My rental house is in western Massachusetts, and we just got a pretty big spring snowstorm (definitely not uncommon around here). The storm was forecast days in advance and the guests contacted me asking what to do in case the weather interferes with there arrival, which was supposed to be during the height of the storm. Since there were no guests the night before their arrival, I offered to let them arrive early with no extra charge. They couldn’t do that because they couldn’t get the day off work on short notice. I then offered to let them stay as late as they wanted on Sunday (checkout is usually 11AM). They liked that and agreed, since they all live about an hour away. I had also offered to let them move the entire reservation to any available time for the same price they already paid. This morning, I get a message saying they’ve checked in and the house is great and that they “just wanted to confirm we can get the first night refunded.” I feel like I have been very generous and accommodating, but I never once mentioned a refund. I hate being beholden to reviews, but I only have about 25 (all very good) and I’m worried about retribution through review. Anyone been in a similar situation? I’m also planning on adding a note about winter weather to my listing.
Since you have been so accommodating, I’d just reiterate, “Hi there, I’m not sure where we got our wires crossed on this one–I never offered a refund for missed night; I offered to move the reservation to a more convenient time, and I also suggested you come a day early (for free) to miss the storm. Given that I’ve tried to work around the weather inconvenience in these ways, I’m sorry that I can’t accommodate the refund request… however, my offer stands to let you take your time on Sunday for your checkout. I hope this clarifies any confusion, and I’m sorry if I’ve contributed to any misunderstanding. I hope the weather doesn’t affect any more of your stay than it already has.”
There is no reason for you to offer them a refund. This was not discussed or offered. You have been flexible and accommodating.
I am a little confused to be honest as to why you offered them anything? Presumably they are arriving as they originally planned - and the weather hasn’t stop this so how is this impacting on their stay?
So why the offer of the late checkout?
And why on earth would the guests expect a free night when they have arrived to their original timetable.
Anyway just confirm that you have been flexible in offering them a late checkout when they had arrived as planned. Say you are a little confused about their comments asking about a first night refund as this was never discussed or offered.
Don’t let your concerns about a bad review stop you from not being taken advantage of.
Hopefully you confirmed discussed via airbnb and so can refer to these?
You can mention the weather but unless this whether is unusual for your area guest can be expect to have done their research on this.
Thanks - these replies are in line with my thinking. The late check out won’t affect me anyway since I won’t be cleaning the house until Monday regardless. I’m still pretty new to Airbnb hosting (less than a year), so I appreciate the advice.
And yes - all communication has been on the Airbnb platform. I went back through the message history and confirmed I didn’t accidentally mention a refund at all.
Just to clarify, did they arrive as originally scheduled, or did they arrive a day later than their reservation called for? It doesn’t really matter either way, as the weather is not your fault, and you have tried to be more than accommodating. I guess I’m asking because it sounds like they arrived on the correct day, and yet they are asking for a refund?
Yeah… if the weather didn’t delay their arrival I wouldn’t be offering any special deals.
They arrived about 18 hours later than planned, but the roads were fine and they could have showed up as scheduled,they were just worried about driving in winter weather
They only live an hour away and they are not used to driving in winter weather? I could understand it a bit more if they were driving in from Arizona and delayed by the weather (still not your fault, but at least it makes sense that they might be worried about the roads).
Just remind them you have made the offer to give them late checkout, and that there is no refund for their decision to show up late and lose the first night.
Can you clarify what time your regular check in is. And what “18 hours later” means?
For example, if your regular check in is 4 p.m., then did they arrive the next day at 10.a.m.? - 18 hours later? If so, they are still using the prior day anyway. And this whole story is so crazy if these people are only about an hour away and the weather was fine for them to travel.
This is what annoys me about Airbnb! Weather should not be grounds for a refund. You didn’t do anything wrong. Mother Nature did!
As many of you know, I’m a longtime host but don’t use Air as a guest myself. I just booked a small guest inn in Kyoto. I paid the full room rate to hold the room, but it’s considered a deposit since Japan has a cash economy. I will pay in cash upon arrival. If I don’t show up for ANY reason, they charge my card and I am out the money.
I don’t whine about late flights, booking error, snow, cancelled flights. I am JUST out the money. What happened to traveling this way? Air has created a generation of spoiled guests who expect to be rewarded for any little travel glitch!
After six months of hosting, yes a relatively short time, I have come to realize that many people have the “doesn’t hurt to ask” attitude. I’ve often tried to be accommodating to early check ins late check outs etc. when possible. I’m now realizing that even if I say no as long as it is worded kindly that people are pretty understanding. It is unfortunate though that in many circumstances I do feel the pressure of giving in for that ‘good review’ especially since I only have 6 reviews on my listing. So far, all my guests have been very good so I don’t really mind accommodated the occasional request but will definitely say no when it comes to a point where I’m just being taken advantage of. In this case I think you have already gone above and beyond so indeed no refund should be given.
airbnb will give a refund under “extenuating circumstances” so you might as well beat them to the punch.
No way they will let you charge for a night during a storm ( I know from experience ).
I dont agree…but they will refund.
Yes. And I dont use Air either. Strictly hotels for me.
I had two bookings during Hurricane Hermine and my area was hit hard. One guest cancelled last minute as he planned to go boating and didn’t want to risk it. The other showed up 30 minutes after I got power back, but it was a mess here. I was paid for both and got great reviews from that guest…go figure.
I’m so sorry that you weren’t able to take advantage of accommodations that I offered, which were the early check-in the night before at no charge and the late check-out without any charge. While I can offer accommodations due to weather, a refund is not available.
One cannot control weather and you’ve certainly been very very kind. It’s up to you whether you give a refund. My stance on this would be no refund. As aforementioned you cannot control weather.
Even if they give you a bad review you will have the opportunity to respond to it. I’m not sure how often you get bookings but pretty soon the negative review will be buried by positive ones.
Don’t find yourself beholden to reviews. No doubt they are extremely important and they have things to teach us. But they can drive us nuts too. Someone once told me on this board that you should write your listing according to the type of guests that you want Since I did that my reviews have been much better.
That was me! 
…pardon me while I break my arm trying to pat myself on the back!
Seriously… describe the kind of guest you want. If they aren’t a fit with that in an obvious way, decline them!
We have a glamping B&B on the Navajo reservation atop a mesa overlooking the Colorado River, Lake Powell, etc. We had a fantastic rain slowly move across here (rain is always welcome) and then turned to snow as the temps dropped. Our Bell Tents were fully rented. Some braved it. One family decided to go to the Super 8 and requested a refund. We did not argue it. Was not in the mood.
Thank you for the replies everyone! A little update… My check-in time is 3PM. Because of the weather, I offered to let them arrive up to a full 24 hours early at no extra cost OR to move the reservation to another open spot on the calendar. This offer was extended on Tuesday. They were due to arrive on Friday. They ended up arriving at 11AM on Saturday. It was still snowing lightly and our plow guy hadn’t made his second pass on the driveway, so they had to wait for half an hour for him to come clear it - no problem they said; they went to the brewery 5 minutes down the road. Because of the weather and the unplowed driveway, I offered them what I thought was a very generous partial refund. I hadn’t been planning to do so, but because of the plow incident I figured it would be a nice gesture. The guest insisted that the entire first night be refunded. She did not accept my alteration request which reflected about 50% of one night’s rate. I just got notified that she submitted her review, so I pulled the alteration request. I’ll wait until the last minute to review her. Should I mention any of this or just review the condition of the house and her communication? By the time her review shows up, we will have had 3 other guests, and hopefully the snow is done for the season and they will leave great reviews to bury hers 
I do vet my guests (thanks to your advice, probably 
), and she had gleaming reviews and a 4 year track record as a guest. I didn’t have any indication she’d be a problem - and she wasn’t, except for the squabbling about the refund. I really appreciate your input on this board and I’ve definitely learned a lot from reading some of your posts!
I would definitely mention it. Inquiring hosts want to know!