Guest missed the part about pet fees and now wants to cancel, threatening with a bad review.

[Linda677]

We have a guest that booked our property through instant booking, told me about the fact she's bringing 2 pets. We have the amount we charge for pet written clearly in the very first paragraph (summary section). I sent her the fee request for the pet fee, she came back not very happy, telling me she somehow "missed" that part. I gave her a 15% discount. She wrote back, telling me she's still quite upset at the amount and told me she wants to cancel the reservation. I told her due to the strict cancellation policy, and the reservation is for less than 2 weeks out, she would only be getting 50% back, and that we as hosts, can't cancel because of the penalties. She messaged me back and told me that she's talked to Air BnB and Air BnB will be in touch with me. (So far I haven't heard from Air BnB, but this conversation just took place late last night.) She asked me to ask Air BnB to "waive the fees", because after all, we would want a "good review". I'm absolutely appalled. We don't want anyone to stay there that's not happy, but to threaten us with reviews because she didn't read is just ridiculous. Right now, our calendar is blocked for the week and with it being so last minute, it's unlikely we'll get it filled. I feel like we are being punished no matter what we do. What should we do? Any suggestions?

[Cindy68]

I had a problem similar to this last summer when a guest claimed that their car was broken into. This was on another platform, not Airbnb.

Guest wanted me to pay for it and claim it on my own insurance. I contacted my insurance and they said it was not my claim and that the guest would need to make a claim with their own insurance.

They guest explained that they wanted to give me a good review. I told him I didn't think it was fair to base a 3-month stay on a situation that was completely out of my control.

It ended up that I gave them a final week for free, to offset their costs. I still don't think I was responsible for the cost, but the bigger issue is the tiny minority of guests  who hold hosts hostage for good reviews.

I think there should be a way to flag guests such who behave this way. 

An option would be to charge a refundable deposit. That way the guest would only be charged if there was damage or unnecessary cleaning. I don't think you should have to offer them a discount in addition to that, but that's my opinion.

[Marzena4]

If you can prove in the messages or any other way, @Linda677 and @Cindy68, that the guests threatened you, you can ask Airbnb to remove the reviews. It's against Airbnb's rules to manipulate like that.

[Fred13]

Three general thoughts come to mind:

1. Best to keep ALL conversations within Airbnb message system, so when a threat is made about a review, their mistake is on record.

2. Never advocate for the guests about insurance, getting money from Airbnb, cancel for them, etc. Hosts have enough 'battles' on their hands as is.

3. Beware of discounters and bargainers, some have no bottom; no matter what you do, it will never be enough. It is the confrontational manner they live by and feel most comfortable in. The rest of the human race hates haggling unless you are in a bazzar in some exotic country.

[Linda677]

So true...

[Ange2]

@Linda677    Contact Airbnb   Phone:  +1-415-800-5959  +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free). Ask them to cancel the guest without penalty and send them the documention you have  re: "She asked me to ask Air BnB to "waive the fees", because after all, we would want a "good review". Airbnb may well contact you and ask you to refund her, you can always say no and quote Airbnb Strict Policy in reply.

[Linda677]

I feel that we are perhaps attracting these individuals because we have priced our cabin significantly lower than anything remotely similar in the same area, because we are trying to generate some hopefully positive reviews as our listing is quite new. Even with the pet fee included, we are still significantly cheaper. I think I may have made the mistake of telling her we are new because now she knows a bad review would destroy us. What I also worry about is that she didn't flat out "threaten". She didn't say she would leave a bad review, she simply said "I hope we can come up with a mutually beneficial solution. Plus, I'm sure that the owner would appreciate a good review". I don't know how else to interpret that. There's no solution that's "mutually beneficial" other than her paying her fee and leaving us an honest review, which she's clearly not willing to do. 

[Matthew285]

@Linda677 please don't think you have done anything wrong or made a mistake by telling the guest you are new hosts. Anyone can look at your review history and figure out how long you are hosting, so you really did not reveal anything they could not have figured out on their own.

And her language "I hope we can come up with a mutually beneficial solution. Plus, I'm sure that the owner would appreciate a good review" is definitely a threat. It is exactly the careful language extortionists use to try to sound like they aren't making a threat when they clearly are.

In another discussion thread a guest said "We want to resolve this without posting unfavorable reviews." The words are different, but the message is clearly the same.

This other host who received this message got in front of the issue by contacting AirBnB early and letting AirBnB support know what was going on. While every case is different, this previous host stood their ground and actually won. (The guest's unflattering review was blocked.)

The person who contacts AirBnB first often gets to be the first to tell their side of the story and slant the description of what is going on. You should certainly contact AirBnB support about this and tell your side of the story. Was the guest's communication with you on the AirBnB messaging system (hopefully)?

[Linda677]

Yes it was on the Air BnB messaging system. I will contact Air BnB now and report later. Thank you so much!

[Kelly149]

@Linda677 my personal calculation is that an empty space is better than having a horrible guest (other hosts may feel differently). I have had guests who made mistakes similar to yours and CS refunded them 100%, I also had CS who offered to abide by the cancellation policy, its a toss-up which kind you'll get, but I'd say at this point you do not want this guest, so your best hope for having a good guest is to get this cancelled and hope someone else books. Get CS to help you.

[Linda677]

Kelly, thank you for your response. I kind of wish I read it before contacting Air BnB as I agree with what you said. Our cabin used to be a second home (before our acquisition), so there's a lot of high end furnishings. The dining room table, chairs, cushions, lampshades are all custom made. There's cow hide, raccoon pelt, animal blankets all around the cabin. Especially for how cheap we are charging per night ($95/night for a 4 bedroom, 3 bath cabin in the GA mountains), we really can't risk any bad guests. Air BnB CS agreed that what they are doing is considered extortion, so that's a sigh of relief. But that doesn't stop the chance of her ruining my house. She had apparently told CS that she would considered a shorter stay, such as 2 - 3 nights, and I had told CS that would be OK with me - but now I wish I hadn't said that... To make matters worse, shortly after I got off the phone with CS, I got a request from her to change her reservation to 1 night - that's right, ONE night (from her previous 7 night rental). I told her we don't even do one night rentals. She came back with 2 nights, but told me she's not bringing pets, which I highly question, since her profile picture is just her dog. To make matters more unsettling, I looked at her reviews, and realized there's only 3. First one seems good and genuine. Last 2 seem very fake and contrived, as if someone was forced to say something nice. One of them only has 2 words: "very nice". What would you all do in my situation?

[Amy38]

@Linda677  Talk to abnb and let her cancel penalty free.  You dont want this woman with animals in your house.

Raise your prices...Raise your prices....Raise your prices.

Tenants paying more treat your house with more care.  If your house is high end, charge as much or a bit more than your neighbors.

I charge about 35% more than nice places nearby and am often more booked ...23% this month.  Slightly less ...-3%...last month.

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Linda677 Don’t blame yourself for the guest’s failure to read and comprehend your listing.

If anything, they should blame the public school system they attended.

I don’t negotiate with “terrorist” and I promise on everything I love, I will call you out on the front lawn if you threaten me. 

There’s a country music song by Scotty McCreery that goes “Lord I wish I had a pause button”. 

On Airbnb, we don’t have a “pause button” but we do have a “reset button”. 

What i mean by that is your position of being new is also an advantage because you can just scrap that first listing and create a new one from scratch. 

No negative review, no “host cancelled” and a fresh start. 

Also understand, a guest can’t review you until they have actually stayed with you.

If you take this reservation, go get a huge Costco size bottle of Tums because your stomach will be upset in knots the entire time wondering what these idiots will come up with to complain about.

Get on the phone today with Airbnb and tell them the guest threatened you and they cannot stay at your place. No piece of business is worth that upset stomach. 

I don’t teach people how to read but I can teach people some manners and at the end of the day,

IT’S MY HOUSE, MY RULES AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT? Keep scrolling. 

Honey, you need a huge right now and a BIG STICK. 

Good luck.

’You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

[Stephanie365]

On the messaging platform, click on the user's "selfie" and it will bring you to their profile. Click "Report User" and explain they were attempting to extort a refund from you. Follow up with a phone call directly to AirBNB. Do not refund them anything. 

[Linda677]

I appreciate you all so much!! Here's an update: It seems there has been more communication between the "guest" and air BnB CS and Air BnB warned her that she's in the wrong and what she's doing is considered extortion. After all that, she decided to cancel the reservation - despite the fact I had accepted the 2 night alteration. So glad this is behind me and now we can sleep easy. Thank you all so much!