A Refund Request

[Caroline-And-Dan0]

Our suite was booked by a staffing Agency for a care worker whose work facility is a 7 minute walk from our home for a 2 months period.

We live in Vancouver Canada in an area that is close to all the attractions and yet,  a very nice family oriented neighbourhood.

We also live adjacent to a vulnerable homeless population and while not dangerous - can be unsettling if you're not used to it.  

We are super hosts and have been for 5 years or more; we've had hundreds of guests and we've only had 1 or 2 people comment

that the homelessness was an issue for them.  

The care worker, a single woman in her 30's, told me she would be working nights and walking home late and asked if the

neighbourhood was safe.  I advised her that it was and told her the best route to take, a very well lit walk on residential streets  (again, a 7 minute walk) and told her what I would tell any young woman walking alone in any large City - to be careful.  She is asking to be moved and the agency wants a full refund minus the days she stayed.  We have offered to take her around the neighbourhood and make her feel more comfortable but she refuses to discuss and insists she has heard the neighbourhood is dangerous.  

We are not sure what to do; the agency is very insistent that they want a refund but the policy is clear that they won't.  

Any advice?

[Caroline-And-Dan0]

Further to the post; the area she would walk to work has no homeless population on or near it and the Agency has advised that she is provided cab fare when working late nights.

It's obvious she just doesn't like the neighbourhood.

[Colleen253]

@Caroline-And-Dan0 The booking is subject to the long term cancellation policy. As there is nothing wrong with the listing  (you provided what was advertised)  to justify the cancellation with a refund, you can reiterate that, but offer to refund any portion of the abandoned dates that you are able to re book.

[Caroline-And-Dan0]

Excellent advice!  Thanks very much Colleen253!

[Sarah977]

@Caroline-And-Dan0  My daughter lived in Vancouver and had to walk home from work through an area where there were a lot of homeless and drug addicts, although her apartment was on a quiet residential street. When I was visiting her and expressed some concern, her response was, "They're just homeless and crackheads, Mom, they don't bother anyone" 🙂

I agree with Colleen's advice. 

[Helen744]

Helen@744 It depends on your cancellation policy . She can cancel but must pay for the first day of her stay and u will have to refund her and try to re book the time to another person but follow whatever policy she signed up to or the agency did . Remind them of the contract that was in place when they booked but some refund must be given so how much is either by original contract or by negotiation . If you get her to cancel then you can host again H

[Helen744]

You could only have been paid for one month and if she cancels according to your policy u cannot charge someone for something they do not get . Airbnb will not send the second month once she has cancelled.I think there is no way u can keep the whole fee at all and u certainly cannot rebook without a refund. H

[Huma0]

@Helen744 

Yes, but it's 30 days from cancellation if the guest has already checked in, so that's the nights she already stayed + 30 days from when the cancellation is made. The remainder, of course, will not be charged.

Once the cancellation is made, the calendar unblocks both those 30 days from cancellation and the remainder of the stay, so it is possible to rebook the dates.

I've had this happen a few times with long term stays when the guest has a change of plans (especially this past few months when people's plans are so up in the air). I usually offer to refund any nights I get rebooked. However, none of those guests left early because they were unhappy with the accommodation or location, so this is obviously a trickier one.

[Caroline-And-Dan0]

We are not wanting the whole fee, and would not be entitled to it. They are asking for a full refund because the guest doesn’t like the area. She has resisted any attempts to make her more comfortable and as another contributor pointed out, perceives it to be dangerous. 
we recently lost a large amount of money on a booking in Mexico 2 weeks prior because we were afraid of travelling at the peak of Omicron and the proprietors were firm on no refund.  So it’s a dilemma. I think offering to reimburse if we can rebook is the best course to take and appreciate advice given here. The agency has threatened to leave a negative review. 

[Colleen253]

“The agency has threatened to leave a negative review.”

@Caroline-And-Dan0 Wow, that’s dirty play. Hopefully that threat was made on the platform and not privately, because if they follow through with the threat, you can have Airbnb remove the review. Review extortion is a violation of the review policy. You should also report them for it. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

[John2406]

@Caroline-And-Dan0   I appreciate that this is a delicate matter, and that however each one of us might feel or be, it is a young woman's perception of what she's seen and been told that is probably the issue here.

Should she have been taking the journey during daylight hours, or accompanied (at night) by someone she trusts, then the situation may well have been different, whilst her having been offered cab fare (where she has to organise the cab to pick her up, and her waiting for it to arrive) probably might  have led to her feeling insecure as well.

May I ask one question, and that is that within the description of your place is there any mention of it being "adjacent to a vulnerable homeless community", and/or when the young lady contacted you to ask "if the neighborhood was safe", and you reassured her that it was, did you actually mention what your place was adjacent to?

Now I'm not saying here that anyone is right or wrong, and I most certainly do not have any problems with homeless areas, with walking through areas I don't know anything about - night or day - and I'm also not an i'n her 30s single woman', but I do know of several people of all ages and sexes who would equally have such reservations/concerns/fears as your Guest has.

In such a position, I would do several things.

First of all I would set out everything in a clear way to present to Airbnb's CS what has happened from the actual booking through to the present.

Secondly I would contact the Staffing Agency doing likewise, and let them know that whilst you acknowledge the young lady's perception of the fear, and that on this specific occasion you accept that she doesn't want to continue her stay (and say what she said)  you are asking/have asked Airbnb to reimburse her/the Agency (except for the nights she has already stayed), you also hope and trust that by  your having addressed the matter in such a positive way, that the Agency will look favourably upon you/your place for any further work, travel or leisure their staff might wish to take in future (ie turn the negative into a positive).

@Colleen253  @Helen744  and @Sarah977 have all made sensible comments as well, but at the end of the day, whether she's fallen head over heels with the love and convenience of your place to where she'll be working, or whether the sun is shining or not, won't have any bearing whatsoever on the perception of how safe - or not  - she feels, and exactly how she feels and why,  might not have anything whatsoever to do with the homeless community!

Hope everything works out well for you.

[Colleen253]

“….you also hope and trust that by  your having addressed the matter in such a positive way, that the Agency will look favourably upon you/your place for any further work, travel or leisure their staff might wish to take in future (ie turn the negative into a positive).”

@John2406 Not sure @Caroline-And-Dan0 should be wishing for future business from this shabby organization. Just sayin. 

[Mark116]

I probably would be using a lot more caveats about safety, but maybe I am more sensitized to this issue since there have been a rash of recent attacks and murders by homeless mentally ill in NYC.

If the facts about the area are included in your listing, e.g. it is adjacent to a large homeless population where there have not been any known safety/crime concerns, then you should feel free to stick by your policy.

[Caroline-And-Dan0]

Thank goodness we do not have violence within our homeless population largely because we have so many services to support them. 

[Sarah977]

People from quiet little towns or rural areas book places in the heart of a big city, then get freaked out about homeless people, drug dealers, traffic noise.

People who are city slickers book remote, rural places, then freak out if they see a little field mouse, or a spider, or hear unfamiliar sounds at night.

Sigh.