How much to refund?

[Inna22]

I have a fairly big group staying for just two nights. I was told by previous guests that one of the showers goes from extreme cold to extreme heat. I got a plumber out but have been told this morning by the new group that the issue is still there. I can not find anyone to come out till tomorrow so these guys are stuck with two showers instead of three. They obviously have  a place to shower but it is a huge inconvenience. What should a refund be to these folk? I also have another group moving in Monday  and I am not confident I will get it fixed even tomorrow. You can still take a bath there but shower is out so this makes the process much longer. I guess I would need to pre-emptively offer a partial refund to the next group as well. Thoughts?

[Ann783]

I had a similar situation recently but guests couldn’t get hot water in one of showers. So an inconvenience but still could use downstairs bathroom. I ended up refunding $50 for a 3 night stay. 

[Emilia42]

@Inna22 

Do the guests seem inconvenienced? Do you think they expect a refund?

[Inna22]

@Emilia42 they are, they asked to get it fixed today. He also blocked their parking space yesterday when trying to fix it

[Mark116]

I would agree w/Anne, about fifty dollars sounds right.  They still have two thirds of their shower capacity and it is only two days, also, it isn't super hot yet so people aren't going to want to take two showers a day or something.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Hi Inna,

this case for me is crystal clear:

Malfunctioning shower......... = 50%
Blocked Parking space...... = 50%
---------------
Total Refund........................100%

Anything else would trigger a bad review, and rightfully so. Do the right thing 😉 😛

[Karol22]

I don't think anyone can tell you exactly how much to refund. But yes, it is appropriate to provide a small refund as a courtesy attempt to rectify the issue. What's important here is the communication. Call them and apologize for the issue, let them know that you have called a maintenance personnel immediately and keep them posted every time you have an update on the ETA. Apologize for the issue and let them know this has never happened before (if true) and that you would like to provide a partial refund as a token of your appreciation of having them as guests.

[James2566]

Depends how much their bad review can impact your bottom line. For me, it’d be at least a one night refund and I would swallow the loss.

Jane,

We’re very sorry about [...]. Your comfort is our priority and your five star review is important to us. We’d be happy to credit [.....] for this incident. Please let us know if that’s fair to you. Alternately, I understand if you need to [leave early/cancel your upcoming stay]. Please let us know by [3pm] if you accept our offer

Instead of crediting cash, we’ve started offering the equivalent or near equivalent as a credit at a local restaurant so our community can benefit from our mistake. Here’s what that looks like...

Jane,

I’m so sorry [the water was turned off] when you arrived]. I spoke with the water authority and it was due to a broken main. Still, what an inconvenience, and we’d like to make it up to you. We’ve arranged for a [$] credit for you and John to enjoy at [local bar or restaurant] which will be valid until [check out date]. It’s one of our favourite places in the neighbourhood. [Ask for thé floor manager and tell them you’re guests of James Johnson]. 

In my experience it’s good to offer one positive experience for each negative experience and we get good karma by sending guests to our local businesses. We have a tab with two local restaurants where we just need to call them to send guests over for a free drink. 

Sometimes, I save a lot more than I would by refunding a whole night. For example, $100 in drinks is cheaper than refunding a $250/night stay.

Anyway, hope that helps in the future. It’s helped us get five star reviews without mention of the million things that go wrong. 

[Karol22]

@James2566this is a great response! I hope you don't mind I use this for similar maintenance issues!