Issues with Current Guest

[Debra459]

I NEED ADVICE. I have a guest in my home (husband and wife) who instant booked Wednesday evening for yesterday check in. They booked for only seven days, as they said  is they had sold there home and we're waiting for the home they bought to close escrow.

My home is SMALL pet friendly only, as I have no fenced back yard (my home is on a slope and backs to the greens) and I have nice furnishings. Today, the guest called asking for the wifi password. At that time I noticed quite a few motion detection notifications on my phone from my outside security cameras so I pulled up my camera app. Thumbnails showed 2 large breed dogs and a UHAUL van backed up to my garage with my garage door open.

I called the guest to discuss the issues. They said they would be willing to pay an additional pet security deposit. When I asked about the UHAUL van they said they had there things in storage and we're just bringing over clothes and laundry detergent, which made no sense, and doesn't  you feel right as, why would you need a UHAUL van to do that-- and they are only in my home for seven days.

The guest mentioned that they were in another Airbnb prior so I asked them what there situation was--why their prior host didn't extend their stay seven more days? The guest said the hosts had booked the home out to someone else. They said they sold their home during covid and had moved in with some friends but needed to be out of their house by 12/1/20, as the house was being sold.

I called Airbnb to advise them  of what was going on and to get their advice. I was transferred three times. The last representative I had to repeat everything to was Zachary.  He sent me an email so I could send screen shots of dogs and UHAUL van from my outside security cameras. He said he was going to speak to other Airbnb reps and would get back to me.

Following is his response: this instance, we have two paths to choose from. We can keep the reservation or we can get him out. If we keep the reservation, he will need to pay a deposit and maybe have some restrictions on the time(s) the dogs can be out. If we get him out, then we would move the check-out date and refund him for the time not spent in the listing.

How would you like to proceed? With either route, I'll need to touch base with the guest.

As a host this response doesn't seem fair so my response was as follows:

Your two alternatives are not acceptible. This isn't just about being a member of an HOA. Brad broke my house rules. I accept small pets only because my home is small, it is nice with nice furnishings and I would like to keep it that way--and I don't have a fenced back yard since my home is on a slope. Therefore your suggestion about restrictions on when they can be out is moot. Moreover to infer that it is okay for a guest to break house rules, by giving them a refund if asked to leave, is wrong and not fair to me as a host--nor would it be fair to any host since I must rent a car and travel 200 miles to prepare my home and change the lock code in preparation for the guest. Did you even attempt to talk to their prior Airbnb host to find out why they didn't extend Brad's booking? Did you contact Brad and ask him why he would need to unload the contents of a uhaul van into my home when his reservation is for only one week? It seems you are placing everything on me when I have done nothing wrong. I have acted in good faith. It appears Brad has not.

I called back and asked to speak with a supervisor but was told it could take up to 24 hours.

[Kelly149]

@Debra459 abb doesn't believe in fines, if the guy goes he doesn't pay for what he doesn't get. You get to review him, he gets to review you. If you want to keep the money, then you have to keep the guest.

That message actually seems really coherent to be coming out of ABB CS. 

[Sarah977]

It may not seem fair that if you kick a guest out for not respecting house rules, they should get refunded for the cancelled dates, but that is how it works, like it or not.

As an aside, of course guests shouldn't ignore your rules, and if you only want small dogs, that's certainly up to you, but as someone who's always had larger dogs, it totally depends on the dog and the dog owner-  my current dog is really calm, 13 years old, and would just lie quietly in a corner (and I have never allowed dogs on the furniture or in bed) whereas I know some quite rambunctious small dogs that could wreak havoc in a home that wasn't set up to be bulletproof, and small dog owners tend to think the couch or bed is perfectly suitable for Fluffy, whereas larger dogs are often more used to a floor bed.

Funny, I recently read a post on another host forum where he had much the same situation- his guests were in the process of moving to a new home, had booked his place (a studio apt attached to his house)for a week and he noticed them moving a bunch of boxes and furniture out into a U-haul the night before check-out. He was really upset they would have moved that stuff in without asking, and was soliciting advice. Most responders said they didn't see the issue, as long as they were otherwise good guests (he had said they were quiet and hadn't had any complaints or asked for anything).

In fact, when they checked out, he found the place immaculately clean, no dings anywhere from furniture moving, and they had left him a cake and a thank you note!

Of course, that might very well not be the case with your guests, they might leave a mess (and ignoring the small dog only rule isn't okay) , but it's always a good idea to take a deep breath and decide whether you are upset about something that might prove not to be any big deal.

@Debra459