Guest Demanding Refund After Cancellation Due to Not Liking My Apartment

[Trent3]

Hi All,

I'm writing for advice.  I had 2 guests arrive and cancelled after the first night as the accomodations weren't suited for their needs and are now requesting a full refund.

As per my listing, if you read it carefully, all information is correct as to what the apartment has.  I advertise a 1 bedroom apartment with one queen bed and one sofa bed in a common area.  

The pictures are indicative to the listing and so are my descriptions of the apartment and the features and amenities.

They never asked specifically about the sleeping accommodations, simply stating that, "We are two people coming for Dreamforce."  My convertable couch is a little smaller than a regular fold out bed, and I also offer an Airbed if the couch doesn't suffice.

Since they didn't ask any specific questions about the bed situation, I presumed they were content with the accommodations and understood the listing.  However, were very angry when they arrived and found the couch to be too small, and unhappy with an airbed.

Considering this is a very popular week for hosting in San Francisco, and although a much higher pricepoint that what I normally charge, my listing was on par with pricing for the accommodations for comparable listings for the week.  

I take pride in my listing and have depended on this income for quite some time.

Understanding the above information this is what the guest writes in regards to obtaining a refund:

      "We asked for 2 beds and I checked the details before to do the reservation. It was clearly written 2 beds but your sofa is for a     kid not for an adult. Even airbed on the floor cannot be considered as a second bed. To be honest, for the price you asked for, you must seriously think to refresh your flat. The pictures on AirNb looked promising but the reality was really far from these nice pictures."

My cancellation policy as at moderate.  I've never really had this happen before, so any advice on how to proceed is welcome, do I offer the refund, not offer them anything, or split the difference somehow?

Thanks in advance!

[Karen77]

There are times hosts learn the easy way and times we learn the hard way.  I've been taken by surprise several times when I assumed guests knew exactly what I was and was not offering.

Most hosts here will tell you that guests really don't read much of our carefully worded profiles, so we need to be extra attentive at booking to be sure folks are clear about what we can provide.

If I were you, I'd offer some sort of refund .  You both bear some responsibility.  

[Karen77]

If I were you, I'd include a better picture of the second sleeping option.  

[Ira4]

@Trent3 I am sorry that happened to you. 

You can use the link in my signature and contact Airbnb to ask more details about it. 

I wouldn't make any refund. Pictures are clear and you have the sofa-bed icon in your listing. Of course, writing the dimensions of the sofa would be a good extra detail. But anyway, if the guest wanted some specific dimension (if he/she was tall, for example), they should have asked for more details. 

My reply would be like this:

Dear (guest's name),

I am really sorry for your inconvenience and that you didn't have the chance to enjoy my place. 

However, the photos and the basic description of my listing give the precise image of the place and the beds. As you may have seen, Airbnb have special icons for each kind of beds, so guests can understand exactly what kind of beds they will find in the listing. 

As a result, I could not do something about refunding you the cost of your booking, taking into consideration that it is a high season for my city. 

Thank you for your advice about my flat and I wish you the best. 

(My English may contain errors, but I wanted to send it quickly 🙂 ) 

Keep going and I wish you the best!

Ira​

• For anyone who wants to contact Airbnb, see this thread:
  

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728 …

• Let's all give thumbs up to hosts that help us!

[Kim-and-Jen0]

Hi Trent,

I had similar incident, it was my first time and it was teribble as the guest yelled at me at my home early in the morning. After taking some advices, I decline the refund. First, they stay and spent a night there, they should pay. Some people just want to make you feel bad and asking for refund. The descriptions and actual place was clear. The bed preference/quality is different from a person to another and they didnt ask about the bed too. They booked with you for two nights, you are losing the opportunity to host the night they cancel (less income for you, so win win solution you could refund them 50% of the second day minus the fees)

Anyway, If you refund them you will not prevent them to leave you bad review. They still can write you and give you bad ratings. Even hotel/flight cant offer full refund, especially after you stayed for a night or took the flight.

To avoid this in future maybe you can add the sofabed size on your listing.

Good luck

Jen

[Karen-and-Brian0]

HI @Trent3 Your place is charming! When I look at your listing, I think I get a fairly good sense of the size of your second bed option & it does look a bit small. I don't think you're misleading guests, you have it listed as it is - a sofa bed in a common space. The problem might be that guests are not looking closely and are expecting a hide-a-bed type sofa bed - yours is more of a futon type. Is it a single size bed, and is the length of it the length of a single bed?  You could note that. If it isn't even a single size bed, then I'm not sure I'd consider it a bed option, unless you want to call it a couch? If you wanted to splash out the extra $$ you could get an actual sofa bed (with hide-a-bed mattress), even a love-size one would be nice & would also fit in your space - looks as if the existing couch/bed is about a love size width.

I find people don't read listings closely, but they usually do look at the photos, so if you can make sure you have some really good ones of the couch, including some with it made up as a bed, that might help avoid any confusion in future. All the best with your listing! Karen

[Karen-and-Brian0]

@Trent3 I went back and had another look and now I think I see what the problem is - you have a bedroom showing with a bed with white headboard and one with a bed without a headboard. I'm assuming this is the same bedroom but there is nothing to indicate that. It looks like 2 separate beds. This might be the problem - the guests didn't read the description, but saw what they took to be 2 separate (double?) beds. Remove the photos that don't show the bed in the bedroom as it actually looks now. You may need to offer a refund afterall. Hope that helps! Karen