No water in property - should I get a refund?

[Laurence438]

Hi there, any help appreciated.

Me and 13 friends were staying in a villa for 5 days. On day 3 the water stopped coming out of the taps. We couldn't wash, clean, drink tap water, use dishwasher, flush toilets, etc.

Host said that he was trying to deal with it but also made it clear he was prioritising other issues (mending a private yacht he was renting out).

This really tainted the end of the holiday.  We notified Airbnb at the time but haven't yet filed our complaint because the host is being pedantic about some washing up we left (because we couldn't do it) and a rusty sun lounger that broke while we were there.

Does anyone know if or how much compensation we should be expecting? The villa cost over £3000.

Thanks

[Andreas-and-Anna0]

Ask for all if it through ABB. Dont go through him.

[Natalia1186]

We stayed at an Airbnb this weekend with my family and kids total of 9 of us check in was at 3pm Friday. Everything seemed fined until after dinner when we realized we no longer had water. Issue was not fixed until next day, saturday after noon. Our check out Sunday 10 am.  Air bnb only wants to give me 20% of each and host only 50% of 1st night. Is that reasonable? I feel like the whole experience put a damper on our mini trip because we didn't even know if it was going to get fixed or if we were going to call our trip short given the time and location. I was just trying to stay positive for my kids sake. I didn't want them to see the grown up stressed out.

[Lynette57]

I would be asking at least 2/3 (2000 pounds) and I would be sending him an explanatory message regarding the inability to clean dishes as you HAD NO WATER which was an issue that he hadnt resolved. Be sure to message through ABB so that they can see you have been honest. also ask for the refund through ABB

Hope all goes well for you. 🙂

[Mark116]

Not having water is a big deal, I'd ask for a 50% refund, everything was good the first two days, then the third day, no water from then on, so about at the half way mark.

[Lisa723]

Just echoing other responses, we have had this happen as a host. We would certainly refund any night spent without water, and then some, and if we couldn't fix it immediately we would take responsibility to get the guests rehoused. This host was irresponsible. Airbnb will undoubtedly back you up on this. I would ask for at least a 50% refund.

[Letti0 · Accepted solution]

@Lisa723  Nope, 60% since 3 of the 5 days/nights were waterless. His attitude should also be mentioned in the review. I personally would flag both him and his listing for how he handled this. Very poor hosting. I would be giving them a full refund for the 3 days plus personally and get AirBnB to rehouse immediately if I could not guarantee when the water would be working again. Water is an essential, especally for a large group can you imagine the smell coming off the 13 of them after 3 days with no showers. Think about having to sit next to one of these people on a plane. Yuck! I get hebegebees just thinking about it lol...

[Roger103]

I don't think you'd be entitled to a full refund, but certainly the portion that you were without water.

[Kathy33]

For us we would give full refund plus more . We have been landlords for 40 years and water is a basic. Which should have been taken care of ASAP. I’m sorry there is a host out there that doesn’t take care of the basics . Hope you get things taken care of. What would a hotel do? How about a airline? Good luck

[Laurence438]

Thanks everyone really helpful feedback 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Laurence438,

Sorry to hear about your trip. I remember staying in a place when I was younger and the water was cold throughout the whole of the stay – the shower certainly helped me wake up in the morning! 

You've got some great advice here and it's great to hear you have found it useful. If you can, it would be great to hear any update you can on this. 

Thanks,

Lizzie