Guests’ dogs scratched/gouged our floors

[David-and-Annie0]

Our property manager and house cleaner let us know that the guests who left today did damage to the whole downstairs flooring. They had two dogs and it appears that one or both of the dogs’ claws did quite a bit of scratching up of the floors. Mopping and scrubbing did nothing to buff them out or improve them. I am so upset. We work really hard to make and keep a nice place for guests to stay (and for our family to enjoy.)

I immediately messaged the guest through Airbnb and sent pictures. Then I went to the resolution center and submitted a request for payment and pictures. I did a quick search on-line (I don’t know how much it costs to refinish floors) and read that it can usually range between $300-900. I asked the guest to pay $500.

Several hours went by before she responded. Her response was brief, and although she did not admit any fault, she said she understood our position and would like to talk “live” about it over the phone. I have not responded yet because I’m not sure how to proceed.

I imagine she will say that the floors were not pristine to begin with, and that is true. But they did considerable damage that is noticeable and takes away from the ascetic value it did have.

(I think after this we will go to a “no pets” policy, unfortunately.)

The curious thing is, she had more than 10 absolutely glowing reviews—although the last one was in 2018.

I don’t know if I should engage with her in a phone conversation or just keep it in writing within the Airbnb platform.

Should I call Airbnb for advice? What is your advice out there?

Thank you,

Annie

[David6824]

@David-and-Annie0 airbnb could refund you up to 1 million dollars. You can't do anything right now, wait for their response, a manager will email you soon to agree for a refund which won't be your claim and close the dispute. They always told me take it them dirty but soon or they won't give you anything, expecially now that abnb is not in pretty good water. I love pets but not their humans unfortunately. Do not engage with her in a phone conversation, airbnb will cover it.  that is why we paid for it. finished

[Sarah977]

@David-and-Annie0  Oh, how upsetting. I would definitely not speak to her about this off-platform. It's really important to have everything documented. If she refuses, or refuses to pay, then I'd involve Airbnb. And I think you should report it right away anyway, so it's on file. Just say you're trying to work out payment with the guest, and will contact them if she refuses.

It's hard to tell how deep the scratches are from the photos, but I once refinished my wooden floors that were in bad shape, but had been sanded down so many times over the 80 years the house had existed that they would have been too thin to sand down any further. It was a helluva job, but we scrubbed the floors with coarse steel wool and water, on our hands and knees, then put a couple coats of water-based varathane on and they looked great again-not perfect, but it was an old house. 

Before that, I had rented a floor sander when I first bought the house, but that's a big job, too. 

A dog's nails shouldn't even be allowed to get long enough to do that kind of damage- you're supposed to not be able to hear the dog's nails click on the floor- it actually hurts their feet, because the nail pushes back up into the nail bed when it's constantly hitting the floor.. 

What jerks, that they just let that happen and walked away.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David6824 The Airbnb 'insurance' does not cover damage caused by pets so that is a non-starter I am afraid.

@David-and-Annie0 I think I would talk to the guest by phone. Its going to be really hard to prove their pets caused the damage so perhaps you'll at least get something towards the damage. Others may disagree but can talking to them do any harm? If a conversation doesn't go well I would then message them along the lines of 'when we talked you said.....'

[Sarah977]

@David-and-Annie0  P.S. Those scratches are not just from a dog walking across the floor- the dogs must have been running around inside, playing with each other for an extended period of time- not acceptable indoor activity for dogs unless you don't care what the dogs do to the floor.

[David6824]

Hi, I'm afraid @Mike-And-Jane0 does mean nothing. Of course you need to have recent pictures to compare, no proof no money. Me too I could say it's old scratches or whatever and not done by guest dogs, wouldn't you say that?

That's why I said if the manager offers just 200 bucks take it and do not make noise in CC.

[Billy106]

The host guarantee is a joke,  so many exemptions in the fine print. How much is listed as your security deposit? I recently had a guest break a bed frame and they denied doing it,  I was surprised airbnb actually made the guest pay me $350.  my security deposit is $500.

I would call the guest though to see if they will pay. 

[David-and-Annie0]

We list $1000 as security deposit if they damage or break anything. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

As others have said @David-and-Annie0 , first get an answer from Airbnb then if it doesn't go well, try to negotiate with the guest, you have nothing to lose.  That said, you might wanna revisit your pet policy.  Also, there are a couple floor revitalization products out there (Minwax, Bona, ZEP...) you can buy cheap enough at most big box stores that do a very nice job of filling scratches and reactivation of the finish, its just a sheep wool applicator job and you will know quickly if it is going to work.   Good luck and stay well, JR

[Danielle476]

As someone who recently went through this exact scenario, let me say:  you will not be pleased with the outcome.

I do not allow guests to bring pets.  I also charge a $400 security deposit.  Before COVID, I had a guest sneak a dog into my home for a 4 night stay.  It urinated all over my laminate flooring, shed everywhere and chewed part of my front door.  The guest literally left urine on the floor, she didn't even wipe it up.  It soaked into the floors & bubbled as a result.  My cleaners took photos: hair everywhere, dog food in a dish on the floor, urine puddles, you name it.

I filed a claim immediately with the guest - surprise!  She didn't answer.  After the 72 hour period, I escalated it to AirBNB.  I was immediately told that pet damage is not covered by the Host Protection Guarantee, even if your listing states 'NO PETS'.  I escalated the claim to their arbitration department, saying if they wouldn't cover me from the Host Guarantee, then they should deduct the amount requested from her security deposit.  The CS rep stated he'd 'reach out to the guest' for her side of things.  A week went by, and the rep reached out to say that the guest was requesting the photos I had submitted with my claim.  I allowed him to send them to her (despite her having been sent them already but I digress).  Another week passed.  Finally the CS rep reached out to me and said that 'the guest is no longer responding to my correspondence, so I cannot release the funds to you without her approval.'

What a complete joke.  What's the point of arbitration/mediation when all the guest has to do is either refuse to pay, or disappear entirely?  Guests can bring pets into my 'No Pets' home, damage my property and I have literally zero recourse.  The only thing the rep mentioned was that it would have 'helped my case' if I had specifically mentioned in my House Rules something to the effect of 'Guests who bring pets into my home will be subject to a $XX penalty.'  Because you know, it should be on hosts to imagine the million different ways guests could potentially break your rules and then set specific 'fines' for each in your house rules like a deranged person.  Can you imagine a guest looking to book your home, and seeing a list of 20+ 'fines' for infractions?!  They'd run for the hills.  Anyway, I got $0 for the experience and my guest (who had 4 5 star reviews, by the way) is free to do as she pleases.  The only good takeaway was the incredibly detailed, scathing review I left her.

I am very much looking forward to switching to long-term rentals once COVID has passed.  That experience left me absolutely disgusted.  All the best to you!

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Danielle476 

The only thing the rep mentioned was that it would have 'helped my case' if I had specifically mentioned in my House Rules something to the effect of 'Guests who bring pets into my home will be subject to a $XX penalty.'  Because you know, it should be on hosts to imagine the million different ways guests could potentially break your rules and then set specific 'fines' for each in your house rules like a deranged person.  Can you imagine a guest looking to book your home, and seeing a list of 20+ 'fines' for infractions?!  They'd run for the hills.

Would you prefer $500 to fix your floor or be considered 'deranged' ?

Many situations including damages have been advised this way. If it works, its worth doing.

"On Airbnb's advice, here are the charges to expect for damages or breaking house rules..."

Something, that Airbnb insist on are quotations for work, those are sometimes difficult to obtain in a short time frame so the above 'list' helps matters.

Its mad. Thats the result of the host not holding a deposit.

Sanding the floor and colour matching the scratches will be required before sealing or polishing, otherwise you will have shiny claw scratches rather than dull ones . $500 is a low fee.

You are placed in a vulnerable position, damaged floor, no deposit held, work to do, allegations towards guest, review to negotiate... which is probably the reason for the request of a telephone conversation. No record, but you could be threatened over the review. 😞

[Danielle476]

Except there's no 'one size fits all solution'.  I can say 'Bring a pet and be subject to a $250 penalty', until they chew my sofa, ruin my floors, etc. and I'm out $1000 or more.  I've since added the inclusion of the 'pet fine', but let's not pretend that it's as simple as that.  I've long had the rule of 'Late checkouts will be subject to a $50 charge', but have not once successfully recuperated that money whenever I've claimed it.  (Including the dog guest, who left almost 2 hours late.)  I'm not going to add a plethora of made up situations just to appease a CS rep who may or may not rule in my favour.  If they had a consistent approach, maybe.  But as we all know, results vary wildly from one rep to another.  Life goes on, it's just frustrating that the guests can literally do as they please with zero repercussions.

[Yiwei3]

So you can't really just charge from the security deposit without the guests's approval?  Then what's the purpose with having a security deposit??

[Maia29]

@Danielle476  That is BEYOND CRAZY!! Some of those customer service reps are entirely inept!

[David-and-Annie0]

Wow. I am so incredibly sorry this happened to you. What a terrible guest!!! That makes you wanna stop hosting, I bet. It would me. (I’ve come dangerously close to throwing my hands up after certain guests.) 
-And you even had a no pets policy. The gaul of that guest is unbelievable. At the very least you did leave her a bad review, marring her perfect record, and warning other hosts. 
-Thank God most guests are not like this. But even 1 bad one kinda ruins things for the rest. We’ve decided to not allow pets after this floor-scratching incident because, as our friend said, it’s just a matter of time before you get a dog who pees all over the place or chews on the doors, etc. 

It sucks. We love dogs and like to bring ours with us everywhere and we’d like to support others who want to do that, too, but now we just don’t feel safe doing that.
😞