Hello all! I am having a very difficult time with a very difficult woman.
An airbnb user booked my apartment for her parents for a little over a month (so I offered a 50% discount), during which time she had a baby. She was easygoing at first, then as the reservation date came up, she became more pedantic and irritable. I assumed it was because she was about to have a baby, so I tried to placate her and respond as quickly as I could to all of her questions (which were about 5x a day for a week and a half).
They checked in and broke the lock on my front door. They threatened (in a very rude way) to cancel the reservation if the lock wasn't fixed before the end of the day but also complained of having nowhere else to go as no apartments were available nearby. I didn't need any threats to get the lock fixed by the end of the day, but I think they thought throwing a tantrum was the only way to get my attention. I would have fixed the lock whether they had been rude or the paragons of politeness. I had the lock fixed, emailed them to let them know, and heard nothing back.
Three days later, I get another complaint that the apartment is "disgusting, dirty, and unliveable." They also mention they have nowhere else to go and are stuck. As I'm already familiar with their overreactions, I offer to have a professional maid service to come in a clean, if they wouldn't mind letting her in. They are not comfortable with having a stranger come in to clean. I offer to have a trusted friend of mine to come clean (as I am not in town) if they will just let me know what precisely they want to be cleaned so I can make sure they're happy. I also tell them I have a few friends who host, though their apartments are nearly twice as expensive as mine, and I offer to get them in touch and perhaps get a discount, since they're staying so long. I hear nothing back.
Three weeks after check in, I contact the airbnb-user-new-mom to make sure everything is ok with the apartment and if she would like a maid to come in. I hear nothing.
I messaged again three days before check out to see when her parents are planning to leave and wishing them the best on their journey home, and congratulations on her having a baby. She responds with:
"Hi Christiana - we were extremely upset and disappointed with the apartment. It was very dirty and run down. We took pictures of the furniture and the dirt accumulated. My parents couldn't even sit on the sofa! The stains, the dust, the bugs!The place needs to be completely renovated! With the birth of the baby, the unexpected C-section, complications with the apartment, it has been an extremely stressful month and not the experience we paid for. I will be contacting Airbnb to place a formal complain and request a partial refund. We paid a lot of $ for an apartment that is not suitable to live in. Let me know if you want to work this out between you and I. If not I will initiate the process with Airbnb and seek legal advise as well. Thanks."
I was surprised, to say the least! I asked her what exactly she would like for me to do to make her happy, and she responded that she would like a refund of $1290, which is a little more than a third of the total reservation fee. I feel like that's far too much to refund her, especially as I was trying to be as helpful and accomodating as possible. My cleaning fee is $40, so I thought the least I could do is refund that, though it seems like a slap in the face to her.
[As a little backstory, my boyfriend and I deep-cleaned the apartment from top to bottom two weeks before she arrived. We bought new sheets, dishware, pots and pans, and semi-renovated the bathroom. It looks even better than when I moved in, so I am absolutely sure the apartment is not as dirty as she perceives it to be.]
What would you say is fair in this situation? I want to make her happy but I don't want to be taken advantage of.
Thanks for reading and for any advice you can give me! She checked out three days ago so I want to get this squared away as soon as possible.
-Christiana
