A guest says your Airbnb is dirty: what to do in the first hour

If a guest tells you your Airbnb is dirty, reply within minutes, apologize without arguing, ask for photos, and offer a fix right away: send your cleaner back, bring fresh linens or supplies, or offer a partial refund if you can't fix it quickly. Keep every message inside the Airbnb app. Guests have 72 hours from when they notice a cleanliness problem to report it, and Airbnb treats you as the first point of contact, so the first hour usually decides how the rest of the stay, and the review, goes.

Below is the first-hour playbook, what to say, when a refund makes sense, and how to protect your rating afterward.

Why does one "it's dirty" message matter so much?

Because almost every review on Airbnb is five stars, a single unhappy stay stands out. Airbnb reports that in 2024 about 85% of reviews were five-star and fewer than 1% were one-star (Airbnb). Cleanliness is one of the factors Airbnb's quality system looks at, and that system has removed over 400,000 listings since 2023. Superhost status also needs a 4.8 overall average.

Here's how fast one review moves your listing rating, which is the average of your guests' overall scores:

A guest who reports a problem is giving you a chance to fix it before they rate you. Treat that message as the most important one you'll get that week.

What should you do in the first hour?

1. Reply within 10 minutes. Thank them for telling you, apologize, and say you're on it. Don't explain, defend or question yet.
2. Ask for photos and exact locations. Airbnb already tells guests to document the problem with photos or video, so this is a normal request, not an accusation. "Which bathroom?" saves your cleaner a wasted trip.
3. Pull up your cleaner's turnover photos. Compare the same spots. You'll quickly see whether something was missed, happened after the clean, or is a difference in standards. This is for you, not for arguing with the guest.
4. Call your cleaner. Ask if they can come back within the hour. Decide ahead of time how you pay for return trips so this call is quick.
5. Give the guest a choice. Your cleaner comes back now, at a time that suits them, or you drop off fresh linens and supplies. If they'd rather not have anyone in, offer a partial refund instead.
6. Follow up after the fix. Ask if everything looks right now and whether they need anything else.
7. Write it down. Note the times, the photos, what you offered and what they chose. If it ever reaches Airbnb, your message thread is the record.

What should you say to the guest?

Keep it short, warm and specific. Something like:

"I'm so sorry, that's not the welcome I want for you. Could you send me a photo of what you're seeing and which room it's in? I'm calling my cleaner now and can have them there within the hour, or I can bring fresh towels and sheets myself if you'd rather. Whatever's easiest for you."

Then, once it's handled:

"Thanks for your patience today. Is everything looking right now? If anything else comes up during your stay, message me any time."

Should you offer a refund when a guest says it's dirty?

Offer one when you can't fix the problem quickly, or when it already cost the guest part of their stay. Match it to how serious the problem is. Airbnb's own guidance suggests a partial refund, such as the cleaning fee, for minor issues like unwashed linens, and a full refund when the place is unusable.

Send any refund through Airbnb's Resolution Center so there's a record on both sides.

One rule matters more than the rest: never connect a refund to a review. Airbnb's Reviews Policy doesn't allow offering a refund or anything else of value in exchange for giving, changing or withholding a review. It works the other way too: a guest can't threaten a bad review to get money. If that happens, keep your replies polite and factual, and report it to Airbnb.

What should you avoid saying or doing?

• Arguing in writing. Even if you think the guest is exaggerating, a defensive message reads badly if Airbnb steps in.
• Blaming your cleaner to the guest. The guest booked you. Sort it out with your cleaner privately.
• Moving the conversation off Airbnb. A phone call is fine, but summarize what you agreed in an Airbnb message afterward. Airbnb asks guests to keep communication on the platform.
• Asking for a good review in return for anything. See above.
• Going quiet. A slow reply turns a fixable problem into a refund request and a lower rating.

How do you protect your rating after a dirty complaint?

Know the review timeline. Hosts and guests each have 14 days after checkout to leave a review, and reviews publish when both have submitted or when the 14 days are up. Leave your own review of the guest honestly and fairly. A retaliatory review only adds to the problem.

Respond publicly to a negative review. Hosts can post a public response to any review. Future guests read your response more closely than the original complaint, so keep it calm, short and specific about what you did:

"Thank you for letting us know about the bathroom right away. We had our cleaner back within the hour and have since added that spot to our turnover photo checklist so it doesn't happen again."

Ask for removal only when it qualifies. Airbnb won't remove a review just because you disagree with it. It can remove reviews that are irrelevant, fake, coerced, retaliatory, or that break its content rules. If a review clearly fits one of those, submit a removal request.

Let the next stays do the work. Ratings recover through volume. The best repair is a run of clean, uneventful turnovers right after.

How do you stop it from happening again?

Go back to your cleaner's turnover photos and the guest's photos side by side. Most cleanliness complaints fall into one of three patterns:

Here's how that played out at my own cabin, The Wildernest in Yosemite. A guest messaged that the shower drain was backing up. They checked it themselves and found it full of hair. We had to send someone out to clear it, which cost money, and I apologized profusely, knowing a bad review was a real possibility. Since then, a photo of the clear shower drain is a required shot at every turnover.

Whatever the pattern, talk it through with your cleaner as a partner, not a reprimand. Most of the time they want to get it right and simply didn't know what you were looking for. If you're weighing whether to start checking turnovers yourself or pay someone to inspect, I compared the options and costs in What does it cost to check your Airbnb before a guest checks in?

Catch it before the guest does

The easiest dirty-place complaint to handle is the one that never reaches your guest. That's why I built Chai. Your cleaner opens a link, with no app or login, and photographs each spot on your checklist. Chai compares those photos to your reference photos and flags anything that doesn't match while your cleaner is still there to fix it, and every turnover gets a timestamped report. Every account starts with 14 days of Chai Verified, no credit card, and you can get started free.