Guest demand of refund

[Gil1864]

I recently had a guest family, booked for 13 days. On the 4th day they stated they found fleas in the place - bedroom, kitchen and one family member... and demanded a full refund. We have had several people stay in our apartment and have never had a complaint. I know their children played in our fenced yard as well as our wilderness area. They claimed their chaildren could nott have picked up fleas from our yeard, that they had "burrowed" into the apartment. I am convinced that is not the case, as we ahve not had a ssingle flea there since they left. But being a new host, and wanting positive feedback, I acquieced - 4 nights at half price and full refund of the rest... a substantial sum. I still feel we as hosts were cheated of our rightful fees. What would have been perhaps a better avenue? Should I have counter-offered? Asked for a pest control service? Something else.

This was a feew weeks ago, so it's in the past, but I would like your advice, should it occur again. Thanks.

[Brian2036]

@Gil1864 

I sincerely doubt that there were fleas in your apartment unless the guests brought animals with them.

These people were either dishonest, ignorant, stupid or all three.

Fleas are nearly invisible, they don’t infest humans, and they don’t stand around waiting for people to examine them.

These people probably arrived planning to cheat you and are now smugly congratulating themselves for getting a nearly free vacation.

Unsolicited advice: Your price is too low for 5 guests.

If you are offering Airbnb’s suggested long term discount it’s WAY too low.

Low prices attract low-life guests.

[Pat271]

I agree with all of my fellow hosts. Don’t refund. Even hotels will not refund unless there is something particularly egregious, like an uninhabitable room. They will offer coupons, free breakfasts, etc. as acts of good will for other guest dissatisfactions, warranted or not, but not cash refunds.

Although we can filter out most of these scammers with gut feels, raising/lowering of prices, etc., the truth is that on rare occasion a scammer or two can still defeat the radar of the even the most seasoned host.

However, the more good reviews you have, the less a bad review will influence what guests see as your average rating. If you have 50 5-star reviews, and you get a scam review, it’s not practical to start over with a new listing.

In the case of most bad reviews, the best thing you can do is to respond to them online in a professional manner, sticking  to the facts, and avoiding judgments of the guest or any talk of refunds, review threats, etc. Remember that potential guests are the main audience of any review responses.

If you have many 5-star reviews, and your truth is 180-degrees opposite of the guest’s truth, other potential guests are smart enough to evaluate it accurately. Responding to bad reviews also gives you a chance to showcase your hospitality skills, how you handle adversity, and demonstrates your desire to improve your business by responding to issues that are indeed valid.

We experienced hosts preach on this subject over and over again, and still the scammers are out there, successfully enjoying free vacations. We hosts really need to band together and have a consistent protocol with these scammers, with the major tenet being no refunds.  If we do this, guests will have a better idea of their boundaries, and the scamming will decrease.

P.S. - On the subject of bugs and other critters, it is helpful to have it explicitly spelled out in your House Rules that although you will make every effort to keep the property bug and critter-free, they do exist in the world and may invite themselves in, and seeing a bug or critter inside or outside is not grounds for a refund. Then, if the guest contacts Airbnb demanding a refund, you can point the agent to your clearly-spelled-out verbage. The Airbnb agents often side with hosts when there exist explicit, written policies.

[Kathy842]

ABNB would give them a full refund. ABNB refunds many guests (some are professional scammers) without the owners approval.  This needs to stop. When you check into a hotel, if it is dirty or unacceptable, you turn around and leave or stay 1 night and then find another place.  Also.....many problem guests delete their accounts when they get a bad review or they open a new account with a different email and phone number. Only hosts are negatively impacted by bad reviews.  I've never known a travel site or hotel chain that gives so many free stays/refunds without the owners approval.

[Kathy842]

Also.....You should treat your ABNB for fleas and bedbugs every 3 months as prevention. Any guest, especially frequent travelers,  can bring in bed bugs. Fleas can attach to clothes just from walking in grass.  

[Mark116]

@Kathy842 I'm curious what kind of treatment are you using every 3 months?  Is it some kind of UV or heat treatment or pesticides?  

[Brian2036]

@Mark116 

We have a deal with Terminix to inspect and treat the premises every 3 months. If anyone reports anything in between they will come out for free.

Pesticides in use now are more about baits and pheromone disruptors than poisons, but I still don’t want any of that stuff in the house I sleep in.

I’d rather not use it in the rental house either but it’s the best way I know of to protect myself against the increasingly popular bug scams.