Hi fellow CC users
Suggestions please how to address this
I had a recent Guest who is also a Host ( not Superhost) Instant Book for 2 nights on the same day of his booking with a brief msg of arrival time and nothing else despite my Listing stating it's polite to mention reason for stay etc.
He cancelled both nights despite the fact he stayed 1 night & is wanting to claim a refund of just under half of what he paid for both nights.
He had asked me for an Offline Refund on the grounds he would write a Good Review - In my wisdom I contacted ABB CS about this as it is a breach of there Terms of Service who contacted him to cancel.
He was advised to use the Resolution Centre to make any request for a refund.
He arrived around around 1 hour later than he said he would without any msg to say he would be later which didn't really worry me, however within his walking 2 steps inside my home he mentioned he was cold, has a Heat Pump in his home & if there was a Living area upstairs.
He was wearing a light shirt with rolled up sleeves & had been sitting in the pub for the last few hours .
We are in the midst of winter & most people tend to dress accordingly.
As with all my guests I greet them & give them a tour of my small home & show them how to use the shower etc and offer a cuppa.
I also put the heater on in the entry to the small guest room to heat it up for him.
The bed has a winter & summer duvet on for extra winter warmth.
He wanted the heater on all night which I considered to be an unreasonable request as when one is tucked in bed one is generally warm.
I switched it off before I went to bed & switched it on again around 5am so the place would be warm when he got up.
This guest msg'd me within 1 hour of checking in he now wanted to stay only 1 night & would talk in the morning.
He got up at least 2x's in the night which woke me up.
In the morning we discussed if there was anything in particular he wasn't happy about that I could assist & that he was welcome to have an electric blanket on the bed if he wished.
He declined my offers.
I'd like to point out here I've hosted Guests from the South Island where it snows & is much colder than Auckland who have said it's not that cold when I've offered to put the heater on.
When I was making breakfast I caught him taking photo's of my Living Room which I've expressly kept offline for my own reasons, including my Rights to Privacy & Personal Safety as I am a woman living on my own.
I asked him to refrain from taking photos & he said I should have pictures of everything in my listing!
It's clear he has not read my Listing prior to making his booking & has failed to exercise "Due Diligence" prior to his IB.
I notice he subsequently booked into another ABB which was similar to how he had wrongly expected my place to be.
My listing is as accurate as I can make it.
In the listing options there's an option for 'Private Living' room which is what I & others consider my living room to be - there are no neighbours who can see directly into it & the property is in a private location. I've included it as a 'shared space' with me & Guests are welcome to use ot whenever they want.
There were ABB IT glitches with Listings been changed the week he booked which I explained to him.
His request for a Partial Refund states "H is very hospitable, however sometimes a guest just wants a comfortable warm bed & a nice place to stay & not too much intrusion of privacy".
I saw the guest for around 30 minutes when he arrived & we had a short chat over a cuppa & he had a shower & went to bed.
Is that an unreasonable intrusion of a Guest's Privacy?
I a very aware of one's Privacy rights & always respectful of others, including Guest who walk around with a towel around them in my home.
My reviews have in the majority been very favourable & accurate.
There's comments how comfortable the bed is & how cosy my home is.
With the exception of 3 recent Guests who asked me for WIFI password when I don't provide WIFI - as per the Amenities Option list it's NOT ticked but there's work friendly laptop space & the internet is able to be used in my home on one's own devices, I've tended to get 5 stars for accuracy.
Would his request for a refund fit in to the Terms of ABB Guest refund policy?
https://www.airbnb.co.nz/help/article/544/what-is-airbnbs-guest-refund-policy-for-homes?_set_bev_on_...
I'm reluctant to refund anything as I had to make initial contact with ABB to sort his lack of Due Diligence & my listing is accurate.
I also have friends who have operated BNB's for over 25 years who have said not to refund Guests as they should exercise Due Diligence before making a booking.
Suggestions & advice would be appreciated how to address this.
Thanks in advance