We’ve been hosting for a little over two months and loving it so far. We’ve been lucky to have great guests. I’ve heard the horror stories and this isn’t one of them, so I’m not sure how best to handle it. This may be a bit long...sorry for that.
We recently had a guest guest who was very poor at communicating. I send a PDF guidebook and code for the door to our guests a week in advance. I ask that they reply to the email to let me know they got it (mostly so they have directions and can get in). Never has been an issue. This guest didn’t reply after a few days so I messaged on Airbnb asking if they got it. Waited a few more days (now 2 days before they were due to arrive) and wrote again with no reply. Decided to text them the day of arrival and they replied that yes they did get the email. I am easy going so I viewed this as a minor annoyance.
They were due to stay 4 days. After the 3rd day our cleaner made a mistake and thought it was their checkout day and started cleaning up. They messaged me to tell me that there was a large stain of possibly a Burn ring from hot cookware on our wood countertop. It would not come out. I do supply trivets. I let them know the guest was still staying and they told me there was no personal belongings in the cottage at all. I asked the cleaner to leave and come again tomorrow.
I reached out to the guest and apologized and explained that the cleaners came early. After a few hours they wrote back saying no problem. I was hoping they’d bring up the damage because in our guidebook we ask people to let us know right away, and truthfully I get accidents happen and understand that’s part of the business. They said nothing. My husband decided to check our log on our door lock and the door was locked by the guest very early in the morning and they did not return. It’s now almost midnight and they have still not come back. This may be completely fine, but with the lack of communication and the damage I am getting an uneasy feeling.
We can probably fix the counters but have to make sure we get it done ahead of the next guest and it really upsets me that they didn’t let us know. It feels like they possibly even left early and didn’t communicate.
How should I handle this? I’d like to keep all interaction on the Airbnb platform but this guest simply doesn’t reply there. Should I start a dialogue or make a claim?
thank you for your input!