warn other hosts and left him feedback. When I reached out to him about everything listed, he got defensive and also declined my request for $500 (this was prior to discovering the stained floor) and offered me $200 for damage. It took me 3 days to clean and repair. 

I reached out to Airbnb support as they helped step by step. Thankfully they covered the cost of all the damage which I know is rare. Thank you for everyone’s responses and for the compliments. Really appreciate them! 

With Airbnb and the pandemic, I had no choice but to lower the price. I’ll be taking it off Airbnb and renting it out long term until the boarders reopen.