How to properly remedy a guest situation gone bad

[Milena-and-Johnny0]

How would someone recommend I handle the following scenerio which just happened here at our cabin over Christmas:

Our guest arrived after check-in time, when we were not home, and got stuck coming up our driveway as they were given a car from a car rental without proper winter tires, actually the tires had no tread at all, and our location gets tons of snow. Then to find out that the guests partner has a diability which makes it hard for him to walk, which we were not told about previously, else I would have been at the house to greet them and help them. Then to be txted continuously all that night as they could not get the heater to stay on so at 11pm I went up to help and it was so hot inside as they had the fireplace on and the thermostat said 74. We keep it at 68 and ask guests to use the fireplace for majority of the heat. Our guest was not feeling well and was super cold so I reprogrammed it for 82 degrees. The next day they had the heat on, fireplace and cooked a big Christmas dinner for their family and by the end of the day she found that flying ants hatched above the window by the fireplace, in the middle of the winter, which made their stay unbarable. This has never happen to us before. Yes its a very old cabin, but we have over 100 reviews of 5-stars as people love it here. They left a day early and have now been sending endless communications for us to rebate back 2 of their 3 nights and expressing how our place does not stand up to airbnb contract standards for cleanliness and that they expected a 5-star luxurous experience and has found a list of things she has decided to nit-pick about which is simply ridiculous to say the least. Our guests just prior left a 5-star review and loved it. Anyways, we got back in super last from Christmas visits and I went up to the cabin and there was not a single flying ant to be found. I am just checking now as it is warmer out and daytime and will see. They were definitely there as they took pictures and sent them to me so I do trust they are telling the truth. They originally asked us to rebate the last night as they were going to leave a day early and we agreed. Now they want more. Can anyone give some advice as to how to remedy this in the best way? Her notes feel like she is treatening to review in a bad way if we don't give them what they want... I just want to be human about the experience and understanding and fair overall....

[Gerry-And-Rashid0 · Accepted solution]

First, you are unlikely to get a favourable review, no matter what you do.

second,the only issue within your control was the heating and you fixed that.

If they were that unhappy they should have moved out after the first night and then asked for a refund for the remaining two nights (which you could have decided to give them if you wished). They can't stay the entire time, use all the facilities and then expect a refund of two nights.thats no the way it works. Point out to them that you managed the issue they raised and they stayed for the entire time - the other issues were either their creation or out of your control.

[Milena-and-Johnny0]

Thank you Gerry and Rashid. This is exactly what my husband and I were discussing. They expressed having a great day their first day and all was well after we helped out and then the things out of our control happened and it cascaded from there, with us continuing to help as much as we could. There was agreement to the one night rebate as they decided to check-out a day early and I think we will stick to that.

Much appreciated!

[Lisa367]

We have a strict "no refunds" policy in general.  The reason being is that we are super confident in our listing and consider it very accurate.  The only complaints people have made are regarding parking, and honestly that is absolutely not in our control.  We have also had a guest that had a disability and they didn't disclose this to us prior.  They complained that the bathroom wasn't on the same level as the bedroom.  Well, if you told me that you had a problem with stairs, I could've told you this before booking.  Bottom line is, some guests just suck, period.  Even though you are running a business, the best part about being an Airbnb host is that you have 100% control.  If you felt like your place was up to proper standards and things happened that were out of your control, you don't owe them anything at all.  The good news is that if/when they leave you a bad review, you have the right to reply to it publically.  I have DEFINITELY stayed places that have had one or two bad reviews simply because I can see that the person who left the review was super high maintenance and annoying.  If the host leaves a diplomatic response then I'll feel comfortable staying and I don't care about the bad review at all.

[Milena-and-Johnny0]

Thank you Lisa, this makes me feel a lot more confident in my response. We have been renting for 3 years and have been a super host the whole time and have endless people loving our place and returning like crazy. We have experienced guests like this twice before and we are very thankful it has only been a couple times. I agree with all you state. Much appreciated!

[Andrea9]

@Milena-and-Johnny0

Just make sure the situation, the expectations, your solving the problems, and any agreements were made on or are reflected by reiterating on the booking message page. If not, there's a strong chance that Airbnb might favor the guest... Not supposed to, but have seen numberous posts where this was the case because Airbnb only had the guest version.

However if you go to the TOS you'll see that guests also have to complain before leaving and give host a chance to remedy the situation. I'd have to  look for it myself to quote it, but I know it's there. Just check.

Good luck,

Andrea

[Milena-and-Johnny0]

Much appreciated Andrea! Another great note of advice 🙂