HELP! Tea light scorch mark in an Air BnB!

[QuimReaper]

I'm staying in a beautiful Air BnB. Last night I lit a few candles, and this morning when tidying up I noticed one has left a black circle on the surface. Argh!

After a quick Google I've squeezed some white toothpaste on it, any other tips?

OP most AirBnBs I've stayed at say no lighting candles as it's such a fire risk. You need to tell the owner and be prepared to be charged. And please don't use tea lights at home without holders. It's so dangerous.

I have a short term rental property. It definitely requires a lot more maintenance than my home. A black mark is par for the course. I ask my guests to let me know about breakages, etc so I can replace or repair-Not so I can penalise them. I have never charged anyone for damage or breakage - for normal wear and tear (as opposed to wanton vandalism) that is what your rent covers. Any landlord who thinks otherwise is in cloud cuckoo land.

I would confess and apologise but not offer compensation. It was an innocent accident. I provide candle holders and tea lights for my guests in the hope that accidental burns will not happen. This would be an idea for your current host.

IMO incense is one of the worst crimes. A guest burned some years ago and the smell stayed for months and months 🤢. I do ask guests not to burn it since.

That seems unnecessarily harsh. You've determined op doesn't care about the environment because she lit a candle?

Someone did that to a lovely wooden dressing table in my B&B but with something much larger. Totally ruined it. Didn't confess. Still bitter a decade on.

That's unnecessarily rude @viques.

Enough people have castigated the OP for putting tealights directly on surfaces. The owner will be insured. I would expect to pay the insurance excess for this. They may not be bothered about the damage itself, but the issue is that other guests are likely to be less careful with something already damaged and obviously it looks terrible.

Ok it was a honest mistake, one I'm sure you won't do again.

I'd just be honest, own up to your mistake and take it from there. Most people are ok if you just admit you did something stupid. You didn't intentionally try and damage their property.

Honestly is the best policy in these types of situations.

Thank you @Messangel, I was hoping for the perspective of a rental property owner (although I originally started the thread hoping for cleaning tips!). I've exchanged a number of messages with the owner whilst here and she seems lovely. We'll see what she says, I hope she takes your sanguine approach even if she does (very reasonably) ask for damages.

Some harsh replies. It was a mistake, email the host and let them know, apologising. Don’t offer to pay. There are limits to what you’d need to pay for, surely. That’s what insurance is for.

Message owner with an apology and see what they say.

And next time don’t set anything on fire in someone else’s house…

@rnsaslkih I do hope they have insurance, I think asking me to pay the excess would be fair. I've paid almost £600 for three nights here, so would be quite surprised if they don't have damage insurance!

OP, would airbnb's 'aircover' cover this? It's included in every booking.

www.airbnb.co.uk/aircover?sem_brand_erf=true&c=.pi0.pk16900152224_138552267987&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_--9yOfr-QIVT-rtCh0MIgdWEAAYASABEgI9Q_D_BwE

They'll be able to gloss spray paint over it - it'll need a few thin coats, but it will work. Painters Touch is brilliant, I use it for all sorts.

Actually I've just read through properly and I don't think it would

Yes Acorn I think that's more of a guest protection policy.

This!

paying to replace the entire unit seems a bit ridiculous. Buy sandpaper, suitable replacement paint, and paint it yourself! Job done, provided it has time to dry properly.

The OP said it's not got a wooden finish, I'd be ruddy furious if someone took to my furniture with a hasty B&Q DIY job.

Just be a grown up and own up!

@QuimReaper you might find a similar unit in argos or facebook marketplace that will do the job. Definitely confess and apologise though. If you have found something as a replacement you could tell the host and say ‘this looks the same so I’m happy to pay for it if that’s easier for you’. Just saving them some hassle would be helpful.

Yes just own up. It's the right thing to do. Even if you got away with it you would not feel great.

A scorch mark accident I could accept, some loon taking to my furniture with a bodge DIY job I'd be FURIOUS & I would charge for repair/replacement.

@QuimReaper stop scrubbing! Just email her apologising. Take it one step at a time, don't go painting it or insulting her by saying it looks like 'this' from Argos.

If you are that desperate for flickering lights you can’t actually see by then get the little battery ones, you don’t sound the sort of person who cares about plastic and chemical waste in landfill so they will be perfect for you

The way the fuel situation is going we'll all be using candles come winter!

Rina that's a relief, I do hope you're right.

Don't worry TooMuch, I had no intention of taking sandpaper or paint to it even if I'd had time before checking out!

@TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination depends on if they are competent enough to do it without you even realising! You might not even notice, if they have any shred of competence at these things.

Aye, but @bloomflower, the OP has said it’s one of those units with a plasticised finish, so it’s probably not wood (which can be sanded and painted). Sounds more like plastic wrapped particleboard or similar, in which case a home DIY job would be a lot harder 😞

What? Omg 😆 Do you have a link to that thread?!