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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To have turned away this airbnb guest?

999 replies

Hiptrip · 07/01/2018 09:05

I have been doing airbnb for a while and have found it a great way to meet new people, and earn a little extra. That is until last Friday night.

Despite my house rule of no children, a woman wrote to me and asked if I could make an exception, promising that her two-year old son would be very well behaved. My house is not set up for children, and I simply don’t want toddlers here so I replied and said no.

She said that was okay and booked anyway, saying she had to come to my town for a wedding, and that she’d find someone to look after him.

Then she turned up with her child at 9.30pm saying she couldn’t find a sitter, and had hysterics as she pleaded with me on the doorstep, to allow him to stay. I refused and in the end called the police because she said she wouldn’t leave until I gave her, her money back in cash because she needed it to stay elsewhere. As she was starting to cause a nuisance, they got rid of her.

She’s taken this to airbnb. My argument is that she was told she couldn’t bring her child, and did anyway, so she should lose her money. Not unreasonable?

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 07/01/2018 12:31

If you book s room at a hotel and don’t use it - guess what they still charge 😂

RebelRogue · 07/01/2018 12:31

@Pengggwn how do you know the child was hungry?

ArchchancellorsHat · 07/01/2018 12:32

I haven't said fuck anyone, have I? But yes, at the end of the day, I would put a baby's comfort over that of an adult and, if the adult was unhappy, I would offer them a refund and an apology.
So bollocks to the person who read the rules and did as they were supposed to and didn't get what they paid for. Bollocks to the OP's business - she relies on good reviews. All because some stupid woman was either scamming or felt that rules shouldn't apply to her?

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:32

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

imyourgirl · 07/01/2018 12:32

Ugh. Living next to an air bnb could potentially be a nightmare.

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ivykaty44 · 07/01/2018 12:34

PP it’s such a shame a few guest spoil things for so many others. When I worked in a hotel it never failed to amaze me the CF out there that did pretty awefull things

kmc1111 · 07/01/2018 12:34

I'm amazed by all the people who can't seem to comprehend how AirBnB (and hotels) work.

Once someone books a room/property, no one else can book that room/property. The fact that OP didn't have anyone else lined up doesn't mean there wasn't interest. No one else could show interest in staying because the room/property was booked!

When people book and then cancel at the last minute or get themselves refused from a property or kicked out, there's no way for the business to get that room re-booked for that night. It's too late. So if they give a refund, they've lost income.

Every single hotel and AirBnB has a cancellation policy detailing how far in advance you have to cancel in order to get a refund, as well as making it clear you won't be refunded if your break the businesses rules and have to leave. When you book you are entering into a contract agreeing with these conditions. If something really awful comes up, like an accident or bereavement that changes your plans at the last minute, most places will refund. Otherwise you're out of luck, and that's something you always need to factor in when booking stays.

Anyway, between the fact this woman verified with the OP that no exceptions for children would be made then booked, the fact that she asked for a cash refund and the fact she made a gigantic off-putting spectacle of herself, this was almost certainly a scam.

Also, she had a car. So all the nonsense about turning a mother and toddler out into the snow is Dickensian fan-fiction. Worst case she had to drive home because of her own stupidity. Which, if it was a scam, is what she'd have been planning on doing anyway.

MargaretCavendish · 07/01/2018 12:35

I might have said, look, come in, feed and change, settle the child, but you can't stay because of the insurance issues.

Well, given that the woman ended up screaming and swearing in the street and was eventually removed by the police, I'd say that OP's instinct not to let her into the house was quite sound, wasn't it?

ivykaty44 · 07/01/2018 12:35

Imyourgirl- yes living in a block of flats where one is used only for AirBnB is a nightmare for a couple I know - people come and have parties

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:36

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CherryMaDeara · 07/01/2018 12:36

Pengggwn

Yeah okay hmm

I couldn't give a toss whether you think I sound nice or not. This is a comment forum. OP asked a question. Views will differ.

Doesn't look like OP gives a toss whether you think she sounds nice or not either. So why did you bother saying it?

The irony of someone so pathetically stubborn about not being able to admit they are wrong, trying to convince us that they they would have taken in the mum and child. I don't buy it.

And well done on the 'wet and hungry child' exagerration. OP says they came in a car Hmm

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:37

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ArchchancellorsHat · 07/01/2018 12:37

Penggwn - in that case, yes it is bollocks to them - they are paying for something they didn't get, and absolutely I would expect a refund and then leave a stinker of a review. Which would leave OP out of pocket many times over.

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:38

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BashStreetKid · 07/01/2018 12:39

Pengggwyn, why would the car be cold? Unless, of course, this is a scam and the guest lived nearby, which is not at all unlikely.

lynzpynz · 07/01/2018 12:39

Guarantee the daily fail trawlers are going to create a story out of this thread as it’s caused such heated debate!

This whole issue has been caused by an entitled, manipulative CF unwilling to accept the consequences of her actions. Her poor child has been dragged into an appalling situation through no fault of its own, and OP has upheld the terms of the agreement and not invalidated her AirBnB insurance by sounds of it! Nightmare of a situation all round.

Trills · 07/01/2018 12:40

You should absolutely keep the money, IMO.

BashStreetKid · 07/01/2018 12:42

if something bad happened you wouldn’t be blameless

Why? OP would be no more to blame than she would be if something bad happened on the way to the house. FFS, this is a woman with a car and a credit or debit card (or she couldn't have booked) in a town with plenty of hotels etc. She's presumably got contact details for people involved with the wedding she's going to, if it's genuine. Why would anything bad happen?

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:43

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SuburbanRhonda · 07/01/2018 12:43

She was absolutely in the wrong but it took some callousness to tell her and her 2yo to piss off.

I must have missed the post where the OP said she told CF to piss off Hmm

Talkingfrog · 07/01/2018 12:43

YANBU. She broke the agreement. She was lucky to get a refund at all. I think you were very generous and understanding have given it in cash, especially considering her behaviour. Hope she doesn't try to come back at you in any way.

CherryMaDeara · 07/01/2018 12:43

Pengggwn

Considering your initial misunderstanding of the situation, I don't think your opinion is useful to the OP.

Early in the thread you were insisting that OP would have lost the money anyway. You failed to understand that OP could have let the room to someone else.

The rest of your posts are just a massive exercise in trying to make yourself look better because you couldn't just say 'Sorry, I misunderstood.'

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 12:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WestEndVBroadway · 07/01/2018 12:47

Penggwyn Perhaps you would like to leave your address so any CFers and their children can turn up at your doorstep where they will obviously be guaranteed a bed for the night.

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