Guest asking for refund three days after checking out

[Moira63]

Hi

I have just had a request for full refund from guest who checked on on Friday 14th June until Sunday 16th June.

Today ,three days after check outI get email from guest via Airbnb vlsimiy that the flat was dirty.

They never contacted me so I couldn't do anything about it.

I will refund half the money but they have already written s review which is obviously going to be bad which is so unfair as I was not given a chance to rectify it.

Has anyone had a similar situation,?

Thanks

Moira

[Julie143]

Why would you refund even half the money?  

If they thought the flat was dirty they had options:

1) Contact you and give you a chance to fix it.

2) Leave

3) Live with it.

They don’t get to stay somewhere for free or 50% off, just because they didn’t like it. 

[Tim-and-Holly0]

@Moira63, @Julie143 :
I agree with Julie.

[Ange2]

@Moira63     A claim needs to be put in 24 hours after the problem is noticed- Airbnb policy.  Why give her a free stay.  It will just encourage her and others to do the same to future hosts (I am assuming the flat was clean upon arrival).  This is a known scam many use but as per Airbnb policy the guest is not entitled to a refund, although Arbnb may ask you to give her one. Just say no. You can respond to her review, If it's a rant and you have good reviews I wouldn't bother. If you do respond make it short and factual and sell your proactivity and professionalism. But please leave a review so other hosts will know.

[Qier-and-Philippe0]

Hi @Moira63 ,

I agree with @Julie143 @Ange2 

Don't give any refund.

But I am a bit confused since it seems that you don't know whether your flat is dirty.

[Mark116]

@Moira63  I wouldn't give any refund either, many of your reviews mention that the flat is very clean...this makes their claims quite suspect.  Of course there is always an off time, or cleaners have a bad day or whatever, but multiple reviews mentioning a super clean apartment+no mention of cleanliness until after they've left suggests a scam.

[Moira63]

Thanks everyone for your supportive replies. The problem is that I cannot guarantee that the flat was perfectly clean, don't live nearby so unable to inspect and using new cleaning company.

If I do not refund then it will go to Airbnb who may even decide I should refund whole amount. I rang them last night but after initial conversation was put on hold while transferred to different  team which never happened so have up.

I will certainly write a negative review for guest .

[Julie143]

The guests did not follow Airbnb’s procedures. They are supposed to notify the host first, during the stay, and give them a chance to make things right.

If the host is not responsive, they can escalate to Airbnb, but not days after checking out.

Do you charge a cleaning fee?

You *might* consider refunding that, if it would make you feel better. Do the guests have photos?

Some cleaning services will take photos of the space when they are done. Maybe yours could do this in the future? I clean my own listing and taking detailed photos or a video right before check-in time is part of my routine.

[Ange2]

@Moira63    Beats me why someone decides to stay somewhere that was not clean, say nothing and then demand a refund after they have taken full advantage of the space.  Free vacation?  Screams scam.

[Moira63]

Thanks Julie142 and Ange2 for your advice, I don't charge a cleaning fee .

I spoke to a very helpful person at Airbnb who said I should decline the refund request and if the guest wanted to pursue it, Airbnb would make the final decision i.e after asking guest for photos etc. They don't have any .

I will post the outcome .

Thanks again