I was a host on Airbnb and after my latest experience with them I am only using VRBO now. We have been renting our ranch on Airbnb for years and I have never seen our home in such disarray. Our cleaning team sent me a list of all the issues (photo provided) including but not limited to:
– Stove top had burnt food all over it.
– Carpets were stained and had to be shampooed which is far and above the normal clean we would need to do after guests leave.
– There was dog food in the couch cushions.
– Toilets were plugged up and had all kinds of items that had been attempted to be flushed down including face wipes and tampons.
– Garbage was put in a coat closet.
– The bedrooms were a mess with food, drinks, games everywhere and the furniture had been all moved around (which we specifically ask our guests not to do)
– Worst of all, there were poop stains on my grandmother’s chair.
Our ranch hand came up to assist our guest during his stay with the toilet being clogged and reported to us that his 90+ year old father was sitting in said chair completely naked from the waist down. He had a “waste” bucket sitting next to him for him to utilize as a bathroom. My family’s ranch was purchased by my late grandfather in the 1960’s. This place is so incredibly precious to us and we love sharing it with others. We have always had respectful, wonderful people stay with us until now. I am so incredibly saddened, hurt, and frankly have a pit in my stomach by the way they treated our home.
Almost a month after I submitted photos, a cleaning bill, and a list of all the items that needed to be cleaned Airbnb finally responded with:
“After careful review of the information submitted, we’re unfortunately unable to process your request. Security deposits cover direct physical loss or physical damage to an accommodation. It does not cover indirect losses. Therefore, as we have not received documentation for any physical damages we would be unable to provide compensation.”
I will never use Airbnb again as a host or a traveler. A company’s true character is shown in how it handles the small events and they showed me theirs.
This is really sad but you said you’ve rented out property for years so it must have been profitable for you to do so. Renting out to random strangers is always a risk and you need to decide for yourself if you are willing to take that risk. I am sure most guests are nice but you only need one or two assholes to ruin it, as you have experienced.
However, I don’t think you should be renting out a home with furniture/deco that you are personally attached to because you risk damage. If I were to rent out my private home, I would not leave valuable furniture etc in it and would not have carpets either.
Have you tried posting your pictures and story on their FB page? And you need to be relentless – we kept up the pressure for a few weeks by keeping our story at the top of their FB feed, constantly re-positng the pictures and story. Don’t start a new post – add a comment to one of their posts.
And sadly, if you check out their FB page it’s 99% complaints.
sorry to hear that