Guest from Hell

[Toni225]

So I had this young couple checkin on 6/8/19 for two nights, the female who made the booking asked if  I would do an early check-in, that they would be arriving at 9:00AM. I had a one night booking for 6/7/19 and was not sure how early I could check them in ,so I offered to allow them to drop off their luggage. My booking for 6/7/19 cancelled so I message the female and said my booking cancelled so I can do the early check-in, then I get a request for a one night booking again for 6/7/19 which I declined.

So the couple arrives at 10:30AM and I checked them in going through the apartment with them and going over the house rules with them verbally again.  So I was  at a loss for words when I return home from dinner that night to find my entrance door wide open. that was 11:08 PM, I  then heard the male  come in about 20 mins., later and again reminded him to please close  the entrance door when entering and leaving the home. He was very nice and said he was sorry and will make sure to close the door when leaving or entering. 

     On Saturday night 6/ 9/19  around 12:15AM they both left out of the home, now remember I had gone over the house rules with them, So on Sunday morning at around 9:30 AM I notice that the utilities had not been turned off like I have in my house rules and I also went over verbally with them. So I sent her a message over Airbnb at 11:13 AM.   I got no response back from her so at 12:18 PM I called Airbnb who reached out to her at 1:07 PM the male calls and said I could go and turn the utilities off, so I go up and walk right into a mess., they had eaten and placed all the garbage in a bag and left the bag in the middle of the kitchen floor, mind you there is a brand new stainless steel garbage can right there in the kitchen, a bottle with unfinsh smoothie in the middle of the living room , a plate with pizza on the sofa and two pillows from the bedroom also on the sofa, on the sofa was also a wet bath towel.

Their dirty clothes were thrown over the back of the dining room chairs  and all the kitchen , dining room and bathroom lights were left on. You could also see that one of them had been sleeping on the sofa because the room smelled of body odor. At this time I also on the phone with Jason from Airbnb and he is telling me thanks for reaching out to Airbnb support team he has forward my inquiry to a member of his team so they can help me better.

   Today at 11: 15 AM,  I go up to let them know its time to check out only to find out that she has already checked out and leaves  him there, he told me she told him checkout was 12:00 Noon  I pulled up my listing and showed him its 11:00  AM . I then called Airbnb and as always its have you reach out to the guest, now remember some one was to get back to me.  So at 7:01 PM tonight I get a request from Emily over Airnb requesting a full refund stating that her stuff was tampered with and being locked out the apartment upon return, plus a review based with lies. I find it horrendous that Airbnb has yet to return a call to me since  I made the first call to them yesterday , allow this person to ask for a refund based on lies when a member from the Airbnb support team was with me on the phone at 12:00PM when her male friend was checking out .

It is my honest opinion that Airbnb cares nothing about its host and thats why guest does the things they do.  I am interesd to see if any other host has ever had ths same problem, I am considering delisting my home again from Airbnb  and going back to 9Flats .

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Tnx @Robin4  I copy pasted your review for future use. Is it copyrighted or it's creative commons? :)))

[Clara116]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  and @Robin4  ME too Branka & Silva.....I copied it immediately and saved it. Rob you are so wise! Thanks good man. We are hoping you give permission to use it, or parts of it??? hope I  hope....thanks Clara

[Susie111]

@Robin4 

Thank you, so did I.

You are so helpful!

[Robin4]

@Branka & Silvia1  

I had trouble getting a book copyrighted a decade ago, so have well and truly given up on 'interlectual property', as far as I am concerned ;-)) If it helps, go for it, use it!

It was not so much the words Branka, it's the blueprint you need to follow when dealing with these difficult guests. Sure, the initial impulse is to lash out, tell them what pr*ks they were,  but all that does is guarantee you are going to be embarrassed about your comments down the track! Everyone of us would do things better with the benefit of hindsight.

What seems to be an insumountable mountian at the time, in reality, becomes barely more than a blip on the horizon 6-12 months from now!

Write your review, and sit back and look at it and ask yourself....."Is that really me, is that the way I want the world to see me"! At that point a lot of the anger will disappear, and you will be in a position to leave a review that more genuinely reflects who, and what, you are!.

Cheers.....Rob

[Pete69]

Well this female guest won't be using Airbnb again. No host will accept this girl's booking request with a review like you left her. It's hotels for her from now on.

Was this a same day booking? Experienced hosts will tell you never to accept same day bookings. There's a higher likelihood that you'll get problem guests of all sorts.

[Toni225]

@Pete69 ,  Yes it was a same day booking , the red flags were there and I wanted to decline  1) because her only review was in French where the host only wrote ( really very well ). 2) She wanted to check in at 10:30 AM ,  3) she was asking questions like how as the apartment set up when its all clear in the listing .

Silly me was also going to allow her a late check -out also at 6pm since she said her flight was going to be also 9:00 PM that night, its a lesson learned by me .  My question to any guest booking now will be what brings you to Brooklyn  New York.

Thank you for the advice,  I am not sure I want to host with Airbnb again , they don't do enough to protect or show they appreciate their Host.

Also just got an offer from a French Doctor who will be interning  here at a Brooklyn  Hospital ,  who will rent my place for the next 6 months .

[Sarah977]

@Toni225  When I get questions from guests that make it evident that they didn't bother to read through the listing info, I'll message back something like "Hi XX, thanks for the message- I will be happy to answer your questions, but almost all of the answers can be found by thoroughly reading though my listing description. It's very important for guests to do this, so as to ensure that there are no misunderstandings about the listing and what is provided. So please go back and make sure you've read everything, including the house rules and cancellation policy (you have to scroll down past the reviews and calendar to see those) and then if you still have questions, I'll be more than happy to clarify."

[Pete69]

@Toni225 After hearing your story I feel lucky that all I got (when I last took a same day booking) was a guest who smoked pot in my non-smoking stay and sprayed cologne all over the room to cover up the smell of smoke. Had to steam clean the carpet and air it out for 3 days.

On a side note I've learned to NOT price my place (weeks away) to make top dollar. Yeah with patience someone will eventaully book for $125 a night on weekends (based on pricing lessons from last year), but I want to hopefully get booked 2 or more weeks out. So I'll come down 5% so that I can attrack people who book WELL in advance. You're more likely to get responsible guests when they book well in advance. If I find myself with a vacancy 2 days way, I'll actually raise my prices to scare off problem guests. Nowadays the ONLY time I will ever accept a same day booking is if it's a weekend (probably because someone cancelled) but I will JACK UP my price perhaps 2 or 3 days out and stop accepting same day after about 10 AM.

[Helen350]

@Pete69  I've hosted many same day bookings, & found them no less good than those who book in advance. In high season, many  tourists on multi-week trips book at breakfast for  that night. For good reasons they don't know where they'll be more than a few hours in advance.

[David6]

@Helen350 

For past 4 years I was working/living and travelling in Poland, Morocco, Prague, Bucharest and Spain. I’d arrive - love a city/town or not - and book with just a few hours to spare. Without IB, I’d have used booking.com or other platforms in Morocco for example I travelled to 26 cities/towns. When late at night I just used booking.com . 

I really feel some hosts have no comprehension how competitive the ‘home share’ market is. They complain of getting no bookings, yet are not offering what MANY guests actually want. That’s last minute and instant confirmation that they have a bed for the night. Hosts of course must host as they wish,  but I do find it so antiquated that many, many hosts are so out of synch with what the ‘market’ is demanding 

[Helen350]

Yes, @David6 , I've travelled a lot in Germany & central Europe, jumping on & off trains & boats, & heading to Tourist Info mid afternoon to find somewhere (pension) for that night (before airbnb!) - And used the Youth Hostel handbook/pay phone back in the day! Same as people have always done with the good old British B&B in the days when folks put up a sign - before internet! - A few hours warning via airbnb is a luxury! And I've hosted some charming, grateful people with 10-30 mins notice! 

[Sarah977]

@Pete69  I agree that those who book well-ahead tend to be better guests. There can, of course, be quite valid reasons why someone needs to find a place last minute, but in general, those who wait until the 11th hour to secure lodging for themselves are also the type of people who expect others to rush around to accomodate them (entitled) and don't bother to read through the listing description, but only look at the price, photos, and location.

[Helen350]

It's not often I disagree with you @Sarah977 !

[Sarah977]

@Helen350  I'm glad your experience with last-minute bookings has been otherwise. I know some hosts have not experienced problems with this, but it seems the majority of posts I read here tend to indicate the opposite.

[Ann72]

@Pete69 That's a brilliant strategy.