WTF 50% refund for a missing TV ! Who else is sick of airbnb´s refund policy ?

Herman45
Level 1
Brussels, BE

WTF 50% refund for a missing TV ! Who else is sick of airbnb´s refund policy ?

There we go again:

Some guests have understood the system and come REFUND HUNTING, and airbnb ALWAYS plays along.

Your boiler stops working for an hour or two ? FULL REFUND !

No TV but it was listed by mistake ? 50% !

 

And wait a minute, if a guest does not get the refund through you he will leave you a bad rating and airbnb unlists you for five days AND refunds the guest - even if you don´t agree.

 

What can we do ? Who can we turn to ?

Who else has had a bad experience with AIRBNB ?

 

14 Replies 14
Katrina79
Level 10
Saskatchewan, Canada

@Herman45 C’est la vie, live and let live! 

Gillian19
Level 10
St Leonards, Australia

@Herman45 If I had booked somewhere with a TV and I specifically wanted one,  I would expect a decent refund if there wasn't one. It's not the guests fault you included it by mistake. It's up to each host to ensure that listed amenities are provided. 

So you think 50% is an appropriate refund, do you ?

The guest has stayed there a couple of days, the flat has been cleaned, provided with amenities, sheets have been cleaned, heating and water and all the rest ? In a luxury flat !

 

Taking responsibility for an error in the listing is normal, that is part of hosting. We all know.

 

However I have a very hard time to understand airbnb´s refund policy. Of course, it is easy, it does not go out of their pocket.

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

No it doesn't sound reasonable to get a 50% refund for one missing amenity. @Herman45 

 

Perhaps it would have been cheaper to provide a cheap TV 🙂

'Taking responsibility' means acknowledging your mistake and refunding the guest accordingly.  TV is kind of a huge deal to most guests - I know I'd be upset if I showed up to a 'luxury flat' that didn't even have a TV, when one was listed.  Learn from your mistakes and adjust your approach...it seems from other reviews that this type of error isn't the first.

Joy298
Level 10
Sydney, Australia

Sorry @Herman45 I checked your listing. I found there’s about 30% of the reviews saying there’s something missing(TV, patio, microwave) or not working(WiFi, heating). So I tend to suggest maybe you pay a little bit more attention to improving your listing. If the amenities are no more available and too costly to replace, maybe just remove them from the description.

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Herman45 you're right, Airbnb is well-known to grant guests exorbitant refunds for stay issues. Your best defense is to make sure they don't have any that you can prevent. Basic listing accuracy is a good start.

Damien9
Level 2
Martinique

It’s clear that AirBnB favours the guests, they forget that without hosts there would be no guests. I had a recent experience whereby, guest looked for a refund as there was an issue with the pool in the residence, this was explained at check in and accepted. Each  time we checked with guest during their stay, they stated everything was perfect and all was ok. Now after they’ve left, they made a claim for a refund due to the issues with the pool, now AirBnB are giving a 50% refund when the guest only looked for 33%. The case manager they would negotiate, however none took place. 

 

Does anyone know how you can appeal their decision?

I'm so tired of Airbnb policy to refund 50% whenever 1 amenity is not working! Even when the night rate is USD $ 500/night, Airbnb will force you to refund 250$ just for the wifi not working or the TV not working! This is insane, as if TV was worth 250$/night when most of the time if the TV is not working it is out of our control and due to the TV provider, sane for the WIfi! My last experience was some guests booked for 8 pax in a 3 bedrooms villa with maximum occupancy set to 8 but they came with 12 pax + 1 baby. When i asked them to pay extra for the 4 extra pax, they lied about these people staying in a hotel nearby... I made a claim through Airbnb and then the guests suddenly complained about the sink that was leaking and Airbnb was then on their side saying that I didn't respect the hosting standards. Are they for real?? I mean these guest intentionally violated my house rules and lied about it and Airbnb is still protecting them?? It's like if my property was for 8 pax max and they came with 12 and then complained to Airbnb that there was not enough bed and I would have to refund them 50% because I didn't respect hosting standards by providing enough beds!! Are they serious??

 

AIrbnb need to realise who is bringing all the money to their pocket!! not the guest who might booked max 5 accommodations per year but us active hosts! 

 

 

John2406
Level 10
Swansea, United Kingdom

Legally (or as it stands in the UK) the Guests' have to make any complaint during their stay at the property, otherwise whatever the reason (for the complaint) cannot be attended to, or the Guest be refunded, once they have left the premises.

 

Having said that, the only way I could see to stop them making a claim, when you had verbally advised them of a fault (or anything else you wanted to mention), and where they had accepted your verbal advice, would be to either send an email to Airbnb Support straight away to advise them of what both you and your Guests' had said, or - far more "secure" for you - would be for you to get your Guests to sign a piece of paper (aka document) confirming that you had advised them, and that the matter had been rectified to their satisfaction! - again to be signed before they leave your property.

 

Although the latter method may well be considered to be contentious, one also has to consider that most Companies where their workers have undertaken work on your behalf, will require you (the customer): to sign a document to confirm that the work has been undertaken, and that it is to [the satisfaction of]... (or, once again, that is the situation in the UK).

 

Perhaps more guidance from Airbnb would prove beneficial in such incidences as mentioned?

Giacomo240
Level 1
Miami, FL

I have been there, believe me, and it is frustrating . In one occasion, a guest reached out to me asking for more toilet paper. I agreed I would not mind to provide more toilet paper, So I did bring more. Everything seemed well until the day the guest checked out, and requested money back for the inconvenience. Airbnb refunded, no hesitation. 

John2406
Level 10
Swansea, United Kingdom

Interesting.

Just as a matter of interest, do you - in advance of your Guests arrival - advise them (either on your Airbnb listing, or amongst other details on your page, or even in an email or whatever to them) what it is you actually provide for their stay?

 

Hopefully you do, as they will then know in advance exactly what to expect will be in place for when they arrive.

 

Toilet rolls are a fairly inexpensive commodity to provide, so we tend to provide one or more based on how many Guests will be staying, as well as for how many days. After all, it's far better to provide more than will be required, and for the Guests to not use the extra, than it is to provide too little, and for what happened to you, to occur!

And you consented to the refund?

@Giacomo240    It's a crazy system, even in luxury five-star hotels when something is missing/amiss, the wi-fi is not working, etc. they do not refund hard cash.  I gave up on the toilet paper debacle long ago, among other things. I have twelve double rolls available in two bathrooms,  one set of guests used all twelve in a three day stay and asked for two more rolls on leaving.  It's more cost effective to overstock (a night refund = 70 plus rolls of toilet paper) than Airbnb  gifting the guest a free vacation out of my pocket.