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Updated 16 days ago on . Most recent reply
STR guest leaving me no choice but to refund 50% of their stay??
Little back story. We have a new STR property in a small coastal town. There are a TON of new units in this complex (20+) all starting around the same time so it's very competitive. Being a Superhost I believe has a positive impact on us getting bookings over some of the competitors in our complex.
We had a last minute request for a 3 night stay. Before booking the guest asked for a discounted rate being so last minute. I told him "no we have already worked the last minute pricing into these rates". They arrive around 7 pm & messaged that everything looking exactly like the photos & the unit is perfect.
Their first day they message that the water has a sulfur odor in the shower. I explain that this is a City/complex wide issue that we have had plumbers out to assess with no resolution & apologize for it. I get a messaged from the city at 9:47 AM that the water will be shut off to the entire community at 10 AM for 2 hours to do repairs/maintenance. I inform the guest 2 minutes after getting the message & they reply that this is a serious inconvenience & the power is also out. Power comes back on 13 minutes later. Water returns within the 2 hour window the City provided us. They then message that they found some debris from the previous guests. Asks for some type of compensation for the inconvenience. I apologize & give them 1/2 the cleaning fee back for this & the inconvenience of the water item.
Later that night 7ish they message that the water still smells like sulfur & the water pressure isn't near what it was before the City did their work. I inform them that I will reach out to the City first thing tomorrow morning but they're closed being so late.
I wake up the next morning to a message basically saying with all these inconveniences we've had there is no way I can give you a good review. You can either give me 50% of my money back & I won't leave you a review or can ignore it & I will leave a negative review.
1. Found debris
2. Power outage
3. Water outage
4. Water odor
5. Low water pressure
My concern now is, with a poor review it is likely I will lose Superhost which I see as out advantage over the current competition in this market. I see it as my only option is to issue another refund despite these issues being a City item more than an issue with out specific STR unit.
Am I wrong in this? Is there anything more I should've done/do for future? Do I let them leave a review & just leave a response explaining? All feedback is welcome. I am still new to this hosting thing (6ish months) & constantly trying to improve.
Most Popular Reply

- Property Manager
- Gatlinburg, TN
- 3,656
- Votes |
- 2,601
- Posts
Your guest is attempting to extort you.
I don’t negotiate with terrorists. A poor review now and then isn’t a big deal. Let them leave one and move on.
- Collin Hays
- [email protected]
- 806-672-7102
