Airbnb guest requesting refund for 2 weeks of her stays.

[Clara541]

My guest reserved my place about a month ago. She checked in last night, and this morning she messaged me saying sorry that she broke a cup. Not a big deal.

But after few hours, she messaged me saying her classmates she met (it was her first day of her class), invited her to stay with her, asking if she could get refunds for rest of the nights.

I told her because of the airbnb policy (she checked in yesterday already) and since ive reserved the days for her, i will not be able to give her a refund. She replied that she will let me know. And I told her again to make sure, that even if she moves out, i will not be able to give a refund. She answered "noted"

And later today, her tone changed. She's like "my friends advised me to leave your place and stay with them. your place is uncomfortable and different from the listing, i already moved out. i put the keys where you left outside" and requested me money, posing pictures of "unclean" area," for the rest of her stays. She sent me pictures of my livingroom bed(which is not rented out, only the bedroom was rented out).

It just sounds to me that she found a free place to stay and trying to make excuses to leave. I answered that if she brought this earlier we could have cleaned place or do whatever for her, but i already informed that there would be a no refund, and she said she understood, then she decides to move out, then requesting the money after she moved out.

She now claims that she paid the same amount for her new place, which i really dont believe. any advice?

[Rowena29]

Contact CS IMMEDIATELY @Clara541  adn try to get your version of events in first.

this may help.

In the proper scheme of things this guest would not be entitled to a refund, but it sounds like her friends have advised her how to rort the system.

Aribnb notoriously favour guests over hosts - there is a real potential she will in fact get a refund.

Hoepfully all the messages remianed on the platform - if so this gives you some ammunition for proving she is trying to rort the system

I'm sure other hosts will have other suggestions and ideas.

Good luck!

[Clara541]

Yes, and i informed her that since ive already told her there would be a no refund and she said "sure," but still chose to move out, i will not processed a refund. And her answer was "i said i noted your comment on the refund policy, but i didnt mean that i agreed with it"

she is obviously trying to play. I think i will be very firm on this.

Thank you for your advice!

[Melanie251]

agreed - call customer service and explain! Make sure they have copies of the communication. Be firm but polite. Have lots of pictures to make your case. Good luck!

[Alexandra316]

@Clara541

Just repeating my response here as this is a duplicate thread.

I would consider telling her that you will refund her if you're able to get a booking for some or all of the days she had booked. Otherwise, I would stick to you cancellation policy.

I would also take this experience as a learning tool, though. Your listing is really short on information, and pictures, and I would consider being a lot more explicit about what's being offered. You have no pictures of the bathroom or kitchen. You don't mention that this is a one-bedroom apartment and that you sleep in the living room, which may be a turnoff for some. You also have a confusing caption on one of your pictures where you say the entire space is for the guest in an area that looks like a living room (maybe a seating area in the bedroom?). Your listing could use some refinement and it might cut down on the confusion for future guests. 

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[Alexandra316]

@Clara541

Just repeating my response here as this is a duplicate thread.

I would consider telling her that you will refund her if you're able to get a booking for some or all of the days she had booked. Otherwise, I would stick to you cancellation policy.

I would also take this experience as a learning tool, though. Your listing is really short on information, and pictures, and I would consider being a lot more explicit about what's being offered. You have no pictures of the bathroom or kitchen. You don't mention that this is a one-bedroom apartment and that you sleep in the living room, which may be a turnoff for some. You also have a confusing caption on one of your pictures where you say the entire space is for the guest in an area that looks like a living room (maybe a seating area in the bedroom?). Your listing could use some refinement and it might cut down on the confusion for future guests. 

[Kathleen645]

I can understand someones plans changing and inquiring about a refund, but to lie about the situation is unacceptable.  You should report this incident to airbnb so this guest can be flagged, and other hosts are aware of them.  Thanks so much for sharing this incident, best of luck with your guests in the future.

[Sarah977]

@Clara541 ""i said i noted your comment on the refund policy, but i didnt mean that i agreed with it".

Totally irrelevant. When a guest books your place, they are automatically agreeing to your cancellation policy. It's a contract. 

[Christine615]

Blackmail. Report her to Airbnb. She isn't owed a refund and Airbnb should remove her permanently from the platform. You should also bill her for the broken cup if you want a good laugh.

[Jay1289]

At the end of the day it does not matter if you have a strict cancelation policy or what your dialog with the guest had been. Air CS is tilted toward the guest as Rowena stated above. If your departing guest shows CS unflattering pics and the agent compares them to your listing, the agent will most likely side with the guest.  I cringe whenever I have to deal them. Just a couple of days ago I asked a young lady to leave for breaking our house rules. She was seen sneaking a man into her room after 10pm (observed her on security cam unlock the front door and lead this unknown man by the hand). Air pleaded with me to let her stay and work it out. I don't think Air's non USA based call centers are doing us any favors. It takes more than just knowing English to understand the nuances and mores of our culture.