What defines a bad guest?

[Cassie59]

I am new to Airbnb since September with only a small handful of completed reservations so far.  I had a group stay in my home for a week.  After they left  we went to clean and we discovered a melted cutting board and melted spaghetti spoon.  They placed hot pans or something on the wooden dining table as well as a wooden banister and melted the finish in three separate areas.  The sheets were significantly soiled and, in general, the house was left incredibly messy compared to the other guests that we've hosted.  How do I move forward with this?

I'm apprehensive to leave a negative review as I'm unsure if this just the risk you run having an Airbnb and I need to suck it up unless the damage is significant?  I would like to know how other hosts would handle this situation.

Thanks in advance!

[Sarah977]

@Cassie59  Please don't be reluctant to leave an honest review. Yes, these are bad guests, and no one else would want to host them. Other hosts need to know about their negligence. Accidents happen, sometimes bedding and towels get stained and you can't get it clean and have to buy replacements. Some you just have to chalk up to to the cost of doing business. But a mature, responsible guest will let you know they had an accident and ask how you want them to deal with it, not just ignore it and assume they can wreck the place with no repercussions.

And if you charged a security deposit, I'd claim on it for the damaged dining table and other damaged woodwork. Also the cost of new sheets if they stained them to the point that they are now garbage. The cost of a plastic spoon and cutting board I'd not bother with, as they're not expensive items.

I'd suggest you replace the plastic utensils with some inexpensive stainless steel ones, though. 

[John1080]

@Cassie59, I have had a few situations similar to this, with big messes but no damage as you have described.  However, in the cases of huge messes, I usually give the appropriate star rating - 2 or 3 and a thumbs down. I hope other hosts do the same, which can help to root out bad guests and protect hosts. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Cassie59

I totally agree with @Sarah977 that based on your description of the state of your listing after check out, those guests were BAD GUESTS. They are careless and rude people who damaged your property, so please leave an honest, factual review so that other hosts will be warned. The damage to your dining table, banister and cooking utensils you described is way beyond "the cost of doing business". Also, please give appropriate star ratings (imo 1 stars for cleanliness) and a 'not recommend'. This is the only way hosts can help each other to avoid having to host bad guests.

[John1080]

I agree with this. Sometimes accidents happen and can happen even to the most careful guest, but a decent person, noticing a water ring or a melted utensil or the like should contact the host, explain what happened and offer to pay for it. 

That is what I would do and that is what I expect from guests. If a guest was genuinely sincere about something like that I would not even mention it in the review and would probably not accept the payment. But, if the person tries to hide the damage, then I would become highly irritated. 

I haven't had any damage to anything yet, but I did have one set of guests who knocked over one of my houseplants and didn't even bother to clean up all the soil spilled. Although there wasn't any damage to the plant itself, it was still 'sneaky' in my eyes and the guest got a neutral review and a thumbs down.

[Robin4]

@Cassie59

Cassie that is bad luck striking one like this so early in your hosting career.

You do need to review them because they may review you, and if you have not reviewed them you will no longer have the opportunity to publicly respond to their review.

Keep it short and don't be overly specific, just say something like....."Being new to hosting we were perhaps a bit trusting where this 'group' was concerned. Damage to our property and a lack of observance of house rules dictates that I would not choose to host any of this group again and my advice to other hosts is.....beware!" 

If you post something like that the guest will have no grounds to have your review removed because all you have stated is your perception of them as guests and that is perfectly allowable in the review system.

As to the future Cassie, there are a few precautions you can take.

1/. Groups are a recipe for disaster, they each have something to prove to each other and will show a lack of respect when dealing with others property.

2/. Never let to locals.....period. Why is it that whatever they require your property for, they are not prepared to do in their own property? The boss who wants an afternoon with the secretary is not going to jump state borders to do it! And most often it will be the secretary who will book for herself and a partner who will no doubt arrive seperately! Damage awaits, they are more intent on things other than your property!

3/. Do not let to people who have lots of questions to ask. Hagglers never make good guests and with every question they ask they strengthen their ground and they weaken yours.

4/. Passive complimentary enquirers make good guests....Agressive demanding enquirers do not!

"We have seen your lovely listing and are looking forward to meeting on the 5th November!" They don't have any questions, so they are happy with the house rules, they have pulled out their credit card and booked. I don't even want to see their past history, they will be good guests.

"We are in your area for.................is there any offstreet parking? Do you have WiFi? What cooking can we do?" Question after question which could have been observed if they read the house rules.

Not the sort of guests I would like to accept, and a background check will most often reveal other hosts have found them less than stellar!

Once again, sorry Cassie, you can always put in a claim to the Resolution Centre but, in some instances that can be a rough road to follow.

Also, I would do something about your pricing structure! Yoiu charge the same regardless of whether you have one guest or eight. I would set a listing amount for up to say 3 guests and charge an additional amount for each guest in excess of that 3. That will cover your servicing costs a bit better, and discourage those group bookings which can be problematic.

All the best Cassie,

Cheers......Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Robin4

"You do need to review them because they may review you, and if you have not reviewed them you will no longer have the opportunity to publicly respond to their review."

Tnx... I didn't know this

[Volen0]

I just had guests staying only for 12 hours. They damaged my washing machine which is a washer-dryer,  I think they were trying to dry heavy washing in one tour, not separating at little parcels as it should be done. I found the washing machine hot when they left, so no doubt that they have used it. They also damaged the programming of my coffee- machine. Left the flat spotless! 

So I think there are guests who are not suitable for flats or whole homes, just for rooms without extra amenities.

I think this is what I am going to write in my review - that these guests are more suitable for a room, not a whole flat with plenty amenities. I wonder how many stars to give them? One or two for communicaton - as they used the machine without asking me how is it to be used - all guests who used it until now have asked that and there are instructions in the flat for it - but 12 hours for shopping, eating, including preparing food as to be cheap, sleeping and arranging their next trip... no time to read instructions. And maybe 1 star - because they made me wait them more than 8 hours, non stop sending me messages that - oh, just something else has to be done in the center... And 1 or 2 for following house rules? Yes, 5 for cleanliness, but should I recommend them to ALL hosts?

I think that there should be three different recommendations - some hosts are good for self-check-in(esp the ones who come 2, 2 or 3 a.m.), some - for a room only and hopefully the majority - to all hosts. What do you think about that?

[Sarah977]

@Volen0    For the future, I'd put the washing machine instructions ON the washing machine. Yes, guests should read the house manual, but often they don't, nor do they exercise common sense, like not overloading a washing machine and dryer, or shutting things off immediately and contacting the host if they are emitting a strange smell, sound, or seem to be overheating. 

[Cassie59]

Thanks for all of the responses!  Here is the review I ended up leaving:

"The group was very friendly and communicative so I was surprised and disappointed to see the condition that the house was in after they left. I ended up having to pay my cleaning service additional fees to complete the cleaning. Additionally, there were areas on the woodwork that were damaged. I understand that accidents happen, but it would have been nice to have been notified about it by the guest rather than just discovering it."

[Diana167]

A guest of mine, sneaked in an extra guest, did not pay for it of course, and left dog pee everywhere, broke decoration and furniture.. Additionally shes refusing to pay refund. 

Help isnt replying to me.. what can I do?