Would you give a refund (or partial refund) in this situation?

Declining a refund (in accordance with published cancellation policy) IS professional.

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It’s too long and detailed! Obviously RiverRockRetreat’s cruise ship review is the best :joy: but I would go with a combination of MissSwan’s and PitonView’s suggestions. Something like this, maybe?

“I cannot recommend Betsy. Although the house was left in good condition [was it??] she spent her one night generating 24 petty and dubious complaints and would not accept/ be happy with any help provided.”

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I understand. How much refund would you give?

Anyone can come up with a long list I think. And if that’s their goal, I would say they did a pretty poor job. But I guess if you think the length of it means something then maybe an air bnb representative would too…

No I’m just at my wits’ end and feels like a hostage to the reviews. I do everything in my power to make them happy but still at the end I fail.

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It’s hypothetical. I think she knows the game too well to do that.

Let me clarify, I meant YOU should document her (verbal?) extortion threat on the Airbnb platform, to start laying the groundwork for your case to Airbnb. Also, it occurred to me – do you have fireplaces in your cabin? Easy for fabrics to absorb that smoky odor also. Don’t be so quick to roll over and assume your cleaning people failed to do something correctly.

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I already did something similar with another guest (different cabin) and documented the conversation we had on the phone where he CLEARLY threatened me with a whole lot more than just a bad review. but they still wouldn’t remove the review.

And as a host this guest from hell knows that. Which is why I record phone calls when Air guests call to complain, and tell them that complaints need to be made on the Air platform. If I think I’m going to get threats of retaliatory reviews in person from a guest I would start recording the conversation with my phone (one party consent is legal for recording in my state).

But you still need to go to the message platform and document it. The next customer disservice person you get might actually be one that can do something.

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My cleaning fee is $250 and not an issue. Not high for the size of the house.

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…or let them THINK you are recording it. Sorry folks, but I never imagined I would need this. But BS baffles brains.

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People should be aware of illegal wiretapping laws in their states and the state in which the guest resides could be germane.

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations

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Yes, but one party consent for recording is legal in my state, so clandestine recording is possible.

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Well, if your guest is from any of these states, as @KKC notes, you could be facing civil or criminal charges for not getting permission to record your conversation with a resident of their state:

California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington

The above states take the right to privacy seriously and you could find yourself on the wrong end of hefty fines or a conviction if you wiretap a guest. See p. 12 of the Reporter’s Recording Guide, on “Interstate Phone Calls.”

It depends on where they are when I’m talking to them. If they’re still in Alaska, no problem.

Possible yes. Without risk, no because…

Airbnb might take a different view if a guest complained.

I’m a big fan of hosts having exterior cameras. But when hosts start talking about listening in on convos regularly via the Ring doorbell cam or recording phone calls without prior disclosure I get itchy. I suppose its a shoe on the other foot thing. I wouldn’t like it if I later found a guest had recorded all our conversations without telling me.

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I personally would not care of a guest recorded out convos because I wouldn’t be doing anything it saying anything unprofessional. I realize I might be in the minority opinion though.

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It’s like the Miranda warning says, “anything you say can and will be used against you.” LOL. I just don’t like it. The proliferation of recording devices everywhere, like cameras, probably means we can kiss that aspect of privacy goodbye soon enough but for now, I don’t like it without disclosure.

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This proves again, superhost are the worst guest.
A superhost badge is a red flag, always avoid.

Sorry for the few exceptions, but the majority of superhost are trouble.

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Well I do not think you will get banned.
“Worst” thing that could happen is that both reviews get removed.

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But that’s her “perception.” We can’t take
It down, says Airbnb…lol