Can a guest use 'change booking' to get round our strict cancellation policy?

[Cat22]

Hi, fellow hosts. We have a very troublesome long term guest living in our home, she is very young and rather spoilt. She keeps wondering why we won't do her laundry for her, for example. The house is in Accra (Ghana) where wifi is a luxury and this guest slurped through a generous allowance which ordainrily serves up to 4 guests for 3 months, in the first 3 weeks of her stay. She is so outraged we cannot keep replacing it she has decided to move out.

Unfortunately Airbnb have fueled her righteous indignation by telling her (she says) we were in the wrong. They seem to be taking a first-world European viewpoint which assumes wifi should always be unlimited. After 10 days of tantrums and tears and meltdowns we have decided to replace the wifi supply just to shut her up, she's exhausting. I have read that if she cancels fewer than 30 days before the end of her booking we get to keep the money and I feel we've earned it. So my question is, if she wants to leave before then and insists on getting her money back, what is to prevent her from using the 'change request' rather than the 'cancel' option and then, if it is more than 30 days in advance of the booking's end date, we have no choice but to accept it?

In other words, is the protection of the strict cancellation policy meaningless with longterm guests?

Would love to hear your insights, thank you very much for your help.


Cat

[Gordon0]

The problem you face, @Cat22, is that flaky (or limited) internet isn't mentioned on your listing, it just states 'Continuous access in the listing'. Likewise, millenials (and those a little older who should know better) expect first-world facilities even if they're in second-world countries.

On this matter, she may have you in a sticky place with Airbnb.

On the cancellation issue, all the details are here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/home/cancellation_policies#long-term

Remember, you don't have to accept changes.

Good luck!

[Cat22]

Thanks Gordon! That's insightful and I appreciate it. We've worked hard to eliminate the flakiness - tried three other providers before settling for this one - but yes it is limited. I mean, it's Ghana. To my mind it is amazing we have internet at all. Most people don't have running water. I agree it's an issue of expectations. Will check out the link you sent, thank you so much!

[Cat22]

And yes you're quite right, Airbnb when she approached them took a white-privileged view as well: they interpreted 'generous' to mean 'bottomless' which I guess it does mean in Canada and France etc.

[Mark116]

@Cat22  Maybe you should change it to 'limited' wifi and add a disclaimer sentence in the listing about wifi challenges in Ghana to make it more clear.

[Cat22]

That is a good suggestion, thank you Mark!

[Sandra856]

Hi @Cat22 🙂

My guess is that if she complains and wants to get out of the deal because of the wifi problem airbnb will side with her and then your cancellation policy won't matter. If you promise unlimited wifi you should provide unlimited wifi. It is better (in my opinion) to be completely clear in your listing with what you offer so guests know what to expect. I for instance have a tiny mini Copenhagen bathroom and make it clear in the listing so guests know what to expect. I have seen Copenhagen hosts getting grilled in reviews because they don't mention the small bathrooms.

Best, Sandra 

[Cat22]

Hi Sandra, thank you. I agree it is important to be clear! I certainly didn't promise unlimited wifi. It's almost unavailable in Ghana, which is a very poor country. I promised generous wifi and I think I delivered it. To me this is a cultural gap - this guest has arrived from Canada expecting to find everything just as well plumbed and paved as it is at home. We have a second place in Accra which lacks running water - that's quite common here. You have a polytank and a little truck comes threading between the houses to fill it up. The conversation with this guest has made me start to wonder how Airbnb can challenge its own European bias and become more accommodating of hosts in exploited nations. |

I love Copenhagen with its tiny bathrooms! Hi from Accra.