Guest wanted to cancel due to temperature and got full refund two hours after checkin

Alice595
Level 10
Concord, CA

Guest wanted to cancel due to temperature and got full refund two hours after checkin

Here is the story.

 

A guest booked last night and today. He did self checkin at 8:45pm. A few minutes after he checked in, he asked me if the temperature could be set up a little lower and if I have iron and iron board. I have another guest who checked in one day before he did. That guest asked me to put the temperature at 74F.  I told the guest that I could adjust the temperature at 72 F so that both guests can still feel comfortable. He did not disagree with the temperature I set.

 

For the iron and iron board, I don't provide them in the amenity of my listings because it happened once that a guest did not shut off the iron after done and almost caused a fire. He immediately answered "Oh No, I will manage it".

 

One hour later I received a call from Airbnb and I was told that the guest wanted to cancel because the temperature setting was too high and the house was too hot. At that moment, I looked at the thermostat which was at 71 F. At that moment the outside temperature was 65 F. Airbnb CS asked me if I could refund him. I told Airbnb CS that I could refund him the second night since there is no way for me to rent out last night at 9:50pm. This guest did not tell me anything about the cancellation until Airbnb called.

 

10 minutes later I was bombed by the guest messages accusing me cheating and sent me cursing messages. I could repied that please pay respect. Around 11pm, I received a cancellation notice from Airbnb. And Airbnb told me that they issued full refund to the guest while still pay me the cleaning fee and the first night as I told them.

 

Today I went to check the house. I could see white foam substance in the toilet and in the bathtub. It seems that this guest is a drug user. This guest booked instantly because he has five 5 star reviews. I am waiting for the email from Airbnb about writing a review unless Airbnb has changed their policy. Definitely I am expecting a 1 star retaliatory review from the guest. And I can foretell what kind of lies could be in his review based on his messages sent. In his message, he said that his room temperature was 100 F while the maximum temperature of the day was 84 F and it was <65 F at the time he sent me message.

 

Your comments, inputs, suggestions, and similar experience are welcome.

12 Replies 12
Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Alice595 

comments

Airbnb is breaking its own TOS and cancelation policies all the time

 

inputs

You are better without unahappy guests

 

suggestions

forget it. Life is too short.

 

and similar experience

all over this forum

 

 

@Branka-and-Silvia0  I asked Airbnb CX why they gave full refund to the guest while his request of refund has no base. I told CX that he got the full refund this time, and he will do more like this and more hosts will be hurt. I have not got response yet.

@Alice595  I would ask the same and you are 100% right but this is Airbnb.

You will probably get some generic answer and case closed.

 

Don't think I don't empathise with you, you didn't have a choice. You could either lower the temp and make your other guest uncomfortable or leave it as it is and lose this drug user. You did the right thing, I would do the same. You are better without him.

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Alice595, ugh, if he does review you let's hope that he goes off on some crazy rant that warrants a removal of his review by Airbnb. Do not review him first .. you don't want to trigger a review from him. Whether he reviews you or not, wait until the last minute of the 14th day to submit your review. That way you'll have 2 more weeks of fresh bookings before his review appears.

@Emilia42  Thanks for your good suggestion. I will do as said.

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Alice595  Is anything he said to you in the messages that could be construed as threatening?  If so, it's possible that this could trigger airbnb to remove his review.  What a strange situation, though.  Going to all the trouble of relocating late at night over a couple of degrees. Oh well, example 79,000,000 that airbnb doesn't care about it's hosts or it's own rules.  

@Mark116  Not sure why he did that. Could it be that he got a free stay offer from his friend? All his previous reviews were given by some hosts in the cities nearby.

 

72 F is 22.2 C and what he asked was 70 F (21.1 C). I had to respect the other guest who preferred a little warmer as well. Short after I adjusted the temperature, it was 71 F in the house. But he called Airbnb and did not tell me that he would cancel. Only after Airbnb called me for refund, I knew that he had called Airbnb already. Most likely he called Airbnb to cancel between half an hour and one hour after he checked in. 

 

It it seems that he is very familiar with the procedure. He wanted Airbnb to cancel so that he would not lose any money. He knows that he could lose all his booking fee by canceling himself.

 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Alice595 

Bad luck Alice, you seem to have struck a bad one here.

It is probable that the guest found somewhere cheaper or more convenient and simply wanted to get out and get a refund! This is the sort of time bomb we are probably all going to get sooner or later.

 

My feeling on this Alice, no matter what you do it won't turn this around for you, so just instruct CX to approve his refund! Bite the bullet.

Write your review, but write it very specifically!

"On arrival guest did not wish to accept my house rules and within a couple of hours required a refund. On cleaning, the property showed evidence of 'substance' use, could not recommend to other hosts"

Then give him a 2 star for observance of house rules and tick the would not host again box.

 

At that point when that review becomes public he will scream 'blue murder' and have your review removed. You haven't said what the substance might be! It could be cigarettes, alcohol anything you don't allow.....it's just a 'perception' on your part,  but you have cast suspicion on his character and Airbnb do not allow that! You can then prove to CX that he would not accept your house rules which is a pivotal part of Airbnb's stay rules and should therefore not be able to leave a review either!

You will be out a bit of money Alice but you will keep your great record in tact.

 

Cheers......Rob 

@Robin4  Thank you for taking the time preparing the review for me. I will copy the review you wrote and paste it if I receive the review notification from Airbnb. 

 

The guest seems to  have requested refund before because he did not tell me that he would cancel the booking. He called Airbnb and asked Airbnb to cancel and gave him full refund. Not until Airbnb called me, I thought that he had already agreed the temperature I set up. Instead of telling me, he called Airbnb directly. Just about one hour after he checked in, I got the call from Airbnb and asked me if I could give him refund. In only agreed to refund him the second night since he has already partially used the first night. He used the shower, the toilet and even laid on the bed when I came to check on the second day.

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Alice595 

Have to go and pick up Ade, my wife .....I will respond in an hour or so!

Cheers.....Rob

Alice595
Level 10
Concord, CA

@Robin4 @Mark116 @Emilia42 @Branka-and-Silvia0  This was the screenshot of the Ecobee thermostat installed in my house. The screenshot was taken at 9:48 after I received the call from Airbnb. Would you all think that the guest could use this temperature for his excuse to cancel the booking and got full refund? I sent this to the guest after I received call from Airbnb. Airbnb should have seen this as well before they issued full refund to the guest.

EFEE30B9-E6F3-46F5-BEEF-06998CA446CF.png

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Alice595 

 

anything below 80 F / 27 C inside, in summer is too cold for me in my summer dress

72 F / 22 C is the temperature I heat on in the winter, while I am wearing more clothes.

 

Besides, as you said, he could open the window.