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Personally I wouldn’t have offered a refund at all. Maybe a bottle of wine or chocolate.
My feeling is because they didn’t get what they wanted they might be a bit negative, despite you being so flexible.
In your review mention how they were as guests, but I would also add something to indicate that despite the weather not being bad enough to prevent travel you offered the guest both an earlier check in and late check out. That your guests didn’t take you up on this but you also offered a discount off their first night which they accepted.
They never did accept it - they were insisting on the full first night refund, so I pulled the offer as soon as I got the notification that a review had been left.
I would think hard about detailing special treatment you’ve given to guests in reviews or responses to reviews. It is my experience that when guests see something mentioned in a review or a response to a review, they believe that they are also entitled to it. As the original poster mentioned that inclement weather is not unusual in his/her location, mentioning the flexibility that was extended to these guests could result in major headaches.
It’s really up to airbnb. We had a snow storm In like November. Airbnb refunded all the bookings that left out of the USA. We sat empty and it was very last minute. I feel like Kona on this why not just buy trip insurance instead of us taking the hit for the entire stay?
BY all means!!! Mention her bratty behavior. I mean… what happened to considering travel as an adventure instead of something that has to be refunded if it doesn’t go your way?
You did everything possible for them. There’s no way they needed the first night refunded. Stuff happens. Snow happens.
"Unfortunately, XX guest proved herself difficult about a surprise spring snowstorm that was out of our control and demanded a refund because she was late in arriving. I made all sorts of accommodations and concessions, and even offered half back on the first night and yet these concessions still weren’t acceptable to her. The snow plow schedule was out of my control. I did not enjoy hosting this fussy guest and I cannot recommend her to other hosts. "
I wouldn’t even go so far as to call the snowstorm a “surprise”. I’d say something like “Prior to her stay, the weather forecast was calling for some inclement weather on the day of her arrival. I contacted her to discuss her travel plans, and she elected to arrive at the scheduled time. Instead she arrived almost 24 hours late and then demanded a full night’s refund”
I wouldn’t bother mentioning the snowplow timing. If she had called ahead on Saturday morning, she might have been able to time her arrival to get there after the plow had come again. This is about her decision to show up late then demand a refund even after you were accommodating.
I am so fed up with the continual requests by almost every guest for an early check in and late check out that I can’t do it anymore. 50% of my work is managing and coordinating times.
I have now said that I am happy to let a guest know when it is ready for check in but I do not offer late check out’s - it’s all too hard.
We are not multi roomed hotels where we can offer the next available room.
No no no, just be firm in your house directions and tell them you are so sorry, you can’t accommodate early checkin or late check out. I offer a plethora of tips for them to do if arriving in Kona early. I nearly NEVER get those requests. If someone does ask to check out late, I say sweetly, oh, I wish I could but I just had a request, someone is arriving tonight and I have to get started on the room.
You have to be firm or people will just assume it is ok to even ask. We are not hotels with lobbies, bell hops or flexibility on times.
I just booked a small guest inn in Kyoto Japan. My flight home is in the evening but I didn’t want to check out at 10. Did you hear me pestering a little place with 8 rooms for late check out? NO!!! I just bought another night!!!
I have said it before. Airbnb is creating a whole generation of spoiled and entitled travelers who think the are owed a bunch of extras.
Also… I don’t think they realize that by asking us to offer a late check out, we are precluding our ability to rent the room that night and are, in essence giving them a free night. I wonder if they think about that.
You are in no way obligated to offer a refund, you met the terms of your contract by having your accommodation available for them and the weather is beyond your control. You also offered alternative dates which they declined. There are always people who try to get something for nothing and sadly they either cannot see or, choose to ignore the fact that you are running a business. Remember that you are not their friend or their relative, you are hospitable and provide that which you promised and I am sure, like most hosts, you work hard to ensure your guests have a comfortable and enjoyable stay. I am plagued with the one nighters who want to book in early and check out late, they cannot see that they are fundamentally blocking 3 nights and only paying for 1.
I hope by now you have forgotten about them and moved on to more appreciative guests. God love them, these people are our bread and butter but I do sometimes wish they were just a bit more understanding of the difficulties of dovetailing bookings and realising that this is not a casual arrangement but a business.
Regardless of the cancellation policy, on this occasion, even if the cancellation is Flexible, they did not request one 24 hours prior to arrival, which would have entitled them to a refund (if the host has indeed set their cancellation policy as Flexible). Any delay in arrival was their choice and the booking did take place. Despite whether the cancellation is set at Flexible, Moderate or Strict, they did turn up and use the accommodation so they did not want to cancel, they did not ask for a refund. Furthermore, they said that they were happy with the accommodation. They have no grounds for a refund, they may try and get something back but AirBnB will look for the point at which they started requesting changes in the booking.
I have added a Force Majeure clause to my terms which guests must agree to before booking. I am set at Strict. Brutal I know, we can be friendly and helpful but as previously mentioned, our guests are not our friends or relatives, they are business associates who embark upon a contract with us when they make a booking, as do we with them. I am usually fully booked throughout the year so my rules are in no way a hindrance to guests booking with me.
I can’t believe they insisted on a one night refund, when it wasn’t something you offered in the first place.
