How do you handle a frivolous refund claim?

[Robin4]

Each week we see posts from hosts who receive a frivolous refund claim, or have been threatened with a poor review if they do not approve some sort of a refund. 

When it comes to a stay refund the guest feels they have the upper hand because......

1/.....The host won't want to receive a negative review and comply.

2/.....Airbnb will have more sympathy with the guest than with the host.

I prefer to turn it around and put the guest in the hot seat!

I have been fortunate, it has only happened to me twice. The second one I had a fair idea was coming. We had a power blackout one afternoon for about half an hour when a vehicle hit a local power pole interrupting the supply.

It didn't adversely affect the guest, the cottage stayed a comfortable temperature and the TV operates on either mains power or battery. But this was a difficult guest, they had more expectations than satisfactions. We have all had them, haven't we!

Two days after their departure they sent me a message in the message stream about the same time I receive a refund approval notification from the Resolution Centre. The guest was after a refund for the afternoon of the power outage.

This is how I handled it........

I was pleasant I never gave the guest a hint at any time that I was annoyed with them, but the guest now knew I was aware of their claim and how that might affect my review.......I turned the tables on them!

Now, the guest was entitled to something but, 60% on one night for essentially no inconvenience was a bit steep, but as I said I expected it so, I threw it all back on the guest......if they expected any sort of refund, I expected a good review. 

It worked, in both instances I didn't get a review......but the guest didn't get a refund either, I never heard anything further and the problem disappeared. I was prepared to refund something dependent on the review I got, but this way worked out better for me.

I even got a congratulatory response from the Support Team.......

So, if the guest wants to make a claim for a frivolous refund, make them earn it.

Cheers.........Rob

**[Private conversation with Customer Support removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[BBCor0]

Hello @Robin4,

Hope so you're doing well, thanks for sharing quite amazing information with us, Thumbs up for Great Info Boss!

Regards,

Bryce June

[Ricardo85]

@Robin4 

Just in case someone missed it...

"...

I will be happy to entertain what refund would be appropriate once our duty to the review system has been fulfilled and our reviews of each other have been published.

..."

Ricardo

[Robin4]

@Ricardo85 

Unfortunately Richardo my original content has been removed and my post above doesn't make any sense anymore but the jist of it in the message stream to the guest was........'I note you have lodged a claim for a refund of 60% for an unfortunate  45 minute power outage during your 3 day stay. I will be happy to discuss an appropriate  refund when our obligation to the review process  is fulfilled and a review of each other has been published'! 

This is theoretical because in the 2 times it has happened to me Ricardo,  the guest has backed off but......In this instance if the guest chose to proceed and gave me a good review I would meet them in the middle and offer possibly up to 40% one night refund.......baring in mind this was a 3 night stay, and in my review response I would say.....Guest did experience minor difficulties for which I am sorry but I hope the compensation I have offered was sufficient and I thank them for their nice review and their patience!  

Cheers.........Rob

[Joelle43]

Hello @Robin4 

Oh that's good😜  Thanks for sharing and will definitely be keeping this workaround in mind - putting the onus on the guest is very clever!

All the best

Joëlle

[Robin4]

@Joelle43 

See Joelle, lets look at the nuts and bolts of this!

If a guest is going to request a refund they must do it within 24 hours of the  sought refund occurrence......not necessarily the end of the stay. They are instructed by Airbnb to work it out with the host, and the host has 1 hour to respond  to their claim. If the refundable issue can't be sorted out after discussion with the host the guest can lodge a claim with the Resolution Centre within 72 hours (3 days).

So Joelle, we have got them where we want them, the host is going to be on notice within 4 days that the guest is after a refund and there is still 9 days of review window open........That is when you spring that line on them, they are trapped, they know they are sprung and they will backtrack at a million MPH because at that point they can still edit their review and make every endeavour to convince you they are the best guests that God ever created. Trust em Joelle, it works.......

I am maybe doing the hosting community a disservice by mentioning this because it's a fair bet if Airbnb get wind of this they will shut it down in a heartbeat. Can't possibly give the batten to the host!

I guess it's a case of 'Watch this space'!!!!

Cheers.........Rob

[Joelle43]

Hello again @Robin4 

Thanks for the info Rob but one thing is bothering me - it says clearly in "note"that guests have up to 60 days to ask for a refund AFTER check-out through the Resolution centre.  What happened to that 72 hour window??

This seems so unfair to hosts as guests could ask for a refund for a fake reason following a bad review from their host or am I missing something??  

Thank you for enlightening me as ever!

Joëlle

[Robin4]

@Joelle43 

Yes typical Airbnb double speak Joelle, you have up to 60 days to submit a request. In other words to have a situation adjudicated, involve support and be channeled around in the hope you might actually get somewhere. But you have 72 hours to lodge a claim, and that is what the guest is after. Once that 72 hours is up, the host knows what going on and, as the guest, you have cooked your goose.

Cheers........Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

 This is an interesting post but, I also don't get it.

The guest has 60 days after checkout to submit a resolution center REQUEST (does it mean to involve Airbnb ? )

The guest has 72 hours/3 days to file a CLAIM. (To host? To CS?)

What's the difference between the REQUEST AND A CLAIM and what is submitted to whom?

Let's say:

- Something happens in the apartment /on Monday at 5PM

- The guest has 24 hours to let the host know /until Tuesday 5PM

- The host has 1 hour to answer / fix it / or agree the refund /until Tuesday 6PM

- If the host declines / ignores ...

- The guest has 72 hours/3 days from when something happened to submit a refund request to Airbnb /until Thursday 5PM  and then Airbnb CS will decide.

As I understood, your guest has sent you a message + the refund request at the same time, within 72 hours of the event.

Did you decline, or you just answered?

 

I understood the rest of your post.

@Robin4

[Robin4]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Hi Branka, If the guest has been a good guest but just experienced  something unfortunate that impacted their stay I will speak with them, work out a fair refund with them and simply refund them through the 'Send or Request money' tab. The refund comes out of my next payout....end of story.

On a couple of occasions I have had a guest who has taken advantage of me in some way, taken some of my property when they left, broken or damaged something through carelessness......and/or felt they were entitled to a refund. When they have approached me as instructed by Airbnb I have simply said to them, "Any money disputes are handled by the Resolution Centre, contact them"!

That is when they lodge a claim, which Branka is treated differently to a request. The guest lodges the claim as the host has been 'uncooperative', Airbnb then contacts the host to mediate a settlement of the guests claim. 

It is at that point that I send to the guest in the message stream......'I note you have lodged a claim for a refund of 60% for xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.  I will be happy to discuss an appropriate  refund when our obligation to the review process  is fulfilled and a review of each other has been published, all the best.

Cheers.......Rob'  

So Branka the guest now knows that a refund is going to hinge on a review and it is up to them to decide if they want to pursue it and risk having their indiscretions aired publicly.

As I said in both of my instances the problem disappeared, the guest didn't pursue it!

Bad behaviour does not get rewarded Branka, not by Airbnb and not by me!

Cheers..........Rob

[Robin4]

@Joelle43  @Ricardo85 

Can I please put some balance into this, I am not trying offer ways to cheat guests or rob them of a legitimate review.

The ones that I am after are those guests that will go out of their way to find some way of cheating the host, extorting them into a monetary reward for a good review. Lets face it we see examples of it here on the CC every day. Revenge reviews have been a much addressed topic by Airbnb over the past year.

All we want is a fair go, I have always said, a picture paints a 1,000 words and I am sorry that the impact of my thread has been removed but, I respect the moderators decision to stay away from pictorial personal information.

It is an important subject though and one all us hosts will be faced with sooner or later, I am just trying to be a good CC contributor and point out issues that may possibly affect what we do as hosts and how we deal with them.

Cheers.........Rob