Hey everyone, I just hosted my very first Airbnb guests, and things mostly went well, but they had an accident that’s left me in a tough spot.
They spilled a decent amount of red wine directly on the master bedroom mattress. They were honest about it right away, tried to clean it up themselves, and offered to “make it right” and pay for any damage. I really appreciate that they didn’t try to hide it. However, the stain has soaked in pretty badly. Even after their attempts and my own cleaning efforts, it’s still very visible and I’m worried about hygiene for future guests and to be honest mold growth since it's been wet for at least 24 hours now.
The mattress is a king Tempur Sealy hybrid-foam, which costs around $3,000 new. We just got this mattress in January, so it's basically new. I looked into having it professionally cleaned, but it's not suggested since foam acts like a sponge, and it does more harm than good.
They’ve been communicative and seem willing to help, but I’m not sure what’s fair to ask for here. My questions for you experienced hosts (and guests):
- Should I only ask for a portion (e.g., depreciation, professional cleaning cost, or a new topper/protector)?
- What’s the normal process on Airbnb for something like this? (I know about the Resolution Center and AirCover for Hosts, but I’d love real experiences.)
I’ve attached screenshots of our message thread for context (they admitted the spill and offered to pay). I want to handle this fairly — they seem like good people who had an honest accident, but I also can’t realistically rent out the room with a stained expensive mattress. Any advice on how to approach the conversation or what amount is reasonable would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!
EDIT: This is the spill that is under two mattress covers.