Guests blackmailed us into discount

[Isaac282]

Our most recent guests complained about weird things like old carpet, a spot on the microwave, and some clean dishes left in the dishwasher. We went over immediately to clean, and they walked us around the house pointing out all the little issues they could find until they sat down and asked for the cleaning fee to be removed as well as a couple of days rent refunded.

They then proceeded by saying, "we'd love to give you a good review, but..." I am the property manager, so I said I would speak with the owner. They then messaged us the next day claiming I had said yes to their request, which was a flat out lie.

The owner ended up refunding them over $300, which I didn't agree with because I never OK'd the discount, but I moved on.

Then, when we went to go clean out the house, we smelled cigarette smoke so strongly that it hurt to breath inside the house. We used heavy amounts of cleaners like Pine Sol and Pledge, but we couldn't get the smoke smell fully out of the house.

Is there any way for us to get restitution for that money we refunded them, or a way for them to be banned from the platform as they broke the house rules and left a probably impossible to remove smoke smell?

[Sarah977]

@Isaac282  The answer to both your questions is no. You could try to charge them for extra cleaning and smoke removal, but it will likely take up more of your time than it is worth and no guarantee of getting anything.

These guests quite obviously were scammers who had every intention of pulling this BS from the outset. 

The best way to handle this scenario, which you are advised to use in the future is at the first hint the guests are scamming, and at any attempt at review extortion, you tell the guests that as they are obviously not pleased with the accommodation, that you will amend the booking to end right then and there and they will be refunded for unstayed nights. Best to get scammers out ASAP.

And make sure you know the place is always cleaned to high standards, and take pre-check-in photos, so you will always be certain that any cleaning complaints are bogus.

[Emiel1]

@Isaac282 

First, you should have the same policy as the owner when it comes to refunds, as guests now benefit from inconsistency in decision-making.

Secondly: "we'd love to give you a good review, but..." is probably a violation of Airbnb review policy (depending on what mentioned is after "but...") . If it is recorded in the message system, you can report it as such to Airbnb.

From the policy:

"You’re not allowed to incentivize positive reviews, to use the threat of a negative review to manipulate a desired outcome, or to influence another’s review with the promise of compensation."

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

You can not revert a refund, but you can make a new claim for the smoking issue (although "damage by smoking" is difficult to proof and Airbnb will ask for professional cleaning invoices.)

[Sarah977]

@Isaac282   If you or the owners are going to allow yourselves to be blackmailed over the threat of a bad review, hosting is not going to work put well for you. The guests didn't blackmail you into a refund, the owners agreed to let themselves be blackmailed.

A bad review can be dealt with one way or another if it happens. Hosts cannot do business effectively if they are terrified  of a bad review. A bad review is preferable to a trashed house. 

Also, I noticed that there are respectively a 4.5 and 4.8 ratings on the 2 properties you are managing. As co-hosts, you need to inspect the cleaner's work and look for new cleaners if they aren't doing an adequate job.

I don't know if you are writing the guest reviews and responses, or the owners are, but I saw a response which mentions the repair of a faucet handle. 

Responses are meant to only address what is said in the public review. The audience for review responses are future guests. A response should never mention anything not said in the public review. If the owners are writing these, you should tell them that.