Gypsy Moth Caterpillar Invasion

[Kristen410]

Hello all!

I am looking for some advice on what to do with a recent caterpillar invasion. We have a very successful Airbnb on a small all-sports lake in mid Michigan. This spring we had some unwanted guests take over. Small gypsy moth caterpillars appeared all over our house and property, thousands and thousands of them. We had our home power washed and our cleaner has been putting extra care into sweeping off the outdoor areas to keep the caterpillars and their poop (it sounds like it raining constantly) away. They are now pretty big have i

eaten most of the leaves off the trees (it looks like fall) and should be cocooning soon 🤞🏼but we had a guest last week who gave us a call asking for a full refund because they felt trapped inside the home. She said that she will not be giving us a good review if we do not refund her. We offered to refund her $450 (which is the price of the boat rental they also rented and we’re not able to consistently start) but we are not sure what else we can do. We are superhosts, and that status is important to us, but the caterpillars are completely out of our control. It seems like it would be the equivalent of getting a bad review because of the weather. We were up there yesterday and while the caterpillars are everywhere, they are harmless and just annoying. We’ve had other guests there during this invasion who have not even mentioned them and left us great reviews. We plan to give our next guests a heads up about the situation but just looking for advice on what to do/how to react to this disgruntled guest. 

Thank you! 

Jason and Kristen Schuringa

[Fred13]

The Lepidoptera Order, which includes all butterflies, can be a nuisance IF in enough density.

1. You can create more space between tree branches and your dwelling.

2. You can lessen their numbers via use of some pesticides (yuk).

3. You can always 'make' a feature of the whole event and call them 'butterflies'. 🙂

4. You can always ignore the exception (this particular guest) and keep on trucking. (my favorite standard approach with humanity). 😉

Good luck.

[Sarah977]

@Kristen410  Extortion is against Airbnb policy. This guest is trying to extort you for a good review, and you don't even have any assurance that she won't leave a bad review anyway.

What is unfortunate is that she made this extortion threat over the phone. You should insist that guests communicate with you on Airbnb messaging, so there is clear documentation.

I would now Airbnb message her something like "Hi XX, so following up on your phone call earlier, you are saying that you will leave a bad review if we don't refund you? "

You want to try to get her to acknowledge the extortion in writing, so Airbnb can see it.

[Anonymous]

@Kristen410  If the guest's stay was still in progress when she complained, I would have simply offered to alter the booking and refund the unused nights so that she could relocate. 

If she only complained after checking out, I'd do exactly as @Sarah977  suggests. No refund, though - that is not how that works.