Unexpected request

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Unexpected request

We had a booking for a couple which is what we normally get.  However upon late arrival the female guest wanted to know if we could accommodate her with an air mattress to be put outside the room,  that was booked, blocking stairway and hallway. 

 

We informed her that we had rented the room as normal , there was no prior request for an air mattress and we don't provide air mattresses.  She stated that it said that we provided an air mattress in our listing.  I said no we did not now and have never stated that.   She said she would be willing to go out and get one.  However it was already late, and we did not want her to do that.  So my wife said we have a cot in the basement that may be used for a bed , however it would be best used in the basement so as not to block the hallway. 

 

Now in doing this we are actually letting her stay in our other listing area without the additional price.  So this couple used two spaces for the price of one. We realize because of Covid, we now have to clean and disinfect two spaces instead of one.  We feel we should be paid  the cleaning fee and use of this second space.

 

Removed unnecessary identifying descriptors - Stephanie, Community Manager

1 Best Answer

@William-and-Naudra-L-0  First, let's ditch the extraneous variables. Even if your guests' religion truly is  involved in the sleeping arrangement (I'm skeptical about that), it's still incumbent on them to choose a listing that fits their needs. You as a host are not obliged to supply anything other than what's in the listing, and if that arrangement isn't acceptable to the guests, it's ultimately for the best if you turn them away.

 

I've had to do this before too, without religion involved. A 2-night Private Room booking for two men (not an unusual sleeping arrangement in this household) who were deeply offended by the notion that they were expected to share the bed they'd booked. They just assumed that they were entitled to use my living room sofa as a second crash space, without asking. Long story short, I persuaded them to cancel their booking and leave, and gave them a partial refund for the second night.

 

If your guests are checking out tomorrow, there's not much to do here except write an honest review. If they have more days booked ahead, the only sensible thing to do here is insist that they leave in the morning and offer a refund for the unused nights under the condition that they accept an alteration request. As far as compensation goes, you could try requesting it with the Resolutions tool, but Airbnb is not going to back you up on this if they don't voluntarily pay. You can never safely presume that you'll get compensated for bizarre demands after the fact - if you don't feel a special request is worth fulfilling at your standard rate, your one and only recourse is to say NO.

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6 Replies 6

@William-and-Naudra-L-0  First, let's ditch the extraneous variables. Even if your guests' religion truly is  involved in the sleeping arrangement (I'm skeptical about that), it's still incumbent on them to choose a listing that fits their needs. You as a host are not obliged to supply anything other than what's in the listing, and if that arrangement isn't acceptable to the guests, it's ultimately for the best if you turn them away.

 

I've had to do this before too, without religion involved. A 2-night Private Room booking for two men (not an unusual sleeping arrangement in this household) who were deeply offended by the notion that they were expected to share the bed they'd booked. They just assumed that they were entitled to use my living room sofa as a second crash space, without asking. Long story short, I persuaded them to cancel their booking and leave, and gave them a partial refund for the second night.

 

If your guests are checking out tomorrow, there's not much to do here except write an honest review. If they have more days booked ahead, the only sensible thing to do here is insist that they leave in the morning and offer a refund for the unused nights under the condition that they accept an alteration request. As far as compensation goes, you could try requesting it with the Resolutions tool, but Airbnb is not going to back you up on this if they don't voluntarily pay. You can never safely presume that you'll get compensated for bizarre demands after the fact - if you don't feel a special request is worth fulfilling at your standard rate, your one and only recourse is to say NO.

From one superhost to the other.  

 

Thanks

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@William-and-Naudra-L-0  Guests who arrive and are right away unhappy with the circumstances or have unreasonable demands are best asked to leave right away and given a refund, rather than trying to accommodate them.

 

I also don't understand what this has to do with the guest's religion, unless she told you it did, which doesn't seem to be the case.

 

Guests who failed to read the listing info, and want you to cater to their demands come in all colors, nationalities, religions, genders, etc.

 

 

From one superhost to the other.

 

Thanks

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@William-and-Naudra-L-0 

 

Maybe they weren’t married.

 

In any case, if they wanted separate bedrooms, they should have booked a place with two bedrooms.

Thanks for the quick reply and suggestion.