Guest wants refund and claims racism...

[Marissa160]

I posted this issue in the hosting forum but switched to this one so it’s more private. Long story short, had a guest throw a party at my cabin this weekend and invited 20-30 people in my 10 person max cabin. I evicted them the next morning and have learned some red flags and better practices to employ in the future. 

The guest sent me a resolution request asking for half of their money back since they didn’t get to stay the night. They accused the neighbors of racial profiling! It wasn’t at all that these guests had 30 people in my small home, and kept my neighbors up until midnight! 

The guests are local (red flag) and had so many people at my home. My husband believes we should refund some money to avoid retaliation and them coming back to damage the home.  What do you all think? Should I fear that and just give her some money back? They did leave the house in decent condition, some minor issues (broken window blind and a small amount of feces on the carpet-likely from a small child or pet), but I can live with them. Would love other hosts advice!!

[Anonymous]

@Marissa160  When the host terminates a guest's booking before the checkout date, Airbnb usually refunds the unused nights. It's unfair that this happens even when the guests egregiously broke your House Rules, but this would be the likeliest result if the guest were to escalate the dispute to customer service. 

With that in mind, I'd recommend getting more serious in your House Rules - not just that the occupancy maximum is 8 but that no unregistered guests are permitted on the property at any time, and that violation of the rules will result in immediate termination. Your type of home is going to attract a lot of party interest, so it's imperative that you nip these in the bud right when they're happening rather than the next morning - you got lucky with the damage this time, but many, many hosts have experienced total devastation of their homes with even smaller events.

The accusation of racism from neighbors seems like a red herring, because you're not responsible for your neighbors' behavior. It might come out in the review, but there's no reason it should have any influence on a refund.

[Marissa160]

@Anonymous  I will adjust my listing some more, I’m definitely learning. When the party happened, I contacted Airbnb immediately because the neighbors were going to call the police. Airbnb is telling me they will uphold my cancellation policy but that doesn’t appear to be final yet. I didn’t go in and cancel the guests reservation on my end as I was waiting for Airbnb to resolve my support ticket. If they DO uphold the cancel policy, then I guess it’s my call whether I give the guest any money back. I’m just worried since they live close, they might come back to damage the home out of anger. 

[Sarah977]

@Marissa160  I have read many posts where hosts express that fear of physical retaliation. But I have never read of it actually happening.

Also, I don't understand your listing. It says 8 guests, 3 bedrooms, 5 beds.

Yet your rooms list 4 beds in 3 bedrooms, a queen, a double, and 2 singles. That looks to me like you have beds for max 6 people. You don't explain anywhere where these extra 2 people would sleep.

I would suggest you lower the guest count to 6, which can help to avoid problems.

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  I will work try to clarify my listing. I have three bedrooms with four beds. And a loft area with a full size bed. So that is 5 beds total.  I also have a pull out chair/twin bed but I don’t advertise that in the listing. 

[Sarah977]

@Marissa160  Nowhere in your description (which is a bit scanty on info anyway) do you mention the loft sleeping area. How have you been conveying this to guests?

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  It is under common space as a double bed. I also have a photo of it in the listing. What other info is scanty? I have tried to do a lot of research before I started this but clearly I don’t know what info I’m missing that I should be providing. 

[Sarah977]

@Marissa160  Sorry, somehow I didn't scroll far enough to the right and missed the common space box.

Your description isn't really a description, is what I mean. It simply suggests what guests can do activity wise. Which is fine, but you should also describe the space, some of the amenities, etc.

And beef up the "During your stay" section. You just say you will be available to communicate with. Do you live nearby? Are you able to get to the property easily if there are issues that need dealing with? 

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  I will work on the description section. I state that i am available to communicate but I didn’t want to advertise that I’m not close by as a deterrent for guests that want to abuse the space. I am a remote host, two hours away. So that is one of the hardest parts. It’s in a rural area and good help is difficult to find. I am going to keep trying to find someone who can maybe meet guests at the listing. 

[Sarah977]

@Marissa160 I see- for sure not a good idea to let guests know you aren't nearby. But yes, you do need someone nearby who could attend to emergency situations, and many hosts have experienced that guests tend to be more respectful when they have face-to-face interaction with the host or co-host.

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  thank you for all the help! I updated a lot of my listing based on your feedback, somehow I didn’t realize all that was missing. I do have neighbors/vendors that help with issues or maintenance problems, just not anyone who can greet the guests when they check in. I’m going to keep working on that one. I appreciate your help! 

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  I hope you don’t mind me asking for a little more advice. Airbnb decided to uphold my cancel policy. However the guest wrote me a review and gave me one star, with references to discrimination and racism directed toward my neighbors. It also basically told others that if you are of a certain race, not to visit my listing (it is on my page now if you want to review it). Is it even worth a public response or just let it go? I am not confident that Airbnb will remove the review given all my research. 

[Sarah977]

@Marissa160  She's not just lying about racism, she's lying about having stayed in Airbnbs all over the world unless it was booked under someine else's acvount. She has 2 reviews aside from yours, one in Texas, one in Florida.

Yes, I would leave a brief response. Something like " I guess when a guest is busted for having a 20-30 people party in a listing that has a max guest count of 10, disturbing all the neighbors, they feel the need to characterize what happened as something else completely untrue. This had nothing whatsoever to do with racism and all respectful guests are welcome here."

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  Thank you again for helping me navigate a difficult situation. Hopefully as I get more reviews, this one will get pushed down. 

[Anonymous]

@Marissa160    Actually, I disagree somewhat with @Sarah977  here and do not recommend posting a response to this review. 

Look, it's very plain to see from this guest's own words that their group violated your rules and had a disruptive party without your permission. The racial references are not substantiated in any way, so they are unlikely to be a deterrent to a prospective Black guest considering booking a group within your occupancy rules.

What would make you look bad is if you responded in a way that accused the guest of lying. It's entirely possible that the guests were approached by neighbors or others in the community in a way that felt loaded with racism, intentionally or not. This, as well as the fact that the guests were in the wrong for having the party, are two things that can be simultaneously true.