noise

[Linda-And-Robert0]

we have guests that are complaining about essential roof repair noise. We knew that at some point repairs would take place but when the booking was taken we did not know when the work would start on our block. They are now insisting on a 50% compensation for the whole stay because the noise wakes them up at 7am (the building noise does not continue into the night) 

This work does not affect and other area i.e the pool etc.  My only thing is that with hind sight i could have mentioned when they booked that there MAY be noise as we did not know when the actually work would start however I think a 50% refund is not acceptable.

[Ana1136]

I have been in this situation and although I didn't request a refund it is the most annoying thing. The people came there to relax, it is their vacation. I am sure that they are exhausted after a whole day of activities and the want to rest in the morning. It is bad to wake up every morning in 7AM with construction noises. I would suggest to give them the refund, maybe they won't leave a bad review. If they involve Airbnb they could get even bigger refund since you didn't disclose the potential for noise. Also you could come to an agreement and have Airbnb cancel the reservation and refund them the unused nights if you feel like they will request more. 

[Anonymous]

@Linda-And-Robert0  Airbnb does have a "potential for noise" disclaimer that you can add to the "Things to Know" tab that appears to guests during the booking process. I actually recommend that all hosts who live in any proximity to a street or other houses use this; it's amazing how many people even in the middle of a major city believe they are entitled to silence.

If your guests are unhappy with something that you have no way to fix, and it's clear that they would like to end their stay early, either party can go to the "Change or Cancel" button under the Reservations tab and change the checkout date to the current date. You can choose to refund the unused nights, as @Ana1136  said, and by doing it this way you don't have to get Airbnb involved. However, I'd be very wary of guests who demand compensation before it's offered and still choose to stay. No matter how much money you throw at them, it's not going to buy a better review; it only encourages them to find more faults and make more demands once they know they have you cornered. If neither the stay nor the roof repair are complete. the best thing you can do is help your guests move on to somewhere quieter.

[Linda-And-Robert0]

Thank you @Anonymous  you have given us some very useful information. These are essential roof repairs that were due but we had no way of knowing when it would start we are part of a block so the work will

not remain overhead  all the time . The initial contact has been 2 days into the stay and they asked for 50% refund immediately stating it was our obligation wether we knew about the work or not . I don’t think they are going to accept anything but a refund and we are not prepared to do this. I thank you  for advising about the house disclaimer as I was not aware of this.