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Hi…I’m fairly new to this, five guest rentals in the downstairs bedroom of my home so far, with good results.
A young couple arrived, I met them outside and told them they could check in and get comfortable. They did, and I was outside visiting with a friend. I encouraged them to look at the house guide book inside. On my listing, I say that although this is a shared space there would be very little contact with the host once guests are checked in. I told them that they basically had the run of the downstairs.
An hour goes by and they both came out with their overnight bags and put them in the car. She came over to me to say her brother was in an ATV accident and they needed to leave. She seemed upset.
I felt sorry for her, but to tell the truth, her boyfriend gave off weird vibes from the start, and I feel like they left because he wasn’t comfortable with the shared space idea. I can’t prove that at all, just a feeling I got when they arrived and just by the way that they came out…he went right to the car and didn’t say a word, and she had to talk with me.
Anyway, I’m wondering about a refund. I’m thinking one night refund on the premise that it was a family emergency? She paid for two nights. Thanks for your thoughts.
In a case like this (& the fact you picked up on weird vibes from him), I would be inclined to not offer a refund, but contact Air & tell them you’d like to offer a future stay of 2 nights. All communication regarding this should be on the platform. Good luck!
Yes, it could be that they expected a more private situation. Sometimes one person of a couple books without thorough reading, or even reading the most obvious things- my listing title includes “For Solo Travelers” as I just have one private room with a single bed, yet got a request with a message saying, “My girlfriend and I are really looking forward to coming”, then, before I even had a chance to reply, he withdrew the request, saying, “Oh, I just noticed it’s only for 1 guest”.
But who knows why they left, really. “My brother got in an accident” sounds like BS to me, because the chances of a guest getting a call like that 5 minutes after checking in are just about nil.
You don’t need to give them any refund. Hosts wouldn’t be able to have viable businesses if they refunded every time a guest had some sob story for why they needed to cancel. Especially last minute like this. If a guest tells you they need to cancel 3 weeks before check-in, because their mother just got diagnosed with terminal cancer so they’ve had to forget about taking a vacation, then you can always choose to refund, especially if they aren’t pushy about it and you have a good chance of rebooking the dates.
Are you sure your wording about the shared nature of the home is clear in your info, though? I’ve read a lot of listings of shared homes where it isn’t really clear what is shared or who the guest is sharing with. There are some situations where guests are sharing bathrooms or kitchens with other guests, only the host, or both, but it isn’t explained well in the ad.
Is this actually possible? Does Air issue some kind of credit only for your listing?
I’m thinking it’s possible that the bf may have just been miffed that their looked-forward-to stay was being cut short by the gf’s brother’s (who bf doesn’t even like) accident. That could explain her being upset while he was… not.
They’re lying and want to leave for some other reason.
In the end, @mariamag’s decision is: to refund or not and if so how much.
My wife asked me: Did they request a refund? If not just let it ride.
If they ask for one, I think splitting the difference is a nice gesture.
If the “2 future nights at or below this price” coupon is a real thing that doesn’t involve post-it note reminders and a good memory, that’s a good one too.
I had a situation last winter where guests were unable to make it, due to a snowstorm coming in much worse than was expected. I called Air, told them what the situation was & that I didn’t want to offer a refund. Instead, I would basically offer 2 nights gratis on a future stay. It was no problem, Air got their fees upfront, I was paid, & since I had it documented, when the guest re-booked, it went smoothly. It seems I had to do a “special offer”, though…
If she doesn’t ask for a refund, count yourself lucky & go about rejoicing!
I wouldn’t feel obligated to give a refund even if they asked.
For me the question is who should bear the burden of the brother’s alleged accident? You or the guest who could have purchased travel insurance (and maybe did!).
You’re going to need money for expenses, repairs, breakage, improvements, for a cushion in slow times, and on and on. Your listing was off the market from the day they made the reservation. You shouldn’t lose here.
If they do ask for a refund, the only thing I would consider is whether I’d refund the cleaning fee; I’d be inclined to do that if they cancel, and I’d be inclined to be proactive on that just because it feels like the right thing to do.
By the way, did they cancel the stay? If not, they could come back!
They did not request a refund, or cancel the stay. The reason I felt like refunding was just me sympathizing with her situation, but I hesitated because I didn’t 100% believe her. This is why I needed to get a more experienced host’s thoughts. I still have to clean after them because they did sit on the bed and used the pillows, and had some garbage.
I will wait and see if they request a refund. I really appreciate all the input. I will look over my listing and make sure it is absolutely clear and maybe put clearer language about the shared situation in the title somehow or in the first few sentences. Honestly, I don’t think people read things through very carefully.
You’re right, they don’t read through everything. It’s good to put “shared home with host” in the first part of the description, or by fiddling with the title, and in other “Other things to note”, say something like “Please be aware this an owner-occupied home. I give guests all the privacy they want, but am always on hand to assist when needed.”
I have a private room/private bath listing and share my kitchen and outdoor spaces with guests. Been hosting since 2016 and never had a guest arrive and be expecting otherwise.
I’m curious as to what areas are shared, since you say there will be little host/guest interaction beyond check-in.
Bingo, you’re learning already! People don’t read things in the listing. I make sure guests respond to my messages requesting they read the ENTIRE listing- some hosts even put “key/clue words” in their descriptions & ask the guest what that word is😂
You will see members of this forum referring to their “spidey sense”- aka gut instinct. Follow it!!!
It’s very rare that you would ever know for sure whether a guest is telling the truth about why they are leaving or wanting to cancel, so that can’t really be part of the equation. Of course, when confronted by a guest who seems distraught, it’s normal to feel sympathy for them, but for all you know, it could have been because she wanted to stay and he wanted to leave, or he booked the place assuming it was an entire private home, which they wanted, she asked why he didn’t pay attention to what he was booking, and he said, “Well, then I guess you should do the booking next time if you think you can do better, huh?”
You could come up with all kinds of imaginings about why she might have seemed upset, perhaps actually being worried about her brother, faking looking worried so it woukd seem believable, or something else, but as a host, you’ll never know, so best to just stick to cancellation policies for the most part.
I once had a guest decide to leave after 2 days of a 5 day booking, but I knew exactly why- she said it was nothing to do with me or my listing (we actually got along great, and went out for dinner together her first night). She just couldn’t handle the heat and humidity here at that time of year, not in my place, which stays cool, but walking into town and going to the beach. She decided to go on to Mexico City earlier, where she did have another booking.
She never asked for a refund, but I offered one, because bookings at that time of year are very rare for me, so I was surprised to have gotten that booking anyway. Had she decided to leave in the middle of my high season, when I could have gotten another booking had the dates been open, I wouldn’t have refunded.
YOU don’t offer or pay refunds. If a Guest wants a refund tell them to contact AirBnb. That’s what you pay Air their percentage for – arbitration as it were.
They don’t. My belief is they may read a paragraph or two, but more than that and they don’t have the attention span. Most potential guests check pictures, price, reviews, and might read a bit of the listing.
When you write, use the old rule of “Most important thing first”. Bullet lists are useful, and I also use messages and emails to put important things in bite-size pieces.
I’ve read the thread and since you are thinking there could be more clarity that you are there I wanted to add a suggestion. The one time I think guests do read is the first message you send after they book. Keep it short but in that message reconfirm the shared situation.
I have something like “….thanks for the booking. We will be back in touch closer to your arrival. Just a reminder that ( put your language here about being on site….)”.
I would never offer a future stay. No reason to give away sellable space and income, especially when unsure of the guest experience. Either refund or not. As for me, I would not. It is a tragedy, but not my tragedy.
Why? For me partly it’s because maintaining a property is typically expensive, with periodic big expenses like a new roof or plumbing, septic, electric, below-ground issues, appliance repairs/replacements, on and on. Aside from big-ticket items keeping a property looking ‘fresh’ can be expensive. YMMV.
Another part for me is who should bear the burden of loss. In the OP’s situation it’s the guest, not the Host.
And another part for me is that we’re a business not a charity.
I agree. I need to make sure with the first communication that they may be seeing me around the property and coming and going (I don’t use the downstairs at all while they are here, I have a kitchenette upstairs). I think I will make sure they know that before I even accept them.
