A skunk sprayed outside

[Susan4343]

Yesterday morning a skunk sprayed in our neighborhood near our house. It was a cold rainy day. Our guests arrived early while I was getting air freshener and the skunk smell was quite strong in the house. I hadn’t had time to air the place and the skunk smell was still strong outside. I gave them the air freshener and they seemed to understand that skunks can be a problem ( he mentioned they have them where he lives)

My husband and I stayed in the upstairs apartment located at the back of the house. The skunk odor was also in our apartment so I opened windows to air it out. The smell is gone in our apartment this morning. 

At 5 a.m. I received a message from our guest saying he couldn’t sleep because of the skunk smell and saying they will leave today, a day early. He suggested the skunk must live in the wall. We’ve never had a problem with a skunk spraying near our house. But there is certainly no skunk residing on the property. 

I apologized and suggested if they have plans for the day that they might open the windows to air the house out. 
The skunk odor has cleared outside. The weather is forecasted to be another cool damp day.  

I’m not sure if I’m obligated to offer a refund for this natural disaster. I’m also suspecting they’re disappointed with the poor weather since they’ve come to go hiking. 

If they leave early, should I refund them for one night if their two night booking? Suggestions?

[Colleen253]

@Susan4343 You don’t mention what, if anything, the guest is asking for.

One thing that sets alarm bells ringing is “He suggested the skunk must live in the wall.” The danger here is the guest going to Airbnb with this claim. You may want to prevent that. Airbnb is likely to suspend your listing for vermin, and require you to have pest control service come in. 

[Brian2036]

@Susan4343 

It’s highly unlikely that a skunk would take up residence in an occupied house, and if they did they would not spray in a confined space.

They just don’t do that.

They normally live in underground dens and avoid humans, dogs and other predators.

As @Colleen253  suggested, these people can cause you a lot of trouble with Airbnb, even though it’s not justifiable, so if they ask for a refund you should probably agree if they will cancel the remainder of their stay.

[Colleen253]

@Brian2036 @Susan4343I’m not one of those hosts who believe in throwing money at a guest for any and all reasons, but in this case, and considering what we know about how Airbnb operates, avoiding having them get involved is good reason to throw all the money at the guest. Its not worth the risk of cancelled bookings, suspended listing and paying for pest control service that isn’t even needed.

[Sarah977]

@Susan4343  Something to know for the next time, if there is one, is that placing bowls of vinegar and/or baking sida around will absorb odors, as opposed to trying to cover up an odor with air fresheners. Also setting up a fan next to an open window, so it is pulling the air out of the room and blowing it outside.

[Anonymous]

@Susan4343  The Get Out In Front Of It Rule:  when a guest claims that they're unhappy with a stay while it's in progress, the very first thing the host should do is offer to terminate the booking (via checkout date alteration) and refund the unused nights. There's nothing left to be gained by continuing the stay - the priority at this point is to get the guest out of there and prevent any further escalation.

The second-best outcome is that you can quickly resolve the issue in a way that makes the guest genuinely happy to complete the stay. I doubt that would have worked out in this particular case, though.  The only thing worse than a foul odor permeating the house is that same odor layered with the toxic chemical sprays that are misleadingly labeled as "air fresheners."

[Robert5501]

I agree with what Brian said earlier, skunks normally will not set up living in an occupied house. In my opinion these people are looking to get some money back because the weather dampened their plans. We have a lot of skunks and they have really stunk up our house on occasion but the smell doesn't last long enough to ruin a weekend so I call B.S. on their claim. But like Colleen and Brian stated, I would be concerned that this guest could stir up trouble out of spite by going to Airb&b.