Let's Play A Game ..... Partial Refund Mania!

[Stephan-And-Skye0]

Welcome to:

Partial Refund Mania ..... The Game! 

Please follow the rules and have fun!

Rules:

You are an Airbnb host.  The cost to rent your place is $100 per night.  The guests have enjoyed your place however one thing has gone wrong and they have asked for "A PARTIAL REFUND".   Now that Murphy's law has caught up to you ... you must decide how much of the $100 you feel is fair to give back for each separate instance. 

Listed below are 20 situations.  These might not all apply to your place but play along anyway!  For each one item that has gone wrong decide how much of the $100 should be refunded.  Assume that everything else has gone well except this one thing and that you were not able to fix it in time before the guests checked out. The refund must be from a number from $0 to $100. Number your reply from 1-20 and give your partial refund amount for each situation. Good luck!

Situations:

#1) Your wifi router got fried in the storm last night so there is no wifi and guests want partial refund! 

#2) Guests found hair in the shower and now want partial refund!

#3) You accidently walked in on some guests not realizing they were already there. You apologize but you woke them up and they want a partial refund.

#4) The parking spot that was reserved for guests has been taken. They have to park 10 minutes away and walk. They want a partial refund.

#5) That good old air matress finally gave out in the middle of the night.  They want a partial refund for having to sleep on the floor.

#6) Oh no the codo's pool is closed for cleaning today. Guests are disappointed. They want a partial refund.

#7) Guests locked themselves out of the only bathroom late at night. You have no idea how that happened. Now they want a partial refund.

#8) You left breakfast items for only 2 people when there were actually 6 guests on the reservation.  They want a partial refund. 

#9) The refrigerator has a funky smell.  Guests didn't want to use it.  They want a partial refund instead.

#10) Coffee machine is broken.  They can't get it to work.  They want a partial refund.

#11) 4 guests were staying at your place.  Sadly you only had 2 towells out and they couldn't find others.  They want a partial refund.

#12) Guests had asked you if your bed was hard or soft before arrival.  You said soft.  Whey they arrived they said it was too hard.  They now want a partial refund.

#13) The air conditioner is broke.  Guests were left with a hot room.  They want a partial refund.

#14) Your hairdryer has gone missing. You had it listed as an amenity and they now want a partial refund.

#15) Guest found a few bugs and a spider in your place. They want a partial refund.

#16) A pen was in your washing machine and it damaged a couple pairs of pants and some shirts.  They want a partial refund.

#17) Guests complain that your listing says a local attraction is just 10 minutes away but it turned out to be 30 minutes for them.  They want a partial refund.

#18) Guests ran out of hot water.  They are upset that not everyone can shower.  They want a partial refund.

#19) Guest says your place gave them allergies in the eye. They will have to go to a doctor for a perscription.  They want a partial refund.  

#20) Your neighbor's dog was barking and kept guests awake and they want a partial refund!

[Ange2]

Refunds are a  slippery slope, a host must be careful it doesn't become a  landslide and careful not to educate guests into thinking that the slightest annoyance warrants a refund. That's tough when Airbnb appears to encourage the opposite behavior.   If it is a result of careless, irresponsible hosting then by all means figure equitable redress.  If it is outside a host's control, or a minor issue that can easily be fixed, insisiting on a refund is an opportunistic bad faith move—goodbye.

I have rarely been asked for a refund:  once for wi-fi when coverage was not perfect, for a plus 50 mile radius, at starbucks and hotels too. They wanted a complete refund of two nights stayed—no and no, Airbnb did back me up,  but that was many moons ago.  I told them that I was concerned they were uncomfortable and unhappy and would call Airbnb and have them relocated, (obviously it would need to be outside the 50 mile non-perfect internet zone to address the cause of their distress!).  However, I have also had guests who totally understand that s*** happens (they use Airbnb in the original spirit it was launched, with an understanding of low price and all),  and take issues in their stride, often with good humor. I'm fortunate that the majority of my guests are still like that. Everyone else is welcome to leave.

[Nina75]

I've given a few refunds because I want to get people out of my house

[Roberta315]

I have central air in my home.  My guests arrived at 3pm but did not contact me until 10:30 that the air conditioner was not working. I immediately gave everyone fans so they could sleep comfortably and called my service repair company. I even offered to compensate the guest with a 10% discount on the total cost of the rental for one nite ($75). The repair was made the next day. They refused my offer complained to Airbnb that they suffered for 35 hours (not true) and wanted 2 days refunded when they were only without air for one nite. In the end Airbnb made me pay them $200 because the air conditioner was not working.

[Mark116]

1) Your wifi router got fried in the storm last night so there is no wifi and guests want partial refund! NO.  Act of God

#2) Guests found hair in the shower and now want partial refund! Very sorry, $20 and reclean the bathroom.

#3) You accidently walked in on some guests not realizing they were already there. You apologize but you woke them up and they want a partial refund. NO

#4) The parking spot that was reserved for guests has been taken. They have to park 10 minutes away and walk. They want a partial refund.  Very sorry, $20

#5) That good old air matress finally gave out in the middle of the night.  They want a partial refund for having to sleep on the floor.  Very SorWhy did this happen?  IF it is reserved it is reserved, this my be my mistkae, so very sorry, $20

#6) Oh no the codo's pool is closed for cleaning today. Guests are disappointed. They want a partial refund.  Depends on if I had notification of same, if so, very sorry $20

#7) Guests locked themselves out of the only bathroom late at night. You have no idea how that happened. Now they want a partial refund. NO.  And if they damaged any locks I will charge them.

#8) You left breakfast items for only 2 people when there were actually 6 guests on the reservation.  They want a partial refund.   Do I have breakfast checked as an amenity and did I know there were 6 people?  If so, why did I only leave enough bfast for 1/3 of the guests?   If this is my mistake, $20

#9) The refrigerator has a funky smell.  Guests didn't want to use it.  They want a partial refund instead. NO, I will offer to reclean it.

#10) Coffee machine is broken.  They can't get it to work.  They want a partial refund. They probably broke it, but I would replace coffee machine and give lesson, no refund.

#11) 4 guests were staying at your place.  Sadly you only had 2 towells out and they couldn't find others.  They want a partial refund. Why don't I have enough towels?  I'd go out and get some, no refund, but some of these things are things that would never happen, we have a gazillion towels to do quick change overs. 

#12) Guests had asked you if your bed was hard or soft before arrival.  You said soft.  Whey they arrived they said it was too hard.  They now want a partial refund. NO

#13) The air conditioner is broke.  Guests were left with a hot room.  They want a partial refund.  Id' give 30% refund on this, no A/C in summer is a big problem.

#14) Your hairdryer has gone missing. You had it listed as an amenity and they now want a partial refund. How did the hairdryer disappear?  NO refund, it isn't important enough, hardly anyone uses the hair dryer anyway.

#15) Guest found a few bugs and a spider in your place. They want a partial refund.  NO on spiders, depends on what the bugs are.  Probably a no.  

#16) A pen was in your washing machine and it damaged a couple pairs of pants and some shirts.  They want a partial refund. This is why I will never have a washer/dryer for airbnb guests, but it would be annoying to have clothing ruined.

#17) Guests complain that your listing says a local attraction is just 10 minutes away but it turned out to be 30 minutes for them.  They want a partial refund.  Is my listing inaccurate or are their attractions different from what I mention?  That is 3X the distance, so if my listing is inaccurate then maybe they deserve a refund. 

#18) Guests ran out of hot water.  They are upset that not everyone can shower.  They want a partial refund. NO, assuming that this is not an ongoing problem and other guests are able to shower and have hot water.

#19) Guest says your place gave them allergies in the eye. They will have to go to a doctor for a perscription.  They want a partial refund.  NO.

#20) Your neighbor's dog was barking and kept guests awake and they want a partial refund! NO. This is out of my control, it is also why my listing has 'urban noise' as something guests must acknowledge.

[Alice595]

@Mark116 If you were the unlucky one with all of the incidences occur, you would have given the guest $30 for staying at your place 🙂

[Sarah977]

Life's just not fair. I want a refund!

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Most of these are a no.

I've given only one refund in 50 odd sets of guests.

Woman arrived in a bad mood because traffic was bad.

Stayed first night and messaged me DURING the second night to say she was travelling home a hundred miles because of a "medical emergency". Could she have a refund for the second night.

No said airbnb. Of course, said I - and gave her a fiver.

[Alice595]

@Stephan-And-Skye0  If any of those refund requests are from guests, I will give them $100 full refund and ask them to leave in half an hour.

I don't want any unhappy and fussy guests staying in my place.

[Sean433]

@JR26 

The bug issue reminds me of my stay in Costa Rica where we found an iguana in the room. The iguana is about 20 times the size of a bug. So say the bug problem merits a $20 refund, the math would suggest we were entitled to a $400 refund?

I did not complain of this because we were in Costa Freakin Rica and what do you expect in such a country. This was back in the good old days where there wasn't any fear mongering review system.