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]

and the review.... drum roll... complain, complain complain..

My husband, my 7 month old baby and I stayed at Maria's cabin for two nights. It was simple and clean everywhere except for the dishwasher- we discovered dirty dishes upon our arrival. Maria said that that has never happened before and after I asked for a partial refund of our cleaning fee she said that she would be sure to refund us some of it. I later had to involve Airbnb to actually get refunded for this and for this next issue: Unfortunately we discovered that night that the heater was not working properly (the air coming from the vents was not warm enough) and the house was not a comfortable temperature for us. This was a big concern because of our baby. We considered leaving early but decided to stay and hope that it would be ok because we were far from home and it was my husband's birthday weekend. I wish I'd known while I was there that I could've asked Airbnb to rebook us. Maria was communicative throughout our issues with the dishes & heater but in the end I had to involve Airbnb to have them negotiate a refund. I've never had to do that before.

[Mark116]

@MariaCecilia22   It is against airbnb's rules to mention any outcomes regarding claims, so you can try to get the review cancelled on that basis, others who have successfully done this might be more helpful.

Think hard about the response to this review, and don't be emotional.  I, myself, would probably not be able to stop saying that the house was at 77 degrees when the guest left, and that this temperature speaks for itself in terms of the heating, but it may not be the right answer.  I would probably say something along the lines of 'we always want our guests to be happy and comfortable, and based on the house being at 77F when the guests left, there was no heating problem then or now, but this may be a case where the guest is not well suited to the home stay environment.

[Amanda660]

How were the scores @MariaCecilia22?  By her mentioning asking for a discount re the dishwasher makes her look very petty.  

[MariaCecilia22]

overall a 3 Star... 😞 so sad.. never gotten a 3 ever....  This is the first and the guest got a night free for complaining...

[Mark116]

I'd say this is an example of a high maintenance bad guest who hosts just gave her good reviews out of fear of getting a bad review, because I say again, that 69F is a perfectly normal and fine temperature for a house and airbnb refunding the guest on this basis is nuts.  We have our heat set on 68F for guests and we tell them  not to turn up beyond 72F but of course they do, and we will soon get a controller to prevent this. 

[MariaCecilia22]

Yes, I get a 3 star and she gets a free night and half of the cleaning fee back for pushing a button.. 

[Mark116]

@MariaCecilia22   3 star is not as bad as the 1 star I thought she would give you:)  But, I do think it is worth trying to get the review removed for divulging details of airbnb's claims and the result, but you will have to find the exact TOS language before you call them since many of them don't know their own rules.  

[MariaCecilia22]

thanks Mark, I will look into that but this has lowered my rating... hopefully this does not affect my superhost status

[Mark116]

@MariaCecilia22  Yeah, I saw on your listing that her rating dropped you below 4.8, but you still have almost the whole quarter to bounce back.  I'm still mad for you that they gave her a refund over a 69F degree temperature!  That irritates me more than a partial cleaning fee refund for the dishwasher.  We've gotten 3 3 stars since we started which was 4+ years ago, and each one, if I think about it, will still make me somewhat angry, so I can relate. 

**If I were you, even though this will probably not ever happen again, I'd put a note somewhere that the typical winter temperature for the house is XX, and that you request guests not to raise it beyond XX, and that since it is a cabin with many windows to enjoy the views...., they should be mindful of drafts...something like that to protect yourself from the next jerks. 

[Elena87]

@MariaCecilia22 

Thanks for choosing our home.

Can't believe the review you left after all that.!

[Colleen253]

Wow @MariaCecilia22 I have to agree with @Elena87 . Yikes. 

[Emilia42]

Ugh, that's disappointing. I wish you had left a truthful review to warn other hosts @MariaCecilia22 

[Juan63]

I would only consider a refund if they told you of the situtation during your stay and you didn't rectify the situation. If she waited until after to complain, I wouldn't budge.

[Sarah977]

@MariaCecilia22  Why on earth did you leave a review like that for this guest? You haven't warned other hosts about her at all. Now she'll just go on to be accepted by other unsuspecting hosts who she'll do the same thing to. 

[MariaCecilia22]

better to stay neutral, i did choose Will Not Host.. This type of guest will go on and on and on.. trust me.. she didn't leave me alone for 2 days..

i can just reply to her review and collectively use everyone's suggestion on here..