Guest did not cancel and expects a refund

[Robert69]

We had a guest book late evening on a Saturday night and it was confirmed. I tried to contact the guest via txt and through Airbnb messages however he did not get back to me until 2330 on Sat night stating his phone had died and now he was staying at his cousins. Three days later he contacted and said the money had come out of his partner's credit card and that as he hadn't stayed he would like a refund. I informed him that he did confirm the booking and so he needs to contact Airbnb - he reported he didn't know it was confirmed. He then asked if he gets nowhere with Airbnb maybe we could come to some refund arrangement which I kind of ignored and told him to go to Airbnb - my dilemma then is now I'm asked to review him and I can't - I'm thinking if he doesn't get his refund I'll just get hassled on my phone by him - has anyone else encounterd this and if so what have you suggested to the guest. Cheers Rob

[Marcus0]

Think you have done everything right so far.  On the review just put something like "Guest cancelled at last minute" and leave it at that.  There is absolutely no reason to refund on their irresponsibility and most likely ignorance.  They may leave a negative review but you can always reply with the truth.  On the rare occassion i have done a partial refund in these situations, you don´t even get a thank you.  Mostly they just dissapear and do not even bother to leave review.

[Frank10]

@Robert69 What an awkward situation! Technically you CAN issue him a refund through the Airbnb system and now that he's paid he can leave you a nasty review. I see your point, but standing on principle is going to come back to bite you this time.

[Clare0]

@Robert69 I would let Airbnb handle the entire situation with this guest including any refunds.  Since you wisely attempted to communicate through the Airbnb message thread, Airbnb will see your attempts to contact him.  Phone dead? Maybe, maybe not. 

As for a possible review, since he never stayed with you any review he writes can be removed by Airbnb.  Contact Airbnb if he leaves a review not to your liking.  

[Robert69]

Thank you all for the advice - I am waiting for the guy to get back to me as I did tell him to go through the proper channels. I will just write on the review that he didn't attend and leave it at that - it may be just a storm in a teacup but its good to get advice from senior hosts - his story did change a bit when he phoned me the night he asked for the refund compared to the night his phone died so I'll let the official side of things take over - thanks