Airbnb host leaving malicious review because she disapproves of the paper DH reads...

[BinDiesel]

NC for this for obvious reasons.

Went to stay at an Airbnb last week. All fine, no problems we were made aware of while we were there. It was a quiet family holiday with children. So no music played, no visitors, no excessive noise or drunkenness etc.

We left a really positive review despite a few niggling concerns like finding a pair of (dirty) boy's underpants left by the previous guests as we thought it was a genuine oversight and didn't want to be petty.

The day after we left we received an absolutely inexplicable review from the owner which basically implied that we had trashed her house and behaved appallingly while staying. She said she would need to do an entire day's cleaning to get her house back in order and that we'd broken all her house rules. In her private feedback she admits that actually we overlooked one dirty pan, left a small ketchup mark on a sheet (which she would have changed anyway) and one or two other minor housekeeping issues. It wasn't ideal, but relatively reasonable after almost a week of three small children. She also said we had broken all her house rules, which included no smoking in the house and no loud music, which we categorically didn't do. She also made some entirely false claims regarding things which we either cleaned thoroughly or never used in the first place being left filthy.

If she'd marked us down a bit for cleaning and left a review accurately reflecting this I would have apologised and accepted it. But instead she's left a malicious and entirely exaggerated review and sent us really unprofessional private feedback which is personally insulting and borderline abusive.

We've contacted Airbnb who've been no help even though they can see from the private feedback that her public review is inaccurate, I've deleted my account with them because they were so useless.

We were absolutely gobsmacked and couldn't understand why she had done this. It just literally came out of nowhere. So, I've done a bit of digging about her today. We knew she was a big Labour supporter, as her house was covered in billboards for them. But I've done some digging today and discovered that she is obsessively opposed to any media which she deems 'right wing', even going as far as buying up all the 'social pornography' (so the Mail, Sun, Express etc) on sale locally and burning them so that she can rescue other people from being polluted by it. She also campaigns to have it banned. And guess what paper DH reads and left in her recycling? Yep. That's right. The Sun.

It's the only possible reason we can think of for her going so psycho on us. She's also probably massively wide of the mark in whatever she thinks that means, as DH is a Marxist Irish Republican. But he also really likes football and thinks The Sun does the best reporting on it by far, so he buys it, reads the back pages and then recycles it away without ever reading the rest.

That's absolutely immaterial anyway, because she simply shouldn't be judging and abusing guests based on what they choose to read anyway unless she is prepared to be upfront about this and specify beforehand that she doesn't want them on her property.

I'm so furious she's got away with this scot free and made money in the process. Given that in her private feedback she basically admits her review isn't accurate WIBU to try to take this further? Would I have any success with a civil claim? I'm tempted just to sign her up for millions of Sun and Daily Mail promotions, but I'd like to do this through the proper channels instead and she'd just use them to get money off the ones she burns.

So WIBU to follow this up? Any suggestions how I might do it?

[7461Mary18]

I read the FT, Telegraph and Times so and hav a signed letter from Lady Thatcher in my office and support Mrs May so I wonder what she'd make of me. How about we just treat everyone with respect?

[BinDiesel]

And we did wipe down the chair covers. But we didn't put them in the machine because the weather was terrible and we had nowhere to dry them whereas she did next door, and the manual claims that she washes all seat covers, blankets and throws between guests.

[BinDiesel]

Sorry, it was on top of the cooker, not on the hob, so on to of the grill hood. I'm not an actual midget or I couldn't have reached the sink!

[BinDiesel]

Chilli, my husband put everything to wash up next to the sink, the cooker is next to the sink and he put the pan on there to be washed. I told him I would do the washing up but I am very, very short so the pan was out of my sight and eyeline.

So I washed everything up, (he'd already cleaned the cooker and I'd wiped down sides) so we thought everything was done and he didn't go back in. When she said about the pan. We realised what had happened. It was a genuine mistake.

[Only1scoop]

Chilli
I didn't get that bit either.

[Aeroflotgirl]

That's why I would rather stay in a hotel than one of those airbnb, you know where you stand, and you don't have any of that crap!

[ChilliMum]

How do you miss a pan?? Surely when you clean your kitchen you cannot fail to notice the dirty pan sitting there in the middle of the clean kitchen? Did you put it away dirty?

I realise this is not the point of your thread but I think you must have left the kitchen in quite a state to have missed a dirty pan

[HundredMilesAnHour]

I've used AirBNB a lot both in the UK and overseas and all the owners I've met have been lovely. But I do read the reviews very carefully before booking. I wouldn't book anywhere that didn't have photos of the interior (and all the key rooms i.e. bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen).

However, I'm very tidy (my feedback from owners is always that I leave their places "immaculate") and although I don't clean before leaving, I do leave everywhere looking spick and span so it does just need a quick clean and linen change and that's it. Given the amount of mess that children can make, I don't think I'd stay in an AirBNB with them as I'd worry too much. I'm still trying to understand how the OP missed a dirty pan (surely you checked that everywhere was tidy and that you weren't forgetting something so how didn't you see the dirty pan?) and it sounds like she knew about the marks on the chair covers and chose not to make an attempt to clean them off before leaving. It does sound like the AirBNB owner has over-reacted but it also sounds like the OP has a much lower standard of what's acceptable so not a match made in heaven.

[KERALA1]

The problem is that by using airbnb your chances of having dealings with a nutter increase. Also fail to understand the charging of a "cleaning fee" then getting all upset when guests don't leave the property pristine. That's a confusing message. Definitely safer to stick to a Premier Inn. Cheaper too!

[MidsummerMoo]

FWIW, OP, I have sympathy for you and think the few marks you refer to are the risks one takes renting house out to a family with three kids.

No opinion on the paper argument but I've read enough Mumsnet to know that there are some truly crazy and inexplicably angry people in this world whom we just have to acknowledge but ignore.

[Roomster101]

When I go on holiday there is no way I want to spend my time cleaning. I wash dishes (or put them in a dishwasher is there is one), throw away rubbish and wipe kitchen surfaces but I think owners are taking the piss if they expect anything else especially when charging a cleaning fee. The problem is that the more people clean, the more it becomes expected.

[StrangeLookingParasite]

However, we have a flat on AirBnB, and if guests left a copy of The Sun behind I would probably scream then faint.

How do you live in this terrible world?

Images would pop into my head of the sort of people who break wind constantly in front of each other, have a poo with the toilet door open while holding a conversation, have reader's wives style rumpy pumpy...all in my flat.

Now you just sound mad.

[CookieMonster54]

I'm not a Tory, though I've been known to vote for them. But if I'd been in your shoes? I'd have been as overtly Tory as I could possibly be for the whole time I was there. I'd have worked my admiration for Lady Thatcher into every second sentence, and then I'd have said I had to get back to North Somerset to vote for Jacob Rees Mogg, even if I wasn't from North Somerset.

If there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's people who think other people are bad people because they disagree with them about what political party to vote for. Those people make me want to run to the polling booth to vote for the other crowd, just to drive them nuts. It happens more with Labour supporters than Tories, I find, probably because Labour voters tend to see voting Labour as being a "good" thing and Tory voters tend to see voting Tory as a "necessary" thing.

Anyway, you need to complain to AirBnB. She's clearly nuts, this lady.

[BigYellowJumper]

kerala if you book this close to the date, normally only the weirdo houses no one else wanted are left. You definitely need to book far in advance to get the decent non twitchy properties.

[Butterymuffin]

Yeah, a Marxist would use Airbnb. NOT.

[Ohyesiam]

I hate the Sun very much, but she is batshit

[MrsHathaway]

I think the cleaning fee is a way of making multiple nights cheaper than multiple single nights. Eg £50 per night plus £20 at the end, rather than charging £60 a night. Hotels might clean every day but B&Bs don't.

[lozster]

I'm reluctantly using airbnb as a property is convenient for a wedding not because it is bargainul. It comes with cleaning fee. Whilst I wouldn't trash any where, I don't expect to clean if I've paid a not unsubstantial fee for that? On a holiday cottage for example I would sweep up dropped cornflakes but wouldn't Hoover the house before leaving. As my airbnb includes an itemised fee added on to the daily rate I would be even less inclined to clean. Have I got this wrong?

[KERALA1]

Need a nights accommodation this weekend. Quick look at air bnb but Dh and I both agreed couldn't deal with the angst of twitchy home owners so booked utterly anonymous chain hotel. Bliss.

[bruffin]

Mercury
This weekend we had a lovely cottage in a pretty village that slept 5 of us( 3 bed) for just over £200.
It was lovely and so much nicer than a premier inn.

[MrsHathaway]

I agree for one room, but I massively prefer having additional space eg separate bedroom for the DC, own kitchen, sitting room so you're not in the same four walls all the time. AirBnB and similar agencies are great for that kind of accommodation.

[MercuryMadness]

I have never seen the attraction of Air BNB and it does seem like you are at the mercy of crazy owners. I would rather a family room at a Premier Inn.

[bruffin]

and always give your review after they've done theirs (they need the good review more than you do).
You cant read their review until you have done your own. I was at an airbnb this weekend. I got a message to say that owner had left review and it wouldnt let me see it until my review was done. Assume its the same for owner

[cluelessnewmum]

Agree that if you left permanent stains on sheets they'd be within their rights to take it off a deposit.

Think the issue with air bnb is that they separate the charge you separately for cleaning (often a substantial amount) so maybe a lot of people think, well I'll not bother leaving it tidy then.

Conversely Alot of holiday lets stipulate you leave the kitchen tidy, don't leave washing up etc, and you'll be charged more if you do. So maybe this vagueness in policy causes the problem.

This host is obviously a psycho but it sounds like you weren't especially considerate either op.

I've used airbnb many times and not had an issue, but then I've always cleaned the house (more so than a holiday let if it's obviously someone's main house) and always got great reviews from hosts.

Next time if you use air bnb maybe make sure you leave it a bit cleaner, and try to sort out any damage, and always give your review after they've done theirs (they need the good review more than you do).

[kali110]

if guests left a copy of The Sun behind I would probably scream then faint.
really

Images would pop into my head of the sort of people who break wind constantly in front of each other, have a poo with the toilet door open while holding a conversation, have reader's wives style rumpy pumpy...all in my flat.
Yes, because i'm sure every sun reader does that