Post by High Priestess on Oct 13, 2015 21:33:11 GMT
Michele shared Oct 13 2015
Help. Guest wants to cancel
It's a first for me. I have strict cancellation policy. Guest called and complain bed is too hard (which I cannot do anything about it) and internet too slow (it was indicated in my listing). Said it's not acceptable (at $40/night what does he expect?). I told him to cancel with AirBnB as i do not want u happy guest.
How should I answer in the resolution center? Should I refund him the whole amount or 2 nights stay?
Please help with how to word it tactfully. Thanks.
Kim:
No do not refund. He agreed to your strict refund policy when he booked. Respond back by saying airbnb takes care of all payments and refunds. I will be sticking to my refund policy.
Michele
P/s: he has a few good reviews. Thus I accepted him. But is it reasonable to refund guest who is not happy with the bed (which is a very personal thing) and internet (which I cannot do much about the speed). Though he informed me once he got there and he cancelled.
C C (CC)
Get a cheap topper & put under your mattress pad, Michele. Only about $25.
Hassen
I would refund him nights not stayed at your condo only if rebooked. Anyone has the right to complain as this cancellation is not covered in general policies so if your guest go to Airbnb hé will be refunded at least nights unused and not to forget these times of strict cancellation policies deletion as seen as a big burden on guests who will not make it again with airbnb
Vicky
If you have made it clear in your listing about the Internet he can't complain.
Like you said, beds are a personal choice. As long as the mattress is in good condition (eg no springs sticking out or sagging) and is not overly soft or hard I don't think he can complain.
I've got a medium firm mattress which most guests rave about but my mum moans it's too hard! Most guests should be happy with medium and if they have a specific need they should contact you first to check (I had a guest with a bad back who wanted to check my mattress was not soft)
Salvia (salvia)
Agree with above - no full refund. As a sign of goodwill you could offer him to refund his booking fees of probably 12%.
Michele
Hi Vicky, the whole condo is brand new!!
So if a guest called and said he is displeased, how do you encourage them to cancel without forcing them to stay or refund them? And if they knew that they cancel and will not get a refund, they will be unhappy and ding you on the review?
Salvia
Yes, that is the risk. But we have to do our best to avoid to give in to this threat and reserve give full refunds when it is either really justified or really necessary to rid off guests. To refund too easily can "educate" guests in the wrong way. Once they learn to use reviews against us we are in trouble!
"...use reviews against us and get away with it we are in trouble."
Michele
Also please have a look at my listing and tell me if it's misleading?
David & Fiona:
Hello from Bohol. Your listing is one of the clearest listings I have read (In the Philippines). As mentioned earlier refer him to Airbnb for cancelation. I certainly wouldn't offer a refund.
Linda
I have a guest who wants to cancel his dates in December but want me to do it and of course I can't. His reason is my 40/rate is to high although I am lowest-priced in my "niche" area.
Andrew (andrew)
When a guest complains about the lack of an amenity that was not offered in the first place (like a swimming pool), they won't find any sympathetic ears in Airbnb. However, the policy does grant guests full refunds if they report a "travel issue" within 24 hours of check-in - and these include missing amenities. If you know that your internet connection is unreliable, I'd suggest unchecking it from the Amenities field and making it more of a bonus perk for guests who like having WiFi but don't depend on having it consistently.
When guests complain that the bed or room temperature or any other aspects of the property are causing them discomfort, the first response that the host should make is an effort to improve the situation for them. CC's suggestion about offering a padded mattress topper is a very good one here; the guest might still be unhappy, but your butt is covered by showing that you took reasonable steps to fix a problem.
If you make this effort and the guest still chooses to terminate his stay, you basically have two choices: offer him a refund or partial refund for his cancelling the remaining nights, or accept a bad review. You can't insist that a guest manually cancel their booking when they can plainly see that they won't get any money back - there's just nothing in it for them, and it raises the odds that they'll send an exaggerated account of their issue to Airbnb in pursuit of a refund. (After reading about hundreds of scenarios like yours I've come to the conclusion that Strict policies are not worth the stress they cause when issues come up).
Help. Guest wants to cancel
It's a first for me. I have strict cancellation policy. Guest called and complain bed is too hard (which I cannot do anything about it) and internet too slow (it was indicated in my listing). Said it's not acceptable (at $40/night what does he expect?). I told him to cancel with AirBnB as i do not want u happy guest.
How should I answer in the resolution center? Should I refund him the whole amount or 2 nights stay?
Please help with how to word it tactfully. Thanks.
Kim:
No do not refund. He agreed to your strict refund policy when he booked. Respond back by saying airbnb takes care of all payments and refunds. I will be sticking to my refund policy.
Michele
P/s: he has a few good reviews. Thus I accepted him. But is it reasonable to refund guest who is not happy with the bed (which is a very personal thing) and internet (which I cannot do much about the speed). Though he informed me once he got there and he cancelled.
C C (CC)
Get a cheap topper & put under your mattress pad, Michele. Only about $25.
Hassen
I would refund him nights not stayed at your condo only if rebooked. Anyone has the right to complain as this cancellation is not covered in general policies so if your guest go to Airbnb hé will be refunded at least nights unused and not to forget these times of strict cancellation policies deletion as seen as a big burden on guests who will not make it again with airbnb
Vicky
If you have made it clear in your listing about the Internet he can't complain.
Like you said, beds are a personal choice. As long as the mattress is in good condition (eg no springs sticking out or sagging) and is not overly soft or hard I don't think he can complain.
I've got a medium firm mattress which most guests rave about but my mum moans it's too hard! Most guests should be happy with medium and if they have a specific need they should contact you first to check (I had a guest with a bad back who wanted to check my mattress was not soft)
Salvia (salvia)
Agree with above - no full refund. As a sign of goodwill you could offer him to refund his booking fees of probably 12%.
Michele
Hi Vicky, the whole condo is brand new!!
So if a guest called and said he is displeased, how do you encourage them to cancel without forcing them to stay or refund them? And if they knew that they cancel and will not get a refund, they will be unhappy and ding you on the review?
Salvia
Yes, that is the risk. But we have to do our best to avoid to give in to this threat and reserve give full refunds when it is either really justified or really necessary to rid off guests. To refund too easily can "educate" guests in the wrong way. Once they learn to use reviews against us we are in trouble!
"...use reviews against us and get away with it we are in trouble."
Michele
Also please have a look at my listing and tell me if it's misleading?
David & Fiona:
Hello from Bohol. Your listing is one of the clearest listings I have read (In the Philippines). As mentioned earlier refer him to Airbnb for cancelation. I certainly wouldn't offer a refund.
Linda
I have a guest who wants to cancel his dates in December but want me to do it and of course I can't. His reason is my 40/rate is to high although I am lowest-priced in my "niche" area.
Andrew (andrew)
When a guest complains about the lack of an amenity that was not offered in the first place (like a swimming pool), they won't find any sympathetic ears in Airbnb. However, the policy does grant guests full refunds if they report a "travel issue" within 24 hours of check-in - and these include missing amenities. If you know that your internet connection is unreliable, I'd suggest unchecking it from the Amenities field and making it more of a bonus perk for guests who like having WiFi but don't depend on having it consistently.
When guests complain that the bed or room temperature or any other aspects of the property are causing them discomfort, the first response that the host should make is an effort to improve the situation for them. CC's suggestion about offering a padded mattress topper is a very good one here; the guest might still be unhappy, but your butt is covered by showing that you took reasonable steps to fix a problem.
If you make this effort and the guest still chooses to terminate his stay, you basically have two choices: offer him a refund or partial refund for his cancelling the remaining nights, or accept a bad review. You can't insist that a guest manually cancel their booking when they can plainly see that they won't get any money back - there's just nothing in it for them, and it raises the odds that they'll send an exaggerated account of their issue to Airbnb in pursuit of a refund. (After reading about hundreds of scenarios like yours I've come to the conclusion that Strict policies are not worth the stress they cause when issues come up).