Guest presumes he has the entire house

[Pamela1133]

Guest shows up after official check in time and when I greet him at the door and direct him to his private room, he is surprised I live here.   As we reach the room, he states he somehow thought a private room in my home was a room with no one else at the property. I'm really confused by his statement. I ask him what he thought he was getting as a "1 private room"  He states again that he believes that he's getting this space ALL to himself.  He states he has to cancel ALL of his reservation. (10 days) I'm now trying to explain that my bedroom is on the opposite side of the house, hoping that would somehow appease him.   I'm still thinking I should try to save this reservation.

Now he goes to his car and proceeds to cancel his reservation. He ask if he was getting a full refund.  I contacted Airbnb customer support and they advised me that since his arrival is  after the official check in time that the would be charged for that first night and that the penalty for this sort of last minute cancelation was 1 additional night.  So basically, he was charge for 2 nights. 

Now, I getting notification to leave him a review.   I don't think I should have to leave ANY review at all, since he technically the never stayed at my home. 

Do I ignore the request for the review, or complete the review with comments on how this guy must have been really dumb to think he was getting an entire home to himself, instead of the 1 private room as advertised on Airbnb?

[Jennifer1897]

@Pamela1133 I would have never authorized a refund in this case. Your listing is very clear and accurate.  It is the guest's responsibility to read and understand what they are booking. I'm not sure where "private room in home with shared spaces" became "entire home." However, I digress, as I have had guest assume the same thing for my room listings in my home. 

However, in my opinion, he didn't deserve a refund. In similar situations I have always allowed the guest to cancel, then advised them that any refunds would be issued upon the ability to re-book their cancelled dates. 

It's up to you to leave a review or not. You can still provide constructive feedback about his stay even though he didn't actually stay. The booking process, communication, etc. are all encompassed in the overall stay. Be polite and clear though if you do decide to leave a review. Throwing out insults can be grounds for a review removal. I would say something like "XXX booked a room in our home for 10 days. Unfortunately, he did not complete his stay, as he misunderstood that the listing was a shared space." 

[Joan2709]

@Pamela1133 

i agree with @Jennifer1897. You can still write a review of the guest for the reasons she mentioned. However, I would wait a bit and see if the guest writes a review first....curious about what he would say? 

I agree with @Jennifer1897 also...he should not get a refund because he didn't read the listing correctly. Your listing was blocked for his reservation (not sure how long before check-in he booked it). You could offer a refund of the nightly rate (minus any airbnb fees) if you are able to rebook the dates. If you have to lower your prices to get the stay rebooked, he will only be refunded the reduced rate. Don't let Airbnb force you to choose to accept a refund for a stay in situations like this.

[Elena4354 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Pamela1133, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with this guest. Of course, it's his fault for not reading your listing correctly. Sometimes guests book rooms but think they've booked the entire place (this is not an uncommon mistake). In this situation, if the guest does not agree to stay in the room, he should cancel his reservation (which is what he did).

About the review - it's up to you, in situations like this I actually wait a little to see if the guest writes a review for you. When you get a notification that the guest has left a review, I think it's important to also write a review and explain the situation.

Dear @Joan2709 and @Jennifer1897, you forgot that the guest cancelled his reservation and was refunded according to the cancellation policy (according to the flexible cancellation policy, if the reservation is cancelled after the check-in date, guests will receive a refund for all remaining nights after 24 hours after the cancellation date). So the owner has no right to decide to refund or not, the guest was refunded according to the host's cancellation policy (he was charged for 2 nights and he got a refund for all the remaining nights).

[Joan2709]

Thanks @Elena4354 , You are right!  Forgot that, as we don't use the Flexible cancellation policy.  

[Paula]

Hello @Pamela1133, I hope everything is well with you 😊

Some of our most experienced Hosts have offered their advice! Did you decide to leave a review in the end?

Please keep us posted when you have a chance to read our messages 🙏