Guests refunded after not following check-in procedure

[Algarve-Getaways0]

Airbnb has refunded guests in full for their reservation, after they failed to read our messages and check-in procedure, which gave full details for key access and after hours mobile numbers to call if they had any problems.  All this was done in their own language so there were no issues of misunderstanding.  The Airbnb representative did not use our emergency number to contact us, did not ask the guests if they had read the check-in instructions and contact numbers in the messages and made one attempt to call us at our office, after hours, when it was closed.  Our office hours were also clearly given in the messages.  The Airbnb staff member did not do her job properly, in advising the guests or viewing the information and correspondence on the dashboard and simply refunded the guests in full after one hour.  Of course, she does not want to enter into any discussion about this or admit any liability.  We followed Airbnb procedure to the letter.  Any ideas how we can take this further please, because, of course, Airbnb does not want to acknowledge any responsibility.  

[Susan1188]

This is my number one pet peeve and I struggle with communicating check in procedure to guests since day one.

I totally feel your frustration.

I have concluded it's up to me to make explicitly clear and get in writing  that the guest has read the most important things.

This means having a personal interaction and sometimes voice phone call with every guest to make sure they understand and get confirmation in writing on the platform.  I have resorted to phone calls, welcome packs with photos and images, pictograms, and even youtube videos.

With experience, I now have a 6th sense and can tell which guests are going to be a problem.  People with no 4G coverage, no European cell phone package and who are not phone-tech savvy are big red flags.

I see you are in Portugal, I'm in Spain.  Travellers from other continents, North America, Middle East and Asia are at a high risk for this kind of misunderstanding  because of lack of phone coverage, language barrier, and different hospitality expectations and customs.    If I get a guest from outside Europe I always make sure to make an extra effort and personal phone contact to ensure expectations are managed and they know what to do.

Some things I have resorted to are

(1) verifying guest phone number on booking and making sure it is the phone they will be travelling with (some people put land lines or use another phone when abroad or booked on their husbands accound or whatever). 

(2) get their travel itinerary, flight NUMBERS not just "i'm arriving at 3pm" and ETA. 

(3) put arrival days in red on your calendar and stay near your phone around ETA.

(4) Reaching out to them CLOSE to their trip, make sure they can get on the App and use it to communicate with you, send them  a reminder about check in instructions - a day or two before - they are usually motivated to communicate with you then.

(5) Switching to a property manager that is used to handling Airbnb clients.

Basically, if this happens, you have to search for ways that it won't happen again.  You may have to change .your check in procedures, make more explicit instructions, change your property manager to one with easier system.  

[Mark116]

@Algarve-Getaways0   I would call and speak to another rep.  and keep doing that until you get someone who has some common sense. 

[Algarve-Getaways0]

Thanks @Mark1733 , we did try speaking to several other reps but they all said that only the person who cancelled the reservation could deal with us.  So, now I am trying to work out how I can make a complaint about her actions, which were totally out of order.

[Algarve-Getaways0]

@Susan1188 I am a property manager and have been in the business a very long time.  I appreciate your input but don't need to be told how to follow procedure.  The guests read the message with the directions, as they found their way to the property.  They did not read 2 other messages directly below, in the same thread, which had the check-in codes, clear details on how to follow them and contact phone numbers and office hours repeated twice.  If we supply all the information, through the Airbnb messaging platform, and the guest does not read it, we should not be penalized by them getting a full refund and us  being left out of pocket.