Guest wants the stay post cancellation

[Tanya43]

I need your advice on how to tackle a particular guest.  I am a super host and my policy is strict.

Basically my vacation rental is in an extremely popular spot in India and we have high season in summers as well as winters.

In Feb 2019, I had received a request for the Easter weekend, which I accepted.

The guest on April 13 (4 days before the check in) sent a date alteration request for June, which I found cheeky. As this way he would have avoided the cancellation charges and also June being  the peak season  (100% occupancy throughout). I declined the request and explained him my reason.

Then the guest’s wife called me saying they can’t come on the Easter dates. I said I can’t do anything about it, being the Easter weekend and its too short a notice to cancel.  They wouldn’t have got the booking amount back barring the cleaning fee.

I offered to adjust them during the off season month of July and August 2019. I sent it on email as they wanted in writing which I realised later . I also made it clear that the Indian Independence Day long weekend will be blacked out (August)  and I won’t give them the house on that peak weekend. 
I added a second condition being that if  if the house is empty and I have no prior bookings.

In July I hear back from the guest saying  want to come on the  Independence Day Long WEEKEND. The very weekend I said I won’t give the house and wrote in the first line of the email. I of course refused.

Today I get a message  from the guest after 4-5 months, that their stay is pending and they want to come in December (again peak season). I said no as the offer was only for July and August 2019.

Then they tell me that I should have informed them about the free dates. I replied back saying its not my job and neither did I say that in the email. Now they are accusing me of being unethical and saying stuff like, we live in the same city, you should consider your reputation etc. I got pissed and politely told them that even a non-refundable hotel doesnt do adjustments and as a courtesy I  offered to adjust their stay in Aug/July, which they didn’t follow up or pick the dates. It’s not my job to keep them updated about my calendar which they could have seen on Airbnb. 

How do I explain to the guest? Do I tell them to speak to airbnb or just ignore them? I do have a webpage independently and I do not want to be badmouthed on social media. But I also don’t appreciate how these guys have taken all this for granted.

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

Well, you were gracious to consider allowing the guests to make up for the stay at another date. It's unfortunate there was a misunderstanding about which replacement dates you were offering.  Not all guests know where to look on the Airbnb listing for the calendar.   

I understand the guest asked you to communicate via email instead of using the Aribnb platform message system, but that's not wise. Don't make that mistake again.   I'd make a record of what you told the guest by reiterating your message on the Airbnb platform now.  Keep the message brief, polite, and professional (smile while you're typing!)  Then the Airbnb support team can see what transpired if you need them to become involved at a later date.

No need to communicate anything further with the guest by phone or email.   Since they became upset and made a veiled threat about your reputation, they are now too much of a risk to host.  I would not offer them any dates in the next season. I wouldn't trust them in your property. 

Also, they mentioned they are in the same city. Is that true?  If so, then that could be a problem. Watch your back.  If they respond to you on the Airbnb message thread and repeat the threat, then block them and involve Airbnb support.  Most likely, they will not follow through on social media or pursue this further. If they do, address the issue then, but not privately. Make sure you have witnesses to any future communication with this guest

Oh,  I took a look at your listing!. What a beautiful place!  Wonderful reviews too!  Wish I was planning a trip to India!

[Tanya43]

Thank you for your input. 

Since Airbnb shares my number post the booking, the guest has been communicating on What’s App. 

I did tell the guest they need to message me their dates In either July or August  and I would get them back on the availability. 

They only contacted me once before for the long weekend in August (the very  dates Which I said will be reserved for a fresh booking in the email itself ) 

My rental has an independent website with the calendar pop up. So the guest had the option to check on that webpage and they had that information. 

We both live in the same city but the rental is in some other part of country . I found it very upsetting when they started mentioning “we are not outsiders” “consider your reputation” “you don’t have ethics”. 

All these messages are coming on my private number on what’s app. 

I have now developed a thick skin as  I have faced a lot of harassment in the beginning as a woman. Once I refused a booking and that guest turned out to be running some online clean up reputation company. He started posting stuff like that I kidnapped him and ran a prostitution racket! We tracked him down and sent a legal notice. Another guest started writing online that my house is haunted ! It’s actually an award winning house and we even got featured in Vogue, Architectural Digest etc.

so I have dealt with crazies before  but my concern here is that they have my private number. Also I realised yesterday that they never cancelled the booking on Airbnb. I don’t know why. 

If a guest doesn’t show up last minute or can’t check in, do you offer an extension or something similar ?

I didn’t want to refund because it was a long weekend which they blocked from Feb onwards. I had turned down a lot of bookings independently as these guys were booked through Airbnb. 

[Tanya43]

Thank you for appreciating the house :). Hope to host you one day. 

[Sarah977]

@Tanya43  Block their number on your phone so they can't call or text you anymore. Block their email address if you've been exchanging emails using your real email addresses rather than the coded ones Airbnb assigns. Tell them you will only communicate with them via the Airbnb messaging going forward. 

Honestly, I'd just refund them and get them out of your life. Chalk it up to the cost of doing business. I can't imagine wanting to host these people in the future- they'll almost certainly be a horror show, complain about everything and leave you a bad review.

[Tanya43]

Thank you for the blocking suggestion. I think if they communicate again I will tell them to message on Airbnb as that’s where the booking was made. Not on my personal platform. 

But why should I give refund ? Those were my prime dates and why should I lose money ?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Tanya43  listen to @Sarah977  she is an experienced host and a wise woman 🙂

I wouldn't host guests who want to cancel and get a refund. If you don't refund them they can come, trash your place, throw a party, give you nasty review and low rating....or they can check-in, stay at your place and later came up with some lies about wifi not working, your place was dirty and get a refund from Airbnb. It would cost you much more than giving them a refund.

If that's a holiday weekend and the interest is high you are likely to get another booking with better guests. Or you can enjoy a free time yourself 🙂

[Tanya43]

Hi 

The booking was for April 2019 around the Easter weekend. They didn’t show up and didn’t cancel the booking on Airbnb. I as a courtesy offered them a stay in July and August on the condition that I have no previous bookings and I won’t give it to them on the August Long weekend. 

So technically I don’t  even own them a stay as they didn’t show up for their booking and didn’t even cancel. 

They didn’t contact me all this time and yesterday messaged that they want to stay for free in December as they missed their previous stay. 

I told them no, as I thought even offering them a free stay in July or August 2019 for the one they missed was fair on my part. Initially they agreeded and understood that the stay will be redeemed in either August or July 2019. But I only heard from them once when they wanted to stay on the August Ling Weekend (the one I told I won’t give to them). And yesterday they messaged me that they want to stay in December as their stay is pending. 

[Alexandra316]

@Tanya43 I agree that you don't owe them anything. They held your calendar open by not cancelling: I would tell them that you gave them an opportunity to rebook (which was generous under the circumstances) and they missed it. I would tell them that, in a nicer way.