Refund for power outage?

Answered!
Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

Refund for power outage?

Thankfully I haven't yet activate my listing because we had a power outage in my area from 2 AM to 11 AM. This had me thinking what if this happened when a guest was staying.

 

Would you issue a full or partial refund?

 

What if there was a moderate outage of just one or two hours? Knock off 10%?

1 Best Answer
Karol22
Level 10
SF, CA

Usually guests don't blame you for this kind of issue. But it varies based on situation. Feel it out and see if the guest even requests a refund. In most cases they wont. If it goes on for too long they may want to check out early, which you may need to be understanding about.

View Best Answer in original post

61 Replies 61
Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Fred13,

Thanks for providing your input.  Yes, I find the community a great place where we all can exchange information and learn. 

 

In St. Lucia, the electricity, internet and water services are frequently interrupted.  Sometimes someone will drive around the night before, and make announcements via a bullhorn, but many instances ares unexpected.  We have two Champion inverter generators at each of our property locations, and run them on LP gas: https://www.championpowerequipment.com/product/100263-3400-watt-dual-fuel-inverter/.  At 59db, they are not as silent as your Honda, but we chose them, because they can provide twice the power generation they piggy-backed together.  I'm not concerned about anyone complaining about the noise, given that when the electricity or water service goes out, it's a welcome sound to hear a generator or water pump running.  We thought about solar polar for the guesthouse (we have it for the water tank), but determined that our current age that we wouldn't live to see a return on the investment given how the local power company does its power buy-back program.

 

In Georgia, the electricity temporarily goes out for various reasons often enough to warrant backups. Typically, it's due to technicians doing work in the area, a tree fell on power lines or the substation (our place is in a highly wooded area), or an outage due to  storms.  We've used the generator just once, and it was for only a short while, because the electricity service resumed.  However, Americans are pretty spoiled, and start to get uneasy if power is off for more than 15 minutes.

   I like the Champions , and fairly quiet. Noise doubles every 7db, as a point of reference. And cool they can go in parallel; they are hybrids, can run on either gas or LP right?

   A little tricky with foreign import duties jacking the price, but today solar is indeed awesome. The local solar people quoted me $14,000; I did it myself for $3,800 and bought the components from him. Yes, it is one of those things that the initial price is the expensive part. I set up system for local island owners and for some villagers. Belize's power comes from Mexico, and incredibly expensive, why makes going solar 'worth it'.

   I was just in St. Lucia this past December, I would have loved to split a cup of cafe with you folks.  . 🙂 

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Fred13

Yes, we're pretty satisfied with the Champion generators.  They can run on gas or LP, but we prefer propane, because it make the machine less noisy, it's easier to store, and doesn't emit fumes like gas.  We did a load test yesterday operating the generators in parallel, and running the refrigerators, lights, router/modem, laptops, security cameras and alarm systems, and TVs.  The peak usage was at 15%.  We should be able to run off of one 30 pound tank for almost a full day based upon the literature from Champion.

 

It's great that you were able to install the solar system for a reasonable cost.  We've not ruled it out entirely, but will require additional research.  It's possible that we will have to buy the components in the US and ship them down.  Electricity in St. Lucia is ~$0.30USD p/kw.  Which is 150% more than the $0.12USD p/kw we pay in Atlanta.

 

Please do give me a shout if you pass through St. Lucia again.  Were you there because of sailing?

First time on a cruise (2018) and 2nd time just visiting; if ever leave Belize, St.Lucia is our next place, liked it that much.

Our electricity is at $0,27USD p/kw, so about same as you. Btw, we amazon many parts now and go through a 'broker' and including delivery, customs, etc is just 20% above Amazon cost, that was a revelation, for years we thought it wasn't worth it and too complicated. 

I'm in the market for a new generator, so thanks @Fred13 - this is very useful.  My generators start automatically (except when they don't, thank you, Maine 😂).  Will definitely talk to my electrician about the Honda.

@Ann72 You are from NYC, but your place is in Maine. Get to spend much time in Maine yourself? Nice place btw.

@Fred13  Thank you, and yes, but the cursèd full-time job in New York requires my presence here! 

 

Close friends from New York who have rented a house near mine in Maine for 20 years just bought their own this summer.  I told them to be prepared to be asked by everyone:  But how often will you get up there?  They told me they started hearing that one before the closing 🤣 Many New Yorkers have houses in Maine, Vermont, the Adirondacks, etc., that can't be weekend places.  When the children were still at home we only went for August.  Now I probably go five or six times a year, usually for long stretches, occasionally for a long weekend.

   How cool. I was raised in Long Island and our summer cabin was in the Catskills (Phoenicia), but every year the whole familia (5 kids) would go to Maine for a month, awesome summers.

   Then all of a sudden over a two-year span we all dispersed to colleges in far-away states and countries, the military, etc; but our commonality still remains those summers.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Debra300  While we often lose the power here for a few hours during the summer thunderstorms, I've actually never had the power go out when I had a guest in residence. This is in large part due to the fact that summer isn't tourist season here and I almost  never get bookings during the rainy season-it's just too hot and humid. If tourists come here during the summer, they are looking for a place with AC, a pool, and close walking distance to town, which isn't what I have on offer.

 

So I don't say anything about it in my listing info, and if I do have guests when the power goes out, because I home-share, I just talk to guests about issues that might come up very casually, as if it's no big deal. That's how I talk to them about the insects that are endemic here and that's how I'd talk to them about the power if it went out.

 

But I think I have a fairly unique situation, from all the posts I read, in that I get guests who are generally seasoned travellers, have put up with far more difficult situations than anything they might experience at my place and simply aren't complaining, unadaptable people. They seem to view travelling as an adventure where you can't always predict what might happen.

 

A couple years ago I was having problems with the local water commission here- they weren't sending me water for a week at a time (crook in charge of the system, since fired, now I get water on a regular basis). I was having to go up on the roof to check my water tank to make sure if i did a load of wash, that there would still be enough water to shower and flush the toilet. I had a guest here and checked the tank one morning to find that it was almost empty. I can call a water delivery guy to fill my tanks, but it's not only an expense, it's a hassle to drag their huge heavy hose up to the roof. My neighbors, who are also my friends and are on an endless well, had told me if I ever needed water, to just hook up to their outside tap. That sounds easier than it is, as I have to attach 3 long heavy hoses together and drag them out across the property across from me , to fill my cistern. 

 

So I told my guest, who was a really cool gal, to be a bit conservative with water for a few hours while I went through this routine. She asked if she could help, so we did it together and it took half the time it normally does.

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Sarah977, thanks for sharing. There was a major break in St. Lucia's main waterline at the dam, and we were without water for two weeks.  We have two very large water tanks, and were good for about 10 days.  Since we live at the top of a hill, our area was the last to get water service resumed, and we had to use a water hose to fill a couple of barrels.  Fortunately, the next day our water service slowly started to return, and we had enough water for new guests that were arriving later that day. 

 

If we had been unable to procure water for our guests, I would have provided a refund or agreed for them to cancel.

Ravare0
Level 1
United States

Hello, I was wondering what other hosts/guests thoughts are on my situation.. we had guests stay at our Airbnb last week and learned the last day of their stay that due to extreme fire conditions, the power company would be shutting power off that night. We reached out to them well before the shutoff and mentioned we had a generator at our parents’ (2 doors down), which we could have brought over for their use. The house also had a wood stove and plenty of candles. That night, the guest messaged saying they wanted a refund, so I called Airbnb and explained the situation, and Airbnb said they would reach out to them and offer either a hotel room or find a solution. No one ended up reaching out to them, so the next few days I got angry messages from the guest, threatening to leave bad review. Apparently, they didn’t see my message about offering the generator, and seemed apologetic after I sent a screenshot. Which I find odd as he messaged me on the same thread a few hours after. But they are still demanding a full refund AND money for their rental cars, spoiled food, etc. On top of that, our cleaning lady actually quit on us because they left a huge pile of dishes, and a few other things. So now we may have to cancel the next booking if we can’t find someone else, which is hard as we are very rural. I told Airbnb they need to find the solution, seeing as they failed to reach out that same day and because we offered a generator. It seems Airbnb is not being much help, so I was thinking to just offer the guest a free night for future stay, which is worth about $400. I’m just curious everyone’s thoughts, if this seems reasonable. 

By ‘other things’ they threw smelly seafood directly in garbage cans without bags, didn’t take trash out, bottom bathroom door somehow won’t open so we have to hire someone to come fix it, etc

@Ravare0

Offer them nothing, they're trying to scam you and if they get away with this, they'll try it on the next host and the one after that.

 

You already offered them a solution - as you can prove - which they chose not to take. (Of course the guest saw your message but it would ruin his little scam if he admitted to that)

 

Don't allow yourself to be played by these people. Do you happen to have it in writing that they threatened to leave you a bad review if you didn't refund them? If so, that violates Airbnb's T&Cs under the extortion clause and you'll have solid grounds to have any review he may leave taken down.

 

Penelope

And whatever you do, do not allow them back in your home again, under any circumstances, because they'll see you as an easy mark and they will try to scam you again next time too. 

Penelope
Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Ravare0,

I wouldn't offer them any amount of refund or the opportunity for a future stay.  In fact, I recommend that you hurry up and get quotes to fix the bathroom door, ask your parents to take pictures of how the door doesn't close, and submit a resolution center claim.  You can start the claim now, but the quote/receipt needs to be provided before the next guest checks in or within 14 days of the guest's departure.  Also, during your review of the guest, write a truthful factual review (leave out personal feelings and assumptions) and select "would not host again".  

 

@Super47 hit the mark spot on in that the guest is trying to get you to pay for all of their trip costs, and it's a scam.  Your exchange with the guest is another example of why all communication regarding a stay should happen on the Airbnb message system, because it is strictly against Airbnb's terms of service to threaten a poor review