Wifi

[Kate718]

I have let my house for one month to a family and the wifi has always been sufficent but they are saying the connection is not good enough and have threatened to get the remainder of their stay refunded and leave! Has anyone else had this problem? What do I do? Can they do this? Please help!!

[Emiel1]

@Kate718,

They will not be refunded by simply cancelling, as the "long term stay cancellation policy" applies as they booked for 1 month. But if they complain at Airbnb things can change on this matter. If possible investigate the WiFi problem and try to resolve it. A good connection to the Internet is for most people very important.  But also be aware some guests over-use it by using multiple devices at the same time, continues heavy (or even illegal...) downloading etc.., so if this is the case you have nothing else to offer then show them the amount of data allready used....

best regards,

Emiel

[Heather133]

@Kate718, I think @Emiel1's advice is spot on. It's worth investigating. I find that our internet speed is slower here than many people are used to. It costs about three times as much to have 100 megs here as it does in cities nearby. I've placed a signal booster in my home for areas where the wifi signal is weak and that has helped quite a bit. Perhaps your provider can increase your speed for an additional fee that the family might be willing to pay?

[Kate718]

Thanks for your reply. I think they’re just being difficult!! But im

trying to sort it out... another thing was All crockery, cups and glasses were brand new and they messaged me saying they were dirty!! Impossible!! Oh well 😔 thanks for getting back to me tho I thought it was only me!! 

[Cormac0]

@Kate

Log on to your router and see how many active users there are, this could be very revealing. It could indicate there are more people staying then should be, make sure you eliminate all your families IP address from the list so not to embarrass yourself.

You could also have what they call in the industry a throttling problem where if the demand for 100mps is not being used for example they divert it to another user account, so do a speed test on your network to see what you getting as opposed to what you’re paying for. 

Also, check if you have unlimited download capacity? because if you don’t, you’ll have a huge bill and additional your download speed will be reduced to crawl.

Also, be advised the speed test done over Wi-Fi is usually a little bit slower than directly connecting to the router using CAT5 cable

Change the admin Login from the default one, which is usually Admin with a password of Admin to one of your own choosing, it stops people from messing with your settings.

And if you not familiar with this stuff get someone who is, and teenager usually fit the bill.

[Kate718]

Thankyou so much. I think they are just being difficult!! Thankyou for your reply 👍🏻

[Ange2]

@Kate718     From what you say —their threats,  appears they are building a case to get out of the long-term policy : first the internet, then the dishes, what next?   Make sure you keep their queries and complaints and your responses and findings on the message board with them so you have documentation.  Airbnb has (according to some posts in this forum) overridden cancellation policies and refunded guests (on the guest's word alone, and even for days already stayed !) citing 'slow' internet speed as reason. 

It's a tough situation. Are the guest's threats empty?  Do you think they will put in for a refund?   Not sure if you should preempt them by contacting Airbnb before they put in a complaint, it can make things worse, maybe another host has advice on that. 

If they do go for a refund and airbnb ask you to cancel (and you agree) you will lose all the days not spent. Beware clicking 'yes' to an email from Airbnb asking you if you want to cancel, it is interpreted by Airbnb as you cancelling (even though requested by guest or Airbnb) and there are up to six penalties including a hefty monetary fine.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reser...

[Cathie19]

I think @Kate718, you’ve already received excellent advice, and Cormac is spot on.

They could be downloading or gaming, which will take up a huge amount of data and depending on your network, will slow and not meet this demand.

Please ensure you communicate to the booking guest via the Airbnb message site for documentation. Stay friendly, fair but firm with the truth.

If they have said the crockery is dirty, then you need to be apologetic and respond that you find it incredibly difficult to fathom, as they are the first guests to use the new crockery. Stay smiley, but put it in writing,  (I assumed you washed it prior to putting in the cupboards. Any chance of insects in the cupboard?)

Do sort your I.T. data speed and the daily usage out ASAP. Ensure you have separate passwords and a good firewall.

All the best.

🙂

Cathie