What to do about damaged towels and pillows?

[Kelly617]

Hi everyone, not sure what to do here. Really need some advice. I currently have two guests who had too much fun one night drinking and got sick and they got vomit and faeces on my rug, towels and pillow. I’ve tried cleaning them but no luck with my white towels, beach towels and pillow. I just purchased replacements that cost me $95. I am in The Bahamas where these items are not cheap.

Should I charge them before they leave or wait until after or not at all? They also had loud music that I had to deal with but they understood and has kept it down. So they seem to be understanding. I’m new to Airbnb and really close to getting superhost status not sure if this would affect it. 

[Carol778]

I just posted this to "Mary" of https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15675894?adults=2&check_in=2019-04-28&check_out=2019-05-03&guests=1&use...

"This was our very first try with Airbnb. We are 69 and 71. I read that you were a superhost, I read that it seemed everyone liked your place. I thought it sounded great, but asked you for pictures of the living room and the bedroom since it would seem to me that everyone would want to know what a place looked like before putting out their money. You wrote about caring for the child, your husband. A compassionate person. So what happens to us? You decline. I explain that I wanted to see pictures, not book yet. What did you do? Decline again. No words, no message. Seems to me that was pretty mean. This is a superhost? Shaking my head at how you treated us. And I will be reporting this to Airbnb. Not right. And as of this date, those dates are still available - and I even said that we could change our dates."

______

This stunned me.  I don't think I did anything wrong in asking for pics.  There were only shots of the floor, spices, outside porch, kitchen, tv, knick knacks, an outlet, pictures.  No pics of where you would sit, where you would sleep.  Unless the rocker was it!  So very unfriendly.  Totally do not understand why we were rebuffed in this manner.  Don't know where else to put this, so pasting here in this conversation.  We did book somewhere else with Airbnb and am hoping all goes well.  But this supposedly nice person was not.

[John1080]

@Carol778, I can understand your frustration when looking for suitable accommodation. However, as a host, if someone were to send me a message asking for photos of this or that, I would probably not really like it either. 

Each host has to post what she thinks is appropriate to market her space to maximize profits with as little risk as possible. Many hosts would probably think that if someone is asking for additional photos that that might be just the beginning of more questions and possibly complaints and such later on. I would not take that personally. 

I would also say in this case, if this host had not uploaded appropriate photos to allow you to ascertain whether or not the space was suitable for you, then you probably made the wise choice by choosing another listing. 

[Carol778]

Hi John,

I had to have looked up at least 100 homes from Virginia to New York and everyone had what their sofa looked like and the bedroom.  To me that is the least that should be shown, along with the kitchen.  But ok, that is her choice.  She could've written back at least something though.  And there was nothing.  We didn't want a place that had leather, and even just recliners would be nice.  So yes, we did move on.  Just thought that it wasn't nice to just ignore us.  And I thought that superhosts on here were really the best.

[John1080]

@Carol778, yes it was very rude of her not to respond and shame on her for that. I'm sorry you had to go through that. But, look at it from the fact that you found a better place and you probably would not have been happy in that space in the end. 

[Carol778]

Well I do have my fingers crossed!!!  Thank you for your response!  It makes me feel better.

[Sarah977]

@Carol778  To start a new thread, which you should do with this, as it's not at all related to the thread you posted it on, go to the right upper side of the forum page, where you'll see a box "Start a Conversation".

The picture array on this listing is indeed odd. The photos are poor in general, but so are many listings when the host doesn't use a pro photographer. Big oversight not to include a photo of the bedroom. I can see the living room, though.

As you describe it, this host's response is very much at odds with the great reviews she has from happy guests. Perhaps your approach was off-putting to her, but we'd have to see the wording of your original Inquiry to know if that was a factor. You indicate that she said something about looking after a child and her husband, but it's not clear what. Perhaps she's dealing with ill family, is super stressed out and exhausted, and was trying to tell you why she just didn't have time right now to send you more photos? If that's the case, maybe she also hasn't had time to go in and block off calendar dates.

I'm not siding with the host here, just there's not enough info to really figure out what might have gone sideways and why. That she's simply not a nice person is contradicted by her reviews, so the whole thing seems odd.

[Carol778]

Hi,

Oh sorry on the incorrect placement.  I just clicked on hosting and started writing in here.  New to all this.  

I did see the TV in the living room, and she has a shot of the "locally made rocker".  But no picture of the double recliner.  I did try to look up my sentences asking for a picture of the living room and the TV, but no copy is sent to email.  Then i had to correct that message, because I meant living room and bedroom, not TV.  That's just about all that was in the message.  The next one that said my booking had been declined - that one I wrote that no, I'm sorry I wasn't booking yet, that I wanted to see the bed and living room. 

I have seen pics of beds that you could see sagged and we didn't want that for our first getaway in years.  But a decline again.  On her listing, she mentioned that she wasn't in the area, but in North Carolina.  They moved to be closer to a hospital and her son to help in taking care of her ill husband, that she was reaching out to help a Sudanese child she met in Africa.  She sounded like a good person and very upbeat, so it is at odds with the two declines and no words.  It would only take a second to say, "I'm sorry, I can't provide pictures."  Or "It's booked".  

I was just very disappointed since it took forever to find just the right place, and got such a cold response.  Didn't think that was how it should be.

[Sarah977]

@Carol778  It's just that when you tack a post in the middle of an unrelated thread, it will often be missed and you won't get as many responses to it, and sometimes none, nothing to apologize for.

Well, it does sound like she's quite distracted right now with an ill husband and who knows what else. It wasn't the content of your Inquiry that was really my question, but I was just wondering if there could have been something in the tone of it, which you didn't intend, that put the host off. As a guest looking for answers to an Inquiry, what you might not consider is that while you are one person sitting at home waiting for a nice, on-point reply, the host may have been fielding 10 Inquiry messages from 10 different guests that day. So while I think most hosts try to be polite and respond in a timely and thorough manner, they may just be overwhelmed and not have the time or energy to write out a response that would please the guest, especially if the guest is asking for something outside what the host normally provides.

Don't take a Decline personally. It can sometimes have nothing to do with the guest, but with the host's own personal circumstances. I know some hosts get irritated when a guest fails to leave a review, even though the guest said they loved their stay and that they would definitely leave a review. The host thinks the guest just can't be bothered, but I've learned not to jump to conclusions. For all I know, the guest may have had a death, accident or illness in the family that's consuming them, maybe they got home to find burst plumbing pipes and are dealing with a house disaster, maybe they are under a heavy load at work, catching up from the time they were away on vacation. We're all strangers to each other, just connecting on an online platform, so it's hard to know someone's motivations.

[Carol778]

Hi,

I hear what you're saying in regards to tone - that some things can be taken a different way then intended when texting/emailing.  When you lose the voice, you can be unsure of what was meant.  But believe, it was just a plain request on the first one, and then on the second one saying I wasn't ready to book, that I needed to see the two areas.  Yes, she could've been busy, yes, she could've had a home emergency.  I can see that as well.  Still and all it would take seconds to give me one sentence.  I have been thru a lot in the last few weeks, had two days to pack up, have settlement in Florida, get back to Delaware and then everything hit the fan with my guy landing in the hospital with sepsis and A-Fib, meds didn't work, finally had to stop and restart his heart, delayed settlement in the hospital, me packing everything and selling stuff in the house alone, and still visiting him in the hospital where he ended up being for six days.  Death in the family, my rings were stolen, you name it, it happened, but I still found the time during that to handle my mail, post on Facebook (of course!).  I feel better having aired this.  Maybe I'll hear from her, maybe not.  Just wish I could've dealt with the wonderful host they all raved about.  Oh well.  I have moved on.  Thanks for talking with me!  Have a good night.

[Carol778]

So I got a message after  I sent that last message to her. She says she sent me messages but nothing showed up with the decline. However with this third decline, there was a message. She said that she was not able to send pictures because she’s not in the area, but that I was declined because I’m a first timer. No reviews on me. So therefore she would not rent to me. And that there was an area somewhere on the site that first timers could book. That people would take them. I had no clue. 😞

[Sarah977]

@Carol778  I don't know what she's talking about- never heard of "somewhere on the site that first timers could book". Some hosts are fine taking first timers, some aren't, as many have had bad experiences with that or simply don't feel comfortable accepting someone with no reviews. 

First timers can be clueless about a lot of things, booking for 1 and arriving with 4, not bothering to thoroughly read through the listing details, expecting to get the equivalent of a 5* hotel for a quarter the price, upset that they were asked to clean up after themselves, that kind of thing.  And many first timers can be wonderful.

Hosts who use Instant Book can choose settings so that only guests with previous reviews can book. Those of us who don't may have the same requirements, but have to wait for the Booking Request to be able to check reviews. And Airbnb has recently cut back on hosts being allowed to see a photo of the guest, or read reviews until after  a booking is confirmed, so that makes us more wary and strict.

Personally I've accepted lots of first timers and they've all been lovely people. Someone had to take a chance on me when I had no reviews as a host, so I feel it should go both ways. I'd certainly accept a mature first timer- someone who seemed really young and obviously hadn't read through the listing details and asked questions the answers to which are clear in the listing info, maybe not.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Kelly617 

I understand that accidents happen...... but if those guests were REALLY decent human beings, they'd be the one's to bring it up with the hosts first, apologize for the "accident" and offer to pay for damages.

If this is not how the situation progressed, then Imo these guests are not NICE people. 

Whether you want to risk getting a bad review for $95 compensation is up to you. Also remember that just because you DON'T request they pay for the pillows and towels does not mean the guests will automatically give a 5-star review. So it's a difficult choice you will have to make. 

Good luck~