Hi Guys
New to the forum but I am looking for advice on a current listing I am hosting in Bali, Indonesia.
I am Superhost and just been awarded Air BnB plus. We have 35 reviews overall rating 4.9.
We have a guest staying 6 nights. On day 4 from 6 (today) our area had a complete electric blackout (common in this part of the world) due to local street maintanace repairs. The blackout lasted from around 11.00 am to 15.00pm. During the time the guest was without electric and water which I understand would be frustrating.
I did my best to resolve the issue (even contacing the local electric company) but it was really out of my control. The electric was off for us and several other villas in the same area so the problem was not isolated to our villa. I explained I would do my best to get the electric back online asap and update them with more news.
Shortly after this I then received a message from the guest telling me they had enough, have already left the villa (checked out by themselves) and booked another hotel. I then received a Air BnB requets amending the reservation to 4 nights not 6.
30 Minutes later all the electric was back online but they refused to return, said they would rather stay in a hotel and the experience ruined.
I understand the hard luck but I myself have experienced a blackout and rather than sitting in a hot unconditioned room with no entertainment we went out for the day, had some lunch and upon return everything was back to normal.
1. I am concerned this issue has left a bad taste in their mouth and I would want to avoid any negative reviews. There is no guarantee that the guests will not still leave a bad review even IF i agree to the refund.
2. I am losing 2 days income and forced to refund money for something completely out my control which is frustrating.
3. Can the guests just request changes like that without discussing them first?
If this was an issue related to something in our control which couldnt be resolved I always seek to offer a refund but in this case I feel the guest has been slightly unreasonable and not cooperaative about an issue completely out of my hands.
Please advise me how best to resolve this issue? What are my options here?
Thank you kindly for any advice.
Kind Regards
Tom