Seeking Guidance on Guest Situation - Need Community Advice

[Ahmed821]

Hello Airbnb Community,

I'm reaching out to share a recent experience with a guest and seek advice from the community.

I'm currently hosting a guest for the long term, spanning 35 days. The check-in was in good condition, and I even assisted the guest by purchasing items from the shop, ensuring the accommodation was stocked with all  choices the guest preferred. The accommodation is fully equipped with everything outlined in my Airbnb housing rules.

However, after just 2 nights, she began to raise concerns, starting with complaints about the bathroom.

To summarize, the cleaning person did clean the bathroom just before the guest texted me, and  the guest  approved it before we left the accommodation. However, after we left,  the guest  sent a message as a different person, claiming that she had to clean the bathroom again and expressing dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos to prove my side of the story since I've never encountered a similar situation with previous guests, and I was very confused about the conflicting messages.

The latest message from the guest after her complaints is that she'll decide within the next couple of days when she feels better. I reached out to check if everything is alright and offered additional services like cleaning for free, even though it's not in my hosting rules, but I haven't received a response.

I have read about similar cases where some individuals exploit situations to get a full refund, and I'm not sure what the best course of action is.

Furthermore, I'm currently facing a challenge as the guest is not responding to my messages. I'm uncertain about the best course of action in this scenario and would appreciate any advice or suggestions from the community.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance.

[Helen3 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Ahmed821 

Unfortunately sometimes there are difficult guests and sometimes there are guests who try and scam hosts in return for a discount by making things up.

In your situation I certainly wouldn't be purchasing additional items from the shop for your guest over and above what you already say you provide in your listing, nor would I be offering to do an additional clean when you were with the guest on check in and know there is nothing wrong with the property.

Contact the guest back and say

1) that you were with the guest when she checked in and she confirmed the accommodation was as described and that she was happy with it - so you are surprised to hear two days later that she is now saying the bathroom was not clean. (what exactly did she say was wrong? did she provide photos?)

2) in your situation, I would advise the guest that if she is not happy with the accommodation she can cancel the booking. And that under the long stay policy she booked under she would lose the first 30 days as a cancellation fee.

However as a gesture of goodwill on your part if she wants to cancel within the next 24 hours you are willing to consider a refund of the guest fee. She would be charged for the days she has stayed at your standard daily rate and refunded the remaining guest fee minus the days she has stayed  (she would still be liable for the Airbnb fee). If you have not heard back from her within 24 hours you will assume she's happy to continue to stay.

[Ahmed821]

Hello @Helen3 

Thank you for your advice. I’ll follow your suggestions.

I’ll remind the guest, especially considering she has been hosted for more than 4 nights, that she confirmed everything was fine during check-in. I’ll ask for more details about the bathroom issue.

Answering your questions, she didn’t provide any pictures. She only mentioned that she cleaned the bathroom after check-in and claimed it had to be cleaned before that (after a day) However, I’m confident that it was cleaned, and she acknowledged it in front of me. Additionally, she stated she will think about the refund within a couple of days once she gets recovered and her mind is refreshed, which seems unclear and is a bit concerning to me.

Given that it’s been more than 72 hours without a reply, if she requests a refund, I’ll inform her about the cancellation policy.

Appreciate your help.

Best regards 

Ahmed

[Helen3]

I'm glad my advice was helpful @Ahmed821 

When you message her I would remind her it's been three days since she first raised her concerns and hasn't provided any detail or evidence of the issues she has raised.

I would give her a date by which she needs to respond to take advantage of your offer ie please confirm by 6 pm on 20 December if you want to take advantage of my kind offer of a penalty free cancellation and send me a cancellation for the booking. You will then need to vacate on 21 December and be out of the property by 11 am or whatever your check out time might be.

[Mark105]

Hello @Ahmed821 

Helen gave you some great advice, however I would like to state the obvious and remind you to never communicate with this guest outside of the Airbnb app.  She may try to text you personally with issues, requests and complaints.  I've been there with a past guest several years ago.  Every time she texted me a fabricated "issue" (her favorite term), I would copy the message and paste it into the Airbnb app and reply to her.  This creates a record in the event  you need support later.  Good luck.  

M