I haven't been hosting too long and have hosted 19 groups thus far. I have had all very good results so far, as I am very clear in my listing, my rules in my pre-approval message, my pre-arrival message and pre-check out message.
However, I have just heard from my cleaning staff that the guests who checked out this morning left the place filthy. It seems nothing is broken or damaged, but they left the place in disaray. The cleaners said there is trash all over the counters and tables, all blankets in the house, including in the clostes (it's been 80 degrees) have been rummaged through and left all over, food debirs and toothpaste splatters all over the floor, dried food everywhere, furniture moved around, just to name a few of the issues!
I had I wouldn't say a bad feeling, but some sort of feeling about this guest when she booked, as she wasn't very communicative. After she booked, I looked her up, as I do all guests and saw she is an RN and seemed around 60 or so, so I thought she would be fine. In fact, the only communication I heard from her during the entire process, other than a 'Yes, I agree' to my rules and policies message, was the night before she arrived, she messaged to say there would be two more people coming. My max is 4 but I will consider up to 6 in the right situation for $15 extra per person per night. However, I get up very early for work-4:00, so I was half asleep when she messaged and just said it was okay, really without thinking. The next day, I decided it was too late to then tell her there would be a fee, so thought I would let it go this time-yes, MY FAULT. She is also new to AirBnb btw.
Well now, this is obviously going to take more time than normal to get the place in shape, which will mean more $ I have to pay. I have read over and over on here that AirBnb will not enforce extra charges after the fact for cleaning, only for damage. But, if the guest agrees to it, that is a different thing right? They don't necessarily know AirBnb won't make them pay.
But, if I ask her to pay extra, she will surely leave a poor review. Of course, who knows, maybe she will leave one anyway. Do I have any room to maneuver here? Thinking, let her leave her review first, if she does-proabably won't given how poor the communication was, then ask her for the extra money, then leave my review.
Alternatively, I will see how much in cleaning fees this is going to cost me and take it from there. If it's an extra $50-$100, do I pursue it, or do I just use this as a learning lesson and follow my gut from now on?
I also am not sure what to say in the review. Do I keep it simple with a, "This guest would be better suited to a hotel" or do I go into details about the lack of communication and the state of the cabin?
Thank you!