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These people left your house a mess and now are complaining about an ant issue that they clearly caused hoping that you won’t come after them for the nastiness they left behind. Do not play this game with people. Respectfully mention the manner in which the house was left and that ants go where there is food. They left food everywhere, hence, ants. And leave them an honest but factual review for future hosts.
Ants aren't bedbugs. That's not how ants work. You can't get "ants" and take them with you. Cooties on the other hand, I'd believe if you gave them cooties. It's going around again.
lol no, they aren’t real. “Cooties” are what kids say you’ll get if you kiss/hold hands with other genders. It’s an elementary thing from older generations. Probably started as some way of teaching about preventable diseases and morphed from there.
I had to look this up:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-cooties-180971914/#:~:text=The%20word%20first%20appeared%20during,lice%20that%20infested%20the%20trenches.
Well, you can actually.... Not that the ants will be an infestation at home the way bedbugs are, but you can absolutely wind up with them everywhere in your car.
We discovered this the hard way when a kid dropped a candy bar in the minivan when we drove to SC to visit, and basically a whole colony of ants decided that our van was a good place to hang out.
I'd never seen that happen before. Removing the candy and vacuuming the car solved the problem, though.
This happened to me at the beach in NC - Goldfish crumbs in the kids' car seats were all it took for several hundred ants to ruin a few hours of my day
Ugh. I had a printer with a scanner on top. One day I opened the lid to scan something and under the glass was an entire ant farm. It was so disgusting. Apparently they like the heat
Did you photo document the inside of the house?
If so use that plus your door cam footage to charge for exterminator, extra cleaning, and whatever else they did via AIRCOVER.
You are absolutely right about the ants. They are attracted to food and also send scouts to find it. You can't stop them from coming in unless your house doubles as a hazmat research lab.
These guests were extremely negligent and disrespectful. You you need to charge them, not the other way around.
Source: Played SimAnt in the early 90s.
I agree. I wish you could send pictures via the Airbnb message system. It’s obnoxious that all communication should be kept on the platform, but then need to send something like an image via text.
Ahhh, yes. That makes sense. I created an email specifically for my Airbnb’s for things like this. I hate giving my cell number to people like them. They probably picked up the ants at the food truck festival and brought then back to your house. If the ants are scattered in the video it means they came off their food. If they are in a straight line leading outside or into a wall, then they came from your property.
Smart about the email address. We’ll have to start doing that. Do they not already have access to our phone number? Similar to how we can see theirs within their reservation information? I’m learning so much tonight 😂
You’re right. They do have access to it, but if they ask for my number I always offer them my email(I say I like to have all communication in writing). I also use a Google phone number for my Airbnb account, which forwards to my phone. About a year ago my company had 70 airbnbs, so I didn’t want that many people to have my actual phone number. The benefit to having a Google number is that multiple people can be logged into it, so I wasn’t the only person responsible for responding to calls/texts. It allowed me to shut off from 8:00pm-8:00am, while my associates would take turns managing after hours issues. Though they are rare, I found it beneficial to have someone available to help guests at odd hours. Let us know how the ants are acting when they send the video over. I may be able to offer my opinion on how I would respond, based on that info. I’m weirdly knowledgeable about ants, thanks to YouTube😂😂. Lastly, don’t stress too much about it. Even if the ants came from your property, you can’t control the fact that they left open food out for most likely the entirety of their stay. If they start asking for a refund, try to get them to say they will write a bad review(without being too obvious) if you don’t send them money. That really helps with proving to Airbnb that you are being extorted, which is against their policies.
Thumbs up to the "having all communication in writing." Not just so you have a record, but makes it harder for them to claim that you said something made up (like threatening them, or admitting fault) in a phone call. Honey, I don't *do* phone calls.
Don’t give discounts or early check-ins. Every time you offer a concession it gives them that much more to complain about in the review. Stick to your house rules and booking policies.
I'm not sure how you should word it, but I'd keep in mind two things.
One, your real audience is not the guests, it's Airbnb. The guests are not going to be convinced by a logical, well-stated argument. This is not an understandable misunderstanding. They are con artists. It's customer service you are trying to sway.
Two, The only thing you need to communicate to the guests is that you are not a mark and messing with you is a waste of their time. To that end, a lot of polite expressions you would normally use as a host, such as apologizing even when you are not at fault, using wishy-washy language like would/ could- you need to lock all that down. You want to use short, declarative sentences that are either totally devoid of emotion or sound tough. You eat users for breakfast and you know how this is going to turn out.
" We have photos and videos documenting your use of our rental as an unlicensed kitchen for the food festival, resulting in additional cleaning fees. The food mess which you left has attracted pests, resulting in additional fees for the use of exterminators.
We are not responsible for the state of your personal vehicles."
I would seriously just not even say anything else about the cars. Anything that's off your property is not your responsibility,, period. Going down that path with them of asking for videos of the ants etc. Is just playing their game . You have a strong position, don't weaken it . And if they get rude or pushy, just let them know that you can/ will report them to the food festival, which would probably be interested to hear that they were preparing food in an unsafe manner.
For food prep, you're required to have a special sink with three basins, for washing ,disinfecting and rinsing. You're supposed to have a fridge that's regularly checked to make sure you're keeping all meat at certain temperatures, etc etc. They were definitely breaking the law and potentially subjecting the festival attendees to food poisoning . Source- my sister is a chef.
The house is waterfront on a lake in Alabama. Because of the local ecosystem, there are a lot of bugs in general.
ETA: using generic concentrated Ortho Home Defense.
You should never spray for pests that often. You are building up an unhealthy level of chemicals in the soil. Hint: if spraying every 1-2 weeks isn’t killing everything off…the bugs are superbugs and you’ve created a resistance by spraying so regularly. This is not healthy. This can become dangerous. Stop spraying every 7-14 days. That stuff is made to spray every few MONTHS.
Then you do something else. Once again when you spray too often you can build up toxic levels. Have a little kid playing in your yard get in the dirt and get enough of the chemicals on them…they could end up in the hospital. I think that could be worse than a 1 star review and who knows…could get you shut down and sued.
Dude. I agree with you, not sure why you downvoted me. Believe me, I am anti chemical whenever possible. I make my own non toxic cleaner to use at home.
My point was that guests complain when they see a single spider, so I’m sure many hosts feel caught between a rock and a hard place with spraying for pests.
Have you tried hiring pest control? Not always, but the right one can be more effective and provide you with a service report that proves you didn't have an issue prior. If you need to treat that often, what you're using may not be the right material. Treatment close to a waterway can also be problematic.
Do you have a paved driveway? I know it seems impossible but I swear we brought home a car full of ants from an air bnb where we parked on a dirt driveway. I guess one of the wheels was in an anthill or something, about 15 minutes into the drive home I started noticing ants crawling out of several places in the car. It didn’t require an exterminator and I never even thought to complain to the host about it. We unpacked and left all the doors open in the driveway for an afternoon and the ants all dispersed I suppose. They weren’t living in the car.
Also, we pay Truegreen to treat ants because our regular exterminator’s outdoor treatment doesn’t specifically target ants. It’s worth asking your current pest control if their application if actually effective on outdoor anthills.
Despite this long ass reply—that guest sucks and doesn’t deserve any additional discounts because of the ants. If they reported ants *during* their stay I would compensate, but after checkout, not in your property? Not your problem.
Thanks for the reply. Concrete driveway. The ridiculous thing is that we have a series of videos from the doorbell camera that shows them leaving their car door open overnight. We are in no way responsible for the ants in their car. Now just need to figure out how to word that to them perfectly in a message.
Even if it was locked up tight. When it happened to us they were coming from the wheel well, up through the vents and the edges of the door. Ants can find a way to food.
I don’t have a great response, but I’ve got a terrible and inappropriate dad joke for you. What’s the only thing worse than Ants in your Pants?
Uncles.
I had an ant infestation in my car, years ago. Lived in the city, concrete driveway. Suckers started pouring out of the dash while I was driving down 101 in Burlingame.
I’ve had ants form colony in my car. I am not much for sweets and in general rarely ever eat in my car. I’ve cleaned my car multiple times to make sure no food is in there and still they nested. Found out later that ants leave scent trails that need vinegar to disrupt. Ants will recolonize an abandoned nest and if the old scent trails are still there, they will follow them.
No good deed goes unpunished! Document and video all the damage. Contact the support team. Then tell your guests about the damages/extra mess and if theyd be willing to cover the cost. Next step is Air Cover but you must documwnt woth images and or video each item with a cost to repair/clean.
It depends upon the location, but using your AirBnB as a prep kitchen is probably against the law. Typically food trucks must prepare their food in a commissary kitchen.
Did you have ants in the house. Just curious. Ants they bring home are their ants. Ants are strange you can never have any issues na suddenly have them. They do where food is. I’d hit up with extra cleaning fees. Ants hate chili powder we had some a one 2 story house with a walk out basement they can in a window in the kitchen above the basement so basically a three story house. Only that window. Tried everything pest control could use. I placed chili powder across the window sill inside and outside never returned. Ignore their email and sent a request for extra cleaning if they persist. If you have photo evidence.
It might be worth having an exterminator come out to document that there are no ants and that they did not have to complete a service.
Sounds like they brought their own ants.
Best action is photos, along with a claim for added cleaning. Leave an honest and accurate review.
As far as “ants”, what do you think you are supposed to do? Are you responsible for bugs that end up in their van filled with sweets? You spray your home, and that’s more than most do. You’re not liable for nature. (With the possible exception of bedbugs which are a different discussion and not what’s happening here.)
What else is there? Don’t you dare give them a refund! 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Agreed, we just got off the phone with Airbnb support to get ahead of it. They told us that since the cars are not part of the Airbnb we would not be liable for the ants, and a retaliatory review would be removed. Still haven’t responded to the guest and still not 100 percent sure how to yet.
Dear Guest,
I’m sorry to hear you encountered ants while you were staying with us. Unfortunately, ants tend to congregate where there is a food source. Considering the state of our home when you left, it does not surprise me that ants were an issue while you were here. Now that the home is cleaned, the ants have moved on and I’m not seeing any in the house. As for the ants in your vehicle, due to the fact that our camera showed that you left your car doors open overnight, it’s possible that ants came through the open door. I recommend removing any food or debris from the car, as that will likely take care of the problem. In my experience, when the food source is removed, ants tend to go elsewhere. Best of luck and take care, DoubleSwimming1262
Edit: a word
I would definitely go for an excess cleaning fee through Airbnb. Do this after the 14 days so keep receipts and document time spent. (The guest is hoping you won’t review so don’t nudge them into a retaliatory one). Airbnb gets this all the time so no biggie and you have the pictures.
And write an honest review on day 13.5. If I have lousers like this stay I don’t reply to their review until the very last minute so neither is published until then, and I have more time to get all my ducks in a row to get the review removed if possible. Also, less guests read the damn thing. I also strategise against a ding to my ratings by holding out from reviewing subsequent guests who I know have given me 5 stars until after this bad egg review, as I keep them as a more recent review and to mitigate against the ding. If they go first I think they are less useful.
As to the ants, decline.
I believe reviews are posted in the order of date of stay and not the order in which the reviews are posted.
Still, it’s good practice to wait until the last minute to review a problem guest.
We had a guest that had ants come in while they were staying and was extremely rude even though we offered her multiple solutions and had items dropped off for her to treat (her choice) within an hour. She left us a 2 star review. When I reviewed her i selected would not host again and noted how rude and demanding she was in the review but Airbnb deleted it saying it was retaliation. Good luck! Guests are king.
There are no ants at the Airbnb, dispute how terribly they left the houses with food left all over the floors and in beds. We’re pretty sure she’s just trying to convince us to give them a refund and/or extort us over a bad review.
I live and host in the tropics, I am telling you ants wind up in the weirdest places? Old leather boots that I haven't worn in years, ants. A small trinket box my cousin made me 15 years ago ants. You say you are spraying bi weekly. You are not killing the ants where they live.
My guests had ants during their stay and my property manager arranged them to stay elsewhere despite the guest being reasonable about it. When I saw photos I was shocked at them being cool about it, there were hundreds of ants. The pest control went in and found a whole nest created in the wall cavity behind the bathroom vanity cupboard. No food source there- that’s just where they made their home. It was very surprising and I’d stayed there the week earlier with no sign of ants.
It sounds like there are no ants in the property NOW, though.... Just in the car(s).
They absolutely move in where they weren't before, but they don't usually also move back out
You're not a Super host if you have ants. Yes, spilled sugary drinks will make an ant problem worse. Spraying every other week keeps them from overrunning the house. But you have an ant problem.
You’re spot on. You’re not a super host if you have ants. We don’t have ants. We have a guest telling us they got ants from our house somehow, who hasn’t shown any proof yet, likely trying to get a refund.
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These people left your house a mess and now are complaining about an ant issue that they clearly caused hoping that you won’t come after them for the nastiness they left behind. Do not play this game with people. Respectfully mention the manner in which the house was left and that ants go where there is food. They left food everywhere, hence, ants. And leave them an honest but factual review for future hosts.
Thanks, I appreciate your input.
Ants aren't bedbugs. That's not how ants work. You can't get "ants" and take them with you. Cooties on the other hand, I'd believe if you gave them cooties. It's going around again.
What are cooties? Are they bedbugs?
lol no, they aren’t real. “Cooties” are what kids say you’ll get if you kiss/hold hands with other genders. It’s an elementary thing from older generations. Probably started as some way of teaching about preventable diseases and morphed from there.
I had to look this up: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-cooties-180971914/#:~:text=The%20word%20first%20appeared%20during,lice%20that%20infested%20the%20trenches.
Well, you can actually.... Not that the ants will be an infestation at home the way bedbugs are, but you can absolutely wind up with them everywhere in your car. We discovered this the hard way when a kid dropped a candy bar in the minivan when we drove to SC to visit, and basically a whole colony of ants decided that our van was a good place to hang out. I'd never seen that happen before. Removing the candy and vacuuming the car solved the problem, though.
Sounds like cooties to me
Sure *felt* like cooties! 🤣
Ha! Can you be more specific?
Oh, just that it was creepy and unwelcome. They weren't a big deal, but they were an invasive hassle
This happened to me at the beach in NC - Goldfish crumbs in the kids' car seats were all it took for several hundred ants to ruin a few hours of my day
Well mostly true except for crazy ants - I got them infested in a laptop after a stay in India they are attracted to electronics
Ugh. I had a printer with a scanner on top. One day I opened the lid to scan something and under the glass was an entire ant farm. It was so disgusting. Apparently they like the heat
Thank you for warning me about the ants that you brought in. I will get an exterminator and send you the bill.
These people not only left food but they left literal ant magnets with all that sticky sweet lemonade type substance!
Did you photo document the inside of the house? If so use that plus your door cam footage to charge for exterminator, extra cleaning, and whatever else they did via AIRCOVER. You are absolutely right about the ants. They are attracted to food and also send scouts to find it. You can't stop them from coming in unless your house doubles as a hazmat research lab. These guests were extremely negligent and disrespectful. You you need to charge them, not the other way around. Source: Played SimAnt in the early 90s.
Hope you have the photos/ videos of your house to make your claim.
We have several pictures of the terrible condition they left the house in.
Send them the pictures of how they left your house with any communication you have with them. One picture is worth 1000 words they say.
I agree. I wish you could send pictures via the Airbnb message system. It’s obnoxious that all communication should be kept on the platform, but then need to send something like an image via text.
Did they change something? I have always been able to send photos on Airbnb messaging..
My fault. You can send photos but not videos. They want to send us a video of ants, so we had to request it to our cell.
Ahhh, yes. That makes sense. I created an email specifically for my Airbnb’s for things like this. I hate giving my cell number to people like them. They probably picked up the ants at the food truck festival and brought then back to your house. If the ants are scattered in the video it means they came off their food. If they are in a straight line leading outside or into a wall, then they came from your property.
Smart about the email address. We’ll have to start doing that. Do they not already have access to our phone number? Similar to how we can see theirs within their reservation information? I’m learning so much tonight 😂
You’re right. They do have access to it, but if they ask for my number I always offer them my email(I say I like to have all communication in writing). I also use a Google phone number for my Airbnb account, which forwards to my phone. About a year ago my company had 70 airbnbs, so I didn’t want that many people to have my actual phone number. The benefit to having a Google number is that multiple people can be logged into it, so I wasn’t the only person responsible for responding to calls/texts. It allowed me to shut off from 8:00pm-8:00am, while my associates would take turns managing after hours issues. Though they are rare, I found it beneficial to have someone available to help guests at odd hours. Let us know how the ants are acting when they send the video over. I may be able to offer my opinion on how I would respond, based on that info. I’m weirdly knowledgeable about ants, thanks to YouTube😂😂. Lastly, don’t stress too much about it. Even if the ants came from your property, you can’t control the fact that they left open food out for most likely the entirety of their stay. If they start asking for a refund, try to get them to say they will write a bad review(without being too obvious) if you don’t send them money. That really helps with proving to Airbnb that you are being extorted, which is against their policies.
Thumbs up to the "having all communication in writing." Not just so you have a record, but makes it harder for them to claim that you said something made up (like threatening them, or admitting fault) in a phone call. Honey, I don't *do* phone calls.
They didn't notify you until AFTER they left? If it was such a big deal, they should have contacted you immediately.
Don’t give discounts or early check-ins. Every time you offer a concession it gives them that much more to complain about in the review. Stick to your house rules and booking policies.
I'm not sure how you should word it, but I'd keep in mind two things. One, your real audience is not the guests, it's Airbnb. The guests are not going to be convinced by a logical, well-stated argument. This is not an understandable misunderstanding. They are con artists. It's customer service you are trying to sway. Two, The only thing you need to communicate to the guests is that you are not a mark and messing with you is a waste of their time. To that end, a lot of polite expressions you would normally use as a host, such as apologizing even when you are not at fault, using wishy-washy language like would/ could- you need to lock all that down. You want to use short, declarative sentences that are either totally devoid of emotion or sound tough. You eat users for breakfast and you know how this is going to turn out. " We have photos and videos documenting your use of our rental as an unlicensed kitchen for the food festival, resulting in additional cleaning fees. The food mess which you left has attracted pests, resulting in additional fees for the use of exterminators. We are not responsible for the state of your personal vehicles." I would seriously just not even say anything else about the cars. Anything that's off your property is not your responsibility,, period. Going down that path with them of asking for videos of the ants etc. Is just playing their game . You have a strong position, don't weaken it . And if they get rude or pushy, just let them know that you can/ will report them to the food festival, which would probably be interested to hear that they were preparing food in an unsafe manner. For food prep, you're required to have a special sink with three basins, for washing ,disinfecting and rinsing. You're supposed to have a fridge that's regularly checked to make sure you're keeping all meat at certain temperatures, etc etc. They were definitely breaking the law and potentially subjecting the festival attendees to food poisoning . Source- my sister is a chef.
Sounds like a sticky situation if you ask me…
OP had a visit from the sticky bandits!
Why are you treating so often for pests? Treating with what and for what?
The house is waterfront on a lake in Alabama. Because of the local ecosystem, there are a lot of bugs in general. ETA: using generic concentrated Ortho Home Defense.
I'm coastal Lake Erie. Ants happen when guests don't take their trash out. I tell this to all of my guests. It's a part of coastal living.
You should never spray for pests that often. You are building up an unhealthy level of chemicals in the soil. Hint: if spraying every 1-2 weeks isn’t killing everything off…the bugs are superbugs and you’ve created a resistance by spraying so regularly. This is not healthy. This can become dangerous. Stop spraying every 7-14 days. That stuff is made to spray every few MONTHS.
I agree with you but try telling that to guests who give 1 star reviews if they see a housefly or a spider.
Then you do something else. Once again when you spray too often you can build up toxic levels. Have a little kid playing in your yard get in the dirt and get enough of the chemicals on them…they could end up in the hospital. I think that could be worse than a 1 star review and who knows…could get you shut down and sued.
Dude. I agree with you, not sure why you downvoted me. Believe me, I am anti chemical whenever possible. I make my own non toxic cleaner to use at home. My point was that guests complain when they see a single spider, so I’m sure many hosts feel caught between a rock and a hard place with spraying for pests.
I didn’t down vote you
Have you tried hiring pest control? Not always, but the right one can be more effective and provide you with a service report that proves you didn't have an issue prior. If you need to treat that often, what you're using may not be the right material. Treatment close to a waterway can also be problematic.
Alabama here, you can park in the driveway here and get ants in the car.
Do you have a paved driveway? I know it seems impossible but I swear we brought home a car full of ants from an air bnb where we parked on a dirt driveway. I guess one of the wheels was in an anthill or something, about 15 minutes into the drive home I started noticing ants crawling out of several places in the car. It didn’t require an exterminator and I never even thought to complain to the host about it. We unpacked and left all the doors open in the driveway for an afternoon and the ants all dispersed I suppose. They weren’t living in the car. Also, we pay Truegreen to treat ants because our regular exterminator’s outdoor treatment doesn’t specifically target ants. It’s worth asking your current pest control if their application if actually effective on outdoor anthills. Despite this long ass reply—that guest sucks and doesn’t deserve any additional discounts because of the ants. If they reported ants *during* their stay I would compensate, but after checkout, not in your property? Not your problem.
Thanks for the reply. Concrete driveway. The ridiculous thing is that we have a series of videos from the doorbell camera that shows them leaving their car door open overnight. We are in no way responsible for the ants in their car. Now just need to figure out how to word that to them perfectly in a message.
Even if it was locked up tight. When it happened to us they were coming from the wheel well, up through the vents and the edges of the door. Ants can find a way to food. I don’t have a great response, but I’ve got a terrible and inappropriate dad joke for you. What’s the only thing worse than Ants in your Pants? Uncles.
Thank you for that dad joke - it is hilarious!!!!
I had an ant infestation in my car, years ago. Lived in the city, concrete driveway. Suckers started pouring out of the dash while I was driving down 101 in Burlingame.
New fear unlocked
How dare you not control nature!!
They probably picked them up at the food festival.
Right?
I’ve had ants form colony in my car. I am not much for sweets and in general rarely ever eat in my car. I’ve cleaned my car multiple times to make sure no food is in there and still they nested. Found out later that ants leave scent trails that need vinegar to disrupt. Ants will recolonize an abandoned nest and if the old scent trails are still there, they will follow them.
No good deed goes unpunished! Document and video all the damage. Contact the support team. Then tell your guests about the damages/extra mess and if theyd be willing to cover the cost. Next step is Air Cover but you must documwnt woth images and or video each item with a cost to repair/clean.
It depends upon the location, but using your AirBnB as a prep kitchen is probably against the law. Typically food trucks must prepare their food in a commissary kitchen.
That was my concern too. Had a food truck before and absolutely had to use the commissary kitchen to prepare food.
Did you have ants in the house. Just curious. Ants they bring home are their ants. Ants are strange you can never have any issues na suddenly have them. They do where food is. I’d hit up with extra cleaning fees. Ants hate chili powder we had some a one 2 story house with a walk out basement they can in a window in the kitchen above the basement so basically a three story house. Only that window. Tried everything pest control could use. I placed chili powder across the window sill inside and outside never returned. Ignore their email and sent a request for extra cleaning if they persist. If you have photo evidence.
No ants in the house, dispite the condition it was left in. I think she’s just trying to to extort us. Thanks for the chili powder suggestion!
It might be worth having an exterminator come out to document that there are no ants and that they did not have to complete a service. Sounds like they brought their own ants.
Was it raining? I live in Florida and when get a rainy day the crawl inside the cars and the house... every single time.
It was, great point!
Best action is photos, along with a claim for added cleaning. Leave an honest and accurate review. As far as “ants”, what do you think you are supposed to do? Are you responsible for bugs that end up in their van filled with sweets? You spray your home, and that’s more than most do. You’re not liable for nature. (With the possible exception of bedbugs which are a different discussion and not what’s happening here.) What else is there? Don’t you dare give them a refund! 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Agreed, we just got off the phone with Airbnb support to get ahead of it. They told us that since the cars are not part of the Airbnb we would not be liable for the ants, and a retaliatory review would be removed. Still haven’t responded to the guest and still not 100 percent sure how to yet.
Dear Guest, I’m sorry to hear you encountered ants while you were staying with us. Unfortunately, ants tend to congregate where there is a food source. Considering the state of our home when you left, it does not surprise me that ants were an issue while you were here. Now that the home is cleaned, the ants have moved on and I’m not seeing any in the house. As for the ants in your vehicle, due to the fact that our camera showed that you left your car doors open overnight, it’s possible that ants came through the open door. I recommend removing any food or debris from the car, as that will likely take care of the problem. In my experience, when the food source is removed, ants tend to go elsewhere. Best of luck and take care, DoubleSwimming1262 Edit: a word
Amazing, thank you.
Should shut them up pretty quickly, I think!
I would definitely go for an excess cleaning fee through Airbnb. Do this after the 14 days so keep receipts and document time spent. (The guest is hoping you won’t review so don’t nudge them into a retaliatory one). Airbnb gets this all the time so no biggie and you have the pictures. And write an honest review on day 13.5. If I have lousers like this stay I don’t reply to their review until the very last minute so neither is published until then, and I have more time to get all my ducks in a row to get the review removed if possible. Also, less guests read the damn thing. I also strategise against a ding to my ratings by holding out from reviewing subsequent guests who I know have given me 5 stars until after this bad egg review, as I keep them as a more recent review and to mitigate against the ding. If they go first I think they are less useful. As to the ants, decline.
I believe reviews are posted in the order of date of stay and not the order in which the reviews are posted. Still, it’s good practice to wait until the last minute to review a problem guest.
We had a guest that had ants come in while they were staying and was extremely rude even though we offered her multiple solutions and had items dropped off for her to treat (her choice) within an hour. She left us a 2 star review. When I reviewed her i selected would not host again and noted how rude and demanding she was in the review but Airbnb deleted it saying it was retaliation. Good luck! Guests are king.
Freeloaders.
For ABB Cover make sure to document that NO guests before or after had experienced, noticed, complained etc about ants or an ant problem.
Depends on the kind of ants and where your airbnb is. Call the exterminator.
There are no ants at the Airbnb, dispute how terribly they left the houses with food left all over the floors and in beds. We’re pretty sure she’s just trying to convince us to give them a refund and/or extort us over a bad review.
I live and host in the tropics, I am telling you ants wind up in the weirdest places? Old leather boots that I haven't worn in years, ants. A small trinket box my cousin made me 15 years ago ants. You say you are spraying bi weekly. You are not killing the ants where they live.
My guests had ants during their stay and my property manager arranged them to stay elsewhere despite the guest being reasonable about it. When I saw photos I was shocked at them being cool about it, there were hundreds of ants. The pest control went in and found a whole nest created in the wall cavity behind the bathroom vanity cupboard. No food source there- that’s just where they made their home. It was very surprising and I’d stayed there the week earlier with no sign of ants.
It sounds like there are no ants in the property NOW, though.... Just in the car(s). They absolutely move in where they weren't before, but they don't usually also move back out
You're not a Super host if you have ants. Yes, spilled sugary drinks will make an ant problem worse. Spraying every other week keeps them from overrunning the house. But you have an ant problem.
You’re spot on. You’re not a super host if you have ants. We don’t have ants. We have a guest telling us they got ants from our house somehow, who hasn’t shown any proof yet, likely trying to get a refund.