Opinions Please: Retracting on Offer To Refund

[Lisa990]

When my inquiring guest was trying to book my place she was only able to book it for 2 guest and she wanted to book it for 4 people. I made the change to 4 guests but I was concerned that this would increase the cost a lot and discourage her from booking. I made an offer to refund $200 after her stay if she booked and as long as the place was left as she found it (no damages, etc.). When she booked the place it ended up being almost $200 less because I had a long term stay discount and forgotten to include that. Anyhow, I asked her if I could reduce the refund, to $50 given my mistake in telling her what the cost could be potentially (I actually stated "around $925") and it ended up being $758. I guess I will wait to hear what she has to say and take it from there, but I am curious how other hosts would have handled a mistake in calculating the cost and being too eager to get a booking? Should I pay it anyway and learn from my mistake?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Lisa990  I think your best solution here will proceed from the reaction you get in your correspondence.

But in general, I would not recommend ever conducting a transaction in the manner you did again.  Be straightforward and consistent about your prices, including Extra Guest Fees, and stick to them - even if it means losing a prospective guest who's hunting for a discount. And under no circumstances offer a conditional after-the-stay rebate: that's nothing but a setup for conflict.

You've seen how messy it gets when you try fiddling with pricing after a request - that's not just you, it's also the many glitches in Airbnb's booking alteration template. So when you're having a slow stretch and want to try discounts, do it in your calendar so it's already locked in when the guest requests to book. Price changes after the point of sale are bound to end badly.

[Lisa990]

Excellent. Thank you for your prudent advice. 

[Sarah977]

@Lisa990  I feel it's quite unfair to a guest to make the fact that we "forgot" about pricing we had set, or any other pricing issue we had neglected to change or update, a guest issue. Of course we all sometimes overlook things or don't remember, but that's our responsibility, not anyone else's. If I were a guest and a host pulled this on me, I'd be pretty irritated, but hopefully your guest won't respond like that.

The only instance where I would message the guest to let them know of  pricing error is if it was a case of an Airbnb glitch, rather than my own inattention.