Well I feel very disappointed to have my first unhappy guest! She called me this afternoon after her first night in the apartment asking to cancel and refund the reservation. I have a 'strict' reservation policy on my bookings.
She claims that there was noisy construction at 8am in the apartment below mine. Yes there has been a renovation on the unit below, however I was told all the heavy work was complete and just painting was to be done. So I'm surprised it was loud. It seems they worked on the radiator and the sound carried up into my apartment above.
I told the guest I was very sorry about the noise, and that I hence contacted the building management and additionally went and spoke to the workers directly to ensure no heavy work would be done before noon if at all. I also stopped by the apartment and left a flower arrangement for my guests as a small gesture to say sorry for the unexpected inconvenience.
She called me again just now and spoke to me for about 30 minutes insisting that I refund them because they did not trust there will be no noise tomorrow. I again apologised for the noise but insisted that it was unexpected. I've been in the apartment immediately before their arrival and did not experience any loud noise myself the entire week prior. So I was disappointed that it had disturbed them. I also insisted that I have taken action and was told there would be no noise tomorrow.
She continued to persist in wanting a refund, then mentioned (1) that she also didn't like to walk up the stairs to the apartment and (2) that only two of the four windows open for fresh air and (3) She said her and her companions laughed that I brought them flowers - and insisted it was not going to compensate them for being woken up at 8am.
On point 1: My apartment listing clearly states "Apt. is on 2nd floor (two flights up)", I explained that to her and pointed out that walk-ups are common in New York however, other elevator apartment buildings in NYC are available at often higher prices or less desirable locations.
On point 2: I explained to her that the photos clearly showed the Air Conditioning unit in the window and that during the summer, window AC units are very common in NYC apartments. I highlighted she may also set the unit to 'fan mode' which circulates outside air without the AC.
On point 3: I agreed leaving flowers was a small way to say I'm sorry for the inconvenience, however the construction was unexpected and out of my hands. I also did not have an opportunity to address the issue - if she had called me at 8am I would have come to the apartment and spoke to the workers immediately so they stop the heavy (loud) work. I also offered to stop by tomorrow morning at 8am to ensure there would be no noise.
It started to become clear to me, she was searching for any argument to say I had been disingenuous as a host in order to get a free cancellation.
What is reasonable for me as a host, should I enforce the strict cancelation policy? Does one morning of unexpected noise at 8am justify her desire to cancel? I've responded immediately and don't expect noise tomorrow but I also feel she's trying to justify getting a free cancellation for a non-genuine breach.
I've had 5 guest reviews, and all have been 5 stars to date - she's already threatened to write a 'horrible' review...
