Extortion!

[Thomas407]

My recent Guest stayed the full length of stay and when I checked in with them on Day 2 they said everything was great! Now they have an entire list of problems with my home and want a full refund or they will contact Airbnb for a full refund. They also promised a good review if I refunded them in full, and a scathing review if I didn't!

Suggestions?

[Colleen253]

@Thomas407 From Airbnb's policy on reviews:

This policy prohibits:

• Guests threatening to use reviews or ratings in an attempt to force a host to provide refunds, additional compensation, or a reciprocal positive review.

See Airbnb's terms for guests:

https://www.airbnb.ca/terms/guest_refund_policy

Specifically #3. Are any of their complaints legitimate? I'm guessing, no, given the review threat. Sounds like a straight up con. It's a toss up how Airbnb will respond, but hopefully ALL of your communication with the guest stayed on the platform so Airbnb can see how this all transpired, especially the part where the guest told you all was just GREAT after you asked, then threatened you with a bad review.

[Anonymous]

@Thomas407  Sorry you've found yourself with such an awful guest. Unfortunately, there's a lot of this going around now, and in this economy hosts have an increased duty to be on guard against scammers.

It's depressing to say this, but you can expect that the guest might fabricate a "travel issue" to pursue a refund, and the beleaguered home-worker that Airbnb outsourced its service to might grant it in order to close their ticket. This is your worst case scenario, and I hope it doesn't turn out this way. But absolutely refuse the refund and report the extortion - it's your lifeline in contesting their accusations and your best ammunition for getting their review removed. If you do choose to respond to the guest's absurd demands, I suggest that you include this URL and gently inform them that it's not your policy to accept extortionate requests: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/548/

And by all means, write an honest review of your experience that will hopefully alert future hosts that these guests are aspiring con artists who can't be trusted.

[Roberta2]

Hi @Thomas407 

I really hope that you have their conversation about the issues, and the promise of a good review in return of a refund in writing.

If so, make the 1st step : contact airbnb and alert THEM about the guest and their plot. Make sure they are aware - if the guest goes ahead, you may even be able to get the review removed (rare, but happens).

Also, add, in writing, that you spoke to then on they XX (2 days after their check in) and they had no complaints at that point.

in the terms, it says that guests need to flag issues to hosts and give them reasonable time to fix them. You can also tell them that.