Facts: Mid-reservation, guest has fabricated falsehoold (no instructions on Internet) or vague ratonale (key fob doesn't work) why apartment doesn't meet his needs. Apartment has received very positive reviews from AirBnB guests. Guest contacted me 48 hours into stay; emails urged him to contact me as soon as a problem emerged.
Analysis/Questions: Question guest's sincerity--for example, garage has been open throughout his stay. I have a flexible cancellation policy pre-booking (have now changed to moderate); this is the first time any guest has ever wanted to cancel reservation mid-stay. Curious how I should proceed--am willing to offer him a small, courtesy refund. He has responded with threatening language/harsh tone. Contractual between two consetning parties guides right?
Objective: How to proceed with purpose of upholidng most of resevation.
My current guest and I exchanged emails for over two weeks. Here are a sample of pre-booking emails. I am Matt in exchange.
Great. Lydia is going to place the apartment keys in my car's glovebox. I drove a blue Nissan with (state) license plates. The car is parked in the 1st floor garage--closest car to first-floor entrance. Call me if there are any problems--checking messages regularly.
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Matt: Hi ( ). Sounds like you are already knowledgable about Seattle. For Wi-Fi, there are two ( ) networks. Try ( )Wi-Fi; the password is ( ). If there are any difficulties, let me know. I can email you another password. Enjoy your time with your daughter!
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Guest's first response: Procedurally, instructions are absent from the site: how to get in to the garage to get the key (without a key); how to get in to the front door of the building; once in the building with the key I still had no apartment number, and your name does not appear on the directory; (I went and found Tori who showed me how to use the key fob and told me which unit).
Once inside: no instructions on how to access the internet; and I did not receive a response when I messaged about that; Lovely place, but no lights in the main room, no lamps to cover for the lack of overhead lighting (the accent lights above the fireplace are only decorative); even in the daytime the curtains block most of the daylight; the toilet seat was broken loose before I arrived; the bottom sheet on the murphy bed is too small to cover the mattress; there is no place to put a suitcase, or a place to unpack any clothes to, (hanging, shelving or drawers), which for one night is no big deal, but for 5 nights it would be helpful; the kitchen looks like has not been set up yet (there is no drawer for flatware and only one dinner fork that I could find.
You may want to include instructions about how to open the windows and doors. The window on the right does not seem to close all the way at the top and I could not figure out how to fix it.
Finally, it does matter to some folks what kind of bed the bnb has: I personally avoid murphy beds and fold out sofa's if I have advance notice. Though yours is just acceptable for me, you might want to be sure it is okay with future guests.
Any one of these inside things would be manageable on its own, but everything adds up to create the impression for the guest, and you ultimately want us to feel welcomed by how the space is prepared.
It is just not ready for the price point at which it is placed, in my experience here in Seattle.
Again, all this in support of your future success, and no hard feelings. Let me know if you have further questions about any of this.
( )
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Matt: Hi ( ), I appreciate your feedback and will work to improve the experience for all guests. I strive for my guests to be completely satisfied. One constant: I urge all guests to contact me if there are any issues. As reflected on the AirBnB dashboard and in our personal correspondence, I respond to emails instantaneously and am readily available by phone. Please refer to email titled Apt #206 Notes on accessing the Internet/neighborhood recommendations (emailed Saturday morning).
I have also included the relevant portion about the key location--emailed before the Saturday check-in.
Lastly, I pride myself on ironing out any issues requiring clarification:
For the key fob, just buzz yourself in.
For the lamps above the fireplace, the light switch is located on the right side of the fireplace (near the kitchen).
You can pull back or remove the curtains for Seattle sunshine.
There are two open shelves in the closest for pants/sweater/shirts; I would recommend storing your suitcase in the closet.
The kitchen is ready for use--a chef handpicked a number of the cooking items. Please check for silverware in an adjoining drawer.
The price point is very reasonable--in fact it is the lowest-- or the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. As a fellow traveler, I want to provide people with an opportunity to experience my adopted city.
The windows were closed when I departed. Could you describe “I didn’t know how to fix the window?” I will hire someone to fix this when I return.
The feedback about the Murphy bed is helpful. And I appreciate the notice about the toilet seat; I apologize about any inconvenience. What would be an acceptable price point? Thanks. For the toilet seat and Murphy bed, I will offer you a TBD refund. I am unable to cancel.
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Guest: Matt,
This is turning into a serious problem that I do not have time to deal with.
According to airbnb's policies and yours I have the option to alter my stay
with 24 hours notice.
I received the automated message that my request was within the parameters
of your policy.
On that basis I made another reservation.
My request is that you honor your policy and accept my request for the
alteration.
Your rationale about cleaning the apartment makes no sense, and is not
covered anywhere in your policy.
I have tried to be gracious about this but if you are going to hold me up
for $300 for time I did not stay at your place, I will both involve the
resolution center and feel obligated to let other people know of my
experience.
BTW, I have received no email from you other than what is in the airbnb log
of our messages back and forth, and what you say you sent is not there.
Your clarification instructions are of very little help, usually missing
the points I was making.
The wifi instructions for example are incomplete and the password fails.
In the absence of any close up instructions, I left the place as I found
it, put my towels in the washing machine, glass in the dishwasher, took the
trash out, put the key and the fob back in the Nissan.
If you honor this request I will work cooperatively to agree on a review of
my stay. I do hope you choose that option, and quickly.
Thomas
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I responded with a please be patient message. What recourse should I pursue? I am concerned about potential damage to the window. Thanks for the advice.
