stained linens from baby

[Teresa1628]

TLDR: At what point is the line crossed between reasonable usage and ignorant damage? 

My husband and I are at odds with the last guests.  They are repeat guests. First time they booked it was for 2 adults, and baby, and a dog. Then they had a friend join them for the rest of their long weekend booking.  I wasn't happy about the surprise guest, but let it go. They rebooked about a year later only stating "same as last time". The new booking was for 3 adults (they disclosed their friend this time), the baby, and a pet, only it was 2 dogs, not one.  They are nice people, but we didn't appreciate not being told there would be two dogs.  This is the absolute maximum our guest house can hold.  They were nice and courteous, always took the old dogs out.  When the checked out, she told me the baby soiled the crocheted blanket.  She rinsed it out and hung it to dry.  The baby is about 18 months, and I understand that things happen.  But when we go to clean, we find that they have used EVERY blanket and comforter, and everything is dirty.  The bed had a duvet (we use the duvet when people bring pets), but there were two back up comforters in the closet.  We also keep two cotton blankets for guests to use.  I got the sticky stains out of the duvet, but one cotton blanket has bleach stains on it.  The put the two back up comforters on the floor for the baby? to sleep on because he didn't want to be in the travel bed.  Both comforters had green/yellow stains on both sides splotched all over. I really think the baby had a blow out, but if was poop, I didn't smell anything.  I contacted her asking what the stains were from mostly so I could know how to treat it.  She's feigning ignorance.  She's "so surprised". Well, the stains aren't coming out, and they have to be replaced. She graciously offered to pay $100, but I accepted $80.  

The comforters are predominantly white.  I chose the color. I also left the two back up comforters in the closet.  These are my problems. I also know that comforters are a pain, and duvets are the way to go.  That was decided a year ago!  

Should I have assumed that all babies will stain all linens?  We purposely do not provide anything baby related because it can legally be implied that we are taking liability should the item cause damage.  This is only the second baby we have booked in two years. We rarely have children of any age.  Our bookings are mostly couples, grandparents, adults traveling for work. 

I guess my question is at what point is the line crossed between reasonable usage and ignorant damage? 

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Teresa1628  Unfortunately, anything that you leave in the property is "fair game" for the guests to use and potentially damage.  Most guests are conscientious and will hopefully admit to damage, but there are always going to be those who won't own it and will not reimburse you.  You have to anticipate the life of most products is going to be very short, and to have a slush fund to enable purchasing replacements.

At what point you claim or try to recoup for damages is entirely up to you.  I have a good insurance policy, so my breaking point for damages is the amount of my deductible.  If the damage is to a large ticket item, like the family that broke every shelf in the refrigerator (how, goodness knows) then I do go after the guest, but with the knowledge that they may not respond with reimbursement.  Those guests claimed the refrigerator was in that condition when they arrived -- as if.

As to what the baby stains are, even though the mom apparently washed the blankets, baby poop will stain depending on what the baby has been eating.  Do your best to remove the stains, but realize that you may be better off replacing the items and writing off the expense on your taxes.