Charging guests for damaged sheets & towels.

[Carissa4]

i have been having a lot of damaged sheets & towels lately, & when i mention to the guests that they will need to pay for them, a number of times the respnse is: "if i were to stay at a hotel, they would not charge me for such damage."

after a comment like that, i am worried to charge them for the damage out of fear a getting a bad review, but i am also losing a tremendous amount of money having to replace damaged sheets and towels.

can anybody advise me on this matter, & also share how they handle this sort of situation?

thank you for any help!

[Jani15]

 I’m just now reading this today because once again I have had an  airbnb Guest damage a towel. Interesting to see all the different responses. The bottom line is Airbnb really does not have your back in the situation at all. I learned that the hard way. Therefore I am very selective on who stays in our Airbnb, I read reviews carefully, and also I pay close attention to the wording when they are asking to stay in our Airbnb. Those are the only things you can do, just listen to your intuition. As far as the people saying use Vanish and bleach, that’s not really helpful as I’m sure you’ve already done that   And, I’ve used both of those and they do not I repeat do not always work. i’m not going to ask my guests  to pay for the damage however it will reflect in their review. And reviews are the most helpful, providing hosts are being honest about the reviews for their guests.  

[Mary996]

Absolutely Amy. Good for you. I'm wondering about charges for repairs... such as to the loo... flushing mechanism... and seat adrift. Did it myself (so twice what a plumber would charge as I value my time?)

Do other Hosts have suggestions for repairs we have to do ourselves following Guest damages?

[Renata451]

You are so right! I have read so much about others hosts saying " just take as lost" . I have taken small damage as lost , but there is a limit to that lost . We are not doing good or helping others hosts if we dont report it and give a honest guest review. I read someone said that Airbnb gather to the guest as they are the one that make then revenue not us. I'm new, this is my first year as host. But I truly want to believe , that Airbnb can do both: gather to the guest and us the host.

What is you criteria to accept a booking request? What is the red flag that you see that you sense that the guest will be a problem ?

[Bruce43]

@David126@Carissa4 I won't host guests for less than two nights because of the same problem.

I just installed a digital electric meter so i can figure in the electric cost with air conditioner. 

I also add about $10  in my welcome basket.

as we work on a small margin I want to know my profit/loss expenses. 

[Amy76]

My guests stayed for 4 nights, all that allowed them to do was cause more damage & not tell me but if they had I might have been able to prevent several permanent costly stains.

[Jan386]

I find towel  theft so annoying I buy matching sets to match the quilts 'They will steal 2 or 3 towels ruining the whole set of 6 towels. I even have a note sying  if you need to take towels please tke the orphans in the linen closet.. but NO half a matching set disappears . It always seems to happen when they are all brand new UGH!!!

[Kathryn304]

Yup, I can see I've got to start charging a LOT more!

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@David126 wrote:

@Carissa4

I guess I am looking at it from a more practical point of view, I have certainly noticed that sheets, towels etc suffer much more when you are renting short term, and some seem to disappear.

AirBnB I would expect except maybe in the most extreme of circumstances will look upon it as a general wear and tear issue and not as something exceptional.

So yes you could ask your Guest to remiburse you but I am not that surprised with the responses you have had. You can of course escalate the issue within the AirBnB system but I think you will hit a brick wall.

So that leaves making sure your charges are enough to cater for the expense.

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[Allison268]

Tears? Why are your guests crying? What did you do to them? 

[Katie-and-Dan0]

We have this problem too - mostly from make-up/fake tan stains.  It's always a dilemma!

[Martha-and-Dennis0]

Sorry, but I do not think replacing the damaged -permanently stained-  brand new sheets that I just bought - after every stay is a "cost of doing business." I just had some guests leave with the sheets stained with markers.

[Susan920]

I previously had a rental house in Florida. Most folks towel stains came out with bleach but others, which are AVOIDABLE by the guest, such as beach tar , makeup/ mascara, dried blood ( towels and sheets !) red wine on the table cloths, nail polish remover, and fecal stains I had no success. I did take it out of their deposit for the cost of replacement. Many are aware of what they have done and dont argue. Dont forget, if they write a bad review you can always respond online: For example: Thank you for your review. I am sorry you are unhappy for being charged for linen replacement. In most cases normal stains can be removed, however in your situation the BLOOD AND FECAL stains were left too long and had to be replaced for the safety of future guests. Thanks for your understanding.

You  can also keep a big bottle of stain remover at the rental with a sign reading:" For stains on linens, please treat immediately to avoid permanent damage and replacement costs. Thank you . " So they are forewarned.

Now that I am living in Europe, i find the majority of guests expect to bring their own towels and sheets! Perhaps you can say you will rent the sheets and towels to the guest like they do here, however the fees are usually just for the care of the linens . Say, if the linens are left in the same condition , you'll be happy to refund 30-50% of the linen rental fee.

In  a sense, it can be seen like a damage deposit for linens and not the other items like furniture and dishes.

[Jennifer1191]

Excessive stains and damage that make the items unusable is NOT the normal cost of doing business. I am having problems with some guests eating in bed and apparently using the coverlets as napkins. I am going to start charging, or based on screening, not provide linens to some guests. 

[Karen-and-Brian0]

Hi @Carissa4 It is frustrating, that's for sure. Stains come with the territory but there are some great products which can get them all out, or most. I found either Biokleen Bac-Out spray or BunchaFarmers Stain remover stick or a combination of both to be very effective at getting all kinds of stains out. To cut down on make-up stains on our towels (mascara can be really hard to get out!), we started providing disposible make-up removing cloths to guests and posted a note in each bathroom requesting that they use them rather than the towels. This cut down on towel stains a lot. If you run into a constant problem with self-tanning products staining your towels (they're the worst), you can put that as one of your House Rules, as well as/or post a note about it and provide dark coloured or old towels for that purpose, clearly labelled.  Other than the mascara stains, the main problem we've had with our towels is that people take them home with them!

Tears, on the other hand, are not what I'd call normal wear & tear unless the sheets were thread-bare to start with. If someone ripped up the sheets, I'd ask them to pay for new ones. If your guests are refusing to pay compensation for damage, I would build it into your pricing if you can - charge enough more to cover your additional costs. Not sure what your competition charges but if there's room to bump up your pricing, that's the way to go. Hope that helps! Karen

[Carissa4]

@Karen-and-Brian0 hello, & thank you very very much for your response!

this is the first time i have asked or commented anything in this group, & i am amazed how wonderful & supportive this community is. all the comments have been really helpful, & i appreciate the time taken to respond to my question.

[Leanne33]

As a New comer i have been wondering the same thing i have grey towelsand of good qulity and in 1 stay i had 4 towels that had been used to clean up bleach ,but also in that same stay i had vertical blinds broken and a hanging rod in the main wardrobe broken and ripped out of the wall . Without saying anything they replaced the hanging rod but the wall had to be plasterd to fix up hole in the built in wardrobe we fixed these things with out complaint . The community centre is great with lots of help and support its wonderful i am learning lots everyday . Thanks