Would you give a refund?

[Jane1]

I have three guests from "south africa" who communicated that they wished to stay in my listing. Let's call the reservation maker Pam. Pam messages back asking to adjust the reservation by a day, because she was confused and didn't make the reservation for the full duration of the trip. The reservation was made less than a week before intended check-in. One of Pam's friends, let's call her Kim, has been emailing me because the change reservation hadn't come through yet. Kim emails back after I communicate that I sent a change reservation to Pam, who booked in the first place. When the details are finalized, Kim (not Pam, the original reservation maker), asks how to get from BWI to my home. I write back that it is stated clearly and in several areas on my profile and listing that the property is not easily accesible by public transportation, as the nearest metro is 12 miles away. Baltimore is pretty far away, so I said I would guess it would be near a three hour trip. I suggested renting a car.  Yesterday, I receive an email from Kim who reached out to airbnb and CC'd me requesting a refund. I have a strict refund policy. I offered her use of my extra vehicle we don't use if she had insurance. She explains that she is from Namibia and that the roads are different there.

Hang on-- South Africa and Namibia are two different places. So now I have two different people with regards to the reservation, who say they are from two different places, one is requesting a refund. I explain to Kim that the public transport details were not concealed, and that is is strange to have someone communicating with me about the listing when she didn't book it. Kim writes back that she had Pam coordinate the listing, and that she is listed on the reservation (which I believe, but it doesn't really show up on mobile). She tells me that its unfortunate that is has come to this and that these are the things they will write about when they tell others about their travels (I don't know if this was supposed to be a threat, as many people international dislike Americans, so I'm not sure why this was communicated).

I respond to Kim that I am not comfortable addressing it with someone who didn't make the reservation, however, Pam has disappeared altogether. They are supposed to arrive today, and she reached out again about getting a refund because they have no way to get to the property. I explained that if this had been weeks ago, I would have refunded, but as most people have made plans for their weekends, I have no opportunity to make a profit off of rebooking the room, and that I shouldn't be subject to eating the cost because the person who coordinated the reservation didn't read the listing well. I think they saw the low price and went for it.

I want her to stop emailing me. There is not much more that I can explain to her, and it is still strange to me that the person who didn't make the reservation is trying to cancel it. Also, Pam's number and location say she's from Michigan, not South Africa, or Namibia. Would this raise anyone else's eyebrows? Are guests allowed to make reservations on behalf of other people?

[Dave-and-Deb0]

I would not give a refund.  It was clearly in your listing about the location and hopefully this guest and her friend will learn to read everything before booking.

It bugs me that time and again we hear AirBNB contacting hosts asking to refund the guests money even though their cancellation policy is set to strict.  I would stick to no refund and if they show up, they stay.  If they push the issue, AirBNB will usually refund them but still pay you.  Of course this is what I have gathered from reading other situations like this.

It was really nice of offering your other vehicle but that could provide a lot of liabilites on your part even if they have insurance.  What if the vehicle had faulty brakes which you did not know about and an accident occured.  I am sure they could come after you.

Cheers

David

[Jane1]

To be fair, I offered because I knew they wouldn't accept. I think they booked another place apart from mine because it was more compatible. Airbnb did not reach out directly to me, and I think it's because I did everything I was supposed to do. But I do see your point about the liability.

[Barbara9]

If they run a red light, it will cost you money cause it was your tag that went through the light.

[Milagros0]

It is not wrong as a good host to question things.  Considering all the things we hear and read about people who are NOT who they say they are, it is a good safety precaution to inquire further before booking with anyone.   I personally do not take reservations from anyone who has not been verified nor book requests until I receive a photo of everyone staying BEFORE I book a reservation.  The fact that all those countries and states didn't line up with these ladies should have been a big red flag.

You ONLY have a responsibility to the member who booked.  If they are not requesting a refund (since they are the ones whose account it was taken from) then do not worry about it.  I would have reported "Kim" to Airbnb the first time she contacted me.  I would then politely returned her email with, " I am sorry, I do not have a reservation obligation to anyone but Pam.   If Pam would like to contact me, I will work with her, but all my policies are listed and I stand by them.  Please contact Airbnb with any or your further concerns. " 

It is okay to ignore any other emails send from "Kim" and report her and Pam to Airbnb as someone you don't feel comfortable with.

[Nuno-Y-Daniel0]

Jane i think the best practice here is answer back directly to Airbnb support, if you cancel yourself the booking more then be on your historic is you who are responsible to pay the fee to airbnb and not the guest. This clear guest responsability as the address is clearly on the map or if they are any doubts they are free to ask it first. The other thing is that you are not only have to pay the Airbnb fee that you will loose your booking money that other way you would probably have find another guest if they have decided sooner. Hope it ends everything right! 

[Florian-and-Theresa0]

@Jane1 "Are guests allowed to make reservations on behalf of other people?"

Absolutely no. Airbnb does not allow #third-party-bookings. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/427/can-i-book-on-behalf-of-a-friend-or-family-member?locale=en

Your experience is the first one where the security advice from Airbnb not to exchange mail adresses and to go on communicating via the Airbnb message system totally makes sense. I really hope she stops bothering you!

[Jane1]

She was able to obtain my email address, because as she said, she is listed on the reservation as one of the girls who will be coming. Either way, I think I probably should report them to airbnb, because it seems very unclear where they are from, who will be staying, and so on. It's concerning to me. It doesn't look like she has responded back since my last communication, so hopefully it ends there. I don't understand why so many people take advantage of people like this and act like the hosts are in the wrong. We assume all of the liability and we are the ones letting people stay in our homes. I'd like to think that in most cases, airbnb gives the host the benefit of the doubt, but who knows. Thanks for all the advice, guys!

[Maxine0]

@Jane1 - we the guests 'new to airbnb' / first-timers? If so the location of one person could be due to them not stating their location in their profile correctly in the first place, in error. As you say, it sounds highly likely that Pam booked it and Kim is not happy with her choice and is therefore trying to cancel having selected another location already.

Like others have advised direct any further communication through airbnb - as they haven't contacted you already it seems that it hasn't been raised with them as yet anyway. Possibly just another sign of these guests haranging you as they have misunderstood the process / not bothered to read anything just like they didn't read your listing properly or take any notice of the map/location etc.

Don't bother to reply any further - they can't come and find you - they don't have a car 🙂

[Laura6]

Absolutely not!  This seems very sketchy!  I'm sorry it is happening!