Money spiders...

[Sarah4036]

Evening all. I would like some advice please. I'm a super host who on the whole has had no major problems with my guests. However, my current guests seem to have an agenda. I have been on holiday myself and only returned today. Two days ago my guests phoned me 5 times between 11pm and midnight as they had returned home to find a nest of money spiders on the ceiling. They were quite hysterical and were demanding that I get pest control in immediately and sort it out. I was quite bemused as was actually asleep when they phoned the first time and suggested that they either try fly spray or a vacuum. But i felt that the best solution would be to turn off the lights and just go to bed. They tried various things, phoning me after each attempt and demanding pest control. I did try a couple of pest control places but all went straight to answer machine. In the end I phoned Airbnb support who were brilliant and said they would phone the guest and offer them the option of an early check out. In the meantime I texted my pest control guy and he replied in the morning and visited a few hours later to say the huge spiders the guests had reported were actually money spiders (a minute, completely harmless spider). I advised the guest they would have to be out of the property for 5 hours to allow for the smoke bombs to work, ventilation and then cleaning up of the insects. They then moaned about this (although they had insisted on it the previous night) and started asking for extra time and some financial recompense. Upon checking their reviews, it looks like this is something they have done before. Find a problem, complain and get some money back. Question is - what would you do? Pay up through gritted teeth or tough it out??

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sarah4036 Tough it out and you will get a bad review. Give in and compensate and you will lose money and probably get a bad review.

I have no advice other than in future check guests reviews and cancel if they look dodgy. Under Instant Book you get 3 cancellations per year.

Whatever you do leave them a suitable review and a carefully crafted reply to their review.

Good luck _ I had been hoping this sort of behaviour was limited to the USA but clearly not.

[Pat271]

I agree that once you have a guest like this in your house, it is unlikely that good relations will be salvaged. Just make sure to review the guest honestly. Also make sure to respond to the review he leaves.

Even if you don’t have instant book, you can occasionally avoid this type of guest in the first place by checking the reviews before accepting the booking.

I recently had a guest like this attempt to book. He had one review, and the entire contents of the review were complaints about crickets making noise and the pool rules being enforced too strictly.

I declined his booking, and explained that he would not have the perfect stay with us, as we also have crickets, tropical birds, and even roosters that might make noise, and that the pool rules of our complex are also strictly enforced.

I counseled him to be sure to ask future host candidates about these and other annoyances that he might have, in order to increase the chances of a pleasant, care-free stay.  

Regardless, some guests like this will occasionally slip through. But for the most part, a pleasant care-free stay is the objective of both guests and hosts. A little bit of digging can result in more optimal matchups all around.

[Ted307]

@Sarah4036

Where we live by a creek in Arizona, USA, there are LOTS of bugs. I have mentioned this in our description of the Aspen Creek Bunkhouse. We have an exterminator service on contract. The "Bug Man" come every other month, and we still see some ants and spiders. I hardly think harmless tiny spiders are worth much fuss. I believe that these guests are attempting to get some kind of freebee by these complaints, so I would not give them anything, except an honest review of their constantly waking you over such nonsense! I have also declined bookings from some who left such reviews of their previous hosts, or one who was refunded over a problem.

Chris

[Jillian115]

@Sarah4036  I had a similar situation recently.  They also started texting after 11 pm and didn’t stop until 12:30 am. I made the same recommendations. They weren’t willing to use the vacuum and since calling emergency pest control wasn’t a reasonable request, I offered to end their booking early and refund the night. They were happy with that in the end. My thought was if there really was a pest problem it needed to be dealt with when I didn’t have a guest so it was best for me to get them out immediately. 

[Kelly149]

@Sarah4036 “I’m sorry, but any money I could have refunded has now been sent to the speedy Pest Service. My apologies since I thought that was your preference. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!!”

[Christine615]

Blackmail. Don’t give in. It’s a scam.

[Inna22]

@Sarah4036 a few things:

1. if you decide to refund, do not do it now. Wait for the guest to check out to make sure there is no damage or surprises. Even if you agree on a sum now, let them know that it is contingent on the condition of the place

2. have lots of small print in your listing. At the end of your description, where it does not cloud your main message but is there for guests like these. I have been adding some over the years as far as bugs, condition of equipment, noise, etc

3. I personally would not have given any refund nor would have called pest control. There are many other hosts here who I truly respect who probably would so follow your gut

[Ted307]

I agree on not giving a refund to such renters. I have the "Bug Man" on contract, part of our contract is they will come out no extra charge if bugs are seen and I call them. They come the next day. But I have a notice to prospective guests about animals on our property, which includes, " coyotes, javalina, skunks and insects". It is under the heading "Potentially Dangerous Animal".

[Laura2592]

@Sarah4036 first of all, I want some "money spiders" to stay with me instead of the usual non-money spiders I find at my property.

This is a scam, as others have said. To protect yourself in the future add a line in your description that states insects and wildlife are often present on your property. That is the only way ABB will support you if this guest makes a claim.

[Kelly149]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10149960/what-are-money-spiders-how-big-do-they-bite/

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149  thanks!  I had no idea they were actually called "money spiders!" I thought the OP was just saying concisely that the guest wanted money for seeing spiders. lol. 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 I wanted to know, but after seeing a lawn covered in webs, I don't want to know anymore

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sarah4036don't refund them, they will get loads of money 🙂

What do you do when you find a money spider?

If you find a money spider and don't kill it, you'll gain loads of money. Finding a Spider on the Wedding Day is an Omen of Good luck! If a spider drops down in front of you from the ceiling and dangles, do not kill it. If the spider hangs and then goes back up to the ceiling, you are due for a run of good luck.