Guest leaves 1 day early wants compensation

[Heather1086]

Hi all.

This is a first for me (but seems to becoming more common). Had my guest start their stay for the long weekend and contact me this morning saying the entire group was leaving because of air quality. Smoke is blowing up into Oregon from the California wildfires, air quality has been moderate (but better than LA). They let me know that a person in their group has compromised lungs. I have two brand new air purifiers in the house for guest use. They let me know that that person didn't want to stay inside during their stay so they were all going to leave. They are wanting compensation.  This is making me very wary of taking guests with no reviews, this is the second one this summer who is problematic... everyone else (who had reviews) have been fantastic.

What would you do in this circumstance? There is no immediate fire danger, no evacuation notices, etc.

Thanks!

[Mike-And-Helen0]

I would refund them the unused night if they leave promptly and don't leave a mess.

I would not refund other than through Air and after the reviews are in.

[Colleen253]

@Heather1086 Ugh. This is nothing to with your listing, so their claim for compensation is invalid. I would politely refuse compensation and ask them to claim on their travel insurance. Also urge them to cancel immediately, as you would be happy to refund them any nights you are able to rebook. We know the chances are slim, but they don't, and it might appease them. Then review asap. 

Why do guests not get CFAR travel insurance, and think the Airbnb host will suffice instead?

[Brian2036]

@Colleen253  @Heather1086 

I agree with @Colleen253. 

They have no legitimate excuse for early cancellation but you should try to pacify them if possible so they don’t invent one.

There’s no telling what the real reason for cancellation is but I doubt that it has anything to do with air quality.

 The one guest with the alleged problem could just stay inside, like it or not, rather than beating the host out of $500.

[Heather1086]

I agree. I think the early check out had to do with family dynamics more than air quality.

[Jillian115]

@Heather1086Everyone traveling on the west coast during fire season should expect that smoke is a strong possibility. I have had a few cancellations due to smoke over the years, so now I try to let my guests know in advance that it could be smokey due to this fire or that fire. If there are health concerns, they can choose not to come earlier, and I still have a chance to fill my calendar. I have only had one cancelation this year due to fire, but there were other circumstances, such as road closures and evacuations in the area, so I gave a full refund. I ended up getting a booking the next day, so it worked out. Not helpful now but maybe for future bookings.   

[Heather1086]

I advised her this morning to contact airbnb. I haven't heard a word yet... don't think she has canceled on her end yet. 

I have other guests who have left a day early, and left 5 stars... just seemed that their travel plans changed and they understood it wasn't my issue as a host.  The only way I knew was by checking our exterior cameras.

[Colleen253]

@Heather1086 Yikes, if they contact Airbnb, which is a hot mess, you’re likely to see one of the hapless outsourced call center dimwits wrongly call this as an extenuating circumstance and refund the entire booking. Safest to involve Airbnb as little as possible, or never. 

[Heather1086]

That is true. When I contacted airbnb this morning the only help they gave me was a link with how to refund the guest. The most unhelpful help ever. Before I work with this group I want my housekeeper to go through to make sure everything is in order.

I would need them to cancel on their end though. I had a guest get sick earlier this summer (legit) and we worked out an agreement after airbnb contacted me.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Heather1086 

The only times I refunded in such cases was if the guest gave me sufficient prior notice of a change in their plans giving me the opportunity to re-book those dates. Sometimes, I would have days blocked off after the booking for a deep-clean, then in such cases I informed the guest I would provide a refund of xx amount but asked the guest to keep the booking as-is, while simply unblocking the dates I had blocked. 

In other cases, I informed the guest that a refund of unstayed nights would be automatically calculated and refunded back ONLY if the guests change their booking details thru the Airbnb system so while the heads up was greatly appreciated, they needed to officially change their dates thru the system - as a host I made it clear that there can be no refund if technically the room is still *booked* by them, and whether they physically occupy the room is of no relevance. 

[Christine615]

I'm sorry for their issue, but if one of them is compromised were they not listening to the news which clearly says the fires are affecting air quality as far as NY. No refund.

I used to be so flexible, but honestly, with so many scams, that's no longer a consideration for us. You can refund ONLY if you are able to rebook those days.

[Helen2764]

Airbnb automatically deducted almost half the fees when guests caused massive damage and left early because of it! They were difficult guests but I first thought they were just hopeless. Now realise it was probably a way of reducing the rent. Airbnb won’t engage. I’m totalling fed up!  Anyone else struggling to get a balanced response?