Does the guest have to read the description before booking?

[Helen23]

This is a problem I seem to have frequently, guest books, I accept, then later get a message from guest saying they would like to cancel because there is no heating. Normally I would just go ahead and cancel, I am perfectly aware that not having heating is an inconvenience, that is why I rent the studio out incredibly cheap during the winter months, what do people expect to get for 15€ a night?

Monday afternoon a guest booked for Wednesday and asked if it was ok to arrive in the morning, 7 nights, great! The studio has been unoccupied for almost a month so as soon as I got the reservation I go out, open the doors, hang blankets, carpets, etc out to air, I spent Tuesday morning cleaning, put clean linen on beds, when I had just about finished and was making sure everything was ready got a message from another airbnb user "my friend booked you cabin for us. it looks really nice. but i think it is better for summer. he booked to soon. can we please cancel this."... Really?

My question  is when guests book do they have to click anywhere saying that they have read the description?

Would you give them a refund just because they didn't like what they booked? I am a bit divided, I do not what unhappy guests, but I also need the money and do not enjoy doing all that work cleaning for free.

[Roy1]

Thanks all what fun this i'm coming back she about to get a surprice it's going up to £650 the full price and she will have to wait uptill the next day for a refund. sorry about the bad english Ive had quite a day 

[Helen23]

Any chance I can get your oppinions again? I don't know if it is just my interpretation, but Ifeel almost like resolution center is pushing me to "give them a refund or else..." The last email from resolution center is below:

Dear Helen,

Thanks for your reaction.
Of course you have the right to keep your payout according to your cancellation policy.
But I just wanted to point out that in the resolution centre you told your guest the following:
"All cancellation fees are in accordance with airbnb's cancellation policy, as I have not yet received payment for this reservation I expect that airbnb will deal with it.
I would and also like to point out that by the time you had cancelled I had already cleaned the studio and requested to change my day off at work, next time please remember to give more warning."
This implies that you are okay with refunding your guest. You informed him about the inconvenience and extra work you put into it and that next time your guest should be more thoughtful.

You also had from the 30th of January on a new reservation which makes you covered half of Henry's reservation.

You would have all the right to keep your payout of €108 EUR but in case you want to refund your guest partially, let me know (as well the amount).

Thanks a lot.
Wishing you a nice week,

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Helen23,

You are completely in your right to keep the money and not offer a refund.  I have not been in this situation myself but know of many people who have.  It seems like often Airbnb are more on the guest's side when it comes to refunds and they do not seem to want to back up the host's cancellation policy.

With that said, a lot of hosts, including myself, would refund the money if they were able to have someone slide into the cancelled dates.  Once again, you are in the driver's seat and ultimately this is your decision.

Dave

[Michelle354]

If they asked politely, had a good reason, I was able to rebook it and had enough time to do it, I would probably refund them. But when it is so last minute and they are pushing so hard to complain to airbnb, you don't have to refund. They agreed to this policy when booking. Don't forget you have that policy in place so you're not inconvenienced and also so people don't get to use a reservation as a way to hold dates from others "in case" they decide to go through with staying there. I've been doing this for 8 years and I have had people that do it as a means of holding dates. It affects your income. You have a right to renting your place out without a fuss. Airbnb has the policies available for hosts to choose because of these reasons. Don't feel pressured into this stressful inconvenience.

[Michelle354]

By the way, I love the passive aggressive "thank you for your reaction" opening.

[Bente0]

We have been Airbnb hosts during several years, and had thousands of guests in our two rooms in our appartment. And we have had the same problems all the time: 

Though it is very clearly written 
1. how to get to our house from the airport (Copenhagen) by train
2. which doorbell to use, with our name on
3. that our appartment is on the fourth floor without access to an elevator
4. that we do not serve breakfast
5. that guests can keep their luggage the day of departure after check-out-time
6. that guests should live as sustainable as we do and turn off the radiator, when opening the windows in their room

We have the same irritating experiences again and again:
1. Guests write to ask how to get from the airport, or just og another - and more complicated way with higher risks to get lost - suggested by Google Maps
2. Don't know which doorbell to use and write messages like "We are standing in front of your door, but which doorbell?"
3. Are surprised finding out that they have to carry their luggage to the fourth floor
4. Asks when they can get served breakfast
5. Wake us up in the morning to ask if they possibly can keep their luggage at us after check-out-time
6. That the windows are opened and the radiator is on maximum heating, when they have left

Grrrrrrr!!!!

What do we do??

[Michele39]

@Bente0, Guests don't read. This is a known fact 🙂

I have had problems with guests not reading 2 or 3 important points in the listing, so right after they book I send them a nice message through the Airbnb message system that thanks them for booking and says "I want to be sure you know that..." and states these 3 things. For your info, I would even go so far as to recommend they print out the info so they have it handy.

In your case, I would also text the information to their phone number directly on the day of arrival.

And I would recommend you add a few notes from your experience, such as "If you use Google maps you will get lost."

I hope this has been helpful!

[Jill15]

Helen, I give a refund if it is soon after booking as my property was not tied up that long.  If it was tied up long then I tell the guest that if it gets booked again I will give them a refund.  I run a high occupany rate so it is a bit different for me.  I can usually get my space rebooked.  I also agree with some of the other suggestions of putting the lack of heat HIGH up in your listing.  My listings change over time to make sure that items a guest notes in a review are highlighted better (good or bad).  This makes for a better guest experience overall.

[Brittany1]

I tried a tip I found on the old groups forum (unfortunately I can't remember who gave it) where you add a secret message towards the bottom of your description that says, "please mention "secret message" so I will know you have read the description of our place". So far 2 out of about 75 inquiries have mentioned it. Quite frustrating but at least I know who hasn't read it so I can make sure they have all of the info. It can be quite a problem if a guests expects something that is clearly outlined in the description. They can still write a poor review even if it was their mistake not ours!

[Marie62]

This discussion is very interesting to me. I thought I was alone in finding out that people don't read. I can't imagine traveling to an unknown place far from home without learning all I could about the destination and lodging. But people do it. Sometimes they don't even know they are renting a room and not a whole apartment. Baffling.

[Felicia0]

Hi Helen,

Yes, I am getting increaingly frustrated with people NOT reading the description of the house.  Or the conditions.

But early on, I realised I would have to re-iterate ALL that is already written in the description via intial email.

Still, people do not read even my emails and this leads to disappointment and misunderstanings.

As I write, I have a very young child in the house.  The house is NOT safe for young children.  This is CLEARLY stated.

Also, the pressure that the agent puts the hosts under to accept.  If guests aren't reading all the above, and I accept, then there is trouble with arrival and young children.

Hosts should be given more consideration by the agent. 

[Andrew90]

The guests do need to confirm house rules during checkout. So be sure to put all important info there.

If you clearly state that it's not suitable for your children then contact Airbnb and ask them to make other Accomidations for the guest. I believe this will be treated as guest cancelling and you will get any payments due per your cancellation terms.

[Michelle354]

Oh it gets even better now. If you have instant booking on and still put not suitable for kids under 2, they still allow them to book it and kids under 2 are free. The only place I could see that there is an infant in the group is within the email. And still I didn't know that I wasn't getting for toddlers. I've always had a rule listed all over my description and house rules that you must count children 1 yrs old and older as part of your guest count. All of a sudden, airbnb won't uphold that. It's completely ignored. So anyone stating it is suitable for under 2 or those who have instant book, the only way to stop it is if you take the instant book off, which effects your bookings. Airbnb claims that they had so many requests from hosts to make babies and toddlers free??? Really?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Michelle354 we have no children up to 12 y.o. and instant book. They can not instant book. They can only send us inquiry or request. Problem is when they book for a child as an adult . Then we have to ask them to cancel and if they don't want to then we have to contact airbnb and lose all afternoon , it is frustrating

[Helen3]

@Helen23 why don't you solve the issue of guests cancelling because of a lack of heating by installing some mobile heaters that can installing some heaters that can be used in the living areas and bedroom.

You will then be able to charge extra for your apartment, which will cover the costs of your heating bills.

In answer to your original questions, I might have offered a partial refund for any days that I was able to rebook/