Guest cancels hours after checking in, accusing my neighbors of drug dealing, demanding full refund

[Olivia240]

Hello,

Please help!  I had a guest check in yesterday for two nights.  A few hours later they cancel, but do not contact me at all.  I try to ask what is wrong, and no answer, so I called Airbnb.  Airbnb said that I dont need to worry about a refund since I have a moderate cancelation policy.  I told them I would like to refund the guest $85 from $282, hoping it would help them out.  I was baffled as to why they cancelled 3 hours in.  So I started the process of sending them $85,  and saw that they had wrote this lengthy note asking for full refund because there was guys dealing drugs next door, and a black truck driving up and taking pictures of them and other people in the street taking pictures of them and pointing.  (I was later told by Airbnb that the guest "says" she confronted these people and told them to stop)  So they felt really unsafe and left.  But they would not answer my questions until hours later, when they saw I was not refunding the whole amount.

Now, I know my neighbors pretty well.  They are NOT drug dealers, I have never even seen them drink all these years.  Their house is 100 years old, run down, and they aren't rich.  They work very hard, and sometimes you can see her gown sons working on other peoples cars to earn $$.  They are black and samoan, so the men are big and burly and are the sweetest guys you will meet.  Their mother has put her house up for sale, so maybe someone was taking pictures of that house.  Also I am having a historic christmas tour through my house and they might send someone over to take a picture of the house for the magazine.  Other than than I am baffled as to why there would be someone taking pictures???

Any way, this girl has no reviews.  I dont know if she ever stayed in the city before.  She has now sent me threatening messages that I better refund the whole amount or else.

What should I do???  

Airbnb contacted me and ask that I refund 1/2.

[Emiel1]

@Olivia240 

Allways stop communicating with guests who sent you threatening messages, and contact Airbnb.

Airbnb already asked you to refund 50%. You can close the case with this agreement or otherwise inform Airbnb about the threatening mesages.and see what else they have to say.

[Sarah977]

@Olivia240 Definitely report the threatening messages to Airbnb -that's extortion and against Airbnb TOS. 

It sounds like these guests were bigots- they saw non-whites next door, big burly ones to boot, and so of course they must be drug dealers. I wouldn't refund these people a penny more than they will already get under your cancellation policy. I would also tell Airbnb that they said the neighbors were drug dealers because of racial discrimination- that you know your neighbors and they are no such thing- that the guests seemed to assume that all people of color are criminals.