Last week, I painted the living room of my old cottage in the west of Ireland and cleaned like my life depended on it. I had my first guests and their dog (it's listed as pet-friendly as I have dogs myself and went away for a few days. A local Airbnb superhost recommended a cleaner for me and the cleaner arrived last night, but I don't charge a cleaning fee. Today, the second lot of guests, a couple with a child and a dog (and no previous guest reviews!), arrived.
A couple of hours later I received a message through Airbnb that they had left the house because there was a "strange smell", dust under a bed and that the property did not meet their expectations and they wanted a refund. I called the cleaner and she said the only smell she could get was that of an old house (some parts date back to the 19th century). But she did admit that she hadn't cleaned breadcrumbs on the kitchen counter, remove a dog toy left by the previous guests and hadn't swept under the beds. Then I rang the guest and said I could send the cleaner straight over to rectify the situation but they left they had already left town. They couldn't identify the smell but said his wife refused to stay there.
The guests were due to stay for three nights and it's too late to secure replacement bookings for today until Sunday. I have a strict cancellation policy, so I assume I don't have to give them a full refund. But what if I give them a full refund out of goodwill and they still leave a negative review? I contacted Airbnb and they said it's up to me to decide whether to give them a refund. I'm thinking of offering one night's refund -- is this the best approach?
Thanks in advance for your advice!!