Guest Complaint - Excessive Construction Noise

[Tom541]

Hi Guys,

A guest checked in today at our villa.  The same afternoon I received a guest complaint about the level of noise from construction next door.  I was sent a video through by the guest and the noise level seems excessive (angle grinder for example).  Even I failed to notice this doing my routine pre-check in tour of the villa.  It appears the noise started after they checked in.

Usually our place is very peaceful and quiet so this is unexpected and clearly out of my control however I do sympathise with the guest.

The guest is reasonable and communicating well but I feel there is little I can do to resolve this.

The guest is staying 7 nights from today.

What should I suggest in this instance?

I would rather they cancel and stay elsewhere if staying resulted in an awful review due to excessive noise which is very much out of my control.  

I do have an alternative property of similar standard which will is actually available immediately so I could offer them a complimentary "upgrade" to the other property which is free from noise and construction.  Is this permitted via Air BnB?

Kind Regards

Tom

[Jim472]

I'd leave airbnb out of it, take the hit on a weeks lost revenue at the place with the noise and either block off the other place on your calendar and move them in or send special offer of £1 if they have to book it. It all boils down to how important a review vs revenue is. 

[Anonymous]

@Tom541 Airbnb gives pretty wide latitude to make changes to a booking when both parties agree to it. If your alternative property is listed on Airbnb, you can open the guest's reservation, click "Change or Cancel," and select "Change." They've recently added the option of changing Listing, which might allow you to transfer the booking if the guest approves it (I'm not sure if this feature works after the check-in date). But of course you'll want to make sure your guests have reviewed the other listing and still find it suitable for them.

Note that if their preference is to cancel the booking, they will still be able to leave a review.

[Tom541]

Thank you through this and noted the following:

"

• If the dates of the reservation have already passed, you can’t make any changes to the reservation."
  
  So I assume this won't be an option for us?
  
  Reference:

As a host, how do I make a change to a confirmed reservation?

If you need to make a change to a confirmed reservation, you can submit a change request to your guest.

1. Go to Your Reservations
2. Click Change or Cancel next to the reservation you want to change
3. Choose Change Reservation
4. Click Submit Alteration

If the guest accepts your request, the reservation will be updated and they'll be charged or refunded if necessary. If the request is declined or you don’t receive a response, the reservation will stay the same.

There are a few other things to know about submitting change requests:

• Your chosen cancellation policy will apply based on the new dates.
• If the dates of the reservation have already passed, you can’t make any changes to the reservation.
• If you want to change the details of your requested changes, you’ll have to repeat the steps above and remove your request, and then submit a new one.
• If you changed your pricing, the new reservation will reflect this pricing.
• To request additional funds from your guest, you can do so directly from the Resolutions Center.

[Kelly149]

@Tom541 Your reservation isn't passed, it is current... it can be changed

[Mark116]

@Tom541  If you think the other location is comparable or better, I'd offer to relocate them. 

[Emilia42]

@Tom541 

This just happened to me. Unexpected construction outside on the street. I've had dozens of guests who had no problem with it and then this one shows up and wants a refund because of the noise. Come to find out they didn't even attempt to shut the windows to minimize the sound. I offered to help them find a new place to stay but they refused and wanted to stay for free instead (during the busiest two nights of the high season! when they were paying pennies compared to a hotel.) I gave them a refund of one night but still received a lower star rating then I am used to. All other guests who experienced the same construction project still rated me 5 stars.

My point is, these guests are clearly looking for something, whether is it relocating or a refund. They brought what they think is an issue to your attention because they want you to fix it, even though you have no control over it. Try your best. I personally would relocate them to your other property. Show it to them first and explain that it is an upgrade for the inconvenience. But keep in mind that even though this construction actually worked in their favor, because now they get to stay in a nicer, better place, these guest might not see it that way.

Also, do you know how long the construction will take? Maybe it will be over tomorrow. Try to ask one of the workers what the projected timeline is.

[Tom541]

Thank you for taking the time to write your experience.

I intend to visit the neighbouring property tomorrow and understand more about the construction so I'm better informed to provide a solution.

I will offer the guest the upgrade to the other villa if after tomorrow the noise level is still not comfortable.

1.  If the guest agrees to this would would be the logical steps via Air BnB?

2.  Does the guest cancel the current reservation or do I? (now 1 day into 7 day reservation)

3.  Or do we organise this ourselves between each other and not involve Air BnB?

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Tom541 

You are over-thinking this! Theier oeaceful holiday is being shattered - show them the other place TODAY, and offer it to them. A discount of some order is necessary. How you deal with a complaint is the number one priority- you are spending way too much time in here and not sorting out your guests' problem. Get them back on side right now and if all else fails then get Airbnb to step in and find an alternative 

[David3267]

You say the guest is reasonable and communicating so this is a positive. You have outlined options so keep communicating and understand what they are looking for and then assess it. We had a boiler breakdown and the guests were very accommodating. As there was no other alternative accommodation I offered them a refund but they said they were happy to stay for two days without hot water (no need for heating) and we agreed on a about half a days refund. Both parties happy and they left a lovely review. Despite the horrors on theses boards some guests are lovely!

[Tom541]

Thanks you for sharing your experience David.  I am glad to hear you had a positive outcome.

[Linda108]

I think you cannot assume all guests who complain are trying to scam you and you need to ascertain how much the unexpected noise impacts the guest experience.  Some guests are more noise affected than others.  It seems that you, @Tom541 , have an opportunity to make it up with guests that will appreciate your efforts.

[Mark116]

@Linda108  Agree.  We rented a vacation house once and right next door was a construction site where they had a huge pile driver going...since it was a beach front/beach vacation, it was obvious that we were going to  be at the property a lot and so would hear and see that pile driver all day every day, so we requested to be moved to another property, which, yes, I admit, was a nicer, larger house, LOL, but if not for the construction/pile driver we wouldn't have complained.

[Harrison9]

Agreed. The issue is also about transparency and giving people a heads up. This allows everyone to make a more informed decision. We just rented a place during COVID-19 quarantine and obviously we can't leave the house except to pick up medicine and food. And the entire week there is a massive construction project happening in the hallway in front of our door.

This is especially frustrating during a long stay during the COV0D-19 quarantine. If our host tries to act like we are being unreasonable, our review will let others know that if a problem arises, the host was unhelpful, dismissive, and rude. However, if he offers some sort of reasonable assistance, the review will be much more reasonable. 

Bottom line. In a large condo like this, the homeowners know beforehand when the entire building is going to be remodeled and we were given zero notice beforehand that from 8 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday there would be sanders, hammering, jackhammers, paint fumes, etc. we would have rented a different place. 

If you help your guests, they will write a favorable review that you genuinely earned. 

[Tom541]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.  Ill be honest even for me the sound of grinders at 8am is not cool.  The occasional hammer ok, but grinding is horrible. When i went across to check today there was no building noise but its possible it would commence again in the afternoon.  So for that reason I actually fully understand the guest.  Im literally powerless to provide any sort of suitable solution other than a refund.