Dissatisfied guest (pre-arrival) regarding non-functional master shower

[Anh19]

I am a new host and ran into an issue I'd appreciate opinions on.

I have a guest (4 adults + 3 kids) scheduled to arrive in 1 week for a family wedding.  They are staying 3 nights.  We had our home listed as 3 bed/2 bath.  We are in the process of renovating our master bathroom.  Yesterday, I just learned from my contractor that the master shower will not be completed in time for their stay.  I had every commitment from them it would be, I'm learning the hard way that remodels don't work that way 😞 I reached out to guest via email as soon as I heard this news and offered a credit of $75.

His response was that of pure disappointment.  He said he was "insulted by the credit" and he's "unsure how the 7 of them will be able to manage with only 1 shower."  In his words, "this is a grave situation."

My first thought is, "I really do feel bad."  My second thought is, "is he overreacting a little bit?" Mind you there is 1 fully functioning shower/bathroom and the 2nd bathroom has fully functioning toilet/sink.  I'm not sure if him feeling insulted is more about the amount offered, or if he is just insulted by me offering a credit?  

TBH, I'd prefer he request I cancel his reservation.  I don't want him in a "grave situation."  At the same time, I'd hate for him to be stressed about finding another place in a weeks time.

Any thoughts on the situation and how I may better handle it in the future is greatly appreciated.  At the moment, I'm questioning if offering our home for short-term rental is a good idea.

Best,

Anh

[Anh19]

Here is my latest exchange with this guest.  I know there was advice not to provide the additional $, but I felt I'd sleep better if I did.  Is there anything I should be concerned about in cancelling him, per his message?  I also sent him the message yesterday, so technically it's 8 days advanced notice.

Note: although he gives the impression there is no other booking options, in my queries there were more than a dozen in my area that have the 3 bed / 2 bath he requires.  Maybe just not his taste.

My last email to guest:

I ran a few queries for 3 bed / 2 bath rentals for your dates and found a number of them in and around the same area. I think the best option is to proceed with one of these alternative bookings that can give you the 2 shower/baths you require. Of course, I will refund you your entire payment, but above that I will provide you with $100 credit that you can put towards the other booking in order to (in some little way) help with this unfortunate situation. I certainly can't feel right about "insulting" a guest staying in my home, nor, do I want you to be in a "grave situation." 

With all do respect, I will 1) cancel your booking, 2) refund you in full, and with your approval, 3) credit you $100 to put towards another booking for the inconvenience.

-----

Guest Response:
We did not agree to this cancellation and have a wedding in 6 days with no accommodation option.
I am letting you know that I reached out to them to understand my legal option due to this unilateral breach of contract.

[Michael956]

@Anh19  I had a very similar experience at my house here in San Francisco a few weeks ago.  I also have two full shared bathrooms (and 2 bedrooms listed).  The shower in one of the bathrooms needed repairs, and the work wasn't finished on the day I expected.  Two new groups of guests arrived (a family with one child, and another couple).  I felt awful because I want my place to be perfect and to offer guests exactly what they've seen in my listing (two full bathrooms).  When they arrived I immediately explained the situation and told them I was refunding both parties $70, which was about 20% of their total payments.  All the guests affected were completely understanding.  Everyone used the other functioning shower, and there were no problems, complaints or people waiting impatiently.  Both groups gave me a five star review.  I'm sorry your guest is such an entitled jerk.  He sounds like trouble and I hope you can get Airbnb to cancel his reservation without penalizing you.  

[Anh19]

Thank you for sharing this Michael!  It makes me feel so much better.  I am like you, I really want my guests to have a great experience and am willing to what I can to ensure that happens.  I felt awful about the situation, but (if I can be honest) if he would have been less arrogant I would've gladly comp'd him 1 or 2 nights without question.  This may be somewhat of a reach, but my impression is that he's used to his way or the highway.  I think I will sleep ok tonight knowing I've done all I could.  You can't please everyone.

Thanks again for your story Michael.  Proves there are reasonable guests out there 🙂

[Rebecca160]

@Anh19 you really should contact Airbnb and have them cancel this immediately. This guy is getting uglier already. 

[Anh19]

Thank you!  Just did.  They said I am fully within my right to cancel given the circumstances. Phew!

[Sarah977]

@Anh19  There's a lot of people on this planet who'd be thrilled to have even one indoor bathroom for a family of 10 with proper plumbing, and hot water would be considered an unbelievable luxury.

"Legal option due to unilateral breach of contract"?  I think this guy would have been an extremely difficult guest. The non-ready shower may have been a blessing in disguise.

[Anh19]

Yes! I agree.  It's very apparent now and I think I will go and thank my non-functioning shower. hehe.

[Robin4]

@Anh19 Get onto CS and ask them to cancel this reservation immediately. You have done everything to be fair to this guest and he has refused all your advances.

There is not a chance in hell that this hosting will proceed to a satisfactory conclusion.

Explain to CS that this guest is making you really uncomfortable, his demands are not acheivable and you are not getting anywhere through negotiation.

The very worst that will happen is you will be penalised for the cancellation but if this is your first there will not be any financial penalty involved.

I hate to recommend a host cancel a confirmed guest reservation but, Anh, mate, Turkeys belong on the 'Thanksgiving dinner table', not on Airbnb. Get onto CS immediately and have them cancel, you really have nothing to loose!

Cheers.....Rob

[Anh19]

Thank you for the support Robin.  I did feel awful cancelling, but yes, I could not host this person in my house.

It baffles me that a full-grown man was acting so spoiled-rotten.  I'm not sure how you get through life like this. 

Thank you again.

Cheers!

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 yes, I lived like that when I was little however it was not my choice and my family was not paying several hundred dollars a night for that. This family chose this place based on false advertisement by @Anh19. I would like a show of hands of who renovation was completed on time. This family has an event to go to and will want to shower in sync so now the process got longer for them by probably an hour. Having said that, he does not have the right to be beating Anh down to the ground either. We all make mistakes. I assume he is hoping she will give him a very large discount and will bully her in staying for almost free. Stay strong!

[Anh19]

That's very fair.  My intention was to give a more updated, pleasant bathroom to my guests, but my intention seems to have went awry, unfortunately.

Yes, I can't imagine having his negative energy in my house.  I do feel if he approached it differently and refrained from using certain words we would've resolved this in no time and he would've gotten comp'd nights - as I suspect he wanted all along.

[Miki5]

I agree, do not host this guest. Even if the lack of one shower is a huge inconvenience for a family, his attitude speaks volumes. By the way, you can cancel penalty free when there are extenuating circumstances. I once had to cancel because the city was doing road work and the water "might" have been switched off during a guest's stay. Even though the guest was fine with this possibility, I canceled penalty free, because I feared it could have turned into an unpleasant experience for everyone. 

As for your worry about any hassle he might incur to rebook elsewhere, I’d say he lost his right for such consideration when he started acting like a jerk.  

[Anh19]

Yes, I was able to get it cancelled penalty-free.  TBH, that was the least of my worries.  I simply didn't want him staying at my home after the communications with him.  There are no characteristics I dislike more than arrogance and entitlement.

Thanks for your support Miki.

[Sinead9]

You've gone above and beyond to compensate this dude. You contacted him with plenty time to find another place to stay, offered cancellation AND 100 dollars!

If he ends up staying in your place, he will undoubtedly be a nightmare. Contact Airbnb asap and explain the circumstance. Personally, i think you didn't have to offer him stay monetary compensation given the circumstance was outside of your control and you were transparent about it with him. 

Simply put, if hes not happy with 1 bathroom ... he should book somehwere else! hes not being forced to stay

[Anh19]

Thank you Sinead!  The last message from him seems to indicate he didn't want the $100 comp but would rather determine what his legal options are for me cancelling his booking.  Well, the company deemed I was fully within my right to cancel based on the circumstances.  What strikes me as odd about this is he claims to be a "VRBO veteran host."  Geez.  Seems so ironic.