Hosts being very money minded and constantly texting after asking to stop

[Aswin15]

There was very minimal paint damage on a door due to a command hook left by a previous guest. The host tried to remove the command hook after I left and a small patch of paint was worn off [less than the size of the wall hook]. The host is requesting $1000 + for the entire door replacement. The host feels the door cannot be repainted to match the color of the other doors of the same type in the house. Plus, repainted doors will never be the same as the original doors that came prepainted. 

Isn't this host ridiculous?

 + Some of the host's atrocities

Free street parking - spoiled, bcos the host has been annoying/ in a tiff with neighbors for a long time 

Never allowed to use kitchen stove top bcoz it's brand new and guests are supposed to use portable cooktops on the kitchen island.

Accused me of stealing things in the kitchen bcos I opened a few cabinets [not labeled private] and closed them immediately. The whole area had video surveillance 

The host never allows the guests to talk to each other and this is indirectly mentioned in the rules. Trying to talk to her bf resulted in a heated argument with her.

How to deal with these types of money-minded and arrogant hosts who sugar coats their atrocities as rules?

Please note, a lot of guests before me have suffered with these hosts [ got to know from reviews]

Thanks,

A

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Aswin15 

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@Aswin15 wrote:

Please note, a lot of guests before me have suffered with these hosts [ got to know from reviews]

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I assume you are referring to the host who left your most recent review? If so, I don't really understand this comment as he is a Superhost with generally good reviews. I mean, they are not perfect (there is one guest who complains a lot but also mentions positive), but all the guests say he's a nice, friendly and accommodating person and none mention the 'atrocities' you list above.

Anyway, surely you read the previous reviews before you booked? Why would you only know about them afterwards? And, if the experience was so bad, why didn't you leave a review, or did it only turn sour once he asked you to pay for damages? Also, on what basis did you decide that he was racist because you mention that in your response? Or, did you just assume because he and you came to a disagreement that must be the case?

It's really hard to know what went wrong here as both you and the host otherwise have positive reviews. It sounds like overall he's a good host and you're a good guest. Perhaps you just rubbed each other up the wrong way. Perhaps your complaints are genuine. Perhaps his are. Perhaps it's a bit of both. I don't know to be honest.

What I do know, after years of hosting is that guests damage things all the time and the vast majority of them deny all knowledge of it. I even had a girl chop a watermelon (yes I saw her take it to her room) on an expensive dressing table, then cover the damage with a pile of neatly folded towels and claim the cat did it. I told her that if my cats could fold towels, I would get them to turnover the room.

[Aswin15]

This is not about the host who left me a recent review. Your comments are totally waste of time to reply to.  You are biased

[Huma0]

@Aswin15 

I am not biased. I am trying to see both sides of the story. I have been both an Airbnb host and guest.

If it is not the host from your most recent review, then it's clear that the host you are posting about is not the only one who had a problem with you.

And the question still stands as to why you didn't read the reviews BEFORE you booked?

[Aswin15]

I did read the reviews but not every one of them. I realized many of the negative reviews are buried at the bottom. I have rented from 10+ hosts and 2 hosts had issues with me so far . 8 > 2. Happy?

[Huma0]

@Aswin15 

Nope, not really. I know the host you're talking about hasn't left you a review (or not yet), but I would never accept a guest who had two bad reviews out of ten, especially if the most recent ones were bad. The fact is that most hosts are overly generous in their reviews of guests, so when it's bad, you pay attention. When it's bad x 2, then nope...

It's actually your response to the review that is the most off putting thing though, rather than the review itself, which wasn't that bad.

[Aswin15]

Keep adding comments. I can't win an argument with you. It is your comments that are very annoying without knowing the full story. I won't respond to any of your comments. You diluted and spammed the entire post that I intended to get an opinion on a current matter. Waste of my time and energy

[Gillian166]

@Aswin15  your reaction to a well-respected host in this community, who hasn't given you the sympathy you wanted, says a lot.  I can forgive guests for 1 or 2 bad reviews, but your response was not ideal, and calling people racist like that makes you look like a troublemaker, because all the other reviews for the host are glowing.  

What you've brought up regarding this host does sound ridiculous, but it's hard to know how genuine it is because the way you attacked Huma doesn't paint you as a rational person. 

[Aswin15]

I can understand the host camaraderie that you are projecting here. You are making the same mistake as Huma without knowing the details about the reservations. I only asked for an opinion on the current matter that I mentioned some facts about.

Judging based on my previous host encounter[irrelavant to current discussion]  where my review got moderated due to an Airbnb policy. So many facts that I know about that host from my stay there didn't come out.

Supporting someone like Huma blindly tells a lot about you as well.

Huma never stuck to the facts of this case and was diluting my post with her judgemental attitude.

[Gillian166]

@Aswin15  mate, I responded to your issues in your original post. 

Thank you for clearing up why there's no review from you for your previous host, and it's now clear that you are complaining about a more recent stay that has yet to be finalised/reviewed.  The problem is that you've been a bit rude to us which doesn't speak well to your character as the innocent guest. I urge you again to stay calm and rational, no need for insults of other posters here, we can still disagree politely and help you solve your problem. 

In case you missed my advice:  if ABB comes at you for money, tell them the door thing is 1) not your fault and they'd need to prove it and 2) it's clearly wear and tear, so not your burden. 

Accusing you of stealing would also need proof and I'm not sure the host is going to be happy to share camera footage (you failed to respond to me that the cameras were disclosed properly). 

[Aswin15]

Thank you Gillian166 for your points on my current issue.

I am not a perfect guest but I have always been trying to.

Let's not go back to the second previous reservation issue bcos its way back in time and require too much information to be shared 🙂

Reg the current issue, I just let go of that reservation's review period just to avoid more fights and mutual bad reviews. The host waited for 14 days for the same reason and the moment the review possibility got elapsed, slapped me with a $1000 damage claim. 

 I am not so naive as to not understand the host's mind games when it comes to wear and tear vs $1000 door replacement. I am wondering why Airbnb isn't able to dispose of this allegation. Is this even worth doing an aircover review for this damage claim?

Some of these hosts just like some of the guests are too reckless and brutal. I wish I get the desired outcomes approved, that you have mentioned. Thank you for your suggestions once again.

[Gillian166]

@Aswin15  if you read the forums you'll see that most hosts struggle to get anything via Aircover. Usually the CS reps will try to make the guest pay, and all you have to do is say "no" and that should be the end of it. 

The door claim is ridiculous, and clearly falls under wear and tear. 

But also, hosts only have 72hours to make a claim so if she has waited 14 days I'm pretty sure it's going to be denied. 

[Huma0]

@Gillian166 

I think they changed that earlier this year. The deadline is now 14 days and I don't think it matters anymore if the next guest has checked in.

If you read the full T&Cs for host damage protection, it's in there:

"You must inspect the applicable Covered Accommodation to determine whether there are any physical losses or damages to any Covered Property and you must notify Airbnb as well as the Responsible Guest about your complaint and attempt to resolve the loss or damage with the Responsible Guest within  fourteen (14) days of the Responsible Guest’s check-out date. You may fulfill this obligation by submitting a claim via the Airbnb Resolution Center."

The reason for this was because hosts were saying if they put in a claim before the review period ended, it almost always resulted in a retaliatory review. 

But the host is still supposed to try to resolve it with the guest first. The host used to have to wait 72 hours for a response from the guest before being able to file an Aircover claim, but I believe that has been changed to 24 hours.

That being said, I'd be surprised if Airbnb upheld this claim. It seems crazy to have to replace the entire door, but then I don't know what kind of fancy, schmanzy door/finish this was. Seems to me that an experienced decorator should be able to match the colour and finish, but we know that it's hard to find contractors to do such small jobs.

[Huma0]

@Aswin15 

You don't need to respond to my comments if you don't want to. That is your choice. But, when you post on a public forum, you should expect that not everyone will automatically agree with you.

Many hosts and guests post grievances here, but of course we are only ever hearing one side of the story. That is why more experienced posters will check out that person's reviews, the reviews they have left for others, the other reviews the other party has received etc. to get a clearer picture. 

No, I don't know they full story, because you haven't explained it and neither has the host had the opportunity to tell their side. I can only comment based on the information that is there, including your side of the story, but also the reviews.

I would do the same whether it was a guest or a host posting.

[Huma0]

@Aswin15 

Also, you don't need to read all the reviews if a host has loads of them. There are star ratings on every listing which are made up of the sum total of all the reviews. When those are lower than they should be, that's when the alarm bells should ring.