Post by High Priestess on Sept 25, 2015 1:39:59 GMT
Left a huge mess!
We had a 6 day rental of our Las Vegas rental and the guests left the house a complete mess. Every dish was dirty. Pots were full of food and left on the stove and counter. The clean up took about 8 hours extra and two non stick pans were ruined.
Our brand new kitchen stove was covered in cooking oil and food. The whole house smelled like rancid chinese food. Also, children drew on and in our coffee table books and the house manual. We are claiming $440 in extra clean up fees and pan replacement. Not sure how this will end up. Good thing we didn't have back to back bookings. We personally had to go to the house and manage the clean up.
We don't offer maid service. Why would they think that leaving the house in this condition was OK?
REply
What did the guest's profile and messages look like?
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Hey, I'm D! From ____ , _____ , China · Member since January 2015
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Here was our departing message to them: I hope you enjoyed your stay. Please remember check out time is 10am. We have guests arriving at 4 pm the same day. Except for general clean-up your deposit will be returned in full if the house is left in the same condition you found it. Please consider us again on your next visit and please tell your friends about our house. Sincerely, Mark & Myrla
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and their reply: hi mark thanks. We are very happy to stay in your house. We will come back again for next trip to your house on August as we need to join next magic.
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Caution is needed when vetting new members without any reviews. I always try to get a conversation going about house rules to see if folks have read the listing in its entirety before accepting a reservation request.
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I looked at your listing and couldn't find any house rules. This poses a problem when holding folks accountable and collecting for damages and filth.
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M and W - I understand your point, but how far do we go? Aren’t there Airbnb renter guidelines for the most basic behaviors? Do owners have to state something like the following just to protect themselves? House Rules – The following is prohibited: 1. Destruction of cookware. 2. Soiling bedspreads. 3. Soiling decorative pillows. 4. Leaving pans full of food on stove and counter. 5. Cooking at extremely high heat with oil and not cleaning up afterwards, 6. Cooking on oil soaked cooktop from prior meal. 7. Using sharp utensils in non-stick pans [there are none in the house, do not use you own] 8. Do not spill food in bed. 9. Do not spill food on the furniture. 10. [Kids] Do not draw or mark in large picture books. 11. [Kids] Do not draw in or mark-up Guest Home User Manual. The house should be left in the same condition you found it (except for linens, towels, and general cleaning. All dishes and cookware should clean and put away, dishwasher load OK.
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You could state: light cooking only and 'no food in bedrooms'. Not accept children of a certain age? Those sound like deluded, deceitful people. Disgusting! I'd also say: 'I (or representative) will pop around every 3 days to water the plants (or whatever)' to keep them on their best behaviour and get an idea if things are going wrong. Sorry this happened to you!
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Bad news, sorry.
I think that some guests expect miracles where a sizeable cleaning fee is charged but these ones were clearly nightmares.
Tell me, were they the guests you left this review for: Paid on time. Arrived and departed on time. Good communication.?
Reply
Paid on time...huh? They have to pay on time or they don't get a (email hidden)ratches head
REply
*they don't get a reservation ... scratches head
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This is our first rental and we were hesitant to go negative so we made some neutral statements.
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Their next hosts/victims will be very understanding of that, I'm sure.
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If I saw that review I would know something was up and steer clear of them. Sometimes , you don't have to write negative comments as you can read between the lines.
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If I read that review as a potential hosts, I would not be alerted to anything negative about the guest. I would wonder about the host… A neutral review that hosts might notice would be "______ stayed here in February 2015."
REply
i agree with J, R&P. not everyone is expressive in words. it is also a little bit cultural. think average wait staff in america vs wait staff in europe.
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Thanks K... That is what we were going for.
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Agree with Kate; if these people tried to book with me, I'd be contacting you beforehand for more info on their stay with you.
REply
sorry this happened to you and i hope you will get all the claim money or at least your security deposit.
did you tell your guests they have to clean up after themselves? sounds like they were treating it like a hotel. unfortunately as airbnb gets more popular worldwide, we get bargain hunters who don't understand or care the ethos of home sharing. i don't personally allow children.
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Here is what we told them: Except for general clean-up your deposit will be returned in full if the house is left in the same condition you found it.
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did you send pictures to airbnb for proof? everyone has their own level of acceptable cleanliness and sensitivities to other people's things. some host might freak out if the mugs are not put back in the cupboard in the order of the rainbow......some are OK with trash sitting around. the guests can only go by their own standard. i'm sure you've heard of this show Hoarders...... your wording is not strong enough. you have to explicitly state your rules. also, the deposit is not "returned", it is never charged unless the host makes a claim with approval from airbnb. maybe you can do a walk thru with the guest upon departure? that put some pressure on them to tidy up.
REply
Certainly you should add to your house rules. Perhaps consider making guests sign or agree to a list of rules. Look at J.etc's listing. I actually have my own agreement for guests to sign, plus I give them a copy of my checkout rules the day before checkout - ------my agreement specifies what will happen if they don't adhere to rules and leave the place in good shape. Also, the house is in a lovely area, and per your description you've invested quite a bit of money in it - (I know it's not the problem with these guests), but why would ever allow 12 people to stay there...IMHO it's asking for damage to the place
Reply
Sorry for a bad first experience with airbnb guests!! Please don't let it color your opinions totally! A head's up---never tell a guest to "enjoy the place as if it was yours"....or "take care of the place like it was yours"....you NEVER KNOW how these people live....& don't assume common sense...I think most of the hosts in these forums will agree that common sense appears to be a rare quality in many guests...While you don't need to spell out everything in house rules...you do need some guidelines...& a phrase something to the effect that "breaking house rules can lead to immediate expulsion"....Oh...& a newly decorated house? Children?? not a good mix...
We had a 6 day rental of our Las Vegas rental and the guests left the house a complete mess. Every dish was dirty. Pots were full of food and left on the stove and counter. The clean up took about 8 hours extra and two non stick pans were ruined.
Our brand new kitchen stove was covered in cooking oil and food. The whole house smelled like rancid chinese food. Also, children drew on and in our coffee table books and the house manual. We are claiming $440 in extra clean up fees and pan replacement. Not sure how this will end up. Good thing we didn't have back to back bookings. We personally had to go to the house and manage the clean up.
We don't offer maid service. Why would they think that leaving the house in this condition was OK?
REply
What did the guest's profile and messages look like?
Reply
Hey, I'm D! From ____ , _____ , China · Member since January 2015
Reply
Here was our departing message to them: I hope you enjoyed your stay. Please remember check out time is 10am. We have guests arriving at 4 pm the same day. Except for general clean-up your deposit will be returned in full if the house is left in the same condition you found it. Please consider us again on your next visit and please tell your friends about our house. Sincerely, Mark & Myrla
Reply
and their reply: hi mark thanks. We are very happy to stay in your house. We will come back again for next trip to your house on August as we need to join next magic.
Reply
Caution is needed when vetting new members without any reviews. I always try to get a conversation going about house rules to see if folks have read the listing in its entirety before accepting a reservation request.
Reply
I looked at your listing and couldn't find any house rules. This poses a problem when holding folks accountable and collecting for damages and filth.
Reply
M and W - I understand your point, but how far do we go? Aren’t there Airbnb renter guidelines for the most basic behaviors? Do owners have to state something like the following just to protect themselves? House Rules – The following is prohibited: 1. Destruction of cookware. 2. Soiling bedspreads. 3. Soiling decorative pillows. 4. Leaving pans full of food on stove and counter. 5. Cooking at extremely high heat with oil and not cleaning up afterwards, 6. Cooking on oil soaked cooktop from prior meal. 7. Using sharp utensils in non-stick pans [there are none in the house, do not use you own] 8. Do not spill food in bed. 9. Do not spill food on the furniture. 10. [Kids] Do not draw or mark in large picture books. 11. [Kids] Do not draw in or mark-up Guest Home User Manual. The house should be left in the same condition you found it (except for linens, towels, and general cleaning. All dishes and cookware should clean and put away, dishwasher load OK.
Reply
You could state: light cooking only and 'no food in bedrooms'. Not accept children of a certain age? Those sound like deluded, deceitful people. Disgusting! I'd also say: 'I (or representative) will pop around every 3 days to water the plants (or whatever)' to keep them on their best behaviour and get an idea if things are going wrong. Sorry this happened to you!
Reply
Bad news, sorry.
I think that some guests expect miracles where a sizeable cleaning fee is charged but these ones were clearly nightmares.
Tell me, were they the guests you left this review for: Paid on time. Arrived and departed on time. Good communication.?
Reply
Paid on time...huh? They have to pay on time or they don't get a (email hidden)ratches head
REply
*they don't get a reservation ... scratches head
Reply
This is our first rental and we were hesitant to go negative so we made some neutral statements.
Reply
Their next hosts/victims will be very understanding of that, I'm sure.
Reply
If I saw that review I would know something was up and steer clear of them. Sometimes , you don't have to write negative comments as you can read between the lines.
Reply
If I read that review as a potential hosts, I would not be alerted to anything negative about the guest. I would wonder about the host… A neutral review that hosts might notice would be "______ stayed here in February 2015."
REply
i agree with J, R&P. not everyone is expressive in words. it is also a little bit cultural. think average wait staff in america vs wait staff in europe.
Reply
Thanks K... That is what we were going for.
Reply
Agree with Kate; if these people tried to book with me, I'd be contacting you beforehand for more info on their stay with you.
REply
sorry this happened to you and i hope you will get all the claim money or at least your security deposit.
did you tell your guests they have to clean up after themselves? sounds like they were treating it like a hotel. unfortunately as airbnb gets more popular worldwide, we get bargain hunters who don't understand or care the ethos of home sharing. i don't personally allow children.
Reply
Here is what we told them: Except for general clean-up your deposit will be returned in full if the house is left in the same condition you found it.
Reply
did you send pictures to airbnb for proof? everyone has their own level of acceptable cleanliness and sensitivities to other people's things. some host might freak out if the mugs are not put back in the cupboard in the order of the rainbow......some are OK with trash sitting around. the guests can only go by their own standard. i'm sure you've heard of this show Hoarders...... your wording is not strong enough. you have to explicitly state your rules. also, the deposit is not "returned", it is never charged unless the host makes a claim with approval from airbnb. maybe you can do a walk thru with the guest upon departure? that put some pressure on them to tidy up.
REply
Certainly you should add to your house rules. Perhaps consider making guests sign or agree to a list of rules. Look at J.etc's listing. I actually have my own agreement for guests to sign, plus I give them a copy of my checkout rules the day before checkout - ------my agreement specifies what will happen if they don't adhere to rules and leave the place in good shape. Also, the house is in a lovely area, and per your description you've invested quite a bit of money in it - (I know it's not the problem with these guests), but why would ever allow 12 people to stay there...IMHO it's asking for damage to the place
Reply
Sorry for a bad first experience with airbnb guests!! Please don't let it color your opinions totally! A head's up---never tell a guest to "enjoy the place as if it was yours"....or "take care of the place like it was yours"....you NEVER KNOW how these people live....& don't assume common sense...I think most of the hosts in these forums will agree that common sense appears to be a rare quality in many guests...While you don't need to spell out everything in house rules...you do need some guidelines...& a phrase something to the effect that "breaking house rules can lead to immediate expulsion"....Oh...& a newly decorated house? Children?? not a good mix...