Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
Just got a message from a current guest in one of my STRs. The family is there for 2 weeks. When they booked, she mentioned kids, but I assumed she had noted that the listing says 'not suitable for children'. (The house is really fine, just an old house with steep stairs - I use that check box just as a CYA)
So she wants to call me to discuss in an hour, any suggestions? Let her cancel? If she wants a discount, I'm not doing that....
Cambridge, MA · Member since 2015 · 651 posts · 736 votes
3y
In the spirit of seeing this as an opportunity to hone our hospitality skills, you have mentioned three things that stand out to me.
About the guest: Her exact words were - "We are having a difficult time with your Airbnb. I really wish there would have been a note that this home is not child friendly"
About the property: ...an old house with steep stairs... It is a cool property for kids with all kinds of places to play hide'n'seek, nice back yard and all.
When talking to your guest, acknowledge that clicking the button to indicate the property was not suitable for kids was clearly not enough of a note and that you will emphasize the issue for future guests. Ask her if she wants to cancel the remaining days in the unit or, if not, what she thinks will ease the rest of her time there.
Going forward, I would send an automatic response to every family who books, highlighting both the issue with the property and the things families love about the property. Let your guests decide whether the issue is one that would give them pause.
@Jay Thomas "In Real Estate, it's important to make sure you don't give discounts. Ever." I really, really agree with this. Discounts never solve issues. Best to be very upfront with the issue and let the guests decide. We are about to endure the demolition of a large 3 story building that will then be replaced by an even larger footprint 6 story building abutting our STR. I don't plan on discounting our nightly rates but I do plan on including the gory details in the auto response that goes out upon booking. I know I'll get tons of immediate cancellations but some people will decide that they still want to book. I will then also have the documentation for the cancellations that I can turn over to the owner of the neighboring property who has signed a contract saying he will reimburse us for lost income during his project.
BTW, I have incredibly fond memories of family vacations in properties similar to the one you describe.
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
3y
So we had a nice conversation, she was just a confused young lady with kids making her crazy. I agreed to let her Canx and get back the money for nights unused. I talked to ABNB and they said fine.
So good ending. Except that AirBnB is now offering me only 2 options....either refund her 100% or nothing.....
Alter her reservation to check out today or tomorrow (not sure what you agreed on). you can do that, Airbnb doesn’t have to be involved at all.
I'm wary of messing with a guest's reservation. Hosts get penalized for cancelling a reservation, I'm not sure they if they would frown upon me altering a reservation....?
They have taken care of it now, although they are still messing up her refund...
Alter her reservation to check out today or tomorrow (not sure what you agreed on). you can do that, Airbnb doesn’t have to be involved at all.
I'm wary of messing with a guest's reservation. Hosts get penalized for cancelling a reservation, I'm not sure they if they would frown upon me altering a reservation....?
They have taken care of it now, although they are still messing up her refund...
Altering doesn’t penalize you in any way. The guest has to approve and accept any alterations. They can also alter a reservation and then the host would have to approve and accept. It’s an excellent option that keeps Airbnb from being involved at all. Just for future reference. :)
I'm wary of messing with a guest's reservation. Hosts get penalized for cancelling a reservation, I'm not sure they if they would frown upon me altering a reservation....?
They have taken care of it now, although they are still messing up her refund...
Altering doesn’t penalize you in any way. The guest has to approve and accept any alterations. They can also alter a reservation and then the host would have to approve and accept. It’s an excellent option that keeps Airbnb from being involved at all. Just for future reference. :) Good to know! Thanks. Still don't trust AIR... :-)
Just got a message from a current guest in one of my STRs. The family is there for 2 weeks. When they booked, she mentioned kids, but I assumed she had noted that the listing says 'not suitable for children'. (The house is really fine, just an old house with steep stairs - I use that check box just as a CYA)
So she wants to call me to discuss in an hour, any suggestions? Let her cancel? If she wants a discount, I'm not doing that..
No discounts. Ever. If you give a mouse a cookie…
I would tell her you keep all communication on the platform. If your home isn’t suitable for kids, then I would really sell that. Tell her things she doesn’t want to hear so she will cancel. Offer her a cancel for a full refund
Agree on keeping communication on the platform. However, with a phone call, you can summarize it and put it as an entry on the messages part of your current platform. I do the same if I receive texts from guests -- screenshot them and upload them as photos in the messages.
Alter her reservation to check out today or tomorrow (not sure what you agreed on). you can do that, Airbnb doesn’t have to be involved at all.
I'm wary of messing with a guest's reservation. Hosts get penalized for cancelling a reservation, I'm not sure they if they would frown upon me altering a reservation....?
They have taken care of it now, although they are still messing up her refund...
I ALWAYS tell guests that THEY have to cancel their reservation! Then I will refund them whatever we agreed on, regardless of my cancellation policy.
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
3y
Problem solved, guest has left and on good terms.....
Now I am hassling with AIR support about her refund. She left at 6:42 pm (Checkout is 11am) so AIR thinks they will not charge her for that day because she didn't 'spend the night'....
I don't really care about the $$, just (as usual) irritated with ABNB policies and lack of common sense.
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
3y
An update for those interested in the 'rest of the story' and maybe a heads-up for new investors...
So my last post said - 'guest has left and on good terms'...ahahaha, can't anything just go easy?
So I refunded this guest for 10 nights (even though she stayed until 7pm the last night so I could not re-rent) and bear in mind this was not a problem of my making. So you would think she would be happy right...?
I now get a message from her demanding ALL of the money be refunded. For the whole visit. What? So I ask why and her reply was that I ruined her trip, AND not only that but a) she found a smudge on the fridge door, and even worse, b) there was a dust bunny under one of the beds.....
An update for those interested in the 'rest of the story' and maybe a heads-up for new investors...
So my last post said - 'guest has left and on good terms'...ahahaha, can't anything just go easy?
So I refunded this guest for 10 nights (even though she stayed until 7pm the last night so I could not re-rent) and bear in mind this was not a problem of my making. So you would think she would be happy right...?
I now get a message from her demanding ALL of the money be refunded. For the whole visit. What? So I ask why and her reply was that I ruined her trip, AND not only that but a) she found a smudge on the fridge door, and even worse, b) there was a dust bunny under one of the beds.....
Sorry this happened. I've heard about this on Airbnb, where you think you have something worked out and then Airbnb does a full refund. Let us know what happens.