@Jimmy225
I'm really confused. I have read your reviews and they are great, so I can't understand why you are not a Superhost. Did you cancel anyone in the past year, as I can only see that you cancelled a couple of stays back in 2015? Or, did the suspension of your listing mean you lost Superhost status?
As to your current guest, as far as I am aware, technically, the guest is supposed to first contact the host to remedy any problems in the listing and then give them a chance to address it. If they are going to report to Airbnb, they are supposed to do that within 24 hours of checking in. However, I know from many posts on this forum that this is not how it necessarily works in practice, with Airbnb reps issuing refunds that fall well outside of these circumstances.
It seems to me that the thing they are most concerned about is a lack of smoke alarms. Now, you say you never listed this as an amenity, nor do the host standards require it, but I wonder, does anyone know if this is actually a REQUIREMENT by Airbnb? Perhaps others can shed some light.
I think the other problem is that the guest is complaining about several things, some of which you can't refute, e.g. the WiFi, the arcade game (even though you say that wasn't listed as an amenity either) and some issues you do refute, such as cleanliness and something to do with the condition of the walls. It sounds like it is easier for them to just refund her to make her go away!
Whatever the outcome, I think it is worth thinking about how you could avoid some of these issues in future (maybe you tried some of these already):
- Do you do self check in or check the guests in personally/have someone do it for you? Personally, I prefer to check in guests myself so I can make sure they are happy and also that they are not giving off weird vibes, but I understand this is not always possible.
- Do you follow up with guests to make sure they are happy with the stay/ask if there is anything else they need? I normally do this the day after check in, but if it was self check in, I would do it sooner. I wouldn't rely on a guest to always inform you of problems, so if there are problems, this helps to identify them earlier. Also, you then have it in writing from them on the Airbnb system that everything is A-OK.
- If something in the listing is broken (whether it is mentioned in the listing or not and even if a previous guest broke it), make sure you inform the guest about this before their stay, e.g. "I'm so sorry, but the cable is currently missing from the arcade game as the previous guest has taken it and I have not had enough time to replace it." I find that most guests are very understanding of these things, but hate surprises being sprung on them.
- You say the unit was cleaned on the day of check in, but who is keeping on top of the cleaners and are you sure they are doing a good job, as there was also mention of a lack of toilet paper? I am sure it is fine, as none of your reviews mention issues with cleanliness, but just checking...
- WiFi is important to a lot of people. Of course you don't have total control of it and it can drop occasionally, but you do need to make sure it's as reliable as it can be in your area and do something about it if it's not. Otherwise, state clearly on the listing that the WiFi is limited.
- Consider installing smoke detectors (a sensible thing to do anyway if you are renting out a property and required legally where I live, so check your local regulations) as it's easy and inexpensive. I don't know if they are still doing it, but Airbnb were sending out smoke/carbon monoxide detectors for free a while back.
I am not criticising you. This guest sounds quite difficult. Who knows why she didn't inform you of any problems and went straight to Airbnb, but some people are non-confrontational and don't feel comfortable taking up issues with the host (another reason why it's good to double check they are happy with everything).