It's cold. Guests just checked in. Heat's not working. Now what?

Kimberly419
Level 4
Ontario, Canada

It's cold. Guests just checked in. Heat's not working. Now what?

Hey all, 

 

Our guests just checked into our Toronto condo and the heat in our unit isn't working. We're 3 hours away, so nothing we can do to troubleshoot it.  I had them check a couple things but it's going to need someone to look at it. And so far we're unable to reach a service provider. I don't expect we'll get anyone in there before Monday at the very soonest. 

 

The condo won't get freezing cold. The building itself runs warm, but it's not going to be super comfortable in there. I've advised them to run the dryer to bring the place up to temperature (it's electric, so no dangerous fumes) and they are being good-natured about the whole thing.  They've gone out for the evening now and seem unconcerned,  but I'm going to have to offer to help them find a new place tomorrow. 

 

SO ... is there a process around doing that? Do I just let them shop for another place and refund their stay?  Or should I facilitate that in some way?

 

Frustratingly, I *know* there is another Airbnb unit in our building, but do you think I can find it on the Airbnb map.....? 

 

Advice would be appreciated .. thx!

 

7 Replies 7
Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Kimberly419 handing this over to ABB CS is the best thing you can do at this point and it would really be better to do it immediately

 

(if you wait until tomorrow then should they pay you something for the night or nothing or how does the refund work out.....)

 

What kind of clothes dryer do you have that would heat a house??

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Kimberly419 

There is no active listing of an Airbnb in the same building shown on the map

The map shows only yours at the specified location.

There are 3 Airbnb's nearby,same street + Sherbourne Street

 

toronto.jpg

Yadira22
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kimberly419 We had this and Amazon prime came to the rescue- get a same day delivery for small electronic heaters which are able to be moved around. Have them delivered straight to the property and inform your guests of their delivery and preferably as they require no installation just ask them to use accordingly. 

i would also send a small gift as a thank you- voila, all is good. Won’t solve the main underlying cause but at least the problem has temporarily gone and you can have this as a backup if ever needed! Good luck to you! 🙂

Kimberly419
Level 4
Ontario, Canada

Thank you everyone. 

 

Our plan right now is to hop in the car tomorrow and just drive there. We will bring 2 nice room heaters that should take care of the whole place easily. As well, my husband can do basic troubleshooting while we're there. 

 

I've let the guest know and have told them if they are uncomfortable, we'll help arrange something else for Sunday night and will refund them as necessary.  They're out for the evening, so haven't heard back.  I'll get in touch w CS tomorrow just let them know and confirm the process. 

 

@Kelly149, it's just a regular electric dryer, but we're only heating a 600 sqft 2-room condo. When we dry laundry, it gets so warm, we usually have to open the balcony door. 🙂 

I like @Yadira22 's idea - if same-day delivery of a space heater is an option,  that would be the ideal patch for this issue. 

 

If this isn't possible, but your guests still prefer to stay, you can also offer to reimburse them the cost of purchasing a heating unit, along with a partial refund proportional to the degree of inconvenience for the nights without central heating. 

 

I'd only suggest a full refund if the guests make it clear that they are not comfortable and don't wish to stay. But if I were in the guests' situation, I'd be much happier to accept the offer of a space heater than to have to move to another accommodation.

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

Think like a guest not a host.  Sounds like you have guests that can go with the flow (lucky you)  so in addition to solving the problem, acknowledging the inconvenience and disruption with something special is a good strategy.  As @Anonymous  has noted, most guest would prefer to stay where they are if the issue can be resolved.  Some guests, a minority, want to get some "pound of flesh" for their inconvenience.

 

If you are 3 hours away from your listing, perhaps you could identify a local person who can address issues in a timely manner.  Remote hosts are always at a disadvantage if they cannot handle a situation in a timely manner.  In my city, it is a requirement of the short term rental hosts to have someone local that can resolve an issue within 45 minutes!

Kimberly419
Level 4
Ontario, Canada

Just to add closure here ....

 

We notified the guest that first night (Sat) that we would be there the next day by noon with heaters and to look at the heat system.  They responded the next morning (Sun) and reported that they had a very cold uncomfortable night and had decided to cut their trip short. The would spend time in the city while we were in the condo, then leave that afternoon. They had been booked through to Monday. 

 

We arrived at noon. They were out. The place was chilly and the heat was not working. We warmed it up with space heaters and after about an hour my husband got the heat system going. We left at about 1:30 and updated them.  They said they had already cancelled their evening plans and were going to collect their things and drive home. 

 

They officially checked out at 2:30 and once I confirmed that they had left the keys in the lockbox, I refunded their whole stay. 

 

Throughout all of this, we were extremely apologetic, kept them apprised of exactly what we were doing, and assured them that we'd refund their stay as appropriate. They were extremely understanding, kept thanking us for trying to make it right, and from what I could tell, were more disappointed than angry. Though guess their rating will tell the tale ....

 

Thanks everyone for your quick response here. All good advice! 

 

-K~