Guests want full refund but not want to cancel her appointment

Liang1
Level 2
Victoria, Australia

Guests want full refund but not want to cancel her appointment

Hi everyone,  I have been hosting on airbnb since 2016. I have met clients that raised different issues but nothing like this time. 

 

Situation: They guests send me a message through airbnb and request a full refund after her first night of stay (around 24 hours after check in). She mentioned about our bed linen was not enough to accomadate 11 guests, cleanliness, not enough cutlery, no coffee provided and it is healthy and safety issue. She also said she would report to local council about the health and safety issue. Actually, these guests contacted me before their booking and mentioned the food they want me to prepare since they had this provided at other airbnb stays. Their account shows they joined 2019 september and not reviews in her profile. I was a bit wired when I heard this suggestion and I refused to provide milk and bacon since it is easily to get rotton.  I bought the food from supermarket and put them in the pantry. She did not mentioned anything about coffee. I have already paid $300 for my cleaner since we use white bed linens and do turn over after every guest check out. She wrote a long paragraph to compain the issues that she has identified. 

Anyway, I asked whether she want to check out. Then she replied that she wanted to continue live for her 3 nights and want a full refund. I have already told her that the best i can do would be refund for $300 since they can use this money to buy any food they like. But she insisted to request full refund and suggessted to deal it through Airbnb resolution team. She said that it not that she wanted to stay but she got no where to go. 

I mean, I have never met this type of guests before.  I dont know what to do now. Have already talked to airbnb resolution team. Anyone got into similar situations before?

25 Replies 25
Lynette57
Level 10
Gladstone, Australia

If I were in this situation I would not allow guest to blackmail me. Tell guest get out get partial refund, NO get out NO refund. That bloody simple. Why do hosts let themselves be blackmailed.

and if you are hosting 11 guests you must have a massive house. and massive amounts of linen to wash So I would not be giving a full refund if they have already stayed for 1 night. no matter what

 

I wouldnt count on too much understanding or support from the ABB CS team

 

 


@Lynette57 wrote:

If I were in this situation I would not allow guest to blackmail me. Tell guest get out get partial refund, NO get out NO refund. That bloody simple. Why do hosts let themselves be blackmailed.

and if you are hosting 11 guests you must have a massive house. and massive amounts of linen to wash So I would not be giving a full refund if they have already stayed for 1 night. no matter what

 

I wouldnt count on too much understanding or support from the ABB CS team

 


Hi Lynette, thanks for your reply. And yes, it is a farm with 5 bedrooms and a lounge room. I have already paid my cleaner $300 for the turn over. Do you mean it is more likely that ABB will support her full refund request? 

We had a renter who complained because our community was replacing roofs & they were working on the building next door.  The renters checked in after the 3:00 pm check in & spent the night. Looking at the trash later, it was obvious that they enjoyed their evening there & I didn’t hear about their complaint until the following afternoon & they wanted a refund because of the construction!  I told them they needed to get out as soon as possible to avoid charging them for an extra day etc., I talked to Air BnB & I ended up refunding all but the cleaning fee! Not-sure if these people were swindlers or not, but i would definitely NOT let your people stay the extra days, i would tell them to leave right away, regardless if they had a place to go to or not. But I would definitely charge them the cleaning fee, since they slept in the beds etc.

Mike-And-Helen0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Liang1 chances are you'll end up with airbnb giving them a refund of some kind, and them giving you a poor review.

I would cut my losses and contact airbnb in writing with what has been said.

I would then insist that she cancels and leaves.


@Mike-And-Helen0 wrote:

@Liang1 chances are you'll end up with airbnb giving them a refund of some kind, and them giving you a poor review.

I would cut my losses and contact airbnb in writing with what has been said.

I would then insist that she cancels and leaves.


Yeah, that is what I want at the beginning. I am happy to refund her the full amount and she can leave which means she got the first night stay for free.....But she did not want to leave and want full refund. I have reacted to the request that I offered $300 refund. 

Also, i am really confused about her intention. Is she really angry about her stay due to the issue she has mentioned? Or she just want to have free stays ? 

@Liang1, of course, she wants a free stay, there is no doubt about it.

Fran2
Level 10
Launceston, Australia

She wants a free stay!  Nasty type of person from your description.i hope you’ve already contacted AIRBnB by phone? 02 8520 3333
Tell them exactly what is happening and that she is blackmailing you! 

 

Liang1
Level 2
Victoria, Australia


@Fran2 wrote:

She wants a free stay!  Nasty type of person from your description.i hope you’ve already contacted AIRBnB by phone? 02 8520 3333
Tell them exactly what is happening and that she is blackmailing you! 

 


yes, i have already talked to ABB by the phone. The reason i was confused is that there were some points that I actually wasnt awared before. For example, she said there were hair at the shower sink. To be honest, i havent noticed about this before. I acknowledge that there are parts that I could improve but really not comfortable about refund her full since she did not want to cancel and stayed as planned.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Liang1 

keep all your conversation through Airbnb

if she told you all of those complaints in person or outside Airbnb then message her on Airbnb and repeat your conversation.

Contact Airbnb, explain what she is doing, she is blackmailing you and wants a free stay, and insist Airbnb cancel her stay without penalties for you. Insist you get paid for the days she spent at your place + cleaning fee if you have it + the food you provided at her request.

You will not be paid for the days not spent but it doesn't matter.

When her stay is canceled then she has to go out, she is trespassing. If she doesn't want to leave then call the police.

I am very sorry for all of this but you are not the first one, it is happening as a result of Airbnb's pro-guest policies.

 


@Branka-and-Silvia0 wrote:

@Liang1 

keep all your conversation through Airbnb

if she told you all of those complaints in person or outside Airbnb then message her on Airbnb and repeat your conversation.

Contact Airbnb, explain what she is doing, she is blackmailing you and wants a free stay, and insist Airbnb cancel her stay without penalties for you. Insist you get paid for the days she spent at your place + cleaning fee if you have it + the food you provided at her request.

You will not be paid for the days not spent but it doesn't matter.

When her stay is canceled then she has to go out, she is trespassing. If she doesn't want to leave then call the police.

I am very sorry for all of this but you are not the first one, it is happening as a result of Airbnb's pro-guest policies.

 


Thank you Branka, this time i probably wont get chance to do it. But i think your suggestion is workable. Hope i dont have this type of guests again.

Andrea-and-Francis0
Level 10
Mississauga, Canada

I would be firm, direct yet friendly & tell her if she stays she will pay, if she leaves Airbnb will refund her according to your cancellation policy. Only discuss things over Airbnb message board so you have proof & documentation of what is being said for Airbnb to review.

Chastity3
Level 8
Orlando, FL

Unfortunately, it seems like she has become an expert out getting out of paying for her Airbnb stays by just creating new accounts. Especially if she told you she always request food accommodations that need to be provided by hosts. 

It’s an unfortunate situation you will have to deal with. Since, she will review you, please make the effort and review her and warn other hosts she may potentially book.

Steven65
Level 10
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Outrageous. You are being scammed.  I hope Airbnb support you and pay a minimal refund if any. Also, a good reminder not to accept anyone who does not have previous reviews!

@Steven65  I've accepted quite a few guests with no reviews. They all turned out to be wonderful guests. I judge whether to accept  or not based on how the guest comes across in their communications with me.

How would you have liked it if no one had ever booked with you because you had a new listing and no reviews?