A TV is not listed as an amenity. When clarifying this to the guest, they wanted a discount. Help!

[Cindy-and-Joe0]

TV has never been listed as an amenity in our apartment.

Guest now wants a discount because she "was planning to hang out with son and watch movies." She can do that on her own laptop because we do have wifi, but no TV is available.

So far, she hasn't cancelled. I'm worried she will leave a bad review due to not having a TV!  I don't want her to stay because of this. It's a busy weekend, so I know I will get another booking.

Should I cancel her reservation?

[Alexandra316 · Accepted solution]

@Cindy-and-Joe0Did they instant book, or did you approve their booking request?

If it was an instant book, you can just give Airbnb a call and ask them to cancel the reservation penalty free: just tell them you're not comfortable with the reservation. Even if they didn't instant book, I would still call and explain that you're uncomfortable and explain why and ask if they will cancel for you without penalty. If you cancel yourself, Airbnb is going to block those dates as a penalty: you need to get them to do it for you. 

I would agree that the request for a discount and failure to read your listing are a red flag, and yes, it seems like getting a bad review is a distinct possibility. 

[Julie143]

Don’t cancel on your end, because there are penalties when hosts do this.

Call Air and ask them to cancel from their end. Say you are uncomfortable with this guest because she is shaking you down for money.

[Mark116]

@Cindy-and-Joe0  Do not cancel, you will be penalized. 

If you are fine to lose the reservation then politely tell the woman that you are so sorry she didn't read your listing, and she is free to cancel her reservation.  If you are really worried about her, do as others  have said, call airbnb and tell them this guest makes you now uncomfortable and see if they will cancel with no penality.

[Sarah977]

People book an Airbnb to hang out and watch movies? Why go anywhere, you could do that at home.

Yeah, I'd get her to cancel or call Airbnb to do a "neutral" cancellation- i.e. no penalties to you. This woman sounds like someone to avoid. 

If she insists on keeping the reservation, only agree to that if you can get her to agree in writing (Airbnb message) that she misread the listing amenities, and is fine in regards to there being no TV. But she sounds likely to find something else to downgrade you on or demand a refund for after the fact.

[Hollie6]

I always look for tv when I travel. Although I love to explore the sights and be in nature in the day time, I also love to come back and put in a movie or watch local news in the area before falling asleep. It surprises me why people find it so odd or say things like "why go anywhere when you could do that at home". It's not one or the other. I can still see the sights and watch tv and I don't like to do that from my laptop. I don't think you should offer tv if it goes against your lifestyle but I also feel that you will lose bookings. I set all my houses up the way I would want a rental so all my property's have tv. Just a personal preference but we don't need to judge others for their personal preferences either.

[Mark1412]

I worked at a front desk manager of a hotel that had a popular night club attached to it. When the night club/bar manager would book a band called "No TV" and place the band's name on the marquee, the hotel occupany would drop.. we would get no walk-ins and those with reservations wanted to cancel when they read the marquee and their room would not have a tv.

Why don't you offer a television, they are not very expensive.

We offer a television along with a bluray and a small libary of dvds. They get used from time to time.

I would help the future guest by locating other options for her. I would see if I could find other airbnbs or hotels in the areas that you feel she would be comfortable in. If she is not going to be comfortable in your place, then another location might make her stay more enjoyable. I would then ask her to cancel and/or ask airbnb to cancel.

[Lawrene0]

That's hilarious, @Mark1412 . I love the band story. 

But anyway, I cannot offer a TV here, as the treehouse listing has no electricity and the bedroom listing is too far away from the aerial. (Yeah, it's that rustic in these parts.)

If someone were clamouring for a TV, I might do as Mark suggests, @Cindy-and-Joe0 , and find someplace nearby that has TV amongst the amenities. I would suggest that to the guest, and have them call and ask to be rehoused in the TV place. If they won't call Airbnb, do the calling yourself.

It's worth the time not to have to deal with what is already shaping up to be a difficult stay.

[Sarah977]

@Mark1412   Many people simply don't want a TV in their home. It has nothing to do with a TV being expensive or not. I've never had a TV, can't stand them. Providing a TV means you'll get people not satisfied that there is a TV, they'll be upset because you haven't paid for cable,  movie channels, etc.  

And why in the world should these hosts spend time trying to locate another Airbnb for a person like this, who doesn't bother to read the listing description and then has the gall to ask for a discount because there isn't something at the listing they don't provide that she wants?

[Mark1412]

I would help the guest because I am in the hostpitality business. I know my area better than they do and finding an area that they would be comfortable in seems like the right thing to do. Just because they made a mistake by not reading, doesn't mean that they shouldn't be treated with kindness. We don't allow toddlers but I have a list of places that I can suggest when people with children ask our our property.

It is not needed but since I live in the area and know my competitors, it only take a minute or two to make some suggestions.

[Lisa723]

 @Mark1412 @Sarah977  TV service is expensive in areas where cable is not available. You can only get it via satellite and it's really expensive. FWIW, I polled all of our vacation rental guests from 2018 and asked them if they cared about the TV. Based on the results, I'm going to continue offering it in the larger house that books family groups, but discontinue in the smaller cabin that attracts mostly couples, where the vast majority said they never turned it on. We've never offered it in our basement guest suite and it doesn't seem to hurt our business at all.

@Cindy-and-Joe0 I put this in "amenity limitations" under "house rules" that guests must acknowledge before booking. That prevents people who care about TV from booking in our home, which is great.

[Ann72]

@Mark1412 @Lisa723 @Sarah977 When my daughter and I were in Croatia, one of the best evenings we had was one when we were too tired to go out, so we cooked in our Airbnb and watched Brooklyn 99 on her laptop. 🙂

I found an inexpensive TV that allowed me to cancel my satellite subscription (there's no cable in my part of Maine).  It's a TCL Roku TV and it works with WiFi.  You can sign in to any of the usual streaming services as well as watch network news, sports, whatever you want.  It cost no more than $200.  And it has ONE cord and ONE remote.  I'm so happy I no longer have to pay the ridiculous monthly charges for a lot of stuff I never watch.  And I think that it's nice for people on vacation who might want a night in to watch a movie or binge a show.  I also have a blu-ray player and DVDs and an Apple TV.

But none of that is as much fun as sitting with your grown-up daughter in a faraway land and watching Brooklyn 99 on a laptop, because you have to sit close together to do that.  🙂

[Lisa723]

@Ann72 yes that's a good solution if you have high-speed internet. My vacation rentals don't have that either. 🙂 WiFi is provided via Verizon mobile hotspot, which usually gets throttled by about the 5th day of the month.

At home we do have high-speed internet and we offer a TV screen with Chromecast so guests can cast from their own device. We also provide an old iphone preloaded with Netflix and Hulu...

I really think traditional TV service is going the way of the landline, and probably in-home internet too.  I'm looking forward to the day when all we have to provide is a large screen and guests will use their own devices for mobile internet and content.

[Ann72]

@Lisa723 You're a visionary 🙂

Internet service where I am is better than a hotspot, but - I saw on my provider's site that they had speeds as high as 15, so I called them up and said I want that, and they said, uh, no, in your area they only go as high as 7.  Woot woot.

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

@Cindy-and-Joe0  In addition to my "Thanks for booking..." message,

I started few month ago to send a seperate Text

pointing out few important points and infos about my listing

and got since then only ALL 5*****

Of cause everything is explained in my description, but knowing

that not everybody is reading all through I want to avoid 

that guests are booking with wrong or to high expectations.

I am actually in favour of the "48h grace period" 

so I can weed out potential problem guests after booking.

In your case you can point out in a message that your listing do not has a TV...

Here my message EVERY guest gets AFTER booking:

_______________________

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO ALL OUR UPCOMING GUESTS 

48H Grace Period / Full Refund

If cancellation is within 48 hours of booking.

Getting around:

- SUBWAY STATION IS 10 MIN WALK

- Franklin Av. with great restaurants, Bars and Bakery's

1 STOP (3min.) AWAY by 4-Train

- Barclay Center / Downtown Brooklyn

2 STOPS AWAY

- Manhattan (Downtown) in 20 min.

by (4) * Subway-Express Train.

- Supermarket, Take-Out Eateries and Breakfast are 2 blocks away. 

Our House is located in a residential area of Jewish/Caribbean

working class neighborhood. It's a great base to get well rested

at night and to explore the city by using the (3) and (4) Subway.

BUT if your preferences are to be in center of everything and you

need walking distance to Brooklyn's  nightlife this is

perhaps not the perfect spot for you and

we want to give you an opportunity to reconsider. 

Different Guests Have Different Needs...

And That's 100% OK!!!

DOUBLE-CHECK IF A PLACE IS THE RIGHT FIT:

- SUBWAY STATION IS 10 MIN WALK

- Read Reviews

- Read ALL provided listing information and house rules

- See the provided location and map-information

By giving you honest information about our accommodation,

our main goal is, that you have a great time in New York,

regardless you are staying with us or somewhere else!

AS CIGARETTE AND/OR MARIJUANA SMELL IMPACTS OUR BUSINESS, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ANY VIOLATION OF THE NO SMOKING RULE WILL RESULT IN CANCELLATION OF YOUR STAY, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE OUR PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY AND YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR PROFESSIONAL CARPET, BED, SOFA CLEANING (thanks for understanding, and thanks to our great guests, WE NEVER HAD A SINGLE PROBLEM REG. SMOKING in the past).