Guest refund advice

We have just started hosting. Our hot water service broke down for their last 3 nights. Guests are asking for a refund of $240 out of the $360 for these 3 nights as compensation for no hot showers.
We arranged for them to shower at our brother’s home next door.
What do you think is fair compensation?

Hi Oppy, it would help if you would tell us where you are based.

ABB stance I would believe is that the guest would be refunded the nights that the amenity was not available, such as hot water, even though you provided an outside arrangements. In the future, I would either advise the guests of the issue and give them the option of cancelling the reservation and advise ABB they need to find other accommodations or via the app a pre-arrangement compensation for the inconvenience.

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One of my very first bookings coincided with a water main break a few houses away. My guests had to flush the toilet with a bucket and could not take showers the first 24 hours of a 4 night stay. You BET I refunded them the first night. Them’s the breaks! Welcome to the wild and wooly world of hosting!

Hot water is a basic requirement. If they call into Airbnb they’ll likely be fully refunded for any days the water was out. So the $240 sounds reasonable, unfortunately.

In the future when you have an event that disrupts your ability to host, either cancel the stay as “extenuating circumstances” or arrange a discount with the guest at the time you’re discussing a work around.

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Deb, we are based in Australia.

I would refund them the three nights without hot water. Even though they were able to go next door for showers, that was still a big inconvenience.

That’s a bummer, especially when it’s one of your first guests! I agree with everyone else- refund the nights and still do what you can to make their stay enjoyable. My AC went out on my last guest on their last night, and I immediately sent through a refund and set up fans so they would be comfortable. You deserve good reviews and they deserve a nice holiday.

I don’t think you have much of a choice other than to accept what they have offered you.

In the future, I’d suggest that you negotiate all this at the point it happens. The frustrating part for you is that they stayed and then negotiated after the fact.

I had something very similar happen to me last autumn. What I had done was to offer them the opportunity to cancel (with a full refund after the first day) and find an alternative location. They declined because they liked the place they were staying and were comfortable with the temporary remedy.

Further details attached herein.

Going against the grain here …I would not refund 2/3 of what you got for these nights. Way too much …
No wonder guests are asking for lots of $$$ for anything and nothing.

I mean it depends a bit on how many nights they stayed, if you made a killing otherwise on their stay. How hot is the weather etc. and how you will feel after you refund and they give you 3 stars anyways.

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And just so …perhaps by chance you did not Check … the ‘Hot Water’ under the amenities :bath:

Devil’s advocate…They stayed the three days, did not contact Air for reassignment, had hot water next door, oh and didn’t say anything till later.

RIGHT.

Thanks for all the advice! I still think it is on the high side as we live in the tropics and a cold shower is not so bad.

$120 a night means 2 nights.

Refund your nightly rate for the days that they did not have access to hot water. it isn’t just showers that are effected, you have to wash your hands, try and wipe things off with cold water etc. If Hot water is an amenity that you list then step up IMHO and refund the 3 nights.