I had a couple of very high-maintenance guests here this weekend. Long story short, they wanted to extend their stay by one day; and against my better judgment, I allowed it. Unfortunately, I neglected to change the smart lock settings to allow them access for an additional day. They tried for two hours between midnight and 2:00 a.m. to get in until they finally called me, and I was unable to unlock the door from my phone. Ugggh. My question: do I refund them one day or their entire 3-day trip? Thanks for your thoughts!
Depends on how much they paid for the night. If it was under $100, yes I would refund one night. If it’s in the hundreds then I would do a percentage of a one night stay or walk over with a bottle of wine and a box of pastries and apologize in person. Although I would not admit forgetting to change the smart lock settings. I would simply tell them that it was a glitch.
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ASAP purchase a smart lock that works with good software. Your software should automatically sync to airbnb scheduling, and also allow remote access. For my airbnb, I would have simply received their request for an alteration, and when accepted, the lock is automatically changed.
There are many threads here about lock systems that are easy to use. The locks I use are by RemoteLock, and their software, but there are others that work well.
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I’m sorry but that’s a terrible approach to running a business. When you make a mistake you should own it. Not lie.
Can you imagine what it’s like to be locked out in the early hours of the morning with your possessions inside . @Ritz3
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Could you explain why it was against your better judgment? I rarely give refunds but in this case, I agree with @Ritz - apologise in person and give them wine/pastries.
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What does that even mean? Did they stand there punching numbers for two hours? I did the same thing and the guest tried like three times before they messaged me.
It sounds to me like the error is on you… but the two hours is on them. You owe them a ten-minute (or however long it took you to fix it) apology, not a two-hour apology
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I think this is excellent advice, but it seems to be outside of this situation where the host just forgot to reset the code for the extra day
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I have a key in a lockbox for emergency back up.
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I know they tried for two hours to get in because I checked the log on the smart log. I can’t explain why they persisted so long…but persist they did. Based on my experience with them earlier, they were not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Regardless, it was my error entirely, and I was just wondering how much to refund them. I decided to refund one night’s stay.
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I purchased a smart lock that was supposed to work with Airbnb…but then it stopped communicating with Airbnb. I posted some time ago about my problem, and nobody else seemed to be experiencing what I did. I tried to resolve it with Airbnb and August; and when I couldn’t get a solution, I just manually did it myself. My system worked fine…until it didn’t last night. I will certainly make changes to insure it never happens again.
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They were just stressful guests: terrible communications, didn’t read any pre check-in instructions, etc. My better judgment just wanted them to be gone. Regardless, their two-hour ordeal trying to repeatedly punch numbers into the lock’s keypad is entirely my mess up, and I want to make it up to them in some way. That two-hour stint with the lock exactly mimics the rest of their decision making this past weekend in my Airbnb on everything from driving directions to use of heat and AC.
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What brand lock and software was it? Tell us here so that others with the same lock and software are warned…
August. But as I noted, others don’t seem to share my experience. I intend to revisit it, though, so this will never happen again!
I learned from Airbnb’s customer service. Any time I had issues with their platform the rep would apologize and say it was a glitch.
So now I do the same, especially since all communication between guest and host is through the platform. I would hate to admit it was my fault on the platform’s messages and then have Airbnb use that against me and refund the entire stay.
But if you didn’t give the guest access to the apartment and then couldn’t sort out access to the accommodation for the final night when they called to report the problem then the guest would be entitled to a refund for the extra night
Clearly the guest wouldn’t be entitled to a refund for the full stay.
Yes, that’s true but when we’re dealing with Airbnb sometimes what we think is logical doesn’t apply. Of course, it all depends on the rep one gets.
You mentioned the water heater.
I used to be on the board of an HOA. The Board noted MANY incidents of hot water heaters eventually failing after ten or so years resulting in substantial water damage to the owners’ unit and any property below. Usually the water pans and drains are just not able to handle a sudden catastrophic leak (a slow leak, yes).
So the Board recommended that owners replace their traditional water heaters after ten or so years or the applicable useful life for their system. Another reason to get a tankless water heater in my view.
I also discovered that there is annual maintenance recommended for water heaters, worth Googling.
I’ll delete this comment and put it in the other thread where it’s more appropriate.
Yes. And I discovered some years ago that the plumbing company who installed this one probably set it up so that would be difficult for me to do. In any case by the first time I looked into doing it the pressure relief valve on the top was already dysfunctional. It was already corroded and I didn’t want to chance seeing if there was a nut on top I could loosen. The place where there’s an outlet on the side near the top where the inlet is sometimes installed has a plug that I need a special tool to remove. Anyway when I attached a hose, I couldn’t get it to drain, even when opening a faucet.
Maybe it’s not the plumber but I had a problem with them on another issue a few years ago so I won’t be calling them again.
I was already mentally prepping for replacing this one, I was trying to wait until fall when I wasn’t so busy with dogs. I should have done it in early August but it was not and my AC needs water to run and I figured they would have to have the main valve off for at least some part of the replacement. Excuses, excuses. Anyway, I knew everything I needed to know and still ended up here.
At least I knew enough to keep an eye on the thing so I didn’t have a big flood.
As for a tankless unit, I’m don’t think it will be cost effective for my home and my situation. Even though my gas line is apparently sufficient the last 3 plumbers I’ve asked about it don’t seem interested in installing one.
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??? So because Airbnb’s customer service refuses to take responsibility for their incompetence, that is a good attitude to emulate?
@eileenfeim They couldn’t get in due to your error. They deserve that night’s refund, IMO, but certainly not a refund for the entire stay.