Unreasonable refund request

[Liva0]

Hi, 

A guest who stayed for 5 nights and had a good time has emailed me that she had a dry sore throat every morning (which she did not tell me about while here) that would go away after hot tea. 

I responded that I was sorry to hear but while she was here for energy work (holistic practices), it's possible that her body was working through some things and also that it's also very likely that having the AC on all night would make that happen, especially when it's not hot outside.

I also joked about "hey, it's Florida so you know, humidity" -- as we'd joked during her stay.
Well, she has now filed a refund for the full amount of her stay based on her dry sore throart every morning that would go away after hot tea. I have explained in the resolution center that I find it surprising she wouldn't say a word during her stay and ask for a refund -- and a full refund! -- because of a dry sore throat.

I highlighted that she herself told me she had a lot of allergies -- which I paid close attention to while she was here -- and that could be an indication why she felt anything strange when no one in a year that I've been here and who has stayed in the guest room, including myself, had that problem. 

What do you suggest I do? 

Thanks!

[Kevin613]

I cancelled the same day as I booked and I am trying to get a refund 5 months in advance and the host is literally refusing. Airbnb got involved and is also giving me a hard time. I chose the pay half now and the pay half later option and because the host is under the "Strict cancellation policy" instead of refunding me at least half of what I paid, they're going to keep the half I paid. I am trying to cancel 5 months in advance. Out of $415 they only refunded me $85. I think this is ridiculous!

[David126]

@Kevin613

How much was the booking for?

Was the $85 a cleaning fee?

[Gordon0]

If you buy a non-refundable product, it's part of the T&Cs; what is it you didn't understand about this.

A pain, yes, but not ridiculous. 

[Linda88]

Hello from Norway, sorry, but I can`t stop laughing....she can come to Norway, the mountain-air will do her good, :))

[Liva0]

Absolutely. Though she might still find issue with the wood in the house or something. My place was by the ocean. How much cleaner can the air be? Oyyyy. I'm glad it's all over and Airbnb was very fair in their handling of this. 

[Brenda30]

This reminds me a little of a guest (group of 5 - I had to buy an additional bed, but whatever) who was supposed to stay with me a few weeks ago.  I rent out a section of my home, but I am there.  Anyhow, she arrived 5 hours early.  When the doorbell rang I was actually trimming my bangs in the bathroom.  So I put down the scissors, answered the door and saw it was two people in the party of 5 that I was expecting.  The woman wanted to know if she could drop off her things and freshen up. I told her that was fine, but that I hadn't finished preparing her area yet - mainly, I hadn't cleaned the bathroom totally yet, because I was going to put the finishing touches on ti after I cut my hair! -  and she said she understood and appreciated my letting her in early.  Well, a couple of hours later I got a note from Airbnb with photos attached of hair in the bathroom sink - maybe 5 strands.  I totally agree that hair in the sink is disgusting, but it wouldn't have been there if she'd arrived even 15 minutes later.  Cut to the chase - Airbnb refunded their money and I lost out on renting my space for several days.  Sigh!  That old saying, "The customer is always right," seems to apply.   How was your situation resolved?

[Liva0]

I documented my end of the story and they declined her request. They have been good. 

[Chrissy-and-Greg0]

Watch out for guests who have exhorbitantly long showers and/or baths, and run out of hot water!  (our hot water systems in NZ are mostly stored tank systems that are heated electrically on lower off-peak rates).  Then complain and demand full refunds!

Or the guests that see our property is "pet friendly" then after they have stayed complain of severe allergies.  And demand refunds!

There are all sorts out there - but to be fair, out of our 300+ guests, we have only ever had one issue that went to AirBnB resolution service - and AirBnB found in our favour.    

My advice - check on your guests regularly during their stay.  Ask if they are comfortable / have everything they need?  Good communicatiuons preempts many problems  🙂

[Liva0]

Thanks for the advice. I'm a super host now and have been both a traveler and host since 2010. Of course I checked on her several times a day to make sure she had all she needed. Communication does not pre-empt bad faith and never did. 

All is well, Airbnb did not grant her request. 

[Jan-and-Philippe0]

I'm very pleased for you.  I only started last month as a host and I have 5 stars and 100% response ratings but yesterday encountered my first misunderstanding with my current guest staying until Sunday, 7 nights in total and she's booked another 8 nights in August.  She's a sensitive case and the first guest of mine whom I've had to be more flexible because of her condition.  People though needs to understand that this is not a hotel and still my home because I live here, too, so they should have more respect!  Hopefully this won't affect my ratings.

[Jan-and-Philippe0]

This particular guest of yours is making ridiculous claims just to get her money back.  Staying all that time and not a word mentioned to you until after she left?  Fancy that!  She might have got it the week or few days before she arrived at your place and had a delayed reaction so it doesn't mean she got it from staying at your place.  I will not give a refund because she stayed the whole time at your place and did everything you can to make her feel comfortable.  Did she expect you to rub her throat for her every morning, too?

[Liva0]

It was my feeling too. All good and happy, not a complaint, quite the opposite --  until a few days after she left. Thankfully, Airbnb is no dupe and the person who was assigned the case as an arbitrator was very thorough and fair. 

[Jan-and-Philippe0]

Well hopefully this particular guest of mine will be fine now considering she's booked for another 8 nights in August before she's even completed this current booking, she's here until Sunday.

When she made the booking via the instant booking, I welcomed her with a message outlining how I do things at home in response to her questions about cooking, washing & ironing.  She responded with a long message explaining her situation as a breast cancer recovery patient so I offered to cook her breakfast despite my listing including only continental style breakfast which doesn't involve cooking but because of her health conditions, I accepted to cook for her for a fee.  I already bought all the food I need for her daily breakfast, I even prepared her a menu (because she has special diet) so she knows exactly what she's having for the whole duration.  In addition at a reasonable fee each services, wash, dry & iron her clothes to avoid infection because of her wound following her treatment in Istanbul for three months prior.

A week later, she messaged me asking for an extra pillow which is not a problem but then she mentioned that due to her wound that leaks she wanted extra towels for the bed to avoid staining.  I responded saying she can have an extra pillow and that I will line the beddings to avoid staining my mattress.  In fact when I prepared her bed, I put two fitted sheets on the mattress plus two thick towels in between.  The two pillows have double pillow covers but the duvet cover was single as I figured, they can be washed in the machine easily but not the pillows & mattress.

True enough the day after her first sleep, when I was freshening up her room, I noticed the pillows are already stained and the duvet cover, too, though I haven't checked if the actual duvet inside is stained too.

I am due to change her beddings tomorrow anyway and wash her clothes at the same time then iron and fold.

These services are the first I'm doing and just for her because of her condition.

However, I didn't like that she thinks she can just come & go late at night and ask her friends to come into my house and inviting them to go up to the room without my permission.  I emailed her via Airbnb (always) explaining that this is not a hotel, we live here, too so I expect my guest to respect our home and that no guest of my guest are allowed inside my house particularly upstairs because my contract is with my booked & paying guests only, the rest are strangers and have not been verified by Airbnb.

She responded saying that because the other places she's stayed at allowed her to come & go as she pleases so I reminded her that every Airbnb/hosts have different rules and these are mine and I am not changing it especially for her.  I've already done more for her than my previous guests because of her case but it doesn't mean I will bend over backwards to every whim she makes.

She also mentioned that she may stay the night over somewhere else the night before but didn't confirm so I assume she's coming back to sleep in my house as arranged especially after she requested for her husband to have breakfast with her in my house, meaning I have to cook not just for her but for her husband, too.  After careful considerations, I agreed because of their situation _ her husband & son lives in a caravan in a park but staying with me because she needs somewhere clean and to have a goodnight sleep - but I reminded her that the husband cannot go upstairs and hangout with her because he's not covered in my insurance and he's not my guest.

To cut a long story short, she didn't turn up last night and I waited for her until after midnight.  Despite numerous emails via Airbnb and a text to her mobile number (which I also copied and sent to her via Airbnb) I never received any response.  I was of course worried not knowing what happened to her, she never messaged me all day yesterday to inform me of her plans.  So this morning I woke up as normal time but didn't know whether to prepare their breakfasts anyway or not!  Then at 9am she walked in saying hello but no mention about her not turning up last night or receiving any of my mails which she didn't respond to.  I was very irrate with her then she asked me to drop it because she's upset.  She's upset?  I was so worried for her last night because niether she nor her husband bothered to inform me or respond to any of my messages and I stayed up late waiting for her return and she tells me she's upset?  She said she couldn't contact me becaue there was no signal where they live.  Well she knew this but she didn't even bother to tell me!  Did she expect me to have a crystal ball or read minds?  It turned out she's got two mobile phones, one registered in Ireland which is the number she has on Airbnb plus a UK one but she didn't give me that.  I found out today after she called me and I thought it was her husband's number but obviously not!

Anyway, I prepared her a quick breakfast even though she initially didn't want any.  I chose from the menu the quickest meal I could prepare before she left again at 10am.  I told her I have swapped that particular menu for another day's so she will still have the same menu as approved by her prior to her arrival.

Why do these people think they can just do what they want just because they're paying?  This is my home, it's not hotel.  I have therefore edited and updated my house rules reflecting some of these issues to avoid happening with any of my guests in the future.  For some reason, I felt something unpleasant might happen the moment I saw them on her arrival on the first day.  Do you ever get that with any people or guests you've had before?  I know the saying "don't just a book by its cover" but my instinct told me otherwise and I was right.  Hmmm...  I hope this is the last case of this type as so far all of my other guests have been very happy and given me wonderful reviews hence my 5 stars & 100% response ratings which I'm very proud of.  It'll be cool when I become a super host, too, one day 🙂

[Liva0]

Well, I'm not there and I can't see the person or her husband, hence "don't judge a book by its cover" doesn't apply here, and yet, what you are describing sounds really odd. I would recommend having a quick chat with Airbnb already, they are very well prepared and will tell you what to do. Why is she in an airbnb, and booked for August, if her husband and kid live nearby? In a trailer? I find this very confusing. Maybe I misunderstood? 

Talk to Airbnb, I wouldn't want any of this behavior in my home. And who says she won't cancel the August stay? That's not any proof of anything. Unless you have your refund policy very high. 

Good luck with this! 

[Bernd95]

I fear that my experience with a guest booking for a month and Airbnb's caving in to that is slightly worse. The trouble started with me suggesting that I would come over two days later for a joint sauna session and to give access to the washing machine in the main building. This suggestion was fiercely rejected, and I of course reassured the guest that I would stick to the roiginal plan and come over as planned. From then on, the guest tought me 'customer service' and the 1500 reasons to be flexible (1500 GBP is the monthly price she paid). She portrayed a picture of a neglected (but brand new) place to Airbnb on the phone (as conveyed to me by Airbnb), at check-in a week before the place had not been ready with a wet floor, an oven was missing and there was a strong smell. I explained to Airbnb both on the phone and in writing that the floor had just been mopped, that there is a combination oven with both oven and microwave functions and certainly no smell and that none of this had ever been reported to me by the guest. The first Airbnb case manager suggested a cancellation with full refund for the remaining 20 days (1000GBP) - which I called totally unacceptabe referring to my communicatons to Airbnb and the lack of any direct complaint about any of this from the guest. The next day another Airbnb case manager confirmed the suggestion and a full refund for the 1000GBP was enacted. Airbnb repeatedly referred to requesting documentation from the guest but then decided to go on without (sharing) any such documentation.

I am concerned and will put on twitter that this once great community start-up Airbnb is now seemingly letting the pressure of fewer guests and a decreasing market (in the UK at least) out on hosts. Such practice is unheard of from Booking.com and the likes who honour contracts and don't give into guests' most obvously simply changing their minds while hosts are only ever allowed to change their minds in serious circumstances.

I cannot work with partners performing like Airbnb....