Guest is unhappy and wants to leave early with refund

[Amanda1453]

Hi fellow hosts! I am a newer host, I have been running a property as a property manager for a few months now. I have 2 situations I am hoping to gain some advice about!

1. The current guests booked a 10-day stay, and are on their 2nd day. The home is a bottom unit of a house, and it's an older home is it's VERY easy to hear noise from upstairs. The guests that are staying there now can't deal with the noise and want to leave early with a refund. How should I go about this? Do I just have them call airbnb and have them handle it or do I send them money directly? I've never dealt with this before. 

2. The upstairs tenants are causing my guests serious frustration and my last couple of reviews have been unpleasant because of the noise. Again, the house is just not insulated well and it's not their fault either for living normally. I can only see this happening over and over at this point and I am considering breaking contract with the homeowner - the home is just not going to do well with those types of reviews and it's not a fixable issue. 

[Emiel1]

@Amanda1453 

1.

Shorten the reservation ("change" option in the reservation) will do the job.

2

Mention the noise problem in the listing as a issue guest can expect.

Otherwise maye better stop the renting, as accomodation is not suitable and problem can not be solved.

Best regards,

Emiel

[Amanda1453]

@Emiel1 hi thanks for the advice! Am I the one who would shorten the reservation or would they need to do it on their side? I don't want to get penalized in any way so I am not sure of the step by step? Any further help would be great!

[Katrina79]

@Amanda1453 I have a similar issue with a basement apartment. I get some complaints here and there and probably get docked some stars now and again. You can add a warning before someone books your place and that way they know what to expect. If you go under “about your listing” and click on “things your guests should know” there is a section dedicated to property info and here you can add a sentence under “potential for noise”. This where I highlight the warning that you can hear noise from upstairs and that noise from the basement can also travel upstairs. Under booking settings I’ve also added the warning under house rules~additional rules to be mindful of noise from 11pm-7am. I once again mention the warning for noise under the listing description, other things to note. 
Now all my guests should know before booking the potential for noise and accept it before they make payment and book. It doesn’t stop everyone from mentioning the noise but it has helped. I think it deters people who are light sleepers or need a very quiet space from booking my suite which is for the best! 

[Debra300]

@Amanda1453,

@Emiel1 has given you very good advice.  When you have the ability (financial, labor and tools), I recommend that you soundproof the downstairs ceiling.  In the photos, it looks like the ceiling is fairly new, but you can use a Green glue noiseproofing compound and add a second sheet of 5/8" drywall to really help dampen the noise transmission.

We just did this in May for the common wall between our house and apartment, and it made a world of difference.  If we ever decide to build out our basement we will definitely use it on the ceiling.

[Ann72]

@Amanda1453  Yes, go to reservation details and choose "change or cancel reservation," then change the dates.  You will not be penalized.

Do NOT under any circumstances give the guests any money directly.  Let the altered reservation take care of that.