Guests unhappy about construction noise and want to move listing

Answered!
Laura1173
Level 2
Cape Town, South Africa

Guests unhappy about construction noise and want to move listing

I am relatively new to Airbnb hosting and have long-term guests who have been staying at my apartment for two months. They check out in 2 weeks. 

 

On Friday, they sent me a message complaining about noise from a nearby construction project and that I should have let them know about it. I did not mention the construction beforehand as I have had no complaints about noise over the last 6 months and when I was living in the flat, it was not disturbing.

 

I spoke to the builder and unfortunately they were busy with a very noisy part of the build - something beyond my control. I sent the guests apologies and confirmed that the noise should be finished this week, which the builders guaranteed.

 

This morning they sent me a message saying they are looking for other accommodation. They have not communicated via the Airbnb app.

 

What should I say in response? There really is nothing I can do about the noise. I have also already been paid out for the booking

 

Advice appreciated, thank you.

1 Best Answer
Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@Laura1173 sounds like they are fishing for a discount or their money back. I would bring all communication back to the Airbnb app immediately so everything is recorded properly. I would send them a message saying pretty much exactly what you've said here:

 

I did not mention the construction beforehand as I have had no complaints about noise over the last 6 months and when I was living in the flat, it was not disturbing. I spoke to the builder and unfortunately they were busy with a very noisy part of the build - something beyond my control. Noise should be finished this week, which the builders guaranteed.

 

Even if you've already stated it via another medium, restate it via the messenger so it's recorded in case they hold your review hostage or try and blackmail you with it. 

View Best Answer in original post

11 Replies 11
Oomesh-Kumarsingh0
Level 10
Pamplemousses, Mauritius

@Laura1173 I am so sorry to hear that you are having a hard time with your current guests. Your guests are free to leave if they want to and you can do nothing about this but i would advice you to keep the cash and do not refund them. It is not your fault if there is a constrution in your area.Good luck!!!

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@Laura1173 sounds like they are fishing for a discount or their money back. I would bring all communication back to the Airbnb app immediately so everything is recorded properly. I would send them a message saying pretty much exactly what you've said here:

 

I did not mention the construction beforehand as I have had no complaints about noise over the last 6 months and when I was living in the flat, it was not disturbing. I spoke to the builder and unfortunately they were busy with a very noisy part of the build - something beyond my control. Noise should be finished this week, which the builders guaranteed.

 

Even if you've already stated it via another medium, restate it via the messenger so it's recorded in case they hold your review hostage or try and blackmail you with it. 

Laura1173
Level 2
Cape Town, South Africa

Thank you!

I had a really good chat with an Airbnb support agent and will take all comms back to the app. I'm going to ask them to reconsider over the weekend as the noise should have ended but say they're welcome to cancel if they would like to. That said, I am not going to offer a refund as this really is beyond my control and they have been there for 6 weeks already.

It does make me feel like a terrible host! But apparently they won't be able to give me a bad review on this basis. 

Mariya12
Level 1
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Its fair and honest to warn about construction. My previous landlord did so and i highly appreciated it. 

Amy1153
Level 1
New York, NY

you cannot do anything about the noise, but you absolutely need to warn people about construction.  just because it didn't bother you, doesn't mean it wont bother them.  they need the choice....

Kwabena1
Level 2
Germantown, MD

This is my first comment in community, and for me to finally be driven to post here means I must currently be in a similar situation and very unhappy about it.

 

Recently, around 4 or 5 am, I booked additional days at a unit I had been in for about a week and a half now. I had been booking two nights at a time prior as a precaution in case anything should happen with comfort of knowing I had freedom to leave soon if anything should arise. The reason I decided to extend my latest booking by making a new final reservation taking up all the remaining open days left at the place I'm at now was to avoid having to wake up (to relocate) when I knew I was going to sleep for the night - at 8am (also, booking 2 more nights every 2 days was causing me to have to pay cleaning and service fee multiple times).

 

I went to sleep and next thing I know, 2 hours later (10am) I am woken up by excessive, loud, nonstop banging that lasts for several minutes at a time with some pauses in between each set, coming from neighboring room. Of course, I am upset, because I specifically paid to extend so I could rest and get some sleep, and extended as long as possible to avoid continuing to pay cleaning fee and service fee multiple times by extending my booking every 2 days as long as days were open like I had been doing. If I knew I couldn't sleep today I would have stayed awake and simply chosen another room I saw within the same condo neighborhood! 

 

Now I am beginning to wonder if this construction will be a daily thing and if I suddenly have a curfew I must abide by if I want to get sleep.  I am beginning to feel like if I don't sleep when I have the chance, then consequence will be no sleep until following night for me. The point of my vacation was NOT to pay extra to feel like I cannot relax and be natural because I have to schedule my sleep and wake up on other people's time. Most people get paid to live like that. Why would I pay to have to continue that type of lifestyle - on a vacation? 

 

Not acceptable, especially if host is aware of the disturbance beforehand.

 

I know there are people out there who are concerned primarily or only about profit with complete disregard to the comfort of others because profit comes first for many people. However, an honest, kind, caring and professional host would take a disturbance (or any reasonable) complaint seriously, offer to let guest leave and refund the remaining fully unused days, update their description to warn future guests about potential disturbance times and how many days the disruption is expected to last, then find / host people who are ok with that type of disturbance.

 

To make a paying guest suffer during a vacation (or business trip) that they likely waited and planned for and may not be able to have again for a long time is a very mean and heartless thing to do, especially if it is a simple situation that can be resolved easily by allowing guest to take refund for unused days and go elsewhere. Once the guest is refunded for whatever full remaining days they haven't used and is expected to be out by 12pm the next day, they are no longer the host's problem or concern. Therefore, if they feel unhappy and uncomfortable enough to change plans and choose to leave and get refund for remaining unused days, minus the cleaning and service fee, it should be acceptable and understandable. Suddenly having to change plans and make new last minute reservation is not always easy, especially in foreign place, and if I were a host in my right mind I would refund remaining days instead of offering discount if guest chooses to leave voluntarily due to discomfort, or ask the guest to find another place and issue refund for all fully unused days if discount was requested (unless I was satisfied with offering the discount).

 

In the past I have left construction noise and other disturbances out of reviews and chose to shut up, sit back and accept the discomfort and work myself around the expected disturbance time schedule once I became familiar with the routine. However, I think I need to start mentioning it in more honest reviews so others will know what to expect and won't end up paying to be aggravated by the same disturbances if they are looking to book very close to the time I booked, especially in places that primarily use concrete and steel structures. Any disturbance that is continuous, frequent and too loud for earplugs to block out, I will mention in future reviews.

 

To sit in bed, awake, listening to "BANG BANG BANG BANG!" for hours with slight  headache and 2 hours of sleep - BEFORE what would have been my check out time (when I specifically extended my booking a few hours prior instead of choosing another more convenient room that is now available - strictly to avoid  having to get up and move so I could get rest) does not make me happy at all. If I had known I was going to be forced to wake up before check out time today anyway, then I would have simply booked the other room I saw and set my alarm to wake up in 2 hours to get out of current one on time.

 

At least in this particular situation I'm currently in, I can say the host wasn't aware that this would happen. Also, I am first guest for this particular host. Host is brand new to AirBNB, so I know she doesn't know how to handle this type of situation (as she admitted she is brand new to this and didn't even expect a guest to book as fast as I did - the same day she originally first posted her unit for booking). However, if this happened and I found out a host knew about it the entire time and didn't care to mention it beforehand - then tried to keep ALL the money - even if I offered to leave/check out early before 12pm the next day to find a more comfortable situation for myself, I would definitely speak up and take appropriate action.

 

Lastly, I also recommend everyone keep ALL conversations in AirBNB messaging. I've dealt with some folks who like to use other forms of external communication messaging systems and request cash payment at different (sometimes higher than advertised) price, etc. With AirBNB messaging it is easier for the team to review conversation or problem and make the best decision possible on a situation, should one occur with either host or guest.

Marie82
Level 10
New South Wales, Australia

@Kwabena1 your post sounds scary, nearly 10 paragraph just for a noise issue, your post is long it is hard to understand what you want really

 

 

Lilian20
Level 10
Argelès-sur-Mer, France

short version for @Marie82  :

 

1) everything was fine, then the guest extended his stay.

 

2) suddenly BANG BANG BANG BANG

 

3) and maybe some lights too but i am not completely sure

 

4) and you know what ? The host knew it was going to happen all along.

 

5) and also, if the guest was the host, then he would have done much better with the guest, even in a situation where the actual host would be the guest.

Fiona256
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

While the host should have warned the guest Kwabena, if there was prior notice available to the host, it seems, if I understand his long post correctly, that he is awake and doing things in the middle of the night, then wants to sleep during the day when contrruction work normally takes place.

Lilian20
Level 10
Argelès-sur-Mer, France

@Laura113 

 

Who would have thought that in 2020 builders would still make as much noise as 30 or even 40 years ago ? ? 

 

I am glad that you went to speak with the builders, i am sure that your guests were not able to do that by themselves. 

 

What else can be done ? 

It's probably a good idea to create a list of all current and future nearby construction projects.

By updating that list on a daily basis you would be able to satisfy your guest with verified news about your area.

 

Taking pics of the labor sites around you is also a good idea and would still leave you enough time to record noise levels throughout the day. 

Kwabena1
Level 2
Germantown, MD

Thank you, Lillian.

 

I was hoping the majority could understand what I said, especially with the amount of times I repeated things in different ways.

 

Short, thoughtless, incomplete posts that many prefer are not my style if I am expressing something that is important to me, especially if it directly involves my finances and comfort.

 

After some of the things I've seen in the AirBNB community, I believe sometimes it takes a long post with different examples of why something should be taken seriously, or a repeating of the same examples in different ways for people to get it (although, in this case, my post seemingly still wasn't long enough, as I am having to reexplain again below).

 

In the case I posted about in my previous comment, the host wasn't aware of the noise situation, of course, because (as I mentioned) she is a brand new host, in addition to the fact that the construction from the room next door suddenly started unexpectedly today, after a full week of me and my guest already being booked there.

 

I cannot penalize host for that.

 

However, in any case where a host IS aware of ongoing disturbances (like indicated in original post of this entire thread) but chooses not to mention it for whatever intentions they may have for not disclosing it in their description, the guest should have the right to choose to leave and get a refund for any fully unused days they have so they can find a place more comfortable to them.

 

Any place I book or lease, I simply request a comfortable place with Very Honest description if I am giving my money to someone or entering any binding contract transaction.  The description should be able to clearly tell me if it will be a place I find comfortable, especially if it is a non refundable situation.

 

If a person knows there is something going on that a guest or host might not like, mention it in advance and let the other person decide if they are ok with it before any transaction is completed.

 

That is all I ask for to be happy.

 

Simple as that.

 

I hope the majority of guests are this easy to please.

 

But, condos in some parts of the world where hallway fire alarms are randomly and frequently "tested" on certain floors between 12 AM and 6AM seemingly every night and then ongoing construction from 8am to 6pm for multiple days (yes, this actually happened on two of my trips, including my current one), or ringing doorbell every morning and evening to collect trash, ...etc. - this SHOULD be indicated in description.

 

I explained why comfort and honesty is important for both hosts and guests, and provided what I consider to be a simple, appropriate way to handle situations with reasonably uncomfortable guests the best way I could. This is also my final attempt.

 

If my text seems scary to anyone for some reason, then you may be too sensitive for the hosting business. There should be nothing frightening about my text or topics.

 

I appreciate the read.

Have a nice day folks.