Unreasonable Guest

[Jennie142]

Hi all,

I am new to hosting and in a bit of a jam and looking for some advice.  I have a guest currently in my apartment for a long term rental.  Today is day 2 of 32.  I could tell, prior to his arrival, that he would be high maintenance based on the questions he was asking, but never expected what I've gotten.  First, let me start by saying this is a fully furnished private apartment in Manhattan for $55/night as we are just trying to cover some costs for a couple months while we aren't in the apartment.  Today we got a message stating that the apartment was "unlivable" for two reasons.

1) There is no heat.  

2) The bed is too small for even one person, let alone two.

We have responded to these concerns as follows.

1) In pre-war apartment buildings in NYC heat is controlled on a building-wide basis, not apartment wide basis.  We were just there 3 days ago to make sure the apartment was ready for the guest and it was too hot.  To be fair, the renter asked about this ahead of time and I told him it was more likely to be too hot than not hot enough and we had AC available for him if that's the case.  We have agreed to supply the renter with a space heater if he is not warm enough and indicated that, while there is heat in the building, it is not controllable by him, which might be why he thinks it's not heated at all.  We agreed to come measure the temp so that we can more appropriately address the situation.

2) The listing clearly states that there is one double bed.  He claims that he was expecting a bed that was 76x80 (this is a King size bed in the US) and told me to reference the "federal guidelines".  These don't exist.  Clearly we will not replace the bed.

We offered to refund the full stay minus the one night and cleaning fee and he is saying he deserves a full refund PLUS the cost of him dealing with this and the unlivable conditions.  We have offered to come by today to measure the bed size and guarantee it conforms to double bed standards and the temperature so we can address any issue.  

A couple specific questions for the community, but any additional advice is welcome.

1)  Are we being unreasonable? Any thoughts on how we can get him to just cancel and get out - this seems to us like the best solution since he's clearly unhappy and we are as well?  As he hasn't broken any House Rules I am not sure if AirBnb will let us cancel.

2) We offered to come measure the bed and take the temperature in the apt, but he says we cannot come in when he isn't there.  Are we allowed to enter the apartment while he is gone?

3) Any other words of wisdom on how to deal with this.  Clearly we will not buy a new bed, but maybe we offer to bring extra blankets or something?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.  I appreciate the advice!

Jennie

[Roberta2]

Hi @Jennie142 

I checked your listing. It clearly says 1 double (full) bed. So the size is correct and the guest is being difficult.

I would offer blankets and heaters. Other than that, there is really not you can do.

No, you can not enter without the guest approval, unless it is an emergency (flood, fire).

I would not enter anyway - what s he accuses you of stealing something? Not worth the bother. Ask him when you can go there to drop off heaters and blankets, or ask him to contact airbnb.

Saying that, as he checked in, he will be able to review you, please bear that in mind and keep all communications, showing that you tried to fix the issue, on the app.

And call airbnb and flag this - make sure you are the one that flag this 1st, so they will have more empathy to side with you.

Good luck !

[Jennie142]

Thank you so much for your advice.  I will offer him blankets and a heater and if he's still unhappy he can cancel and go through AirBnb to try to get his money back.  

[Kenneth12]

It's no a great idea in many circumstances,  but Airbnb hosts do not need any permission to enter rooms.  They're not tenants,  they're transient guests as in a hotel.

Well,  actually-- in this case,  @Jennie142 *will have a tenant* on day 30, depending on local law-- I never let that happen,  and she probably doesn't want to either.

[Sarah977]

@Jennie142  Be aware that with a space heater, he could run up an electric bill that would make your costs to host him skyrocket. 

My sense is that this guest will just continue to find things to complain about, continue to stay if you allow him to, then demand a refund and leave you a bad review.

[Jennie142]

That’s a great point. I hadn’t thought of it, but I don’t know that it’s cold enough for him to do too much damage to the electric bill. It does seem like he will continue to complain, but maybe we will at least take something over to hopefully appease him. We will also measure the temperature while we are there. Maybe if what we measure is fine we will just leave additional blankets and not the space heater as, the more I think about it, the more I also worry about the fire hazard of one!

[Laura2592]

@Jennie142  some guests target new hosts. My first two guests were extremely demanding and I had no idea that this is not the norm as I had nothing whatsoever to compare them to. One stole our firewood as I had said "help yourself to some wood or a Duraflame to get a fire started." To him it meant loading half a cord of wood from our porch into his pick up truck. One complained that he didn't have enough privacy in February when the trees are dead for his al fresco romantic escapades, marked us way down on location as a result, left a bunch of items behind (including some very personal "toys") and complained about just about everything. I almost stopped hosting after those two as I thought "gee, are they all like this?" But the answer is no-- I think there are people who pounce on a new listing to take advantage of a hosts need for good reviews and ignorance about how things are supposed to work. 

So I would say to your current guest "I am sorry you are not enjoying your space and appreciate your feedback. I have contacted Airbnb and let them know about your need for new accommodation. I am happy to refund any unused portion of your trip and wish you the best in finding something that you are more comfortable in." Leave it at that-- honestly do call Airbnb and give them a heads up. You can measure the bed, whatever and send them pics, but appeal to them as a new host and say you were not prepared for a guest this demanding.

I would also be VERY careful about accepting any bookings over 30 days as many states have laws that officially designate this as a landlord-tenant relationship and not a guest/host. You may wander into tenant rights issues and have to evict a squatter. Better to start slow with shorter terms and build up your reviews and experience. Good luck!

[Kenneth12]

I would have filed a police report on that firewood incident.

[Mark116]

@Jennie142  It isn't cold here.  Right now the temp is 55F, unless he has had the windows open he has very little need for heat.  You've already promised the space heater, so I guess you can't renege on that, but I agree w/other poster, these can be tricky, they use a lot of electricity and could conceivably blow the circuits in an old building.

I wouldn't bother measuring the bed, I would very kindly tell him that you are sorry he was unclear about the difference between a double bed, a queen, and a king bed, but that your listing accurately describes the double bed and shows photos of same.  Reiterate that if he is unhappy with the unit he is very welcome to cancel but that obviously you can't give him a refund when he has stayed in the apartment and when there have been no inaccuracies on your end.  

Be prepared for a very bad review though.  I would probably alert airbnb and ask their advice..of course don't expect any help from them, but it will get your side on record before he calls up on day 29 and demands a full refund and claims no heat unlivable conditions and whatever else comes to his mind.

[Kath9]

@Jennie142, difficult guest for sure. DO NOT give in to his demands, you are just going to create more of a headache for yourself. You do not need to supply a space heater or measure the bed. You explained everything accurately up front. This guest is getting a whole furnished apartment in New York for $55/night. What does he expect, the Ritz? Tell him he is free to cancel and receive a refund based on your cancellation policy. And be careful about accepting long-term bookings in future - they often seem to come with headaches.

[Jennie142]

Hi all, thanks for all the great feedback, advice, and support.  I just wanted to give you an update.  We just went over and gave him a blanket and space heater since we had already agreed to that.  The apartment was 72 degrees (pictures to prove it) and he had the windows open and a t shirt on.  He was complaining that the radiator wasn't hot, which I pointed out was because it wasn't cold out and no heat was necessary.  The bed, not surprisingly, is within about half an inch of a standard double bed.  We have agreed to go through AirBnb for mediation and have both separately filed complaints.  I'll let you know how it all turns out!  Thanks again!

[Dawn81]

@Jennie142 , @Sarah977 you're kowtowing way too much to this jerk. Get Airbnb to remove him and specify that he specifically asking for things that don't exist and aren't realistic. Mention his actions and demands and ask them to remove him from your home. You don't need this crap. Good luck hope everything works out.

[Kathleen645]

This is sad to hear you are dealing with such a difficult experience early on.  I have a had couple experiences where the guest has come across as extra demanding.  Just do the best you can to make their experience comfortable, but don't do anything unreasonable.  You are not their servant.  

I would just be honest with the guest, and let them know these are their options, and they will have to either pay you to stay or leave on their own.  It may seem difficult, but you don't have to keep checking the temperature for them, and don't need to get another bed.  If anything just take a few pictures as evidence to send to airbnb later if more issues arise.

[Sarah977]

@Jennie142  OMG this guy is a piece of work. Complaining that it's cold, yet he's got the windows open, is prancing around in a tee shirt, and it's 72 degrees in there? I'd be insisting that Airbnb cancels the rest of his booking immediately with no penalties to you. He's going to run up a huge electric bill and somehow scam a total refund. And he's going to running that heater full bore with the windows open 24/7.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

[Kath9]

@Jennie142, I agree with @Sarah977 and @Dawn81 . Ring Airbnb and ask them to cancel his booking immediately. You still have a month to go of this idiot. Imagine the electricity bill he's going to run up. And what else is he going to dream up to complain about? Honestly, you don't need this in your life.