How to Involve Airbnb in a dispute?

[Souhaine0]

I have a guest requesting for a refund 50% refund saying the it was not worth the price charged and pointed out there was no drinking water, no hot water, no soap and dirty sheets. We provide unlimited mineral water from a dispencer in the main camp and provide all guests with a bottle of drinking water when they retire for the night and which was taken by the guests when the stayed, we have solar hot water which takes a few minutes to start running due to the height of the placement of tank, we have hand wash in the toilet and under amentiies we do not claim to provide Shampoo however bought him a bar of soap after he requested. When I contacted guest he made no mention of sheets being dirty he wanted a covering sheet, being a hot tropical climate we provide covering sheets and not blankets however since he requestsed we gave him a blanket. He said he was unhappy with the service and luxury. (We are primarily a rustic eco lodge, off grid and off the beaten track) 

He complained of being charged LKR 2,000 for a 2 hour canoe safari and it was a small strech of water. We engage the services of a local fisherman to take guests on a canoe safari of the lake. While the lake water levels have receded it is far from a small strech and is still enjoyed by guests, this is an additional activity which the guest has the liberty of choosing, are aware of the price beforehand and can see the lake in front. 

As part of the experience we take our guests to a stream half an hour from camp in an open safari jeep where they enjoy an afternoon swim and we cook on site an authentic local picnic lunch. This is done complimentary. That apart we give them a bottle of wine or a few beers complimentay with dinner, since this guest stayed 2 nights we gave them 1 bottle of wine and 4 beers complimentary and charged for the additional 4 they consumed. The morning he was leaving when we spoke over phone he complained about some of the issues and when informed of the charges for the 4 beers he was not happy and warned we'd hear from him and he'd write about it. 

I would like to involve airbnb to help sort this and waited the stipulated 72 hours to invove airbnb howerver cannot find a way to choose this option, how do I proceed?

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

I am not sure what you are complaining to AirBnB about just yet. You need to keep all conversations with this guest on the AirBnB platform. If they have not put in a request via the resolution centre for a refund then this may all amount to nothing (other than a negative review,which of course you can respond to).

Write to the guest via the platform and explain briefly why you are declining his request. Given that he stayed the entire stay and now want's 50% when he could have left if he was so unhappy there is not in his favour. I would point that out to him...and say he enjoyed all of your facilities including the complimentary trips, etc..

[Souhaine0]

Thank you Gerry And Rashid for the promt reply, the guest has sent a refund request through the resolution center.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Ok...in that case you can respond and as I say they stayed the entire time, took advantage of all amenities and more...and then try claim 50%! Not on...good luck

[Souhaine0]

Thank you Gerry and Rashid. 

[Ange2]

@Souhaine0   You can deny the refund request. It will then be escalated to Airbnb. Make sure you contact Airbnb first and explain why you are denying the request, I don't know if there is an area you can do that when you deny it or if you need to call them.  But, do it as soon as you can so Airbnb  don't automatically side with the guest before you can explain your side.

[Souhaine0]

Thank you Ange for the prompt response, Exactly why I have not responded to guests refund request on Resolution center as I would like to present my side of the story to airbnb and by refusing I'm not sure I would get the chance to do so. Scoured the Help Center to write to airbnb however it only has the option of visiting Resolution Center which again takes me back to this guests request and no option of reaching airbnb. Earlier we could write to airbnb but that option seems to no longer exist. Can't find a number to contact airbnb.

[Andrew90]

If you search "contact Airbnb" you should find many responses most of which will refer you to this very informative guide in the “Contact Airbnb: A Community Help Guide - Airbnb Community”

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728

lots otger great articles esides this one can also be found in “Community Help Guides - Airbnb Community”

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Community-Help-Guides/m-p/23100#M311

[Juley0]

Hi Souhaine,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, this person sounds unreasonable & hopefully it will be obvious to Airbnb. Anyone who does not complain within 12-24 hours is suspect, in my opinion, unless the specific complaint is about something that occurred after that point. I believe, and I cannot say for certain, but I believe that when you reply to the guest and deny to refund, that is your communication with Airbnb. If you want to add something else, privately to Airbnb, then I am not sure how to do that except to call them. But the first step is actually to reply to the Request & explain all of the reasons why the request is not reasonable, etc. Then the guest can & probably will escalate the matter to Airbnb. They cannot do that until 24 hours after your reply, I believe. Since this is your first such experience, I recommend you call Airbnb at the phone number for your Country (sorry, I haven't looked at your listing, but it sounds exotic & adventurous!) You can find the number in the guide someone referred to on this post already. Best of luck, it is most unfortunate when someone is so unreasonable because it casts doubt on your listing, but if you have many positive reviews, it shouldn't be a big issue. Sometimes people can be so petty. I would apologize that the guest did not enjoy their stay as much as they hoped, but you provided all of the services promised and you do not have control over the smell (?) of the water, etc. As for the 4 extra beers, I assume you spelled that out in advance, hopefully in writing? That is simply petty & would never warrant a 50% refund! From your description of your listing, the guests clearly had unrealistic expectations and should have the listing more closely. It is all there in black & white, so I don't understand why they complain?

[Souhaine0]

Thank you Juley, thank you for the reply and taking the time out to write. Being the first time and airbnb not being clear in how to address such situations and being unreachable is difficult, I did not reply to guest and he seems to have involved airbnb. Still cannot find a way write directly to airbnb which is shame, tried the call airbnb through one of the numbers mentioned in a community post, it did not connect, spent a day going through the forum and various posts to find a way of contacting airbnb no luck. Hoping for a reasonable solution!

[Eloise0]

Dear Souhaine,

I would stay at your beautiful place in a heartbeat.  This person does not deserve a refund. They stayed the whole time and took advantage of your offerings.  People like this need to stay a Motel 6.  I would always and only correspond through the airbnb email platform so you and airbnb can have a record of it.  To think they could have a stay at a authentic destination (assuming your photos are accurate) for such a reasonable price is what I consider to be a chance of a lifetime.  Don't make a big deal out of this.  Unfortunately there are too many Guests out there that think they can get away with this behavior and I wish airbnb would kick them off the platform.  Don't worry about a bad review and keep any of your responses calm, balanced and truthful without getting into mudslinging and you will come out ahead and the rest of the Hosting world will be pre-warned about this Guest.

Good Luck,  Eloise

[Souhaine0]

Thank you Eloise, thats very kind of you. It would be a pleasure, please let us know when you visit this part of the world. Thank you for the advice, really appreciate it.