Bed Bug Scam

[Brian1775]

I’m in a brutal situation.  

Had a guest claim there was a bed bug issue at the house.  I was horrified.  An Airbnb case manager was immediately assigned, the guest quickly refunded and relocated for the remainder of their trip.  My listing was paused and all my upcoming reservations were canceled for the next 3 weeks (over $1300 hit).  While painful I understood it.  

This was over the 4th of July so took me a couple days to find licensed bed bug exterminator to inspect the home.  I met the exterminator at the home and was there for the inspection.  No bed bugs and no sign of bed bugs.  Still sold me on a “preventative” $400 treatment.  

10 days ago I provided a receipt to Airbnb that outlined his findings of no bed bugs.  Crickets!!!  I’m out $1300 in reservations and $400 in expense to treat an issue that apparently never existed.  I did some research and found out this is becoming a common claim and way for people to get free stays.  I’ve called and messaged Airbnb and all they will tell me is it’s with a case manager and they will get back to me “immediately” yet they will not give me a timeline.  So disappointing.  I’m a super host with extremely highly cleanliness ratings and 100% response rate and Airbnb won’t get back to me.

 Any recommendations?

[Lisa723]

@Brian1775 what is the outcome that you want from Airbnb now? If the guest relocated (instead of completing the stay and complaining after the fact) then how did they get a "free stay"?

[Brian1775]

The guest actually complained during the stay.  They sent a pic of a bed bug and pics of bites.  They were refunded and relocated.  I was  Initially convinced there was an issue in the home.  After inspections from licensed professionals there was no issues found.  Honestly right now I just want my listing to be taken off hold.  They canceled three weeks of my reservations plus paused the listing so no future reservations can be made.  I understand why they did it, they have to error on the safe side.  That being said, I’ve done everything they’ve asked and would like for them to take the hold off of my listing or at least tell me what else I need to do.  This 10 days of no response is killing me

[Denise1597]

Any additional advice on the resolution air b&b completed for you ! 

[Linda108]

At this time you can continue to pursue the claim and pretty sure nothing will move quickly.  Did you review the guest?  I think a guest will only get away with a bed bug claim once if there is a review that reports honestly the report made but subsequent professional investigation proved the report was in error. You don't have to accuse the guest of a scam, but just state the facts.   Now I wonder, if Air BNB believed the guest was infected with bed bugs from your home, where would they send someone who would probably be a carrier of bed bugs without requiring some disinfecting steps.  

[Brian1775]

I did not yet reviewed the guest and they have not reviewed me.  I agree with what you said about only getting away with that once.  While I’m very skeptical of their intentions I’m not 100% sure they were trying to take advantage of me or Airbnb.  If they review me, I’ll review them and just provide the facts.  What a mess.  I’m most frustrated with Airbnb, they did backflips to make sure the guest was taken care of (which they should) quickly but literally won’t respond to me for going on 10 days.  Im shocked

[Dan113]

i'm going through this now.  how did it end up for you?

[Colleen253]

@Linda108  Yes! That guest, if the house indeed had bed bugs, would be guaranteed to simply be transporting the critters  to wherever they stepped foot next. That is how they get around.  How on earth does that make good sense? As if we need more proof of the absolute boondoggle that is AIrbnb customer service!

[Cormac0]

@Colleen253 

Thank you Colleen,  I've learned a new word today

boondoggle: 

A boondoggle is a project that is considered a waste of both time and money, yet is often continued due to extraneous policy or political motivations.

[Nanxing0 · Accepted solution]

I truly understand your frustration as I have been hit by bed bug problem in the past as well. Frankly speaking I would trust the guest that he/she found bed bugs in the room, however the bed bugs MUST BE BROUGHT IN BY A GUEST. The problem is that the bugs might not be brought in by the same guest who discovered them, might be one who stayed before him/her. The guest who brought it in might not be aware of that at all.

I've heard some really nasty guests who purposedly bring bed bugs to airbnb properties to cause damage to hosts, but most guests who got bite are actually the victims of the bugs. I have done some research but found no way to 100% prevent such thing to happen from the host side, but there are some precautions we can do to minimize the possibility.

1. Put bug proof mattress encasement on the mattress and inspect it frequently, say every time doing cleaning and getting bed linens changed. As long as the encasement is intact the bugs cannot find too many places to hatch. There are some bug proof water proof encasement sold on Amazon for about $10-20 each they are pretty good.

2. Do some general pest control treatment periodically. You can hire a local pest control company and pay them a few hundred dollars a year for that, or you can do it yourself and save some cost. Visit this website and learn how to do it. **

3. Bed bug treatment is very problematic and you need to do it a few times, leaving 7-9 days in between so Airbnb set up the 21 days block for you to finish the treatment and ensure clear of bugs. That's going to hit you on the income, but it's better than getting every guest bite during this time.

As for the inspection, how did the exterminator conduct the inspection? I have asked some local pest control companies and they told me that the only way to ENSURE there's  no bed bug is to conduct an inspection with a K-9 dog. Visual inspection can only find major infestation while it's almost impossible to find small amount of eggs hatched around the bed by human eyes.

**[Link removed - Community Center Guidelines ]

[Brian1775]

Thank you for the info.  All good points.  The inspector told me with the number of bites the guest claimed we should have definitely seen the bugs or evidence of the bugs.  Nothing was found.  As a precaution he went ahead and sprayed for them.  I think the guest were bitten up by something else maybe while they were outside.  Or the dog they brought with them go into something.  Hard to say.  The guest that stayed the night before gave me a 5 star review and then the next guest claims to have been bitten up.  Something is off. 

[Debra300]

@Brian1775,

I won't give you any additional suggestions regarding Airbnb CS, but do recommend that you put your pillows, mattresses and box springs in zippered encased protectors.  There are several on the market, but this is the brand that I use:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z06EFUA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1.  I go a bit overboard, and then put on a waterproof mattress pad for added flush, and an elastic banded mattress protector: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MW50FKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1.  I routinely wash the top mattress and pillow protectors between guest with the bed linen.

[Nanxing0]

@Brian1775 I have to say most guests who have never dealt with bug issues have little knowledge on those things and it's very easy that they mistaken bites from other insects as bites from bed bugs. As a matter of fact bites by bed bugs should not appear after a few days of the bite due to the small amount of anesthesia the bugs inject to the bite site. So if a guest only stays for 1 night and claims he's bite by bed bug, most likely he/she didn't get bite in your property. I have been bite by the bugs and I know this. By the time I realize I was bite by bed bug, there were tons of bugs and eggs in the cracks of my mattress. 

[Angelo527]

I am a Superhost and  adhere to the highest standards of cleanliness and inspect the bed after each stay. Two my guest raised an issue about bed bugs. One on the eve of their departure and the other after she returned home to North Carolina some five hours from Atlanta. I believe in the best in people so I refunded their money; however, my gut tells me both were likely scammers looking for a free stay.

I mentioned to both of them that there is no way in  hell that I would continue to sleep, much less stay, in a place with bed bugs.  

Both young ladies displayed dots and a bruise on their chest; however, both artived with male guest and neither mentioned that their male counterpart had any bites.

Really sad that their are bad apples making false claims.  

[Lee5370]

This is terrible advice! I have been dealing with bed bugs for nearly 20 years (solely bed bugs) and I see this advice from many. It is absolutely incorrect. Bed bug encasements should only be used IF you have an infestation. This is useful if you don't want to throw away an expensive mattress, however, you must ensure you have an encasement for the mattress AND THE BASE. This DOES NOT stop you from having bed bugs! (some of the marketing from these companies suggests otherwise.). Doing your own pest control for bed bugs is futile (unless you know that you have bed bugs) because there isn't a product that provides a residual chemical that is effective against bed bugs (so save your money). As for the 21 days blocking (this is absolute nonsense). I have eradicated thousands of properties and you need no more than 3 days (although, you will return after 7 days to provide a follow up inspection). And INSPECTIONS are better conducted by visual processes and not a dog. If the pest control operative has experience with bed bug inspections, they will only require 30 minutes of Tim e to carry out a thorough inspection (and they will also inspect curtains and corners of rooms ... where only a flying dog would be able to detect)