Unreasonable refund request?

[Kim-Andre0]

I have a guest that stayed from Fri-Mon. I checked them in myself, went over the apartment with them and made sure they were OK. Told them to contact me at any time if anything weren't OK or they had any questions. Sunday they contact me because the apartment was a bit cold. I went over with firewood enough for their last day. All good. 

After they left, in which they just left the key in the mailbox, which was not agreed upon, I got a long letter in which they told me they were not satisfied with their stay. Mostly because they felt it was dirty (which it was not). They sent me 12 pictures, most of which just showed usage and not actual dust. Yes, there were some dust which could have been fixed. 

My problem is, they are claiming over 50% refund because of this. Not once, not even when I brought firewood, was I notified of any problems. I would have gladly fixed this for them if they had let me know, but only after they left did they tell me anything. The pictures was sent monday after they left. Am I completely in the wrong here, or is this claim a bit ludicrous?

[Fred13]

The 'passive-aggressive' type of guest is the most difficult to guess correctly; they could be extremely shy (and even kind), outright cowards or cunning hustlers, you are the best judge of which category these particular ones fall under. What were their contention besides dust, which merited such a 'long' letter?

[Kim-Andre0]

It was, in their words "extremely dirty and unclean", which is a gross overstatement in my opinion. There was a lightbulb missing in the hallway and the bedrom was not well lit. Somewhat cold at times. Yes, the apartment is not new. There is some wear and tear. This is Norway in the winter (re: cold. There were blankets supplied) Yes, there was actual dust in some places which I admit could have been handled better. But nowhere near extremes. All of this would have taking me top 1 hour to mend. And if it were Saturday when the stores were open I could've bought another oven if they were cold. I brought them firewood which even heats better. I just feel like proper communication would'be been key.

As it stands, they feel like a mix of cowardly and hustlers in my opinion. 

[Fred13]

  You do come across open and fair-minded, and honest, that will serve you very well in this endevour. You know, oftentimes an over-critical guest, even if unfair, causes us to 'fight' back and in the long run is a Godsend. The hardest part is to keep it in perspective, and not take it personably and treated as a learning experience. I would argue the point with Airbnb because the guest's position appears unreasonable AND cowardly. Airbnb will always give the guest the benefit of doubt, that is their present 'mentality'. 

   I would hit the ground running and do the things you feel you can improve upon. Good luck Kim.

[Matthew285]

@Kim-Andre0 this kind of guest is why I always send a message via the AirBnB messaging system asking specifically how they are enjoying their stay and if the listing is meeting their expectations. (I do this the first morning.) Hopefully they respond via AirBnB messaging that everything is great, and that makes it harder to later complain that the property was unacceptable.

If the guest at this point says anything is a problem, that gives you as the host a chance to address it right away. As always, the communication about the problem and the solution is documented in the messaging system. Guests who are trying to get a free stay will try to avoid mentioning problems to you because they do NOT want you to fix them. They instead want to keep them as "a problem" so they can as for a refund.

If you clearly give the guest the opportunity to tell you about anything that is not up to their expectations, and they fail to do so, then that really make it difficult for the guest to be believable when they later try to claim something was "unacceptable".

[Sian9]

I can beat this.... I had a guest who just requested a full refund for staying in my guest room at my house. She stayed for two nights out of four - then left and said that her daughter's friend had gone away and she could stay there and it was more central for her and therefore more convenient. She has now requested a full refund because she said the bed 'collapsed' - it did not collapse, the slat moved and the mattress sank a little on the first night. It was fully rectified as soon as she told me it had happened. She cited this as a reason for wanting a full refund for the entire stay! And she also cited that my son being naked in the bathroom in the morning was a problem for her - he is TEN years old and forgot to lock the door!!! She said that it showed there were not enough facilities for guests and not appropriate for guests. My two children are clearly mentioned in the listing. There was also another loo that she could have used instead of waiting for me to remove my son from the bathroom. A full refund because a boy was in the bathroom? Please. I declined and offered her the first night, as recompense for the movement of the slats.

I really think AirBnB needs to make sure that people have read the listing and understand exactly what they are booking! Also that they have read the house manual etc with travel directions and details that I provide for guests. So irritated. And there is nothing I can do.