No security deposit in place

[Marilize0]

Hello, we have been hosting for 12 months now and for the first time we've had staining to our linen to the point that it has to be replaced.

We do not have a security deposit in place. Any suggestions on how to  deal with this now? Obviously we will add the deposit going forward. We 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Marilize0

Hi there - two ways of looking at this - accidents will always happen and it;s not alwasy worthwhile chasing for payment for them. We put a small amount aside each booking to cover replacing sheets/towels, etc. This time round you  could just decide it;s not worth chasing the guest and perhaps getting a poor review for a stained sheet.

Or...you can decide to contact the guest and ask if they will pay for the replacement...

It's up to you..

Finally, you should alwasy have a security deposit in place (it may be hard to claim against..however) as it sends a message to people that you expect them to pay if there is damage to your property.

[Carmen185]

The security deposit is just an illusion of security, as when it's needed you have to ask your guest if he/she wants to pay for the item. If their answer is no, you won't get any money back. So it's just useless.

[Robin4]

@Marilize0

Great post by @Gerry-And-Rashid0....these guys are totally up to speed with this. I have found it is better to build that extra few dollars into the listing amount and let these little trivialities come out of the sinking fund than antagonise everyone from ABB down trying to get some form of compensation. Trying to chase additional money will do nothing but backfire on you! There are some hosts who say they have dealt with the resolution centre numerous times requesting additional amounts for something of other and have had their demands met! Great, but I do not think this is the norm.

Just as a matter of interest how did they damage the linen to the point where it had to be replaced!! I have managed to have a few unexplained events but they have always cleaned up ok, given the right clean-up treatment and quick response time. 

Marilize I am on tenderhooks just a little bit because of my three sets of cottage linen, two are 1000 thread count and the remaining set 1900 thread count!!! It's a lot of money to throw away if an "accident' happens!!

Cheers....Rob

[Marilize0]

Rob unfortunately we cannot figure out what it is but we cannot get it out of 2 sets of good threadcount cotton. And therefore we will need to replace it. We feel our guests deserve good cotton because it is part of the experience. We also did not want to add a security deposit because we do not want to make people feel like we do not trust them with our property, but unfortunately we might have ot review this now. Just as a minimum, I wished that our guest would have pointed out the damaged linen to our co-host when they checked out. But they did not. So I view this experience as "lessons learnt' and I am very thankful for all the advice we have received on this forum. Many thanks. Marilize

[Robin4]

@Marilize0

Now that's an interesting comment......"unfortunately we cannot figure out what it is but we cannot get it out of 2 sets of good threadcount cotton." !  How on earth did they ruin TWO sets of linen?? I can understand an accident of sorts to one set, but 2 is taxing me a bit. If that is the case and 2 sets have been compromised I would definitely contact the guest and ask exactly what it was that rendered them in this condition. If you know what the stain is there is in nearly all instances something you can do about it.

The other thing is, I never supply 'white' sheet sets. I have pale pastel colours (nothing heavy) but pale blue, green, grey, and fawn..... and it is easier to remove stains from a colour than from a stark white.

I have had to deal with make-up, blood, wine, and on one occasion, paint, but just the odd bit! I have never had to deal with anything like a full glass of red wine, and I have found my local 'dry cleaner' very handy with tips on what works best on particular stains.

I have also found I wash with far better results since I returned to a 'top loader' washing machine rather than the 'front loader we used for 8 years. And I think it stands to reason, something is going to be washed far better when it is 'immersed' in water rather than being meerly 'dipped' in it with each rotation of the drum!!

So, I guess I am lucky, and in two years have not lost a set of linen due to guest behaviour, but the time will come, and when it does I will just dip into that fund that I contribute to from each guest to cover the replacement.

After all, at some point linen goes from being lost 'prematurely' to being lost through 'wear and tear' ......and, as hosts, we do have to be reasonable about that. I would not jump up and down if a catastrophic accident happened to a sheet set that had been washed 50 times....I would consider I had a good run out of it! That would amount to running cost of about $1.50 per guest, and I would conmsider that pretty good!

Cheers....Rob

[Marilize0]

Very good advice.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

[Lyn-and-Gavin0]

In the three years we have been hosting we have had numerous accidents - menstrual blood, pot noodles, hair dye on pillows, coffee, red wine.  I always just let it go.  I do have a security deposit about £80.00 in place but have never once made a claim....it's just something I feel I have to put up with.  If a guest strips the bed......this is always a red flag for me ( I have now learnt that - it's because they are hoping I will bundle it in the washer before spotting it).....so now I always triple check before washing.   But when a fellow host admitted (on day 4 or 5 of his stay) that he had had a little accident with red wine and my White Company duvet set on his first night that got me angry so now I have put in my house manual something along the lines of "We realise accidents happen - so if you mark/stain your linen set please remove the item immediately I will happily provide a fresh item to replace it - this gives me the opportunity to remove the stain before it has set.  If you do not let me know then expect a deduction via the security deposit blah blah.....since then I have had confessions and managed to remove the stain. 

[Robin4]

@Lyn-and-Gavin0

I think that is a pretty good response! It is reasonable, and gives the guest the opportunity to 'come clean' while the window of opportunity is open to treat the stain, and although it will take some time to judge, I would be keen to know what your guests reaction to that statement is.

This is the great thing about the forum, every day another little hint comes along that just makes us all that bit better and wiser!

Thanks @Lyn-and-Gavin0 I like it.

Cheers.....Rob

[Dev4]

@Marilize0

I agree with a lot of comments made far. 

We keep security deposit for only one reason - guests think that they might lose the security deposit (full or partial) if they break the house rules. 

For minor damages such as breaking a glass or steam cleaning a carpet due to stains, we feel that it is part of running a business and build it into the price. 

I remember our second guest on Airbnb left make-up stains on white sheets. We tried many cleaning solutions, but the stains did not go. I had to replace the sheets. I started keeping make-up wipes in the unit. Lesson learnt.

Regards,

Casadell

[Robin4]

@Dev4

Funny you should say that. Right from the time I started hosting I have always put out a new sealed pack of face wipes and not once have they ever been opened and used.

And I have still ended up with make-up on the pillows.

What's the old expression...'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink'!!!

Cheers....Rob

[Dev4]

@Robin4

That's really funny...I hope you were able to get the make-up marks off the pillow. 

I visited another Airbnb's host place recently, and he had placed placard with instructions all over the unit. e.g. wifi username and password, how to use tv, etc. I am comtemplating to do the in my unit and tell guests to use make-up wipes to remove make-up. I know from past experience, it's always this "one" guest that spoils it.

[Robin4]

@Dev4 @Marilize0

I have been for the last few months (with the help of a friend in video production) putting together an 8 minute Ulta high definition video loop which runs when guests arrive. The clarity is staggering considering it is shot on a little 'Hero' action motion cam.

The main reason for this is to promote not just the town of Mt Barker but the wineries, boutique breweries and eateries in the area plus some beautiful scenery around our Kms of walking/cycling trials plus the wetlands.

But two minutes of it are devoted to the cottage....the electric bed, the heating panel, the airconditioning, the induction cooktop, the Wifi and funnily enough the shower mixer! Twice guests have complained there was no hot water in the shower and when shown to turn the lever the other way they felt a bit stupid so I though I may as well point it out in the welcome video.

This does save me from having lots of 'dos and don'ts' scattered around, and all of the points are covered more thoroughly in the house rules folder but the experience of others is valid....people do not read house rules. As far as the average person is concerned house rules are in the same bracket as warranty conditions in the back of a user guide....who reads em!!!

But they do watch the video loop, can freeze it at any point and they do seem to get more out of it than just having it on paper.

Cheers....Rob

[Dev4]

@Robin4

You are awesome!! I have been thinking about the video for a while. I think video is very powerful and specially the way you have designed it makes it a fun watch. How do you share the video with your guests? I have struggled a bit with that. I am not comfortable putting it on Youtube or Facebook as it feels that your privacy is not longer private. 

I have a question in general for all the hosts. 

Do you allow guests to wear shoes in the house? I find that many guests, often the ones staying for shorter duration do not remove shoes. On requesting, a few guests have expressed displeasure. 

Regards,

Casadell

[Robin4]

@Dev4

About the video, I also don't feel comfortable with putting it up on UTube or Facebook because there is a lot of personal information in it which is for guests, but certain sections of the community I would not want to have access to it, and I certainly wouldn't want general access to it. I may put it into a personal link on Vimeo so you can access it that way....I will consult my video guru on how to best do that!

The other thing, I have played a piano all my life I still play around an hour a day many days, and I wrote the bit of music that I play and back this video with......I know it sounds a bit 'naf' but I wanted sound I had control over and it fits in really well in the background.

Everyone who sees it says they think its great....but you know what people are like! Maybe they are just humouring me!!!

The video just runs in an endless loop, when it finishes it starts again....like those old newsreels and I just set it going quietly in the background before guests arrive and while I am showing them around I just tell them all they will really need to know about the area and where they are staying is contained in it. Once I have shown them the relevant things about the cottage I just leave them to it and most will make mention at some point of one aspect or other of the video so, I think the bulk of them do watch it. When they have seen enough they just hit the stop button and that is the end of it.

But @Dev4, it needs to be good, it needs to be visually interesting, and done in a polished way! Absolutely no good having it look like a home movie....that would turn em off so fast. And that is why I opted for Ultra HD, the vision is....wow! Things like a fisheye movie travelling down the main street, a Drone skimming across the water in the wetlands, the big gold sun sinking behind the vines in the Shaw Smith vineyards...the sort of stuff that really grabs peoples attention. I even had a little drone do a flyaround in the cottage pointing out the various things to make that interesting.

Possibly one day we may be able to produce videos that we can post on our Airbnb listings to help our potential guests.

But I do feel this is the house rules of the future and the way to present them.

Cheers.....Rob