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?

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

I hosted a couple from a rural part of Texas where, they said, it was not uncommon to find a bear on their porch. Although there are plenty of small shops, bars and restaurants (not late night) within walking distance of the listing, there are none directly outside or next to it, i.e. basically you cannot see nor hear any from the house, so there are never people hanging around outside. Yet, they marked me down saying the location was "Not noisy per se, but lively at all times". Even my friends who live out in the sticks found this description astonishing.

Not long after, I hosted a young woman from Alexandria in Egypt. She said the neighbourhood freaked her out. She found it "spookily quiet" even though she was in the room facing the road that gets the most noise from the street. Apparently, where she came from, you could hear plenty of city noise 24/7.

[Kelly149]

@Caroline-And-Dan0 “Is it safe?” is almost always a sign that this is a guest you don’t want. Some of us will feel safe just about anywhere. Others feel unsafe just about everywhere. This is a trivia game no host wants to play. 

[Sarah977]

@Kelly149  I think it depends on the circumstances. As I only host solo guests, and my place is a 20 minute walk, partially through the countryside and partly through town to get to downtown and the beach, I've had a few female guests ask me if it's safe for them to walk alone. I consider that a reasonable concern and question. My standard response is that none of my guests has ever had a problem, that I have walked it myself with no issues, but that of course they should exercise the same caution they would anywhere, and of course I can't guarantee anyone's safety. I also tell them if they are going to be coming home after dark, they can grab a cab for $5. 

[Helen3]

Can I ask @Caroline-And-Dan0  did you accept this as an Airbnb at Work trip so the worker had access to details of your listing or have you been accepting third party bookings? 

i would absolutely flag with Airbnb the threat by the agency to leave a negative review if you don't refund . 

And if it's a third party booking I would stop taking them as you won't be covered for support through airbnb as it's against their T&Cs . 

[Caroline-And-Dan0]

Oh I wasn’t aware of that. No it wasn’t categorized as a work trip and the first time we’ve had one of these. Very good to know. I think they have backed off from the negative review threat as they are ware I can do the same with them. Thanks to you and everyone who responded. Very helpful.