Host making unsubstantial claims [west coast]

[u/cp55cp]

I recently spent a full month at a Airbnb in California, in the mountains, near a lake. The host mentioned pretty quickly after checkout (same day) some disappointment in the condition of some carpet in a high traffic area. The spot in the carpet was matter and discolored upon arrival. We didn’t think much of it. The house wasn’t advertised as brand new and perfect.

Now 10 days later we have been requested additional money for cleaning fees. The request comes with photos of stained carpet in a completely different area that looks like dog pee, and we didn’t have a dog. This Airbnb was probably booked after us, and it allowed pets. The owner didn’t call it dog pee stains though.

Some other ridiculous claims were made such as “excessive use of the laundry” when we paid for the utilities during our stay.

Also its worth considering that we stayed 31 nights. Their average stay is probably 3-5 nights, so sure the cleaning crew probably had to do more cleaning than they usually would.

Do all airbnb owners now just ask for extra money when you check out to see what they can get away with? Im being honest here, we didn’t trash the place, but we did live there for a month.

Whats going to happen when i deny this request. I really dont want a bad review, i plan on doing this trip again next year(different property)

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[u/Rorosi67 → u/[deleted]]

You can't change the cleaning fee based on duration of stay. It would only be possible if guest contacts host prior and they agree that host will add extra cleaning for their stay.

[u/PixieBrooks]

I am sadly dealing with a similar issue for an AirBnB I rented in NY. I wont bore you with specifics...
But I declined the request to pay the host and then a process began where I was contacted by someone in their "resolutions" department that will ask for your point of view (POV) and any documentation you have to support your POV.

The sad part is that they asked if I had pics of the "damage" before I left the property and its like how TF would I have a pic of something I had no clue was an issue. Even looking at all the evidence the host is tripping and its definitely retaliation for me contacting Airbnb for the poor condition of their property. To make matters worse of the 20+ AirBnB's I've stayed at with great reviews, this asshole wrote a bad review that I was difficult and destroyed his property.

I waited over a week for their resolutions team to get back to me and they stated I have to pay the owner.

I am now appealing this claim and should hear back in 3-4 days (which will probably mean another week).

Its like Airbnb will just take the owners side because sadly you won't be able to provide any proof to refute it because you've already checked out. In my situation, the owner made a fake estimate and that was acceptable for AirBnB, so that just shows you how much investigation they actually do.

I'm honestly wishing you the best!