partial cleaning fee refund due to dishwasher full of dishes

[MariaCecilia22]

hello, i have a guest requesting for a partial refund due to a full dishwasher when they arrived and they had to turn on the machine themselves. our cleaning lady said that it was empty when she left after cleaning our home. i feel this was an oversight and would like to honor the request of our guest but not sure how much refund i should give in exchange of the guest turning on the dishwasher. everything else in the house is clean and organized and she even said it herself, it was just the dishes that were in the dishwasher that the cleaning lady forgot to turn on,  an honest mistake on the cleaning lady.  the cleaning fee is $136.00. thanks.

[MariaCecilia22]

@ branka-and silvia0  hahaha oh my goodness. i tell you it gets worse. i don't know what these guests expect from us. serve them hand and foot?. sorry to hear about your last guest. that's pretty irritating. all these nonsensical suggestions... 

[Anna8386]

My thoughts exactly, Branka and Silvia! Haha, I laughed at your comment. So funny because it's so true. Why can't people appreciate the great DEAL they're getting by staying in an Airbnb? Here in Florida, people are paying about 1/3 the price of a hotel, and they expect it to be perfect like a hotel. I call those people "hotel people" because they really should stay in a hotel, and not an Airbnb.

[MariaCecilia22]

Well Folks, the saga continues. Just as I thought everything was fine, it's not. The last update I mentioned that the guest decided to stay and everything seems to be fine. They were out and about the whole day and around 5ish yesterday, I got an message asking for a partial refund on the entire cost of the reservation mind you I had offered them a refund initially if they check out Saturday since they were not not comfortable. But since they decided to stay and was staying the night I felt a refund is not valid..

This is the email I got from the guest.

Hi Maria,

I'd like to request a partial refund of what we paid to stay at your cabin. Though you've been very responsive and helpful with both of the issues that we've had while staying here, it just hasn't been as smooth and comfortable for my family as I would expect at over $500 for two nights. I'm sure you can understand. Please let me know.

This is was my response,

Unfortunately, since you’re still there and you’re planning on staying there for the duration of your reservation you will need to contact Airbnb directly to request a refund if possible. Here is their contact information (855) 423-7262.

Thanks,

Maria

It seems unfair to me if i give the guest a partial refund as I had initially offered a refund if they check-out Saturday, but that is not what they did. They decided to stay and planned to stay the entire time of their reservation.  Guest feels entitled to a partial refund because they were not comfortable with the temperature of the house and that she had to turn on the dishwasher and wash 1 pan. 

I have never had guest complain about the temperature of our home. As a matter of fact  I had a group stayed there beginning of January  when the temperature was really cold outside but the guest said that " This is a cozy nice place. We did a weekend retreat. The house was really clean and the beds were comfortable. The heater worked great." 

I want to give this current guest the benefit of the doubt about the heater not working properly but honestly, my family and I have never experienced the house to be unbearably cold and I have never had 1 guest complain about the temperature in the house until, so I am not sure how to proceed with the partial refund request. 

Guest is checking out today and we're going up and staying the night just to test the heater to see if in fact the heater is not working. The guest said that the heat coming out of the vent is warm, but not warm enough. 

It seems unfair that the guest stayed throughout their reservation and expect a partial refund.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions on how to handle this complaint/partial refund request? 

[MariaCecilia22]

Well now guest wants a partial refund for the entire reservation cost even though they stayed the entire time...  she said that house not comfortable and too cold.

[Colleen253]

@MariaCecilia22  "They decided to stay and planned to stay the entire time of their reservation."  This guest is clearly playing you a scam. My bet is that she will end up going to Airbnb and they will very likely side with her and issue a full refund, because that's what they do in the overwhelming majority of cases, side with guests over hosts. You should have told her to cancel her reservation, and vacate the rental immediately, with a full refund, the minute she complained to you of being 'uncomfortable'. Is she was really that unhappy, why would she stay? Better to have had her out and refunded the first minute, and have an empty house, instead of a costly-for-you free stay.

[MariaCecilia22]

@Colleen253  OH NO! now you're scaring me.. I really hope not. I totally agree i should have asked them to vacate my home immediately and give them a full refund, but I felt bad because she was already unhappy with turning on the dishwasher. 

I informed her that I would be more than glad to refund her if she vacates the house the next day because i didn't want them to be uncomfortable.  

I talked to Airbnb once I received her request of partial refund from the guest and i had informed them of the situation I also expressed that I do not feel i should refund her because she did not take up my offer vacating my home at that time for a full refund.   Airbnb said that it's all up to me if I'm willing to refund the guest or not. So I asked her if Airbnb is going to refund her when she request from them and Airbnb said No we will not be able to give a partial refund the guest because she stayed the entire time. 

I really hope they don't refund her but I already know the review is going to be terrible which will affect my entire rating.

[Colleen253]

@MariaCecilia22  I didn't mean to scare you, sorry. But a guest being unhappy right off the bat and complaining such as this one did, for something as piddling as one dirty pan is a red flag.  Her further actions were also red flag material.  It also escalated from partial refund of cleaning fee to "now is asking for a partial refund for the entire reservation after staying at my house for the entire duration of the reservation' You can just see where this one is going. And there are as many posts on this forum as there are snowflakes in a blizzard, of examples where Airbnb says one thing to a host, then turns around and completely throws the host under the bus with a different answer (contrary to the host), when the guest contacts them. So their assurances made to you are flimsy at best. I will be extremely happy if you come back and prove me wrong. 🤞 Sometimes, I love being wrong.

[MariaCecilia22]

Well Colleen253, I just got thrown under the bus.. you were right. So disappointing.. and here  is a part of the email i got from them,

"We appreciate the efforts that you put into hosting this guest. However, the inconvenience that they experienced is still there and your guest is requesting for at least partial refund.

"In my opinion, this could be an opportunity to end on a high note and would definitely help in leaving a really good impression on the guest. This is the best way to showcase that you cared about their discomfort in your listing."

"That kind of empathy is what separates a good to a superhost." 

Really so basically, Airbnb sided with the guest NOT Me... and they didn't even bother hearing my side or give me the chance to rebuttal and provide proofs as I took pictures and videos,  just  to give the guest a partial refund.

I guess they want me to be the bigger person and give the guest the partial refund.

This whole claim about my house being cold is hogwash. I went to home depot today and bought a thermometer to test the validity of the guest that my house is so cold that it was uncomfortable.. claimed that  6 months old baby got its feet cold upon waking up in the morning (exact words from the airbn case manager). I just want to share the readings i got from the thermometer.

here are the readings: 3:49 pm

master bedroom- 75 degrees

kitchen- 72 degrees

living room- 70 degrees


After a few hours i checked the temperature again.

5:35 pm

Master Bedroom- 77 degrees
living room -75 degrees
kitchen- 75 degrees

How do I handle this? Do i just fold and give the guest a partial refund even though they stayed the entire duration of their trip? If I do,  how much am i even supposed to refund her? 

I just want this to be over with and if giving a refund means she goes away I'm fine with that, there is no sense in fighting this and Airbnb is not backing me up.

So disappointing!

[Colleen253]

Oh @MariaCecilia22  I'm sorry 🙁 Airbnb once again shows it's true colors, and you've had to learn the hard way that it isn't to be trusted. I'm glad at least it's only a partial refund. I fully expected it would be total. Don't give her a penny. Wait to see if Airbnb does it first, as they usually do from their end. And guess what? You hold some of the cards, as you can now leave her a truthful review. This review will close doors for her on Airbnb. Ah! Karma....ain't she grand? And Karma likes to repay with interest too, don't forget. Be mindful of the review policy when you're composing it. You don't want to run the risk of having it removed. Something like 'X complained of various discomforts, however decided to stay anyway, and requested a refund upon full completion of stay. Would not recommend to other hosts'. Mark her down in all star categories, but not 'too' low and definitely choose 'would not recommend'. And now you'll know, if someone like this comes along again, exactly what you'll do!

[Michael3577]

There is an irony that you don't find hope in a planet that rents out apartments for high markups merely on account of location.

[Christine1081]

I vote snooze!

[Robin4]

@MariaCecilia22 

We all of course feel sorry for you that you have struck this guest, it is the fear of every one of us hosts that we will strike a guest like this.

Make sure you say in the review...."We love being able to offer our guests a stay they will enjoy, it was just a pity that this guest was more intent on a refund than enjoying the stay. Never mind, we tried our best!" 

And give them 3 stars, if you give them less they will get the review removed  and it will be seen as revenge. 

The other thing you take out of this, Airbnb instructs their agents to go easy on guests, without guests they don't have income, they have hosts to burn......and they do!!

*

"That kind of empathy is what separates a good to a superhost."

No, that kind of empathy is what sends good hosts broke, but Airbnb don't see it that way! To Airbnb if we gave it away there would still be something wrong with it!

Cheers......Rob

[MariaCecilia22]

@Robin4 , oh the joy of hosting.. for the most part i would say 98 percent.. i have been pretty lucky except for this last one.. i just got a lovely email from Airbnb case manager...  

"Based on the refund policy, if the amenity is not working properly, we have to provide 50% refund for the nights affected if the guest stayed to their entire reservation."

based on whom? the guests who's lying?

"No worries, I have discussed this with my fellow case managers, and we decided to refund the service fee. Normally this are not charges that we cover but since you are a valued member of our community, we want to make sure that you feel supported."

And No I don't feel supported, you just threw me under the bus and and then backed-up and ran me over some more..

Robin4 i will make sure that I write that when i's time for review.. 

Well, in order to just put this behind me I guess I will just have to comply and fork over the partial refund... I Lost the battle.. and the Guest and Airbnb won. Why am I not surprise...

[Robin4]

@MariaCecilia22  @Susan17  @Colleen253 

Oh gee Maria, you missed an absolutely perfect opportunity there!

"Based on the refund policy, if the amenity is not working properly, we have to provide 50% refund for the nights affected if the guest stayed to their entire reservation."

You simply say to that completely lame duck CX, "The amenity works perfectly, the guest verified that if you read the message stream! It was the guests inability to 'want' to operate the amenity that has lead to this refund claim.  You are going to, as a representative of Airbnb, accept and condone guest extortion are you?  If the guest refuses to have a shower and then complaints there is no water, in order to get a refund, are you also going to condone that, it's the same thing?.....trust me, the amenity is in first class working order.....would you like me to provide documentation of that as well as the guests own comments to verify that?"

Some of these CX phone pool people are really clueless, and if you put up a half decent argument they will duck for cover and call in higher help who may actually know how to handle the situation.

*

If ever you are in a situation where you will need to have an issue ironed out, remember a lot of these people are not property trained, They are working from company help guides which only cover a broad spectrum, and most likely, they will shoot answers from the hip and it is really easy to catch them out. Before calling, work out a strategy in your mind. Sit down, with a cup of coffee and calmly go over all the possible scenarios and arm yourself with a strategy to combat the negative responses that may come! 

I had a situation one evening where I had two confirmed Airbnb bookings on my property for the same evening. CX in Manila who had been 'so helpful' in sorting it all out before hand simply sat there. I could sense his mouth moving but, nothing coherent came out of it. It was up to me to relocate one of these confirmed bookings to a neighbouring host that I have some contact with. 

If you let them take you for a fool Maria, they will. Take the time to work a out a defense, the way any good lawyer would do. 

Cheers......Rob 

[Colleen253]

@Robin4  @MariaCecilia22 They were also going on the fact that the guest claimed the heat wasn't working. This was obviously fabricated, as @MariaCecilia22  tested it and has photo evidence of the readings which she has shared with Cx. There is also the FACT the guest stayed, despite apparently being so cold. Even with all of the evidence she has already supplied, that the amenities were indeed working, they are ignoring it all and siding with the guest. Honestly, what is one supposed to do? Maybe actually using the word 'extortion' would trigger a positive turnaround, provided the CX understands what the word means 🙄