Guest claiming they contracted scabies

[Normen0]

We had a nine person rental for the house over the weekend Sat - Mon.  On Monday morning the booking guest (0 reviews) advised that they were about to leave and they had a great weekend. The only issue is her mother believes she was bit by bed bugs in the one room. Photo was sent - pustules on chin and neck.

When I arrived to clean, I pulled off the bedding and mattress cover and checked the mattress thoroughly. No evidence whatsoever of bed bugs. The mattress is pristine.  I took photos of the mattress. It looked like the guest had also looked as one corner of the mattress cover was pulled up.

I messaged her to say, no bed bugs and sorry to hear about her mom. Hope she feels better soon and let me know what it is.  

Last night the guest gave us a 5 star review. I did the review, not as great. Issues with a dog that I was  not advised about and 6 bags of garbage that was mostly recycling that I had to pick through because we have a garbage limit and I think they put a child in the hot tub against the rules.  Generally not clean after their stay but not the worst we have had. 

Today she said her mom went to the doctor and he said it was scabies and he also said she got it from bedding. So how does a doctor know this?  I advised her yesterday and today that no one has been in that room since Feb 3 or even in the house since Feb 13 except me to clean.  They arrived Feb 19. So that bedroom was cleaned and was empty for two weeks.  And the house was empty for six days. 

A quick search of CDC website says scabies can’t live without a host for more than 72 hours usually.  

Now she days her dog is scratching and they are taking him to the vet.  (This is the dog she didn’t tell us was coming even though I reminded her to tell us if she has pets coming in her check in detail message three days before arrival. And no pet fee collected). 

I have closed the house until Saturday when we have the next guests. All the bedding was washed in hot water as usual.  

I’m sure the mother has something whether it’s scabies or not. Now I have to monitor myself for 2 months!  

I’m furious and I’m just waiting for the message from AIRBNB support and for them to close the listing.  

Anything else I can do?  

[Normen0]

@Colleen253 Thank you!  I’ve been firm in that. I will continue.  I was quite frustrated, offended and angry knowing full well there was no way this was possible with the time between stays.  This incident is at a property I manage and clean for someone else and I’m the only person who cleans so I know what is going on.  
But…Just when I needed it, I just received the most beautiful review and feedback from guests at my own place this past weekend. Better to focus on the good ones. Breathe 🧘 

[Normen0]

@Colleen253 @Sarah977 @Helen744 @Karla533 

Well, now the guest has gone to AIRBNB and claimed they might have been in contact with bed bugs despite messaging in AIRBNB that the mother was diagnosed with scabies. AIRBNB CS said if we cannot confirm evidence that there ARE bedbugs, we have to get an inspection at AIRBNB’s cost. Or they will close us down.  So guilty until proven innocent despite the guest changing their tune in diagnosis again. 
Im 100% sure we didn’t have bed bugs. We have bed bug covers and there was no evidence. 
Is it possible we now have bed bugs in the furniture because if these people?  I guess we will find out. F%@k!

[Karla533]

@Normen0  What a nightmare so sorry! 😞

[Helen744]

Helen@744. Get the inspection it should cover everything. It will give you a clean bill of health .This guest has lied obviously. Call their bluff.Bed bugs hide out . I have only seen them once in a camper van mattress. Not easy to miss but not easy to get rid of. They live in mattresses and all parts of the bed.Unlike scabies there is no lead in time and this guest is hoping for a refund.Ask her to get mum to call you so you know exactly what happened.She has told lies and'mum' is probably pretendy mum at this stage. Good luck . H Oh.and ask for photos of the 'bite' and the doctors report. There is not one I suspect.

[Marie6762]

@Normen0 

A-holes!  They brought their mangy dog and it sleeps with them.  And all the CDC info and facts won’t convince CS to make them own their mess- just a sickening situation.  I am fuming 😡 on your behalf

[Marie6762]

@Normen0 

Wow- you certainly handled that nightmare situation brilliantly!  I think I would have closed shop.  All the wonderful guests we have, all the wonderful hosting - and one like this can ruin it all.  Thanks for hanging in there, and sharing valuable information with us!

[Sarah977]

@Normen0  A friend of mine came to visit for about 3 weeks and stayed in my guest room, the room I normally list when I don't have friends or family here. This was before I started hosting. 

About her second week here, she started getting really itchy and couldn't figure out what it was. She used some creams, but nothing helped, it was getting worse. 

A week after she went back to Denver, she emailed me and said she found out she'd had scabies. When I asked if she had gone to the doctor, she said no, she just washed with scabies medication and it stopped itching. 

Well, I knew she didn't get scabies here- no one had slept in that room for a month before she came. And the previous person was another good friend, who is a nurse, who certainly would have let me know had she discovered she had scabies.

It took me about a week, but it suddenly hit me- I live in the tropics, and there is a certain type of tick here that is super tiny that you pick up from walking through bushy areas- those ticks hang out on the bottom of plants and latch on if you brush by. She could have picked some up around my neighborhood and she also went to visit another friend one day who lives in the jungle. 

I have had those ticks on me before, and even one results in excruciating itching. But I hadn't had any on me for a long time, so I forgot all about them when she was here. You can actually remove them by just scrubbing yourself with a washcloth in the shower- they don't dig in like other ticks or puff up. And the parasite medication she washed with would definitely have killed them.

[Normen0]

@Sarah977 I guess we can expect all kinds of scenarios. Honestly at this point I expected to have a report of a guest with Covid or have contracted it myself. How many times have I come in to clean and find waste baskets overflowing with used tissues in the past two years!!  
Ticks would be a possibility here as well if it wasn’t -4 Fahrenheit. Lol. Always something to keep in mind when we have guests in summer/fall with dogs as well.  

[Gillian166]

oh @Helen744  I sadly have had a bad experience with bed bugs in Australia. We think hubby got them from a hotel in Melbourne, brought them home to Sydney, took us about 2 weeks to work out what it was as only he got bitten at first. I did my research and the solution seems to be: torch the house. LOL

Bed bugs can live for a year, without a host. !!!  even worse, science boffins don't actually know enough about them (like ticks) so there's not a lot of helpful advice on how to get rid of them. We did one of those flea bomb things, even though they don't work on bed bugs, Husband was sure it would work. *sigh* I got some diatomaceaus earth powder and sprayed everything, threw away the pillows, got a bed bug cover for the mattress and we took our lovely fabric bed out to our farm and left it in the shed for 2 years. We bought a koala bed (those timber ones that clickclack together, they are amazing) as no bugs can live in them.  When we moved to Qld we brought my lovely fabric bed out of quarantine and it's been fine. the mattress is still in the same bed bug zippered pouch. (although just writing about this whole experience is now making me itchy)

In all my hunting for the little bastards I only ever found one bedbug, so just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. 
@Normen0 not sure how you get an inspection to prove there are no bed bugs, they are really hard to find and could be in the carpet, or the sofa, or anywhere really.  I wonder if you could ask the guest to retract the complaint, as they were diagnosed with scabies and now you're potentially getting shutdown for bedbugs. ridiculous.
Anyway, this story from this woman isn't bedbugs. sounds like the dog is the culprit. 

 

[Helen744]

Helen@744 they look horrific and if you only found one ever I would guess you are pretty safe but Australia has not the same problem as other countries but this may change in the future at the rate accomodation is expanding but hopefully Airbnb hosts are always looking for them .I always err on the side of completely freaking out but the Koala beds sound good . I will look into them Thanks H. Everything has become difficult to get at the moment

[Normen0]

@Helen744 @Gillian166 @Karla533 @Sarah977 @Colleen253 Here’s an update:  the guest made a complaint last Friday to AIRBNB that there were bed bugs. Ugh!  So after saying there were bed bugs, changing the story to a Dr’s confirmed diagnosis of scabies, she went back to bed bugs. AIRBNB said if we could not find evidence of bed bugs, we needed to get an Inspection. And without an inspection, they would suspend the listing and cancel reservations. 

So I managed to get that done today and lo and behold, no bed bugs, no bugs if any kind. In fact the Pest Inspector said it was the cleanest place he has been in!  
Well, we are certainly relieved that this guest did not bring us any pests!!  We didn’t expect that he would find bed bugs but was scared maybe their dog had fleas or something!!
The house was closed for 6 nights. We have requested payment from the guest (as she lied) for one night plus the $25 pet cleaning fee which she has declined. We have forwarded this through the resolution process.  We don’t expect AIrbnb to award us anything more than the pet cleaning fee but at least we tried!  

[Helen744]

Helen@744, well done calling her bluff, it is a shame that some people will take hospitality and then stoop so low as to lie about the situation. Its one of the hazards we have to put up with. just so unfair to the host and causes loss of income and time as well as creating too much drama. All the best H.

[Gillian166]

how disgraceful is this person! and how can ABB not see that she is clearly lying?! I'm sorry, but why should you pay for the pest inspection to prove your innocence? the guest should be paying that fee too. ooh I'd be so angry about it, would need a few laps around the park to clear my head. This lying woman has cost you a week's income!  

[Sarah977]

@Normen0  Thanks for the update. I was wondering about what transpired. If you haven't already, I would be really strong with Airbnb about how this guest is a scammer and should be banned from the platform. It is patently obvious, as she first claimed her doctor said it was scabies and then she changed her story when that didn't work.

@Gillian166  I'm almost at the point where I don't want to read this forum anymore. Every day there's some host, or several, writing in about yet another scammer guest. For whose lies the host is deemed guilty until proven innocent. 

[Gillian166]

yes I suppose that's true, but i feel better informed and prepared by hearing these stories. I think overall there's a high % of great guests.