How much to refund this guest?

[Inna22]

A guest just saw a field mouse at the house. She snapped a picture, so I know it’s real. I’ve never seen droppings or had reports from other guests.  

I’ve had this problem at another house in the past so I had good supplies already.  I came right away with some poison that should work pretty fast. They didn’t want me to lay out traps, which I don’t blame them. They didn’t have pets with them  – I check that first so poison was ok. In the conversation they mentioned they would be cooking tomorrow at the house. I messaged them asking if could I deliver something to complement the meal or perhaps more champagne – they were drinking champagne as I was there. I know, I know, I should not have asked but just did something.

They responded with no thank you but a small discount would be nice. How much do you think I should offer? This was not a cheap reservation at all. 

[Inna22]

@Susan151 Truly the funniest thing I’ve heard all week

[Suzanne302]

@Susan151for the win!!! Haha!

[Inna22]

The guest has now made an official complaint about the state of my Airbnb to CS. Let's see if they feel as light hearted about it 😞

[Solveig0]

Are you serious?!? I'm sorry about that! 

[Inna22]

@Suzanne302 @Sarah977 @Susan151 @Emiel1 @Ute42 @Emilia42  @Alice595 @Lisa723 

 They are siding with the guest. They’re giving her the entire cleaning fee and  all affected nights. Which were all the nights. 

 When I came to the house the second time, there was open food absolutely everywhere. Nothing was caught in the traps. I’m thinking the trash attracted one from the outside – I have no other explanation. I found no droppings or entry point.  

[Lisa723]

@Inna22 that's despicable.

[Susan151]

@Inna22  I am truly horrified. It is September. It is getting colder. Mice are looking for warmer places to set up shop. It is a fight every, single year. One mouse is not an infestation.

On the positive side, you have reminded me to do a foundation review to ensure that there are no new crevices in the fieldstone and mortar.

[Alice595]

@Inna22 Lesson learnt. Next time any guests try to pick something for discount which is outside of a host control, a host should stop the loss. Immediately request the guest to cancel the stay and refund the guest unused nights.

If you let the guests stay the entire booking period, there is great chance that you will lose all the money without getting the calendar open for rebooking because Airbnb stands on guests side most of the time.

If you request the guests to cancel, they might be reluctant to do so since it could be hard for them to find an appropriate place to stay in a rush and it is a big hassle in moving as well. In that case, you can ask the guest to agree to a term which you set to avoid future issues.

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  This business of rewarding liars with full refunds and leaving the host high and dry is unbelievably outrageous. I assume you will write her a scathing review.

[Ute42]

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@Inna22 

What do You mean "They’re giving her the entire cleaning fee and all affected nights. Which were all the nights. "

Are the guests getting a 100% refund for the entire stay, in other words, they pay nothing at all?

Are these guests still in Your place - how long have the been there?

[Inna22]

@Ute42  they are gone. Filed the complaint as soon as they left. This is the language customer service used. I don’t know what this means in dollars. Still waiting to hear back

[Inna22]

@Ute42  to clarify, they just said “all affected nights”. But since they  are claiming it was there the entire stay  this must mean all nights 

[Ute42]

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@Inna22 

Pls let us all know how CS decided in the end.

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[Sarah977]

@Inna22  Ask them why they reward guests for lying. Ask them if they know that Airbnb has the worst reputation among booking sites as to the quality of guests it attracts and that is furthered by them refunding guests who have zero proof of their allegations.

[Inna22]

@Sarah977  to be fair, they did say A mouse. And took a picture of it. The question is- does one mouse sighting call for a pretty much full refund? The house was filled with open food, leftovers sitting out even after they saw the little guy. I am surprised a bear did not escape the zoo and followed the smell. Also, where does it begin and end? What if a bird flies into an open window? How many flies are too many? There have been coyote sightings in Chicago too