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Hello. Looking for some validation here. Guest booked on Thursday afternoon for this Friday and Saturday. Multiple questions , push for early check-in, very high-touch, also ‘family needs a break after a rough couple of weeks’, she’s new to airbnb it’s her first booking. My spidey sense says that this is going to be at minimum high maintenance. By Thursday night 11.56pm she messages to say that she has chills and fever, can she postpone the booking. 5 minutes past midnight she messages to say her son has just thrown up. I sympathize and suggest she postpones at which point she cancels the booking (without understanding the difference). Cue endless inevitable stream of ‘why aren’t I being fully reimbursed’, appeals to how they don’t have much money, etc. Tried working with customer service to get her booking pushed to a later date, but once she hit cancel… Its my policy to refund any days that are rebooked’ & I knocked myself out trying to secure a replacement booking (changed to same-day, lowered price), to no avail. And now I have customer service in my case sending me emails in caps chasing whether I’ll provide a full refund.
So. arguments in favor of (some) reimbursement: the family illness seems genuine; she cancelled within a very short period of booking; at that point on a Thursday afternoon there was probably a <50% chance of a weekend booking. Arguments against are, as we know: that I’m running a business; that apart from lost revenue I’ve probably spent 3-4 hours of time and energy on this booking (including hustling my cleaner to facilitate an early check in).
My lean is to refund one night as a gesture of goodwill.
My wife’s already annoyed that I’ve spent this much energy on this. Advice welcome.
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Update: ultimately I arranged for this guest to have credit towards a future stay. In this way , 1 I am guaranteed all revenue and in fact am paid in full now; 2 feels like a fair way to treat this particular situation, 3. Speedy resolution.
Not what everyone would’ve chosen , I appreciate all the advice.
She would be very happy to play by the rules if they favoured her. She booked a non-refundable reservation. I can’t understand why the money should come from your pocket rather than hers.
No refunds unless 1) you are glad to be out from under the booking and/or 2) the room is rebooked.
I just had a guest who took a lot of my time and that I was dreading. But I didn’t want to cancel so I just sucked it up and hoped the booking wouldn’t work out. It didn’t but instead of cancelling she amended her booking to one night and only stayed one night of the 3 booked. So there was no refund, I was just paid only 1 night instead of 3. I already got a replacement booking for the other two nights so all is well.
I’ve never really understood the goodwill thing. It doesn’t do the host any good. Goodwill doesn’t mean that the guest will recommend you to all and sundry—“oh, the host was so nice and refunded a night when we didn’t go.”
And you don’t want her as repeat business either so the goodwill only means losing money and gaining nothing.
Begging for a refund because she doesn’t have much money does her no favours - just tell her that you don’t have her money, Airbnb does, so take the matter up with them. Then move on, ignore Airbnb emails and forget all about her.
You’ve spent too much time and effort with this person already which makes you out of pocket anyway.
Big thanks and appreciation to this forum; always candid, perspicacious; usually funny; sometimes brutal. I always learn a lot from the contributors who work to make this useful and current.
Thank you, fellow hosts
Wishing you a successful and drama-free 2025 of hosting.
I understand the goodwill thing, what I don’t understand is goodwill towards guests who are entitled, demanding PITAs.
The nature of goodwill to me means you do something because it feels right, not because it does me any good. It’s an unselfish act.
I once refunded 2 nights to a guest who had booked 5 nights, and stayed for 3. She had booked at a time of year here when it is super hot and humid and I never get bookings so I was surprised to get that booking to start with. She hadn’t researched the temps here (and it’s sometimes hard to imagine what it would actually feel like with the humidity factor- the “feels like” factor here can be 96 degrees when the temp reading is 86), and she couldn’t handle the heat. She was comfortable at my place, I have good fans, but it’s a 20 minute walk to town and the beach and she didn’t come on vacation to sit in her room.
So she said she was going to cut her stay here short and move on to Mexico City, where it was cooler and she already had made a booking for after her 5 days here.
She had been a very pleasant guest and did not ask for a refund, I offered it. Because I never get bookings that time of year, her reservation hadn’t kept me from getting other bookings, so it didn’t really hurt me, other than 2 nights’ rent to show goodwill.
I also offered 2 other guests to refund the first night of their 10 night bookings when they missed the first night due to flight cancellations and overbooking. Both of those guests declined that offer, saying no way- they didn’t want me to take a loss for something that wasn’t my fault.
But guests who cancel close to check-in date during my high season, when I almost certainly could have gotten bookings had they cancelled earlier, I don’t feel any goodwill towards as far as refunding beyond the refund they get under my moderate policy. Nor would I feel goodwill towards a guest if they were stroppy about that refund, demanding or trying to guilt me into refunding more.
Yes, this guest is definitely someone I wouldn’t feel any goodwill towards. Detailing some sickness, their personal finances, etc., as a prelude to expecting a full refund is manipulative- it’s designed to try to guilt the host into refunding. And messaging or calling after midnight for something that isn’t an emergency is never acceptable. (With the exception of a guest in a different time zone sending a request or inquiry. I also turn off my ringer when I go to bed and respond in the morning)
Refunding an entitled, demanding, disrespectful guest beyond the parameters of the cancellation policy isn’t goodwill, it’s rewarding poor behavior.
I have to say thanks to you, icenisf, for using the word “perspicacious” - it’s made me laugh at my own ignorance.
Over the years a friend of mine has occasionally used the word, usually when we’re pissed and having a ball, and I’ve always dismissed it as a word that she’s making up (she’s slightly dyslexic and will often mispronounce words or put the enfarsis on the wrong sillarble) but when I saw it on your post I looked it up and saw that it’s a real word that I’ve never known except in drunken conversation, so thanks.
BTW it sounds to me like you’ve been kind and also had a lucky escape.
I see her messaging as soon as she sees there is an issue as a good thing- even if that happens at midnight. She texted- not rang -which is less intrusive & her 1st thought was postponing- but then a vomiting child & aware a trip is a redundant idea! Unless the trip is special/ expensive I dont usually take out insurance for just a couple of nights away & take my chances or purchase something refundable. She had a non refundable booking, so she knew the risk but at last minute probably thought would be fine. But these bugs can come with little warning- bad luck they got a winter bug when they did. As she booked last minute when you didn’t have another booking, if you decide you can financially afford to give some extra grace & refund something- why not? (grace is an undeserved gift & its nice to extend when / if you can.) If you can’t, don’t -& don’t sweat over it.
