I’m new at this and finding that the Airbnb system really slants towards guests, who become more demanding asking for things they would never ask in a hotel… (one wanted me to pay her parking ticket!)…
What would reasonable compensation be for internet trouble during a stay, slow and needing to reboot very frequently.
I proposed a refund to the guest if she wanted to leave or a discount and she didn’t want either she just wants it fixed - but I am not an internet engineer and I am not there so what can I do? What would be reasonable compensation. Guest seems friendly is not asking for money but complaining a lot although I have visibly spend hours - days - with client support trying to get this fixed would have preferred to reimburse her and she leaves.
No compensation. I had this very situation just a couple of weeks ago. The internet problem was not caused by us but by the internet provider. I’m not going to lose out because of their issues.
I think you first need to get it fixed to figure out compensation. I disagree with Jaquo, I think some discount would be in order. May avoid a negative review. Maybe 10-20% discount off days internet was not working.
Wow I would never take that attitude with an airbnb client who can ruin me in one click of his 2 star review…
It has always worked for me 
I don’t understand why I should compensate a guest for a problem that’s beyond my control. I also think that no reasonable person would expect it.
Truly, it’s not a problem. If anything, the opposite applies. Once the guest knows that the problem is beyond your control and that you’ve tried your best for them, that’s likely to result in a good review because you’ve been helpful.
You could have provided them with a dongle or similar so they could have had internet access, as soon as you knew the internet was going to be out for a few days.
Have a look at costs for one for the rest of their stay and offer to refund this amount for the duration of their stay and a bottle of wine or chocolates, if you can’t get there in person.
I agree with Brandt that it depends on the problem. If the problem is in your control then a discount is in order. If I choose a listing that says “fast wifi” like mine does, and then there is no fast wifi because the 5 year old router I bought is malfunctioning then I’d give a refund. I pay for Spectrum high speeds and I have their router and their maintenance plan so I’d assume internet troubles are their fault. But I can see situations where it’s my fault.
Not my circus, not my monkeys! NO COMPENSATION! You didn’t build the router, or run the fiber optics or anything else. It’s not your fault.
I had a 4 four power outage the other day. Did I compensate the guests? No. They had their showers and got coffee made before the outage. It was day time in Florida – who needs power on a chilly 75F day??
The “slow, needing to reboot frequently” could be caused by her computer, not the Wifi. It depends of the OS, most recent update, or even Windows forcing an update while you’re doing things.
My ISP doesn’t reduce my rate if the WiFi is down for a day.
No “…airbnb client who can ruin me in one click of his 2 star reviews” That’s absolute trash!
Thanks so much for your answers. Here is what Airbnbn replies.
I’m gobsmacked.
—-—
I hope that all is well with you today. My name is John from Airbnb. I am going to assist you with the concern you raised.
I see that there is an amenity issue with the Internet and you will not be able to fix this for the time being. Though this may be considered as a Hosting Standard Violation, I truly understand that this wasn’t your fault, and it is out of your control.
If we are to based in on our refund guidelines for an amenity issue, and the guest is still staying to your place, a guest is entitled for 50% refund for the nights affected.
SIncerely,
Joh
Half price for one amenity missing? Well I guess I know how to get a substantial discount on my next Airbnb stay then.
I obviously did propose to pay for hotspot access or extra 4g on their phones. They weren’t interested.
I tried to find an emergency router it would take 3 days plus hassle.
What is a ‘dongle’?
Funnily enough our internet went down over the weekend and we had guests arriving on Sunday. They had made a specific enquiry in respect of internet before they booked, as in did we have it and was it free, even though it is in the listing.
Fortunately, by the time they arrived we were back on and I’d managed to reset all the bits and bobs for the ground floor access.
If it hadn’t been back, we have a mobile internet stick which works as a WiFi hotspot as a back up. A lot of our guests are from US/Canada and don’t buy local SIMs therefore need internet access to avoid roaming charges.
We haven’t had to use it yet, but given how shaky our internet connection is I’m sure we will at some point.
All it needs is a data SIM, in fact any SIM with a data plan.
We’ve stayed as guests in quite a few properties where one of these was the normal internet access. They work fine as long as you don’t allow one of your daughters to stream movies in her bedroom till 4am and use up the complete data allowance!!!
JF
It does. It’s a standalone mobile internet device.
Basically, it works in a similar manner to setting a hotspot on a phone. It emits an SSID which users log on to using the password you set.
Works with all devices, laptops, phones and tablets. It’s powered via a micro USB connection, I just used a spare phone charger when I tested ours.
JF
I had the situation where the internet provider went down and the guest complained they couldn’t watch Netflix. It was totally out of my control but Airbnb refunded them $50 of my money - for not being able to watch Netflix. A pretty serious first world problem.
Did you make arrangements for a tech. from the internet provider to come and fix it?. We had issues and called support. They sent someone out the next day. We said it was urgent because it was business not personal use so they made it a priority and sent someone out the next day.
Just a warning on these hotspots, if they throttle down from 4G or LTE, they are basically unuseable. So make sure you have a ton of data. Or unlimited.
I’ve had several guests where the internet ‘problem’ has simply been the guest being unable to operate their devices properly. I had one quite recently who complained like hell about the lack of internet. After a lot of back and forth, she said ‘I don’t see why I’ve got to put in a password. I shouldn’t have to do that’. Um…
Note that this particular guest said that she had to get immediate internet access to do some work. When I had fixed her ‘problem’ (i.e. logged on with the password!) I saw her lounging outside and chatting to her friends on Facebook. That was what was so urgent.
Apart from scrubbing toilets and so on to prepare for guests, and fixing their computer ‘problems’, all my work is done online. I’m the first to get annoyed if the internet is down. But when it’s the fault of the provider, there’s nothing you personally can do.
But if the internet is down, I can use the personal hotspot from my phone. Can’t guests do that???
wait are you serious arbnb can refund them from your money without asking you? can you tell me more about how that happened?
I just had a guest who couldn’t connect to our WiFi.
Luckily she didn’t mind because she had her phone and was out to sightsee anyway. I guess it goes both ways.
People don’t realize how nice it is to "disconnect " for a few days unless they need it for work etc…