I’m feeling really frustrated and would appreciate some advice.
I hosted a guest for 2 months. My listing clearly states NO CATS due to a severe allergy. The day before check-in, she informed me she was bringing a cat. Per Airbnb support, I could have had her cancel her reservation with a 100% penalty because of my strict cancellation policy, but after she begged and promised to pay extra, I made an exception. I charged her $500 extra for cleaning, since I would need to hire a professional crew (I normally do the cleaning myself).
After the guest checked out, I inspected the property and found cat poop all over the unfinished basement. When I told the cleaning crew, they said it would cost extra to handle the pet waste.
When I informed the guest, she refused to pay anything more, told me to just clean it myself (even though I can’t due to allergies), and said it “wasn’t a big deal” because it was “just the basement.” I feel really disrespected, and I regret not enforcing the cancellation when I had the chance.
I’m also worried she might retaliate by leaving me a bad review based off of our interaction.
Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? What would you do next? I already notified Airbnb and they said to request additional payment through the resolution center however the guest is refusing to pay based on her messages.
Thanks in advance!
