Challenging situation support required

[Rebecca1234]

Hello, I’m currently hosting my entire home to supposedly 8 guests. It has been a huge endeavour and expense especially during the Christmas period. The guest checked in a d I showed him around the entire house and gardens, sauna and jacuzzi. I tried to make it a five star experience with all the added extras. Anyway I received some very rude messages to say 1) the sauna was broken 2) the toilets don’t flush 3) microscopic picture of a few crumbs at the back of the cupboard. I immediacy offered the cleaning fee as a reimbursement on a goodwill gesture which I cannot afford and then the guest complained about the sauna and toilets. I went around to the house immediately and they showed me 3 Misty glasses that simply needed a rinse after the dishwasher. A stain in thr cupboard that was not there on my departure. They were yanking the dial too far so the sauna was not working and I showed them again how to operate it. I explained the toilets always need a double flush. Anyway I have not received payment yet and Airbnb have just got in touch saying the guest wants a big refund. This experience has ruined my Christmas and the guest is clearly and deliberately trying to get a refund with no real reason. The price is the same for Christmas even with all the extra energy and gas they are using. I’m afraid to see what I will find on the 29th when they check out. I have told Airbnb the sauna is a lie and so are the toilets flushing. I will get my lawyers on board if I have too. I hope I will finally receive payment tomorrow which will be 4 days after guest check in. Thank you. Any guidance appreciated. 

[Anonymous]

@Rebecca1234  Sadly, this is exactly what happens when you throw money at a complaint. The guests reason that as long as they keep on finding more problems, they can talk you all the way down to a free stay. And what do you get for your troubles in the end? A huge mess and a bad review.

It's not worth it. If something truly isn't working, by all means do what you can to fix it. But if the guests claim to be unhappy with the state of the home, you have nothing to gain by letting them continue to stay. Any further refund should be only for unused nights, under the condition that they vacate immediately. 

[Rebecca1234]

Thank you. You are correct they have made up these things. I will consider abs take action. Best wishes and thank you again. Rebecca 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Rebecca1234as soon as guests take a picture of a crumb you know they want 1) out of reservation with a refund or, less likely 2) stay with a discount.

When I see they are complaining without a reason I immediately ask if they want to cancel and be refunded. I don't offer any discounts or gifts

[Elaine701]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Yes, indeed. 

It's easy to be afraid of a guest who complains about something tiny or irrelevant, but think for a minute what they have to go through if they cancel. They'll need to find another place (if you're  conscientious host with a decent offering, it will be risky for them to find a place as good as yours), and there's the refund thing. Until it hits their bank account, iffy. 

It's a bit like a hand of poker. In truth, they hold a pair of 2's, but they play like they're holding 4 aces. 

[Richard531]

@Rebecca1234 @Elaine701 @Anonymous I must say that I agree with pretty much all that's been said so far.  We really, really try and avoid giving money away.  The few times we have, we get a turd-of-a-review regardless.  

Coincidentally, we just had a double-whammy of hiccups outside-our-control happen at one of our mountain listings over the last 24 hours.  The listing is a very small cabin, the guests are paying $1K+ a night.  This is about $500 more than our median rate (holiday, snow season, etc.).

Last night, the internet was reported down (felled tree, confirmed by utility, was restored overnight).  No problem, but a little frustrating.  Then, this morning, the water was reported that it "wouldn't turn on."  Several hours later, once I have my general contractor, myself, the water department, and an otherwise small army converging on the cabin to rectify the issue, the guest exclaims "the water is back on!"  We still have no idea what caused the water to not work in the first place and/or why it was restored.  But it's back on. 

Given what they had paid, and how they supposedly spent the morning (reported the problem at 7:30AM, magically restored at 10:45AM) waiting for the water to come back, I offered to "buy them lunch" in the form of $50.  They didn't hesitate to accept the gesture. Hummm. . .

They check out day after tomorrow.  So I'm hoping this is the last we hear from them!

[Sammy-L-0]

I live in the mountains and during very cold weather, it's not unusual for the water to be frozen somewhere between a water tower and the faucet, and then thaw quickly when the sun hits. I would tell the guest that can be a problem in winter and see how they react.

[Rebecca1234]

Thank you for sharing this with me. Yes it was a mistake to offer the cleaning fee back before I realised the guests intentions. They’re also leaving tomorrow and I have no cleaning help during this period. The guest also knows the price is the same because he booked after I told him I was about to increase the prices. I’m still getting messages from the Airbnb support regarding the untruth about the broken sauna and cleanliness. The house has never been left so clean. We drove by yesterday and there were 6 cars parked so I highly suspect more than 8 people are staying. Good riddance tomorrow and I’m dreading what I will find. 

[Rebecca1234]

Thank you for all your thoughts abs support. Next time no offers of any form of refund. 

[Elaine701]

@Rebecca1234 

Unless they leave the place with significant damage, it's wise not to confront them or getting Airbnb involved, which can add substantial injury to insult. Your chances of getting any relief from Airbnb are about the same as winning the lottery. 

Shower them with kindness and appreciation (except the refund bit), and let them leave a glowing review of your place. Then write the truth, succinctly, in your review of them, which will make it much more difficult for them to do it again to another unsuspecting host.

Unfortunately, it's the only way to avoid making a bad situation worse. 

And in the future, ask pointed questions of potential guests (particularly those with no history or profile).  Their answers (or lack of them) can tell you a lot about who you're dealing with... 

[Rebecca1234]

Well thank you. I returned and the main issue I found was the downstairs toilet is broken as the handle has been totally broken off and it does not work. A plumber is coming tomorrow. The guest did not tell me but I can only presume that the issues they tried to present was to deflect this. I have informed Airbnb because the guest got them involved. I will suggest that I will pay for this if they cease with their partial refund and cleaning refund demands. They were not nice people and my first challenging experience. Thank you fir all your suggestions. 

[Richard531]

@Rebecca1234   PLEASE!  Just leave the guests alone!  Listen to what @Elaine701  said.  

Just get the thing fixed.  Jump on the $200 grenade and get them out of your life!  You don't want that crappy review!  

If they don't review you, you got of easy.  And if they DID review you, wait 2-days AND THEN go after them if you insist on trying to get the money back.

Remember you have 14-days to seek damages now.  

But I would just hold off!

[Mark116]

@Richard531  The guests are already trying to get a refund, so there is no reason why she should not also play hardball with damages that they caused. The situation is already poor, so it is unlikely no matter what she does she gets a good review.  She can plan for a bad review and to lose more money, or a bad review and at least break even.

[Rebecca1234]

Thanks so much for the guidance. I’m hoping reviews will not be swapped as both will be bad. 

what I can’t believe now is the guest is lying and told Airbnb they reported the broken toilet and I did nothing about it! Unbelievable. I have a plumber coming and I had to tell Airbnb who are now involved the guest is lying!

[Priyanka44]

@Rebecca1234 I know everyone has their own way of dealing with things and it’s based on their own experiences. I personally feel that when guests are like this it is not a good idea to leave it up to a hope that reviews are not swapped. In my experience if you don’t leave a review, then there is nothing publicly available that you can fall back on which states the issues you dealt with. I think in my experience having a public facing review that indicates my issues with a particular guest in a brief, very objective way has helped me argue and get better response from Airbnb. It also allows me to counter any potential retaliatory review they would leave while warning any future hosts.

I’ve also started to do this where I’ve started creating videos before a guest checks in of the entire property. This includes a walk-through that shows all the appliances, furniture, everything else that’s available to the guest. I also turn on/off lights, appliances and flush the toilets in this walk-through video. That way it is proven on a time stamped video that things were working before check-in. It usually takes me about 10 minutes but my property is pretty small. I think it’s worth the time frankly.