Community : Discussion List - Complaints and Cancellations

My first unhappy renter

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:40:03 GMT

It was bound to happen as the saying goes, "You can't please everyone". As I have read on other posts here, potential renters who want a discount can be trouble. I think the reasoning is that they want a discount because they don't think your property is worth the rate you are asking and if you don't give them a discount and they rent anyway, they are arriving with a preconceived notion that they are not getting their money's worth and won't respect your property since they are being overcharged.

I had a lady who has inquired about my properties 4 or 5 times over the last year or two and has never booked. She recently inquired about a last minute booking (10 days or so out) and wanted a discount. I said no discount and she reluctantly booked anyway but sent me the following in an email:

"I must say, as a business owner myself, I’m a little confused as to why you would be adding on fees as opposed to offering ‘last minute booking’ deals/discounts/incentives given that you would get nothing if we were to not book (assuming it is rare that someone would book this late). Feels to me like you are not that interested in the business"

I explained reasoning that I work ******* the properties to constantly upgrade them and keep them maintained and I stay there myself when they are not rented. She said she understood and looked forward to the stay. I didn't communicate with her during her stay and didn't hear from her regarding any issues while she was there.

She had a late checkout at 5pm Sunday so the cleaner could not come till the next day Monday, but there was a snow storm that dropped 12" the night she left. Due to that and prior committment, the cleaner couldn't come till Wednesday morning. Usually not a big deal but this rental group left the oven on at 300 degrees! Cleaner said the house was very hot which was strange considering the snow outside, that's when she found the oven still on, 3 days later. Also found mildewed towels in the washer, toilet stopped up with feces in it, cigarette butts by the hot tub and a bunch of the pool tools were under the cover in the pool. I emailed the lady this:

"I just got a call from my cleaner/inspector. I'm a little dismayed. She walked in and the house was hot which seemed strange to her so she walked around and found that the oven was left on at 300 degrees! So the oven has been on since presumably Sunday at some point, the electric bill will certainly reflect a substantial increase from running an electric oven for 3 1/2 days. I can wait to get that electric bill and send you a copy prior to refunding your deposit or I can deduct $150 for what I presume will be additional cost incurred. I am just so thankful I didn't lose the house to a fire as I don't think anyone really knows what could happen if you leave an oven on unattended for 3 1/2 days. Normally she would have been there Monday, the day after due to your late checkout on Sunday but due to the snowstorm she didn't make it till this morning.

I just wanted to let you know some additional things my cleaner reported to me. She did not charge me extra to take care of them but I did want you to be aware of them so that you could pass on to whomever in the group was responsible that it very well could have incurred additional costs.

1) 13 cigarette butts by the hot tub between the sauna and tub. This is strange since there is a cigarette disposal right on the corner of the hot tub. She thinks perhaps someone was sneaking the cigarettes and didn't want to be seen putting them in the disposal.

2) Top of the stairs, make a left and in the bedroom at the end of the hall, someone left a clogged toilet with feces in it. There are plenty of plungers in the house and she obviously unclogged it but quite an unpleasant way to leave the toilet.

3) Pool toys were left in the pool under the cover. Not a big deal but she had to fish them out.

4) Towels left in the washing machine which mildewed and required 2 additional washings to remove smell

I'll wait to hear back from you on what you would like me to do regarding your deposit, whether you would like to wait till I receive the electric bill or receive $350 back today on your card.

Thanks,

Rick"

She emailed back that she wanted to wait for the bill so she could have her accountant and attorney check to be sure she was not overcharged and that considering my email she had rethought her experience and would leave reviews to reflect that.

I got the review today and posted an owner's response. She stated I sent her a nasty email which I listed above.

I'm more than happy to take constructive criticism on how I emailed or responsed to the review from my fellow rental owners so definitely let me know what you think.

Here's the review:

Nice place but owner is difficult to deal with

Review Submitted May 13, 2012 Date of Stay April 20, 2012

Unfortunately, we won't be returning to this property, despite enjoying the amenities it had to offer. We booked this property at the last minute. Most rental agencies offer discounts for last minute bookings, but Rick would not. In addition to not offering a discount for renting less than a week out, he charged an additional $100 for a late check out, even though no one else was booked the next day nor the entire week after. On top of that he threw on a 3% credit card transaction fee. I couldn't pay by check to avoid the fee b/c there wasn't enough time to get him the check. Overall, our stay was nice, but the place does need some care. The outside furniture needs painted, at minimum, but really could use replacement. The walls are marked up and need new painting. The kitchen supplies need updated - knives don't cut, pans and pans are rusted and stained, and some of the dinnerware was chipped and cracked. None of these are major issues, but Rick's reason for not discounting the property was due to the amount of time and money he puts into its upkeep so I had expected more. Lastly, unfortunately, we had accidentally left the oven on at check out and Rick sent a nasty email about it and wanted to keep $150 of our security deposit even though there was no damage done. Included in the nasty email exchange, was an accusation of us leaving cigarette butts all over the yard. No one in our party smokes and we had actually noticed the cigarette butts upon check in. So, book with caution. The amenities are great, but not worth the hassle of dealing with the owner.

Rating:

3 out of 5

Edit your Response

Owner Response: It's unfortunate that I have my first unhappy customer considering the work I put into making the best property I can. This review is meant to hurt me out of spite but the only ones hurt are the 3 little girls who left me such thankful notes in my guest book about how much fun they had and a million thank you's, who won't be back to enjoy the property again. As you can see, she was very upset that I did not give her a discount and sent me an email stating that which I replied to and explained that I don't discount. She replied that she was fine with that and I did not contact her during her stay at all. My email to her after her stay was very innocuous and I simply let her know what was reported to me by the cleaner/inspector and that there would be NO charge for anything other than the oven being left on for the electricity it used for 3 days. I offered to accept $150 or wait till the electric bill arrived to see what the difference from last April was. She said she would wait for the bill so her attorney and CPA could verify she was not overcharged. So my being difficult to deal with was not prior, not during but only in an email letting her know what was reported to me and that no money would be deducted other than the oven being left on. They left a toilet stopped up with feces in it despite having 8 plungers in the house, pool toys left in the pool under the cover, Oven left on at 300 degrees for 3 days, a pile of cigarette butts by the hot tub and towels left in the washing machine that were mildewed and had to be washed multiple times. No charge for any of that other than the oven electricity but since I had the audacity to let her know what was reported to me, she said she had rethought her stay and would leave a bad review. She told me "Major Weeding" needs to be done and since I reminded her that there was a snowstorm the day she left, it was not feasible to weed this early in the season which goes for staining the outside deck furniture. I replaced the knives which were serrated and could not be sharpened after her stay with new fine edge cutlery. I checked the walls which were fine and the dinnerware which had 2 chipped plates out of 30. The pots and pans have a brand new set mixed with some prior pots that I did not throw away. I do feel bad for the next owner she rents from because if she was unhappy with my place, she will not be happy anywhere else... Feel free to contact me with any concerns you might have.

Owner cancels my reservation!!!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:32:05 GMT

Whether it is in the contract or not, it is poor business canceling reservations. We have 3 other families joining us at this complex so moving is out of the question. VRBO 177355. I just can't believe it...........

Guest cancels and then changes mind

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sun, 12 May 2013 02:38:12 GMT

I have a guest who has paid already thru Reservation Manager and yesterday she emailed me and cancelled the reservation. She cited having surgery as her reason for cancellation, stated she wouldn't be able to make it at all, sorry for the inconvenience and asked for a refund. I emailed back that I was sorry that they wouldn't be able to come, hoped that they would try to visit again and that per our rental agreement there were no refunds this close to check-in. (45 day window and this is day 28) Today she emails me back to say that "if there is no refund she won't be able to have her surgery because she needs the money for the surgery and now she will have to come on vacation since she can't afford to waste the money." I'm inclined to think that there was never any surgery. I ran into someone I knew this morning who expressed interest in that week and who I expect to hear back from in a day or so. I emailed the guest and told her that I had made the time available after her cancellation and that it was now not available. She sent me an email saying she expected there would be discussion about her cancellation before I took it formally. She also threatened to show up on that week for the services she had paid for. Obviously, this is not someone I want in my house. I expect she will be unhappy no matter what and that she will leave a bad review. I had many offers for this week back in Jan., but don't expect it will be easy to rent now. My cancellation policy is clear and at the end of it I suggest that all guests purchase travellers insurance. If I do rent the week it will probably be at a discounted amount now. Should I send her a partial refund? I hate to reward someone who probably lied, didn't get her way and immediately resorted to bullying tactics.

Cancellation: no response from the owner

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:15:04 GMT

Dear all

I found a room with VRBO that I booked the 4th of January 2012 for the rental period between the 22 september till the 29 september 2012. Unfortunately, I have to cancel my trip.

The problem is the rental annonce is deleted and the owner do not respond to my emails. I payed reservation fees by paypal.

Do you known by chance if there is any solution to get my money back ?

thanks for your answers.

Last minute cancellation

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 04:19:13 GMT

I have a guest who reserved 16 days starting July 16,2011. In March 3 she paid the deposit (50%). She paid off balance on June 1. She emailed me last week informing she could not come and requested refund. Our cancelation policy reads as follows

8. CANCELLATIONS – by the Guest: A one hundred and twenty (120) days notice is required for cancellation. Cancellations that are made more than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the arrival date will incur no penalty. Cancellations or changes that result in a shortened stay, that are made within less than 90 days of the arrival date, forfeit the full advance payment . Cancellation or early departure does not warrant any refund of rent or deposit. -----------------------------------

When I told her to refer to the lease and sent her copy of this policy, she asked me for at least a partial refund. How do I deal with this? Can someone advise? One situation I have is that I don't have a copy of the signed lease. In an email in March she says that she is going to fax it the following day. As I am traveling and out of my country I have no one to check in my paper files if she definitely sent it. However, she didn't seem surprised about the policy when I expressed it to her.

Thank-you for your good advice.

Idea!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:28:53 GMT

Rental sites should create a renters/guest feedback database so that home owners can post "renters from hell" or any other feed back they may feel the need to share with other homeowners...and home owners can check the names on the data base for negative feed back before they agree to rent to a new guest!!!

I think this would be a usefull tool...

Security System with cameras inside rental home

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:28:50 GMT

I am currently staying in a rental home and have been occupying the home for 5 days. Not being the most observant person I totally missed the security camera installed high up in the corner of the living room until my daughter pointed it out. We have a system in our home that has very similar camera. The system I have does not take video just still shots, this can be accomplished in several ways.. Peek-in, next motion, scheduled... Any motion that is made in the living room of the rental home the small green light on the camera comes on, turns red then back to green and goes out.

Now that I know there is a security camera I become inquisitive as to where other cameras may be. I search the downstairs area where the only entry point into the house is, no signs of cameras. But there is one other camera that I did find and where is it located?? In the bedroom behind a TV that is mounted high in the corner of the room. The location of the camera makes it almost impossible to see anything in the room. Is it up there to take my picture if I steal the TV?? Now I don't know if this system is capable of recording sounds, but it kind of creeps me out that someone could be watching and or listening to everything I do in their rental home. Makes you feel violated.... what would you do?

How do you address noise between vacation rentals?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:27:12 GMT

What would you do? My last weekend guests, 2 ladies, stayed in my ground floor suite of our duplex home. They enjoyed their stay but did complain about the over active child upstairs that jumped and ran constantly. They were annoyed and I don't blame them. I did respond to their email and offered them a $30 credit toward their next stay and I recommended that they stay in the upstairs rental where there is no foot fall noises.

The house has a main floor rental vrbo #284936 with the smaller rental on the ground floor, VRBO #357305. A year ago we shut the house down for 3 weeks for a major sound renovation between the ceiling of the ground floor and the floor of the upper unit. We added 2 layers of Roxul Safe n Sound, a resilient channel and then Quiet Rock, equal to 8 layers of sheet rock.......plus sound proof caulking all around. We improved the sound separation by 300%......no TV, no Music, no voices...sound proofing worked. Here is out Blog Post about the project. BUT we cannot eliminate the foot fall on the soft wood floor upstairs. We have done the best we can with the house we have. I do not know what else to do...........any ideas?

Meanwhile, our guests are fully informed that the cottage is a duplex. Our rental agreement has 2 clauses that address the issue:

First clause: ........Please remove your hard soled shoes when entering the cottage. It helps to protect the soft pine floors and reduces the noise transferred to the ground floor rental. Flip flops, crocks, or slippers are perfect to minimize the foot fall and to protect the wood floors.

I am considering adding this........Please no running, jumping, or stomping indoors as this sounds like a loud drum in the suite below. Your cooperation is appreciated.

The second clause is this: Our property is a cottage / duplex. The ground floor and the upper rentals are self contained with separate entrances, decks, and parking areas. The "other suite" may or may not have guests during your stay. Similar to a B&B normal conversation voices and normal TV volumes are appreciated. Quiet Time is requested between 10 pm and 9 am so everyone can enjoy the quiet tranquility of the property.

There are also tent cards as reminders in the cottage upstairs and downstairs. I believe I will add my email address and phone number to the tent cards so the guest can contact me in the moment so I might be able to quiet the "neighbors" down if needed.

Any suggestions or ideas on how to approach this issue? How would you handle it?

Curent Guests texts me everyday!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 23:51:10 GMT

I have had a Guest in my home now for 16 days. Almost every day he texts me, emails, or Facebook comments and or complaints;

Day 1- Hot water not hot enough...Plummer replaces heating element Cost $350.00. Day 2- My son needs the Disney channel and cartoon package..call cable co have it installed. $20.00 a month. Day 3- How do I override the pool pump? Day 4-Garb-orator not working(He is from Canada), dishwasher not working, and sink plugger..plummer called, Guest had put corn husks in the garabage disposal, new disposal installed @ $200.00 Day 5..How do you clean the pool chairs..there is mold on one cushion? Day 7.. I opened the sliding door and now there is dust in the house?..I will dust and clean your cubbords. My home is nearly immaculate, and every day he texts me a comment about the house being wonderful and comfortable and how relaxed he is, but then pestures me with daily comments on Facebook, email or text messages .After day 8, I do not respond to his comments because he continues a dialogue for hours. I have 63 text messages in 16 days!!!!!!!!!He is driving me crazy!!!!!! I think he is afraid I will hold his $500.00 security deposit, and is now making compliments daily, so I will give it back to him. I have 11--- 5 star reviews and do not want to receive a negative one, however, HE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!! Please advise??

Blackmail by Review Site -- How do you respond?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:54:37 GMT

I moved to Costa Rica in November to manage my friend's rental. Things have been totally pura vida in Costa Rica until this week's group.

I rented my house to 10 spring break kids, on the condition that they promised to keep the place clean & maintain their composure when drunk. They showed up with 15, some stayed at a hostel, but they were always here using my house, eating, and drinking together. They aren't drunk and crazy, thankfully, but they are very messy. I live in the house and stay out of their way, but had to tell them to clean up after themselves, which makes everyone uncomfortable. That many people make a huge footprint and drain my resources. Electricity, gas, and water are really expensive here.

The girl that arranged everything assured me that they were clean and responsible. So I said I would rent to them, and would even leave town for a few days so they could have it all to themselves. After the first day I saw that this would not be a good idea. I believe their plan all along was to wait until I left and then have everyone stay in the house. They stuffed the house anyway and some guys slept outside in hammocks. I didn't even bother making a headcount.

I know renting to spring breakers is stupid, but I need the money. I turned down one group, and then this group came along and assured me they were different. They weren't; just not as drunk.

Anyway, it all went bad on Day 5 of 6. I had the cleaning lady come everyday, and day 5 $300 went missing from a girl's bag. They blamed the cleaning lady, and there was a whole Judge Judy type drama the next morning when confronting her. I believe my cleaning lady; she is honest and has a good reputation in town. The girls demanded I give them $300 or else they would post bad reviews all over the internet.

I buckled under and paid them off, but I regret it. I think they were pulling a scam. The guy from the surfshop across the street said they owed him for breaking a surfboard, and the guy from the hostel told me the others only stayed there one night (because they were in my hammocks or doubled up in beds at my house). They were disorganized, irresponsible, and accident prone. The girl that claimed the theft also had to go to the hospital that day when she got hurt at a waterfall, and she needed money to pay a hospital bill so she scammed it from me.

I hope I avoided a bad PR debacle, but I feel manipulated and taken advantage of. Why do people want to hurt small businesses, and a poor, warm hearted, wonderful woman that cleans houses? Just so they can move on to the next beach town? Their school tuition costs $44,000/year, why do they manipulate people for $300?

Has anyone else ever been pressured into giving refunds with threats of bad reviews? How do you respond? Is it better to stand firm and just defend yourself online later? Or, do what goes against your consciense (what I did), even though there is no proof for any of these claims, and just pay to avoid bad reviews?.

Has anyone had someone try to renegotiate their rental fee immediately prior to it being due?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 23:28:57 GMT

I had a renter that drilled me about my cancellation policy prior to booking. Our home is near ski resorts and he wanted to be able to change the location at the last minute and go somewhere else if we didn't have what he considered good enough snow. Our policy is that you can cancel up to 30 days in advance and receive your deposit refund back minus a $75 fee.

He booked the home in October for a March rental. Less than a week prior to his arrival he sent me an email telling me that since he is a member of vrbo he gets emailed specials from properties he has sent inquiries too previously. He further stated that since the snow had not been all the heavy this year owners were panicking for rentals and that he had received 3 offers for homes at the rate of $300 per night. I had already given him one night free so our normal rate of $395 had been reduced to $345. He said that before he left me hanging with out a renter and lost his $75 he would do me a favor and allow me to meet the $300 rate and keep his business. Our prices for our home in this area are very fair.

Is this not one of the cheesiest things you have heard of? What if it would have dumped snow? I would not have raised his rates. Now I totally don't want him to stay there. This is a red flag kind of person.

I wrote back and told him no. I wasn't concerned about re-renting the home and that I would happily refund his entire $500 deposit and not charge the cancellation fee and that he was welcome to book the other homes.

Unfortunately, he has decided that he still wants our home. I just hope the mess I anticipate finding upon his departure, the crappy review I feel coming (we have over 75 5 star reviews at this point). I am all but certain he will be the guy that calls to complain to try to get that rental fee reduced based on our dealings so far. I sure wish he would just go away and I am sorry I have to honor his contract.

What a slime ball...doing me a favor allowing me to reduce his rate to have someone in there for those dates. Sheesh.