Full refund for guest leaving early

[Meghane0]

Hi everyone,

I have only been renting my flat over the Fringe festival in Edinburgh and so far everything has gone smoothly until my current guest. 
To recap - communication was okay until she checked in. Then nothing, not a word. I then received a message from Airbnb support saying the guest has an issue with cleanliness in the middle of the night. I replied early morning and said it was the first I was hearing of it. Messaged the guest to ask if I could send the cleaners back, she got back to me

mentioning an odour but nothing else.

I sent the cleaner back, my friend went to check and there was no odour or anything that really stood out. Anyway, all fine.

3 days later, Airbnb contacted me again cause the guest wants a full refund cause she hasn’t stayed at the property and it was all dirty. She sent Airbnb evidence which don’t really show anything - mainly wide angles of rooms and the cat flap in the window had been left open, so there was a bit of rain splatter on the wall underneath. 
i have a strict cancellation policy but it doesn’t seem fair that I should refund the whole stay since I tried to work with the guest but literally did not get any communication from them.

Just wanting a bit of advice here..

[Anonymous]

@Meghane0  If a guest contacts Airbnb saying they want an unjustified refund, they will always contact the host on their behalf to request it. But you have every right to say no. Undeniably, you made every reasonable effort to fix the problem the guest was complaining about, so this guest is just being a nuisance. 

[Amanda660]

How many nights was this guest booked in for and did they have any reviews?    

[Meghane0]

They were meant to stay 7 days and now want  a full refund on Saturday, which means that even if I cancel, I am missing out on all revenue for the weekend.. even though they told Airbnb they left on the first day! 

[Debra300]

@Meghane0,

There is a process that the guests must follow before requesting a refund.  First, they must notify the host of the issue, and give them an opportunity to rectify it.  If the guest is still unsatisfied, they can engage Airbnb (within 72 hours after identifying the issue).  At that point Airbnb will assess the impact of the alleged infarction, and determine if the guest is entitle to any refund.  A guest may receive a partial refund for nights that have elapsed, and given the option to end the reservation early and get a refund for unused nights.

In the situation that you've described, you've done your part by re-sending the cleaning crew and another person to check up after them.  The guest didn't contact Airbnb within 72 hours, and isn't entitled to a refund.  I'd advise you to decline the refund request.  Don't be afraid to refuse in fear of a bad review, because you will likely get one anyway, but you will have an opportunity to leave a succinct and factual response.

[Meghane0]

Airbnb is now saying they don’t need my approval to provide a refund. They wall said they would call me (at my  request) and never did.  

[Emiel1]

@Meghane0 

Educate Airbnb CS about their own procedures, as decribed by @Debra300 in this thread.

It seems to me this guest is a scammer, wanting a free stay for a few nights.

[Mary419]

Unfortunately @Debra300

has not fully read the new updates. 

The phrase “whenever feasible” is used when it comes to asking the host first. And that tells me it’s just hopeful that a guest won’t bother airbnb directly for every single thing. 

But once they do; there’s no protocol requiring that the host has a chance to fix it first. And more importantly if the host doesn’t give the refund the guest wants then airbnb will.

I’ve posted twice about the new updates- the 72 hours one and then the so-called host cancelation penalty update which slips in guest cancelations having the same penalty

[Julia0]

@Meghane0 @Mary419 @Emiel1 @Debra300 @Amanda660 

I thought these new policies come into force on/after 22 August 2022? Therefore original 24 hours to complain etc would be the case here?

[Debra300]

@Julia0,

The updated policy was announced on April 29, 2022, and when it went into effect on May 30, 2022, it was applied all reservations that were made on or after that date.

[Debra300]

@Mary419,

I think you meant to say that I didn't include the comment "whenever feasible" in my paraphrase of the policy, and not that I didn't fully read it, because that would be incorrect and unsubstantiated assertion.

I based my stance upon more policy guidelines than the guest must first contact the host to give them an opportunity to fix the issue.  According to the policy the guest may be entitled to a refund of the remaining unused nights, "If the guest decides to vacate the accommodations because of the Travel Issue and contacts us we will offer assistance with finding comparable or better accommodations for the remaining nights of the stay."  

I find it highly unusual that a guest wouldn't have asked for a refund or relocation assistance when they decided to leave early.  @Meghane0 said that she received the refund request five days after check-in, and there was no communication from either the guest or Airbnb between nights 2 and 4 of the booking.  So, technically the claim submittal didn't fall within the policy guidelines as stated in the following.  

"How claims work

To be eligible for rebooking assistance or a refund, the guest who made the reservation may submit a claim by contacting us. Claims must be made to us no later than 72 hours after discovery of the Travel Issue and supported by relevant evidence such as photographs or confirmation of the conditions by the Host. We will determine whether a Travel Issue has occurred by evaluating available evidence."

When the updated refund policy was announced one of the more frequently mentioned concerns was about the consisted adherence and application of the policy guidelines by ABB.  If the CS rep read the part of the message thread between the guest and host where the host states that the cleaners were re-sent (and no response from the guest), basic critical thinking skills should have deduced that the guest cannot now say that they've not returned to space since departing on day 2, and claim that it's still unclean without having been there.  What proof did the guest provide to Airbnb that the space had been inhabitable since they've never returned after their departure?  

Honestly, this refund claim of an odor smells like it was something taken from this recent article about Air Cover.  Only that @Meghane0's guest is taking it up a notch in an attempt to get a full refund by saying they departed after the first night.  

[Helen744]

@Debra300 isnt this what we all feared Debra? According to what you have written the guest does not have to contact the host for resolution at all , just tell them of the issue and leave,with Airbnb offering them other accomodation of an equal or greater value . This is that policy in action. It has probably to a certain extent always been like this . If the guest reached out to Airbnb immediately and said they could not stay then it was all over before the host even knew. all the more reason to meet all guests and check your place is looking good before each and every guest. things can only get worse I suspect H

[Meghane0]

Thanks everyone for the help and input.  The airbnb rep I have been talking to last doesn’t seem aware of this policy so will definitely use that if she ever reaches out again. Still haven’t heard anything back from airbnb or the guest so maybe someone closed the claim. But don’t want to poke the bear either! 

[Helen3]

you need to call them they won't call you. provide them with photos taken when the cleaner went in to reclean.

confirm there is nothing wrong with the apartment and therefore that any guest cancellation is in line with your cancellation policy

@Meghane0