Guest stayed full week but now wants a refund

[Julie1521]

Hello folks,

I am literally trembling after a 2nd horrible, offensive, threatening email from a guest's husband who checked out last Saturday.  The background is:  I am a superhost with almost 80 5* reviews and have had the property concerned for almost a year and have achieved 5* reviews for all of the bookings.  This guest has decided not to complain to me until he has vacated the property.  He has sent me many emails with photos of things like cobwebs, my freezer with food in it (yes, it's my second home), my under-sink cupboard is "jumbled".  His idea of cleanliness is not mine or my other guests.  And here's the issue.  I suppose he feels he has a right to complain if he doesn't consider it clean enough to his standards.  My friends arrived after him and said it was "perfectly clean" and are delighted with this cottage (which is 'lived in', needing a bit of redecorating and not high-end, but it is in a unique location on the island and very good value as we don't charge high-end prices).  When he emailed me the first time, I didn't want to escalate things so just apologised profusely and thanked him for his feedback.  He has now told me today he has used this email as evidence to get his credit card company to be ready to follow through with getting my refund if I don't resolve asap (I'm on holiday and was going to do payment at the weekend).  My feeling is that I need to just give him a full refund and forget about it but I do want to address any bad review he does publicly (that is the underlying threat in his emails unless he gets a refund).  But can I get airbnb to block him if I can show him to be a menace?  He only has 1 positive review.  I have a good record.  I don't want him to affect my ratings.  But I don't want him affecting any other future host like me who offers good value accommodation and has great reviews.  He is a nasty bully.  He has chosen to stay the full week and didn't alert me to any issues until he left.  Surely that goes against him.  I don't know why he didn't resolve through airbnb (I can suspect why) but I don't think the refund will be the end to it.  I would love airbnb to provide support to me but I hear they are not great at supporting superhosts....What advice would you give me please?  Looking forward to hearing from you.  Julie

[Julie1521]

Can I also mention that he didn't contact me through airbnb about this, but emailed me directly.  Doesn't that also count against him?

[Suzanne302]

@Julie1521 

Next time that happens, do not reply to his email. Copy and past what he wrote into the ABB message system and contact him that way. It does not count against him, but it will make your case harder to prove if something else happens.

[Suzanne302]

@Julie1521 

1) Do NOT give him a refund! If he wants a refund he should go through ABB.

2) It wasn't clear, but was all communication through the ABB messaging system? If not, make sure all future communication is done only through ABB messaging so there is a clear record of it for ABB.

3) You are going to receive a bad review no matter what you do! This guy sounds completely crazy. His public review will be an outlier and I wouldn't worry about it too much. If he dings your star rating that will hurt. You could try appealing to CS, although they have a track record of not helping hosts in this regard, it couldn't hurt to try.

Sorry you are dealing with this! I don't think you'll convince ABB to block him simply for being a jerk. But you can certainly warn other hosts about him with an honest review.

[Julie1521]

Dear Suzanne (and everyone in fact), thank you so much for your advice. I have been out today with my family as I am on a once in a life-time holiday celebrating my 50th (which has made this bad experience all the more upsetting) and have come back to these wonderfully supportive emails from you all. I have felt black-mailed all week and his email today made me realise I needed to reach out to airbnb for support. I suppose one bad review in 80 great ones will stand out like a sore thumb for future customers. So yes, I will prepare myself for a terrible review but will respond to him publicly with 1 star and say (as Paul has suggested) that he is "best for a hotel stay". And yes, we need to stand up to these bullies. He should have gone through ABB in the first place. I even have written evidence from his wife after they'd settled in saying everything was good and the fire was on and house was cosy. I always message my guests to check everything was okay. That was their opportunity to tell me it wasn't (of course, that was before her husband had hatched a plan to make a record of niggles so he could get a free holiday!). I will take your advice. Should I alert ABB to this guy as he will probably now escalate to them? I want to make them know the full story so they don't expect me to comply with the full refund he is seeking.

[Julie1521]

Meant to tag you, Suzanne, so you could see my response.  @Suzanne302 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Julie1521  @Suzanne302 

I've seen another post yesterday when one host said that his guest has sent him some idiotic complaint, he responded profusely and thanked for the feedback and Airbnb rep used his answer like the admission of guilt.

So it seems when we receive some complaint from our guests we should fight it and not apologize.

In Airbnb TOS is written that guest has to address all the issues the first day of his arrival... and to contact host immediately and give him a chance to fix the issue. If the host can't or won't fix it then the guest can be refunded.  Find and copy this part of Airbnb TOS and use it as an answer to your guest. Keep all the conversation through Airbnb messages.  Do not agree to refund him, if he wants a refund he has to do it through Airbnb resolution center. He doesn't want to do it because he knows his chances are weak, he is practically blackmailing you.

[Jeff158]

@Julie1521  have faith in the system and stick two fingers up at him.

Do not refund, he has to go through the airbnb complaints procedure, follow @Suzanne302  and @Branka-and-Silvia0  excellent advice

[Paul154]

He ordered the steak.

He ate the steak.

He pays for the steak.

Please please please, do not be part of his thievery.

If I had to refund guests cuz my under sink area is "jumbled", I would be a pauper.

Your listing is exactly what ABB wants - an available house. Be proud of your offering.

Do create a paper trail in the app by cutting and pasting his emails. Don't paste his pictures.

As for your review, publicly state "Best for hotel stay" and give 1 star. 

[Ange2]

If CS take his side I find the easiest route to go is to quote Airbnb rules back at them: the guest has to complain within 24 hours of noticing the problem for a claim to be valid.  I would contact Airbnb asap before they refund him in full without getting your side of the story.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/544/what-is-airbnb-s-guest-refund-policy-for-homes.

Why did he stay if it was so terrible!  No to a refund - not a cent.  Review him and give him a thumbs down.

[Julie1521]

Thanks @Ange2   Much appreciated.  What's the best way to give Airbnb the heads up?  Do you have a phone number handy by any chance or do you have a contact email (which I would prefer so I can quote his wife saying everything was fine).  cheers, Julie

[Ange2]

@Julie1521  

To send an email try this link:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us/channel

If it doesn't work

1. Go to your Dashboard
2. Click Help
3. Scroll down and click Visit Help Center
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page that comes up and click Contact Us,
5. Keep on clicking and or scrolling until you see a page that says
6. "It's about something else", you can write a message there.

If you have Twitter that usually gets fast replies.

Or call them: I only have the US toll fee number:

+1-855-424-7262

[Susan17]

@Julie1521 

Airbnb UK - +44 203 318 1111

The guy is an out-and-out scammer, don't fall for his con job. You should call Airbnb CX, rather than email (you can always send in any email correspondence later)

By the way, if the guest leaves a review that makes any mention of the dispute, or of Airbnb's involvement, (such as, host wouldn't refund), this violates Airbnb's content policy, and you have solid grounds to have it removed straight away. Good luck! 

[Susan17]

PS Happy 50th! 🥂

[Julie1521]

Thanks @Susan17 and @Ange2  much appreciated.  The good news is that I have messaged airbnb earlier today through the contact page and I quickly got a response from Alfred who was very helpful and supportive.  He reassured me that the customer will not receive a refund and told me to only communicate in future through airbnb (as you all suggested).  He told me to screenshot other evidence to support my case.  He gave me a reference number to support this case and he said I now have to wait for the guy to contact AirBnB.  He also thanked me for being a valued member of the airbnb community so it felt nice to be appreciated and supported.  I will let you all now what happens over the next few days when the guy realises there is no credit to his bank account and attempts to progress his blackmail activity.  It may be possible for airbnb to remove his bad review on the back of the fact I alerted AirBnB to this guy's extortion before he contacts them so that was very useful advice  !!  They have been given my side of the story and I currently feel hopeful and a weight lifted.  So grateful to you all and this community.  x