Guest being difficult - please advise

[Helga57]

Morning Everyone. 

I am new to this group and I hope someone can help me.  I have been hosting now 6 apartments for the owners for the last 10 months and have had fabulous guests and great feedback.  Unfortunately I have had that one guest recently that was terrible.  When he booked he thought it was for the Saturday the same day when he actually booked for the next night Sunday, for 5 nights. 

I also explained to him that he needed linen or it could be hired.  He said he would hire as he didn't have any and said would pay when he arrived.  In the advertisement it does say no linen. I sent him a message that I would be out of mobile range the next day.

Unfortunately there was a problem with the hot water in the shower on Monday and he sent me aggressive messages.  The shower had just been repaired with new washers etc so Im not sure what happened. 

I went there several times on Tuesday to see him and left him a message on Airbnb around 4 to ask if he had hot water no response till 10 and 12 midnight again aggressive messages. I organised a plumber the next day to go and have a look, it was fixed as the taps was turned off to hard. 

Then on Wednesday I go and see he has hired a outdoor fridge cooler and has a extension lead running into the apartment and using apartments power.  I asked for him to turn it off immediately but no response. 

On Thursday I sent a nice reminder that check out time was 10am the next day.  He responded by saying the fridge cannot be turned off till I return. 

The guest was gone by the time I arrived on Friday morning at 10.30 and everything was gone.  He left without paying for the linen. 

He has now left a review which i know will be bad as he did his review at 4.19 this morning and also sent a message at 4.20am this morning to say Never again.  I don't want to make this situation any worse and am happy for this incident to go away. 

If I don't leave him a review will his review still be seen on Airbnb by other guests. 

Thank you reading post.

[Paul154]

Hello @Helga57

I should be learning from you. You charge $40 for linens and towels!

That is great. Only in my dreams could I do this.  It's a great idea - I would be willing to provide super nice linens and ample towels.

No more complaints in that department 🙂

You are a professional manager so I'm a little confused how you let the guest get linens without paying first.

Why did you not send him a money request or take cash when you gave out the linens?

Why let him upset you like this?  

Always maintain control, command respect and little problems like this will not blow up as much.

As for the refrigerator, he was a jerk.  You did not kick him out, so your recourse now is to say "Abused the usage of utilities and did not follow house rules" in your review.

Sorry this happened.

[Marzena4]

To answer your question, @Helga57, yes, his review will be seen after 14 days. So please do write a review for him on your side just to warn other hosts. And thumbs down ofc. 

[Christine615 · Accepted solution]

Write an accurate review with a thumbs down. Don't slander - but I agree with Paul -- say  - "Did not follow house rules and abused use of utilities. Asked for additional accomodations and refused to pay for them."

That helps the rest of us know who NOT to rent to.

And report to Airbnb.

One more point. If his review of your place is negative you can rebuttal using the public response button under this review.

Some people are naturally hard to please and negative. People who are looking to rent will be able to see if one bad review is the outlier.

NOTE: Always take photos - even with a cell phone. That has helped me document issues with Airbnb re: guest problems. The photos are time stamped in their meta data which helps prove the time you took them. (send them to Airbnb or email the guest with the photos before someone else checks in or Airbnb won't take action). 

In the future, though, if someone has not booked the right dates you must make them agree to the new dates (and terms) using the Reservation modification function. Otherwise don't let them in. A lot of crazy people out there.

Just watched that old movie "Pacific Heights" with Michael Keaton. That's still on my mind every time I rent.