Courtesy

[TheEternalPhoenix]

Just a question for you folks and help/views as I'm torn.


My parents run a fairly sucessful AirBnB, some guests left recently who by all accounts were lovely people - had nice talks with them, reasonably clean and tidy, made too much food and passed on the extras.

Wondered how they had gone through half a tub of laundry powder and detergent in a week, turns out their daughter (14?) clearly wet the bed each night, mattress is ruined and now my parents are going to have to pay hundreds for a new one.

This was all discovered during changeover after guests had left and good reviews posted by both sides.


On one side I know I'm skewed as hey I'm on this website and would have jumped into nappies at an opportunity, but also see why a young person would have problems with that but on the other hand, can you have a clear conscience not mentioning it to the hosts or at least trying to deal with it somehow while staying in someone else's house?


Opinions?

 

[eastcoastdl]

I wouldn't think they should've mentioned it up front, I'm of the mindset that it's my responsibility to manage my incontinence so it doesn't damage other peoples' property. and if I'm successful in that, no one needs to know.

That said, if you DO damage someone else's property and you hide it, that's pretty low. It is quite possible that the parents didn't know the daughter was wetting the bed and washing the sheets daily. Maybe she's too scared to tell them? If they knew, bringing a mattress protector and underpads (or diapers!) would have been far easier than doing laundry every day, so them covering it up doesn't really make sense in that light.

Or maybe they're just strange and refuse to manage their daughter's bedwetting? That seems unlikely, but is also possible.

 

[RedPandaDL]

Has the damage deposit already been refunded? If not, I think your parents have within their rights to keep the deposit or at least enough to cover the mattress.

We recently had a family at our church host two kids from a traveling choir and one of the kids 10 or 12 years old wet the bed and ruined the mattress. They felt bad for the boy (they washed his whole bag of clothes because they all smelled like pee), but his parents should have never put him or hoste families in that situation with no heads up or precautions (diapers or bed pads). It is possible he didn’t normally have issues, but he wet the bed both nights. He stayed with multiple families in different cities over a two week trip. I think this was very irresponsible.

 

[Seasonedcitizen]

There are mattress covers that look just like the top of the mattress. I bought an expensive one from the company that supplied the mattress. I got out of bed one night to stretch (arthritis) and peed and forgot I wasn't wearing a diaper, just panties and plastic pants. I realized that mistake when I got back into bed. The cover worked fine.

Common decency dictated that the host should have been notified and an offer made to clean or replace the mattress. Unfortunately most people are jerks.

I sleep with pets so I have to prepare for their little surprises.

 

[dogboy]

Yeah: if I was renting my house out, I would definitely have protection on my mattresses. Actually, I do on all of my mattresses because I have young grandchildren.

 

[diaperfooties]

Yeah: if I was renting my house out, I would definitely have protection on my mattresses. Actually, I do on all of my mattresses because I have young grandchildren.

Same and not only just pee but haven only knows what else might make it to the mattress even with sheets.

 

[Sophy]

I have really no clue on how AirBnB works but you should definitely somehow try to get refunded for the caused damage.
I really don’t understand why the daughter wasn’t wearing a protection... I mean do the parents at home let her pee herself every night?
Mentioning the bedwetting to the hosts wouldn’t make sense at all and would cause an incredibly embarrassment to the daughter but at least when sleeping by someone else they should have tried to put her a protection on. How long did they stay? Did you confront the family? And how do you know it was the daughter?

 

[HumanFly]

And how do you know it was the daughter?

Maybe because it was a single mattress that got ruined, which means it is unlikely to have been one of the parents.

 

[Wetshisbed]

It's a sensitive issue. I'm sure everyone involved will find it difficult to talk about. A friend of ous runs a B&B and says wet beds are not uncommon and she always has the matterasses protected now. Surely the B&B has business insurance though and any damage should be covered. I think the girl's family should make a contribution though

 

[Wetshisbed]

I wouldn't think they should've mentioned it up front, I'm of the mindset that it's my responsibility to manage my incontinence so it doesn't damage other peoples' property. and if I'm successful in that, no one needs to know.

That said, if you DO damage someone else's property and you hide it, that's pretty low. It is quite possible that the parents didn't know the daughter was wetting the bed and washing the sheets daily. Maybe she's too scared to tell them? If they knew, bringing a mattress protector and underpads (or diapers!) would have been far easier than doing laundry every day, so them covering it up doesn't really make sense in that light.

Or maybe they're just strange and refuse to manage their daughter's bedwetting? That seems unlikely, but is also possible.

Anything is possible but I find it highly unlikely that they didn't know their daughter wets the bed.

 

[PCS]

Highly discourteous for them not to have said anything, but nowadays just about every hotel and B&B uses mattress protectors of one sort or another, in my experience.

 

[Rob110]

They should have mentioned the fact when they booked, or at the very least traveled with disposable or washable bed pads there is no shame in admitting theres a problem so the bed can be protected ahead of time.
But unfortunately some people simply do not care about other people’s property and as long as it does not cost them money they will carry on as before and not worry about any mattress they destroy.

 

[TheEternalPhoenix]

How long did they stay? Did you confront the family? And how do you know it was the daughter?

They stayed for nine days, I personally did not and am unsure if my parents did as I only heard about it from them after the guests had left when they were going through changeover for the next set of guests.

As they book the whole house and I was staying with my parents, I was there when they arrived, parents got the master suite, daughter got the double in the 'spare room' and the son had my old room.


Also since this I've looked into Airbnb policy and apparently you have to challenge the guests within 48 hours or before the next guests move in, whichever is soonest.
So no idea if that happened as the new guests were in the same day the others left.


Also I'm now back at my home in london, thanks for the suggestion of matress protectors though guys, will pass that one on to the 'rents.

Edit: and yeah didn't even think of insurance, so I'm hopeful they should have it covered with bnb insurance as I know they have cover, but whether it's worth the premiums/ price hike is something IDK.

 

[irnub]

Also I'm now back at my home in london, thanks for the suggestion of matress protectors though guys, will pass that one on to the 'rents.

They don't have to be the thick crinkly plastic of 30 years ago that turns all yellow and gross. I have a really nice one that was <$100 and is basically just a breathable and very water repellent cloth kind of material.

 

[Azie]

So, yes, it sucks your parent's bed got ruined, but on the flip side, it can be cleaned with any over the counter urine removal cleaner as well. Secondly, you might want to bring up to your parents the need for a zippered mattress cover on all beds, not only for potential wetting issues, but one of the biggest problems with hosting people is the potential for them to introduce bedbugs. Once you get them, they are really hard to get rid of, and is usually the cause of bnbs, hotels, ect closing down.

 

[toyboy]

I wouldn't even think of not wearing a nappy and taking a waterproof sheet with me when I stay in someone else's house or hotel . It may be embarrassing if someone sees them but it would be even worse if I wet the bed .

 

[rdadvb59]

ok
my 2 cents...

1. I came back for a cruise a few month ago with family - I had my own room - since I planed on wearing a diaper at night to bed (since I didnt feel comfortable wearing around the family) and since I know from past experience that i personally almost always leak when wearing a diaper laying down - I brought a twin size sheet/changing pad (i got on Ebay) and put it on the bed the first night so as not to damage the bed - after the 3rd night my room steward never said anything but started changing my sheets every day (I tipped her well), I would think the parents should have know (at least after the first night) and said something or taken precautions...

Bad on them

As too address the stained mattress you can get stuff on line to clean the stains and disinfect - they work fairly well

After which as was mentioned - I would put a good quality water proof breathable cover on all your mattress - I am kind of surprised you dont?
they are washable and can be washed between guests -they not only protect your property, but also your guests (from thing like a peed in mattress) - as well as more serious thing like bed bugs - germs - virus - etc...

I would not dispose of the mattress cover it

My $1000+ king size mattress at home has a 3" foam topper - then a water prof cover - then a 2" feather bed - then sheets, if - no lets be honest - when i pee the bed the feather bed and sheets are washable, the foam topper and mattress (which are not washable) are protected

Best of luck

 

[daylight]

I came back for a cruise a few month ago with family - I had my own room ...cut... my room steward never said anything but started changing my sheets every day (I tipped her well)

rdadvb59 is correct there are products and videos for cleaning mattresses that can help with the odor and stains.

From my limited experiences and knowledge, an AirBnB can be organized differently from a room(s) to the entire place. I don't know the particulars of the OP rental. I would imagine that there are levels of service and privacy where the host is not providing daily room service; rather setup and teardown. Consequently, they would not have discovered the ruined mattress until preparing for the next guest. Though it is an interesting business model to consider a full service AirBnB.