Shower leak issue while guests are staying; what should I do

[Sepand0]

I've been renting out my whole house for the past 2 months. So this is solely a property being used for AirBnB guests and I don't stay there myself. And it's a nice place and the rent isn't cheap, so guests rightly expect everything to go well and the property to be nice.

A couple of weeks ago I saw that the ceiling which is under the top floor shower is bubbling up. Luckily I didn't have guests for 4 days so I Got someone to open it up. We couldn't really find the cause of the problem but thought maybe we had figured it out, addressed the issue, and patched it all up again. Then my last guest reported two days ago that there were drops of water leaking from under the shower! Oh no! And oh no, because she left today and the next guest checked in today, and they're staying here for a month and a half! The family actually lives in the area but are doing renovation on their own house. They saw my place a few months ago and had made their reservation since June.

Now I told them that obviously they can't use the shower anymore. There's one more shower but it's in the basement. Luckily they're only a family of 3 but still, they weren't too happy with the situation, and rightfully so (the son even said very loud and clear "so you're saying we can only use one shower between the 3 of us?", which was a bit too much but still).

Anyways, I told them I'll get a crew to fix it but this is a major job and will take several days. A crew of two or three will have to come and gut the ceiling, fix the pipes (if hopefully they can find the issue), put it back together, paint, etc. That'll take two days. Thankfully the guests are not there during the day and I can ask the repair crew to clean up before they leave so the guests can go about the house as they wish.

But what else should I do? I told them I'll give them a discount on the rate. Haven't figured out how much but I think it's only right, even though airbnb doesn't force me to do such a thing.

The other issue is that if the problem is bigger and coming from the shower itself, then the bathroom has to be gutted and that's a week's work and much more invasive! What then???

[Sharon114]

Tricky situation.  However, I have to wonder why a shower between 3 people is such a huge issue.  We rent 2 rooms in our own home and just this week have developed a leak which is coming into our kitchen.  We know that is is coming from a particular shower, not in the shower itself but in some pipework coming from it.  We are fully booked as it is a very busy time in Lincoln.  We have had to remove some of the ceiling at one end of our kitchen to try and determine where the leak is coming from and, I have to say, that our guests have been brilliant.  They are still able to use the shower even though we are putting down towels to mop up the leak.  Everyone has been so understanding and we have contacted guests arriving in the next few days to tell them of the situation (their rooms are not effected) and again, they have been very understanding.  I guess that we are lucky in that our guests are sympathetic and understanding of our situtation and are glad that we have not panicked and cancelled.  Obviously if we have a flood of biblical proportions we may have to rethink.  It seems to me that your guests are not in the category of 'understanding'.

They do have the option of cancelling with you (do not cancel or you will be penalised by airbnb) if they are unhappy but hopefully they will work with you and understand your difficulties.  If the problem is more extensive than you originally anticipated and it is going to cause serious problems I would suggest that you contact airbnb and explain your situation.  They should be able to find alternative accommodation for your guests, hopefully without penalty to you.  Sorry for rambling.

[Sandra126]

If they are there for a month and a half, offer them to stay elsewhere for a week and get it fixed. Full refund. Or, offer them to stay for the week, no charge, whilst the workers gut the bathroom. My sympathies, you poor thing!

[Annette33]

there is good will on both sides, an excellent starting point! realizing that an alternative shower in the basement is rather inconvenient, and even though they may be gone during the day time, there will be upheaval in the place they are renting, so a nice refund - or free stay during that week -  is in order. Why not ask them what they would be happy with? You might be surprised, they may ask for less than you are actually willing to comp, and they will feel that they had a say so in the matter. I always did it that way with my customers in retail when a sticky situation came up, and it worked like a charm.
One thing at a time, work with the imminent situation first, then adjust to the evolving situation as needed. Good luck! I think it's great that you are such a responsible host!

[Sepand0]

Thanks for the input. 

And I ran some tests today and looks like the entire shower might have to be gutted, even though the entire bathroom and shower are newly renovated (only 3 months ago I gutted the whole thing and put a designer bathroom in there). Looks like the subcontractors might have done a bad job with the membrane/lining, I don't know. But that's a week's job and a loud one, and quite a messy one too.

I *might* be able to do a patchwork job and basically silicone any place I might think the water's going down in. That's a temporary job, and takes an hour, but it might work. I think I'll do that, and once the guests leave fix it properly.

But if it doesn't work, then I think I'll give the guests a couple of options: use the shower in the basement for their entire stay until mid-October and get a discount on the rate, or live with the construction and water shut down and the noise and dust for a week for free. My guy who will fix this says they'll close the bathroom door as to minimize the noise and dust level, but still, I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of my guests. IN this case I'll offer a bigger discount. I wouldn't give it for free, but I would give a substantial discount.

Headache eitherway. For @)(%)(@% sake.