Hello Airbnb community,
I have been officially hosting regulary since June. I do my best to be the most accommodating host and travel an hour and half to do key transfers and make sure everything is clean and set for my guests. I provide guides and answer quickly. I have a specific situation I would like some insight and advice on.
I currently have a couple staying in my listing who I've had miscommunication from the start. The first thing was the check in. Upon asking the day before, do you expect to arrive 2-4 pm which is my check in time, the guest let me know that they wouldn't arrive until 11 pm. I said fine, I'll set up a lockbox for you as long as you can take it off - because the city where I airbnb cuts off lockboxes and my listing is in an apartment building so the only way is to attach it to public property. I sent a video on how to. And double checked with him since he didn't do it the first day. He distracted me by asking for a second set of keys which I clarified, would have needed to be requested ahead of time and also would have had to be in person since I didn't trust to leave both keys in a public lockbox.
The next thing was the second set of keys. He asked me to mail them which I said I wouldn't because if they got lost, it is a 500 euro fine for me. He kept messaging me to meet to pick up the keys and finally I said if you don't have a set time, please stop asking. At some point, I remembered to ask about the lockbox for a third or fourth time and as I was trying to avoid, the lockbox was cut off. He said he thought I had someone pick it up which I don't understand since I was expecting him to take it off the first day. I asked for reimbursement of 17 euro and he said it was not his responsibility as an airbnb guest because it was not on the property. I pointed out that I avoided the lockbox setup fee of 50 euro and the late check in fee of up to 150 euro for him; as well as, that I had asked him three times to remove the lockbox in our airbnb messages with a video in whatsapp messages too. He essentially responded threatening to leave a bad review by implying that "all of our interactions will inform the review we will eventually leave for the property". As of now, I responded with just "likewise".
I am uncomfortable with the situation. I don't like the communication and I am wondering how to handle all this. They are supposed to stay until September 20th. I don't know what to do moving forward. Do I charge them after the stay and involve Airbnb? And how much since they stated they are only responsible for the house rules I had set which does not include lost lockbox but does include lockbox set up fee and late check in. As well as, how do reviews work if they leave one that is bad just to hurt your image in spite? If you check my profile, I have only 5 stars because I make sure to have good relations and communication with all my guests. I'm sure one bad review won't hurt but I would like to avoid it if it is false. And more importantly, I want to learn how to handle guests like this who make me uncomfortable even airbnbing my home to them.
Any advice or insight would be helpful. Thank you ahead of time.
Happy Hosting!
