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If you had fixed the AC the next day after their first complaint, I would say no refund at all would be necessary, end of issue. They were too warm one night and you took care of it in a professional and expedient manner.
But ineffectual responses like this is precisely why people would want to opt for hotels.
I would agree with you if the problem was straight forward but it wasnât. They had the issue the 2nd night of their stay, I fiddled with it and got it working that night and the problem didnât return until the 4th night of their stay. I couldnât get someone to come out same day on a Sunday so I replaced the filter and Sunday night (5th night) things seemed to be working again with no complaints. The next complaint came the 6th night of the stay and I got someone out the very next day.
Also the issue only presented at night, everything works fine during the day because the heat outside keeps the pipe from frosting over.
Given these inconsistencies and the seemingly successful attempts at fixing things myself, it wasnât so apparent that I needed to get someone to come out right away.
Itâs easy to armchair quarterback but even my guest agreed with my attempts to fix the situation. At any rate they are quite happy with the unexpected partial refund and life goes on from here. Again I appreciate everyoneâs insight!
Itâs hosts like you that make the rest of us a success, so thank you!
High dew points also make the temperature uncomfortable because the body cannot properly cool itself at high dew points. I donât think you guys in LA have an issue with high dew points like we do in the tropics and sub tropics.
that said, if AC was an expected amenitiy and I was paying that kind of money I would want it to be working properly. You should offer a refund. I have no idea what is fair. Yeah it bites.
In Hawaii our climate and temperatures are for the most part extremely temperate. Year round, itâs comfortable. I donât need to own a heater or AC.
NoooâŚ
I might be too late. The $300 is fine. But 50% off a future stay is just way too much.
Could they have opened the windows at night and used the fans for a cool breeze? You say it is not humid where you are?
When it comes to heat and AC, I donât think the professional hostâs response to a problem can be to âfiddle with somethingâ and hope for the best, esp when that problem arises on a Thursday and youâre 2 nights into a 7 night booking. Even googling âAC doesnât work at nightâ diagnoses your problem and lets you know that you need a service visit. Speaking to an AC service the morning after the complaint would have also provided you with the needed explanation (this is a straightforward problem to an AC repairman, just not to us!) and the rest of your guestâs stay would have been comfortable.
Iâm relieved for you that your guest seemed pleased with the partial refund but this was hardly a great outcome when not only were your guests uncomfortable while sleeping for the majority of their stay but that youâre out $300 on top of your repair costs. I think as hosts, we need to be extremely proactive regarding heat and AC which are crucial to a guestâs comfort. People have spent considerable time and money and energy to go on vacation and the idea that most of you are shrugging and saying, âshit happens,â is kinda surprising to me when this could have been handled so much better.
I have a good AC company on call for something like this.
AgainâŚsuper easy to armchair quarterback with all the infoâŚbut take it piece by piece.
On Thursday night the guest says, hey its hot in here can you check the thermostat for me? I walk over to it, turn it off, turn it back on, the AC kicks on and 10 minutes later the temperature is what it should be. All the next 2 days it works. What part of that situation would make me think I needed to call out an AC guy?
Canât even imagine says the woman with a new furnace, and multiple electric blankets and space heaters for every room.
I am odd (it seems) because in South Florida I donât have any AC (just a couple of fans) but I do have a heater 
I had this happen to me too, and Airbnb told me i have to give 50% refund if guests still want to stay.
Both repair and refund are business costs you can deduct from income.