Guest refund

[Martha197]

Hi! I have been an AirBnb host for a year and a half. I have a situation that I am not sure what to do about. A guest rented our house for 4 nights. I reached out to them the day they were checking in and told them to contact me if they had and questions or concerns. I did not hear from them for two days and then I got a message saying that the house was not a good fit for them and they only stay an hour on the first day and left. We could have rented the house to someone else or used it ourselves for the weekend. Now they want a full refund. I would have been happy to give them a refund if they would have contacted me right away but they waited two days and we were not able to rent it or use it. Do you guys have any recommendations?

[Alexandra316]

@Martha197I personally wouldn't offer them a refund. If they weren't happy and they wanted to cancel, why didn't they let you know straight away? It seems extremely suspicious. I'm with you: if you knew, maybe you could have done something to fix whatever the issue was, or at least have re-rented the space if they had cancelled. Do you have any kind of smart lock or security system that shows when they were actually there? I wouldn't be surprised if they were continuing to use it. 

I would tell them no, and if they contact Airbnb to ask for a refund, you'll have to deal with that when it happens. Sounds like someone gaming the system to me.

[Martha197]

Thank you so much for your help! I do not have a smart lock but I think I will get one now.

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Martha197 I wouldn’t even entertain that scam. Who leaves and doesn’t say anything right away?

if “it’s not a good fit”? Sounds like you’re making up $#it. 

Plus, it’s not up to you to refund, that’s up To Airbnb.

Make them jump through all the hoops and make them tell that lie to someone in the Philippines who works for customer service(good luck with that). 

Block them from sending you anymore messages and carry on as usual. 

[Martha197]

Thank you! That is great advice. 🙂

[Amy38]

Contact Abnb and tell them the situation...tweet this to get a fast response.

[David126]

Sounds like they did not cancel, nothing to do, you can not make them stay if they do not want to.

No refund

[Fred13]

  The 'last' word in hosting that should ever be spoken (or printed) impulsively is ~Refund~ by a host. Access the situation calmly, the logic or absurdity of the situation, and then maybe a refund applies in true fairness. We all been 'guilty' of this impulse to be kind, then we learn. 🙂

  In this particular case, they want a refund without having made the slightest effort to be accomodating nor fair to you. Let Airbnb handle them. I am not a fan of calling Airbnb readily, but @Amy38's suggestion may be apropo in this case, to give Airbnb a heads up on the possible 'scam'.

  Good luck.

[Stephanie365]

How do you know they didn't stay? They waited 2 days to tell you?  I call BS. 

Tell them they have to cancel on their end and let them deal with it. My understanding is they still have to pay the first 24 hours AFTER they submit the cancellation request.

[Martha197]

Thank you! I told her she needed to cancle the reservation on her end. We will see what happens!