Mousegate

[Laura2592]

So...here it is again. Another weird guest problem.

Guest stayed over the weekend. Brought 2 dogs. Very little communication during the stay. Sometimes you just have a feeling that something went wrong? That you aren't getting your 5 stars? Totally felt that way with no supporting evidence.

Guest checked out and left an immediate review which is usually a good sign but I felt like something was off. Claims in (thankfully) private feedback that their dog found a dead mouse under one of the beds. Its possible-- we are in the country and we do have a perimeter treatment for pests including mice. Mr. Mouse could have wandered inside and found his final resting place under the bed. But something about this doesn't add up. We were the last guests to stay before this group. We had both our dog and cat with us. Any dead mouse would have made quite a stir with the sniffing pets. Our cleaners swear they looked under the beds and of course vacuumed. Nothing there. We came the night before to disinfect and saw no mouse. Guest was traveling with two dogs-- both terriers. Entirely possible one could have brought a mouse in and killed it. There is just no way to know what happened for sure.

Another issue is  that this guest is "sensitive to smells" and did not read the listing where I state that we use scented products and may not be suitable for allergy sufferers and those with sensitivites. The day that the guest was due to arrive she asked if we could wash her sheets without fabric softener, leave unscented bath products etc. It was too late for us to get to the cottage to do this and she literally gave us an hours notice that she wanted everything re-laundered. I told her I would be happy to leave her some unscented products so that she could wash her own sheets and towels but she wasn't interested. I suspect that the mouse accusation is in part because we didn't comply with her ask about the laundry. Wouldn't you speak up about finding a dead mouse right away?  My perfect cleaning rating took a hit with her score.

I thanked her for her feedback and she hinted that she wants to visit again. The next thing ( I am betting) is a request for a refund or discount on a future stay. Now, if you had allergies and didn't like my products AND found a dead mouse, wouldn't you pass on any future stays? Something is just not passing the test on this one. What say you, fellow hosts?

[Tommy150]

This sounds like an annoying guest. State what you said very simply and move one. 

Don't rent to them again. 

[Laura2592]

@Tommy150definitely prefer not to rent to them again. I have not made any offer of a discount nor of a refund. We shall see what happens.

If I saw a mouse, dead or alive, I would alert the property owner. I wouldn't wait until after check out. We have a pest control program and its only effective if we know what problems are happening. Personally I have never seen a dead mouse inside our cottage except behind the fridge after we bought it and it had been vacant for months. If I had seen mice previously I would definitely have additional measures in place. As it is, I am now alerting our exterminator and paying for extra services and I don't even fully believe this happened. Though it could be possible.

[Emilia42]

@Laura2592 Maybe it didn't happen. But I don't know what these guests had to gain from it. They didn't run screaming and ask for a refund or wake you at 2 am demanding that you drive 30 minutes to come to remove it. I would be grateful for their nonchalant reaction. Not everyone is repulsed by mice and many realize that it's a part of living close to nature. Unless there was a clear, visible problem with an infestation or a mouse doing damage, I too, would probably wait until check out to let you know. 

I never worry about annoying guests coming back until they are actually trying to come back. Everyone tells me they want to come back again but only a small factor actually do.  

[Laura2592]

@Emilia42I think it just makes me anxious. If there is a problem I want to know. If there are mice committing suicide in my house, I want to know. My least favorite type of guest is the passive aggressive one who has issues with a stay and never says a word until they check out. Give me the chance to fix it (if I can) or at least apologize.

[Emilia42]

@Laura2592 That's true. As good hosts, we always want to know what's going on within our homes and ensure all guests are comfortable and enjoying their stay. I guess my point is that these guests may not have seen the mouse as a problem. Just a little hiccup that they were easily able to move on from. I've had guests before literally have to talk me down off the ledge because I was so concerned and anxious that a small problem during their stay was going to ruin both of our lives. It's a difficult personality trait that I think makes us great hosts but also causes us so much unnecessary stress. 

[Clare167]

@Laura2592 I say, maybe get your view on the improbability of the mouse onto the message thread with this guest, if it is not already there? As she has already reviewed, she can do nothing further to damage you other than a compensation claim, and no doubt that has little chance of success anyway as the issue was not raised, but this might give extra protection. But guests deliberately trying to scam us realise that the review is their big weapon, in my view, so I don't think she is one of those.

[Laura2592]

@Clare167Yes I did that. I asked for more details. Did it look like it had been there for some time or that an animal had gotten to it? Where exactly did you find it? Was it after you checked in or during the stay? I explained that I was trying to determine if this was something the cleaners had missed or just the result of our regular extermination efforts. I also said we had stayed before her with our pets (cat and dog) so were fairly certain that it must have happened during the waiting period between guests.

I think this is just a passive aggressive guest but I can't totally discount her. She also wanted to share "family portraits" she wanted to have done at our place on social media, but then said she had a headache because of the scented products (fully advertised on the listing) and couldn't do the shoot. All of this was shared after her review, which was nice enough. I think I was meant to feel sorry for her.

[Clare167]

Perhaps just wanting attention and things not that great in her life at present @Laura2592 . But you have a ready made excuse should she try to book again; you can not be sure that scents would be eradicated. 

[Laura2592]

@Clare167 yes indeed. Thank heavens for that!

[Sarah977]

The fact that you state in your listing that you use scented products and she didn't bother to read that, or ignored it and then expected you to provide unscented an hour before arrival already makes her an objectionable guest, IMO.

As far as the mouse goes, quite likely that one of her terriers caught it- between you yourself just having stayed there and the cleaners, seems someone would have noticed. Even if it ran in when the cleaners were there, why would it immediately die? And if it had been there for more than a day, it would have already started to smell.

If I had found a dead mouse under the bed, I also likely wouldn't have said anything to you during the stay because I wouldn't want the host to see me as a complainer. And I have a cat who's a serious hunter so I find dead mice or mice parts (or feathers) around my place somewhat often- to me, it's just a fact of life- it wouldn't make me think a place wasn't clean or had some infestation.

I would also probably just let you know at or right after check-out, only so you'd be aware in case you wanted to set traps or something. But I would, at the same time,  also let you know that it isn't something that upset me or that I was going to mention in the review or mark you down for.

@Laura2592

[Stephanie365]

Dear Karen,
Why would you want to stay with me again if your experience was anything less than 5*?  During your last stay, you went to great pains to let me know that my place was not compatible with your fragrance intolerance. As I cannot guarantee a fragrance-free environment, I think it best you refrain from booking with me in the future.