Power outage on guest's first night, they went to a hotel and wants to cancel with full refund

[Jenny2143]

Hi there, just wanted to ask for some insights or maybe some of you had the same experience. Guest informed us there's no power as soon as they've arrived, we responded quickly to notify them we will check with the power company if there's outage and we notified them with our emergency lamp and lights. But guest wanted to go out and get a hotel instead. We respected their decision but we notified them we will monitor the outage and will keep them posted. Then airbnb contacted us that the guest is requesting to a refund, airbnb ask us if we are ok to refund that night's rate only, we agreed because we know how inconvenient it was for the guest. A few mins airbnb contacted us again saying the guest wants a full refund and completely cancel, they will cancel it for us if we agree with no penalty and fees. I informed them we cant do a full refund without waiting for tomorrow's estimated time of restoration.

any thoughts what we can do about this guest? Thanks!

[Helen3]

Up to you @Jenny2143 .

presumably you have gone to the property and checked whether the power is off or on. 

Is the power now working ? If so just confirm power is now working so no reason to cancel the rest of the booking. 

[Jenny2143]

Thanks Helen, power's back today. So we're unsure how to proceed, we wont be refunding a full reservation and we're waiting for airbnb to confirm if guest had travel insurance to cover it instead. We are ok to refund first 2 nights, given it's only 1 night the power was out.

[Joan2709]

@Jenny2143 

Just some ideas for the future...

I advise my Host clients to sign up for notifications from their utility company in order to be quickly notified of any power outages (most provide this option). This enables them to be aware of the issue before a guest arrives and come up with a plan. If the guest has already started the stay, this will also give you immediate notification there is a problem.

If you have a smart thermostat, smart lock, or the ability to monitor your internet via an app, these will also send notifications via a phone app if they aren't working (power outage) in most cases.

If power outages are common in your area...you might consider investing in a backup generator. Your profile says "Guest" so I wasn't able to look at the listing to see where it is located.

[Jenny2143]

Thanks for this Joan, we get notifications and what we received is that power's back before guest checked in. It isn't common in our area, rarely happens only during a bad weather or wildfires. We offer emergency kit as well since they normally dont last. 

[Jenny2143]

just an update power's back to cabin the next day but guest booked a place and wants to get a full refund. any thoughts?

[Patricia2526]

Hi @Jenny2143 

I will issue a full refund if my guest decides to cancel their stay entirely due to the power outage to prevent any disputes. I’ve personally experienced this as a guest, I relocated to another property nearby, and the host willingly provided a full refund, so we move on with our trip without leaving a review. 

As hosts, we always put ourselves in our guests’ shoes.

Hope this helps.