Hey all, I'm Alex, a new host from Seattle, WA. Any advice...
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Hey all, I'm Alex, a new host from Seattle, WA. Any advice about taxes for a new host? How much of an issue are taxes for h...
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The reservation was for Saturday night, but she did not contact me until today. The previous guest had disconnected the portable ac unit from the window (for reasons unknown) and the girl that cleaned early Saturday did not know how to reconnect it. I got in touch with the handyman I use and when he got off work (after 6pm) they went there together. I could see on the driveway camera that the Saturday night guest had not arrived yet, so I told them to go in & fix it. Had I seen the guest there, obviously I would have asked them if they’d like someone to come by to reconnect it for them. Of course, for the 10 minutes they were there reconnecting the ac the guest arrives. They explained to her the situation & said it should take a few more minutes and the place is yours, unless you prefer we leave now. The lady told them they’d come back. The handyman left and that was that. On Sunday, the girls that clean went and cleaned the place & all the linens/towels. She had text me and said the last people that stayed were nice they made the bed. I should have known then, but didn’t think anything of it.
Today she sends me this message saying she did not stay because random people were in the cabin & it was unsafe. She said the property was abandoned & no one lived there. I responded with my home is not abandoned. Then she said a local friend told her it was abandoned. In my listing I’m clear that I am only there 1x a month for a week or 2 at a time & if I plan to be in town during your stay I’ll let you know in advance. I told her if she wants a refund based off town gossip, I’m not sure what to say. Then she says stop trying to make this personal I demand a refund.
Sure enough, I went back and checked the cameras and she never came back that night. Problem is I paid the girls on Sunday to clean because this woman didn’t bring up her “concerns” until today. I explained to her I paid for cleaning because she did not contact me before her checkout time. I explained I can’t give her a full refund because 1/2 the money was spent on cleaning & she’s threatening me with a 1 star review and stated if she does not receive a full refund by Wednesday she’s leaving that review. Considering I only have a few reviews to even it out, it’ll hurt me. She’s claiming I misrepresented the property because I should state the main house is abandoned because no one is there & the cabin is behind the main house hidden (to her a bad thing) & that it’s not in a state park. Not sure where she got that from. But we are located within a national forest. The whole town is.
i read a lot of the posts on here and it seems that the consensus is that Airbnb sides with guests and hosts are basically on their own.
So the questions are:
do I issue the full refund?
Do I issue the refund minus cleaning fee? And if I choose this route, what is my recourse (if any) to protect myself from receiving a bad review?
As a side note, I split the 1 night bookings with the cleaning crew 50/50. Therefore the amount I paid out of her booking is $65. Meaning she would only receive a 50% refund out of what I received.
Luckily for you @Daeja0 she has threatened a bad review if you don't refund. This is against Airbnb's T&Cs for leaving a review so Airbnb should remove it or not let her leave one. Get in contact with them and flag she has done this.
No refund.
The only thing I would say it would have been better to have flagged with her that the workman was sorting out a reconnection of the air con and might still be there when she arrives.
@Daeja0 People have really gone crazy. You would think that if a guest arrived to find someone there who said 'we're here fixing the AC, it should only be a few more minutes' that the guest would be thrilled. I can't understand being angry about this, she had not checked in, none of her stuff was there, no one was invading her privacy, and she could have been assured of a working AC. I wouldn't refund her a penny and I would do as @Helen3 suggests since she flat out is attempting to blackmail you into a refund a contact Airbnb.
@Mark116 thank you for pointing this out! people are so entitled, i can't believe it.
the other day i was in a cafe and there was bird poo on the table, i just went up and asked the staff for a cloth so i could wipe the table, and they sent someone over to do it. I just laughed and said 'poor you' to the dear girl who had to wipe it up. somehow i managed to get on with my life!
I believe it was the hosts responsibility to communicate with the guests., Watching on camera for a late check-in does not cut it. The guests should have been informed of the unforeseen circumstance and the solution underway. This guest should get a full refund.
While I agree that the OP should have informed the guest about the handyman so that she was not surprised and alarmed by him, as no one should enter the space without warning for the duration of the guest's booking, it hardly warrants a full refund.
Plus, threatening to leave a bad review if you don't receive a refund is extortion.
This guest is scamming.
where is downvote botton?
I have run into check in time with a handy man on serious issues. I would never have him stay for routine repairs but if something has to be done for next guests comfort- it has to be done. I don’t give heads up to the guests either in hopes they arrive after we are done. If they show up, I do exactly what this handy man did: offer to leave immediately. No one cares. People unpack at first, get situated. Next thing you know we are done. And the guest knows I care about their comfort and the property.
I also have a policy of not “purchasing” reviews
Just a quick update of the final outcome: I ended up refunding her most of what she paid. I received $130 in total after Airbnb took out their fees. I refunded her $100. The additional 30 I stayed with was her half of the total cleaning expenses I had paid ($65). I also contacted Airbnb after I issued the refund and spoke to someone who was helpful & assisted in reporting this guest for extortion (both via Airbnb and in real life). I was also ensured that any future review left by this guest would be removed.
For anyone dealing with a similar situation: the person I did speak with told me I should NOT have refunded her without opening a case in the resolution center first and based on the circumstances i most likely wouldn’t of had to refund her a penny.
My reasons for deciding to refund her go beyond the booking itself. If this were an out of town guest with no ties to the local community, I would have not refunded her at all.
But, we do own commercial property in the town we’ve invested a lot in & am currently in the process of attempting to get approval for specific business licensing that is controversial. This specific guest somehow knew that we own the completely unrelated commercial property & her threats went beyond a bad online review. It’s a small town & last thing we need right now is some lunatic running her mouth around town/showing up at the next board meeting/posting on the local private fb group warning people that we ripped her off, are bad people, etc…
That still sounds like extortion to me.