Any tips for a reasonable partial refund to a guest for a broken appliance?

[Kristeen2]

Oh hi

I didn’t know how to start my own conversation so I thought I’d look for advice here. I’ve been doing Airbnb since Jan..so almost 5 months now. I’ve had 18 five start reviews/happy guests..until my most recent group of 8. My 9 year old French door fridge is dying and I didn’t know it until the guest brought it to my attention at 11pm the night before she checked out (the stay was for 8 days) Here is her complaint to me: All of her food went bad. I refunded 100. Then she mentioned that she spent 200 on perishables for large group, so I refunded her 200 total...and she says that he wants a substantial discount for things. I don’t know how much to refund her? More? Shall I ask her how much she wants? Should I just ignore her?

[Kristeen2]

I meant the guest’s stay was for 4 days not 8 days

[Alexandra316]

@Kristeen2 I think that refunding her for the food was fair of you. Asking you for more seems opportunistic at this point. You made her whole: asking for more seems pretty cheeky.

If she writes you a poor review, I would just respond to it and state that you refunded her in full for the food she said had spoiled and that the fridge has been replaced.

[Kristeen2]

Yeah? Okay. Thank you. 

[Melissa567]

agreed. @Kristeen2  I will take this advice one step further, only because this is a first for you:

aim to keep any reply just as straightforward as @Alexandra316 's example - gracious, clear and simple, it will keep any space for backlash at a minimum. 

good guests coming to your page will be able to read between the lines if you apologize, acknowledge the refund (no need to state the amount, btw) and say that you've replaced the fridge.

good luck!