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Hi guys (sorry for the long post in advanceš„²)
I need your advice for this.
I got a request for reservation on Oct 19-Nov 1 (13 nights). After some convo with the guest, I got booked on Aug 15 and gave them my direct contact.
Fast forward to Sep 18, I got a message (via direct contact) asked if our listing has TV for their kids. I said no (already stated very clearly in the amenity list). He was pretty concerned and ask if he can cancel. I told that he can but it could be complicated (strict cancellation). Then, he started to use infamous trick of postponing the stay. I was skeptical. So, I suggested him to rebook and negotiate the refund for this booking instead. He canceled his alteration and directly asked me if I can cancel for him and heās willing to give us some money for our time. I didnāt wanna risk the penalty so I politely rejected with host cancellation policy attached. We havenāt had any convo since then.
My question is
Will he get the full refund if I accepted his alteration? (Itās already more than 30 days.)
How can I protect myself from false accusations/ bad reviews during and after their stay?
Heās canceled the alteration so thatās a moot point. Unfortunately attempts to get any negative review removed will depend on who you reach at Airbnb to request it. If his review lists anything blatantly untrue you might be able to do so. If he comes you might consider alternative ways to make their stay wonderful. Depending on the age of the kids you could put a DVD player in with some kid DVDs that are available at libraries and cheap secondhand. Or even do a 14 trial of a kid channel. Any other available games and activities for kids will be helpful to the adults. I urge you to get your communication back on the Airbnb message thread and to save any communication on text or email that you have received otherwise.
1.Cancellation policies for your listing - Airbnb Help Centre)
2. You canāt
3. Donāt keep communicating with the guest off platform. As Airbnb says keep all correspondence on their platform so there is a record. Just be clear with the guest if they want to cancel they need to do so with airbnb in line with the cancellation policy they booked under. No other communication is necessary.
I understand that my strict cancellation has 48-hr window full refund if itās more than 30 days before the stay date. But will he get another 48-hr window if I accepted his alteration?
Yesā¦thatās a trick that guests have deployed when they want to cancel without any penalty to them, to circumvent the āstrictā policy in place.
As for them leaving you a negative review because of no TV, thereās nothing you can do unless you want to put one in. If itās possible for you to add one, then maybe itās something you should give more consideration, especially if you cater to families.
The suggestion of a DVD player with some movies was a good one.
To help protect yourself from false accusations, you need to film everything in the property. Your video needs to show the condition of the property, what items are there etc
Iāve had guests try to say that we never left them any towelsā¦ Well when you can produce a video, which clearly shows that they were left with two towels guess who comes out on top? Loool
In general I take pics and video of
The ceiling, walls and floor of each room
Make sure that all electrical items e.g. Lights, TV etc are either on, or switch them on to demonstrate they work in your video
All furniture, beds etc. Show that bedding is clean, bed frame is not damaged etc
Bathroom items - show all the items you left for the guest e.g. Toilet paper, body wash etc
The toilet and shower to show that itās spotless and operational.
Pots, pans, cutlery, plates etc. Make sure vid shows that all kitchen items are clean and the number of items left
Kitchen appliances to show that they are clean and operational
If any items have a defect, document this as well.
When the guest arrives, I ask them to contact me if they have any issues or problems at the property.
And during the stay, i like to message the guest to ask whether all is well.
99% of guests will confirm that all is well and that they are happy.
You can use this along with the video, in case they try to make things up later.
Wow! That sounds like a lot of work to video before each guest, though I suppose if you did this before each guest then it would just become part of the routine. Have you had many experiences of guests making claims about things not working or items not being present?
Why? Guests are given the hostās phone number when their booking is confirmed, itās on their booking, thereās no need to give it to them.
You should try to keep all communication on the Airbnb messaging, if possible, so there is documentation should any issue or conflict arise.
Phone calls, texts, whatsapp, are fine for certain situations, like if the guest just calls to say they are running late and will arrive later than the ETA they gave, stuff like that. And sometimes elderly guests arenāt good with online communication, and will want to use the phone rather than Airbnb messaging, but in that case, you should back up anything significant that was discussed with an Airbnb message- āJust to recap our phone conversation yesterdayā¦ā
And of course, if the plumbing springs a leak or some other emergency situation, a phone call is to be expected and welcomed before it escalates into a bigger disaster, but that, too, should be backed up with an Airbnb message once you deal with the emergency.
Hosts have had bad guests claim that the host never addressed their concerns, so you really want to have a written record that you have. Airbnb isnāt going to just believe you if you say you answered every phone call the guest made and responded to the issues.
You should try to keep all communication on the Airbnb messaging, if possible, so there is dicumentation
I guessed I just try to be considerate at the time cus his wife is from my country and I thought using other messaging platform would be convenient for both of us. But lesson learned now.
May I as well ask you guys @ if the convo from other platforms could be used as proof for anything that might occur? (not just for this case)
Thank you so much for your suggestions!
Iām planning to contact him again for the confirmation and prepare some sort of board games and coloring books for them hoping it entertain the kids a bit (and ease the tension they may have prior with us too )
If itās possible for you to add one, then maybe itās something you should give more consideration, especially if you cater to families
Having guests as family is very rare for us, and weāre not located in sightseeing spots like many listings. My house is normally rented as individual rooms by small group of adults that come to have surgery at a famous international hospital nearby. This family wants our whole house as they need privacy and for the wife to go back and forth to hospital easily. But they just started worrying about how to entertain the kids during those time and found out we have no TV providedā¦
I have read posts where hosts said Airbnb accepted their screenshots of text messages and whatsapp messages, but I certainly wouldnāt rely on it. Like anything where you have to deal with Airbnb customer service, it depends a lot on the rep who handles the case.
I do understand about some guests being used to using whatsapp, etc.- I live in Mexico and many Mexicans only communicate that way. But as I said above, if thatās the case, follow it up with an Airbnb message outlining the convo that took place unless itās just something totally trivial. I admit I sometimes use texting, whatsapp, or phone calls when a guest is in residence without any further documentation, but as they are living in my home with me, I can get a good sense of whether I need to be on guard with them.
We have no TV. What I would have done is sign up for a free trial of Hulu or Disney or something, and ask if they can bring a laptop to stream it on. This assumes you have good WiFi of course. Even if it cost a few bucks to me it would be worth it to have happy guests.
Yes the guests made a goof. But I travel a lot, and I make mistakes like that sometimes too.
Why not provide a television? Are you in a remote area without television service? If guests are in the area for medical treatment, Iād think a television would be great distraction. What am I missing? Once I determined several guests were staying in my place for post-op at nearby hospitals, I immediately purchased a reclining chair that is much appreciated by the guests.
Iāve never provided a TV in six years of hosting and itās never been an issue. My guests just watch TV and films on their laptops if they canāt survive without it.
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