Damage from Smoking

[Kimberly1419]

Hi everyone,

I have been hosting for a few months now and so far, enjoying the experience. I had my first less than ideal guest who left a burn hole in one of the outdoor dining chairs despite a no smoking on the property rule. 
I would like to replace it, the issue is that I can’t just buy 1 chair, I would need to replace the whole set and I am not sure if that’s a reasonable thing to request and I am wondering if anyone has any advice on how to manage this. 
Thank you, Kim 

[Elisa]

Hi @Kimberly1419 😊, 

I'm sorry this happened to you!

Is it the first time?

I'm tagging a few hosts if they would like to share some advice with you: @Soraya19, @Ana42788, @Angie924, @Ricardo2396 and @Hubert--J0.

Thank you in advance everyone!

[Kimberly1419]

Hi @Elisa , thanks for the support! If you mean the first time a guest didn’t follow the no smoking rule, yes it is, as far as I am aware.

[Ana42788]

If you can’t buy just one chair and need to replace the whole set than yes it’s a reasonable thing to ask. 

[Ricardo2396]

Hi @Kimberly1419 

these situations can be very challenging at times. You want to give the best experience possible and hope that guest see the value in what you are sharing with them. A lot of the guests I have dealt with has someone in the group that smokes. I don't know if it's a Jamaican thing or what. 

But the first thing I would do is document the damage, and then using the Airbnb platform, contact the guest about it and see what they say, make sure provide evidence. It would be good if you had before and after Photos. 

If that fails, I would just go ahead and replace it. these are the growing pains of hosting. hope that helps

[Angie924]

Hi! Kim - I am so so sorry this happened to you. I had two - only two seems to be minimizing it but I mean it - guests this past March who did not adhere to the no smoking policy, left stubs in the house plants and smoked inside the house. The guests were through a local carpet company that had international exchange workers. Needless to say the company that contracted with me had the serve pro people come in and clean out the carpet and the house. I had my own cleaner go in and look at the house AFTER the local company and found - this is icky - pee stains and ummmmm…. Let’s call it icky patches on the carpet and my floors. I don’t live in my property - I travel for work and when I got back my cleaner had completely cleaned it out. I didn’t complain to Airbnb or ask for any reimbursement since the contracting company had helped out. 
In your situation - I would have called Airbnb and asked them to file a claim for you and get a whole new set. This is absolutely unfair to you and your home. It’s disrespectful and against every protection you are guaranteed by the platform through which you got such inconsiderate guests. 
Good luck and God speed with the issue. 
Much love. 

[Kimberly1419]

Hi Angie,

I appreciate the advice and it seems minimal compared to what you experienced, yuck 🤢.

I have taken pictures of the chair damage and will likely try to have the set replaced through AirBNB. It has only been a few days since it happened so I am still within the window to claim it.

Thanks again and all the best!