Airbnb guest wants to cancel mid stay due to extreme heat

[Annet3176]

Weather conditions that cannot be reasonably anticipated like record setting highs may be uncomfortable for some, deadly for others (e.g. people with any autoimmune disease, heart arrhythmias, etc.)

The updated extenuating circumstances policy considers some weather conditions that cannot be reasonably anticipated as refundable.

Depending upon the guest’s situation, record setting high temperatures may fall under the EC policy.

It is possible the guest for their health needs a place with a/c for the worst heat of the day and venture out in the morning & evening when temperatures are not so extreme.

[SleepingCoyote]

@rexbanner

I would like to stick to our cancellation policy, however in the back of my mind is a bit of money worth a disgruntled guest possible giving you less than 5 stars?

AirBnB is the 4th business I have owned. I owned a live music business, a real estate business, a writing business, and now ABB (certainly my smallest business).

What I learned over those decades is: Go the extra mile and nice things will happen to you.

Now this may not apply to your country, I’m in the USA, but I have never regretted taking care of a customer even if I lost money in the short term. Because the long term paid off.

SO I would not hesitate, I would give the refund with kind words.

[gypsy]

We have, over three years, reduced guests exposure to our normal temps of extreme heat by not taking many bookings during July 15th - Sept 15, and planning some trips or friends to stay during these months. Any guests that want to book unblocked days, they get a warning in messages that it likely will be very hot. If the a/c is working (fingers crossed) as usual they are welcome to leave it on when they are here. However, if they are nice, I would consider partially refunding them if they had to leave.

[gillian]

@RebeccaF

@rexbanner

Room has no ac but this is common in my country.

If your listing doesn’t already say so, I suggest this type of addition:

“The room/house/apartment has no air conditioning and can be hot in the summer.”

Or something like that for future guests.

So i’m in Australia, my listing is in a temperate zone, cool climate wine region in Sth Australia, with a big old stone house. Now it can get hot here, even over 40º some days, (dry heat) but then it usually drops off at night quite well. it’s not the tropics where often it’s just hot, hot, hotter, hot, hot. We do not need air conditioning for 300 days of the year, so my listing reads:
“In summer the old stone house stays very cool, but we have a fan for those rare hot, summer nights.” I advise guests to not open the windows during the day, esp if the hot desert northerlies are blowing. We had such a guest last January, on one of those rare hot days, who opened the windows, let in a bunch of bugs, and then complained about bugs and the heat, and left early the next day. I refunded his 2nd night as he was really not a nice person. He then tried to extort me to refund the first night, and luckily CS took my side and did not force me to.

@KenH

Besides, you lot over there never give us south Floridians any compensation when you refuse to turn on the heat when the temperature gets below 20C!!

haha, I feel you. it’s 17ºc here on the Gold Coast (middle of winter, brrrrr) and i’ve got the ducted air con warming the house for me.

[CatskillsGrrl]

@rexbanner

Room has no ac but this is common in my country.

I realize the weather is out of your control, but I would have split the difference at least.