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We had guests staying here yesterday and left today, they were from Colombia, I am not sure if they had difficulties speaking English because they mentioned they will be 4 guests and they came only 3 …
The stay was okay, I tried to help them as they barely spoke a word in English and yo habla muy poquito Espanyol pero pueblo entender what they say, more or less (had an ex in my life who was from Guatemala, she mainly taught me how to curse and swear in Spanish lol)… anyway long story short I ordered them a taxi as they were 1.5h before the flight (our place is 20 minutes from the airport), I wasn’t sure how much the taxi would be as you cannot pay for the ride in advance a fixed price, it has to go by meter … so I gave them an estimae, I was off by $7 so I wrote back to the guest I will issue a $7 refund via Airbnb (through the “Send or Receive money”), they are currently in a flight … is there any other thing I can do here? I felt bad but was extremely surprised how the taxi was so cheap … my wife knew a local taxi company here that is the cheapest by far as many people use them - and they would have charged easily $12-$15 more …
Anyway left 5* for the guest, hopefully they won’t be upset by the incident.
I think you’ve gone over and above at this point. You’re providing a room service, not a taxi service and are only responsible for what you provide.
I know that giving estimates to native-language speakers can be problematic as people tend to take the word “estimate” to mean “fixed price” and that can cause problems. But anyone taking a taxi should understand that the fare is the fare and you’re not responsible. I don’t know if I would have felt responsible for an estimate overage or sent them money.
If you have Uber or Lyft in your area, you can go on the apps and get estimates as well, but they’re only estimates.
I’m not sure that I understand this. Why call a taxi for guests? And another thing I don’t understand - you say that the guests were ‘okay’ but gave them a five star review. It might just be me, but I expect five star guests to be fantastic, not just okay.
By the way, there are some great ‘speak to translate’ apps that you can use with guests who don’t speak the same language as you.
Coincidentally, I had an ex who taught me to swear in Spanish
This. I just gave my first 3* review for my local guest because of poor communication and not following house rules. Wheeled coolers dragged across hardwood floor, food scattered around the bedroom (Florida! Pests! Flying “Palmetto Bugs!”) so now I have to call my pest control company…
They were very nice in terms of being here, left the place very clean and tidy, and the only thing they needed is help … I think asking for help is okay, I’m all up for honest and fair communication, and yes, I could always say “I am not a taxi service, figure it out by yourself” but let’s try to make the world a better place lol …
So the guest got to the airport, paid the taxi driver, and then messaged you that it was more expensive than you said it would be? I know taxis work differently all over the world and the guest’s expectations could be different, but it sure doesn’t seem like there’s anything else you need to do.
No, they had only foreign cash with them, they literally came for 24 hours (for a stop), on the way here they used a local bus (not sure HOW lol, they said they used Google Maps), on the way back they were in tour today, came so late and told me they have a flight in 1.5h, yes quite irresponsible … I felt bad for them, they came very light with very small bags, ones you don’t need to checkin, they had their printed boarding passes already … they slept in our place for maybe 3 hours, most of the time they were traveling, they said they would sleep on the plane - about a 6 hour flight … weirdos but as I mentioned they caused no troubles to the property.
With the taxi they had no cash to use so I used my card with the App, the driver just took them, he spoke no Spanish at all, but he was reliable as I was using a reliable app. So the total charge in the App was $7ish less than what they gave me in foreign cash. I already exchanged the cash so I took the exchange fee into account, it’s still $7ish less.
Ohhhhh. Now I get it. It wasn’t clear in your original post that they had given you cash for the taxi and then you paid for it. Yes, you could just send them $7 through the resolution center, if you’d like to make it square.
I never said “figure it out yourself,” I said that an estimate isn’t the actual price and that any guest - or person running a business - who makes that clear, isn’t responsible for the overages (would the guest have refunded you if it was $7 less? I think not).
It’s nice of you to do it, but there’s nothing else you need to do at this point.
FYI - you can download translation apps where the guests verbally speaks into the app, you get the translation and then you can translate it back to the guest.
I dated too many lawyers! My liability stops at my door. If anything were to happen in that cab I would be on the hook. Enough is enough. No, you are not responsible for cabfare.
Yes, they surprised me when they told me their flight is in 1.5h … they acted so calm and I told them “you shouldn’t be in SIESTA or ESPERA ESPRA, you should tell me RAPIDO RAPIDO”… lol
