Guest Complaint - Disclosed in Listing - Advice Needed

[Andrew Simms]

Hi all - our mountain cabin is in a spot where that is severely lacking for internet options and cell signal. We disclose this in our listing as seen below:

From our listing:
Internet is provided; however, it is spotty (downtime to be expected and oftentimes completely out) (Starlink internet expected late 2022). With 1 MB download speeds, the Bearfoot Retreat is not currently suitable for those hoping to work remotely, but why would you want to on vacation? Cell phone service can be spotty depending on provider (1-2 bars).

Guests (who is also a host) got there late yesterday evening for a 6-day stay. At 11:30 PM, they message us through the app to inform us the place is beautiful but a major issue that they are not how they missed was the lack of internet and cell signal which is crucial for their work. A couple of other things to note: here on a mini vacation but need to be accessible, there also to visit mother and ill husband. 

We were asleep so the message didn't wake us up; however, the call from Airbnb at 12:15 AM did wake me up. The guest is looking for a refund due to lack of internet which they acknowledge missing in the listing. 

Since then, we have touched base and they are booking a different place (not sure how they found a suitable one at this time). They said, they've obviously stayed one night and we'll need cleaning service as well. So not looking for a full refund, but anything you can do to offset the 5 of 6 nights would be helpful. 

I did not hear from him until around 11:30 today which would be after checkout time, so I would say you are on to Night 2. I have sent a message with our offer, but looking to my BP friends to weigh in on how they would handle it.

Thanks in advance! 

[Mark Miles]

Quote from @Andrew Simms:

Hi all - our mountain cabin is in a spot where that is severely lacking for internet options and cell signal. We disclose this in our listing as seen below:

From our listing:
Internet is provided; however, it is spotty (downtime to be expected and oftentimes completely out) (Starlink internet expected late 2022). With 1 MB download speeds, the Bearfoot Retreat is not currently suitable for those hoping to work remotely, but why would you want to on vacation? Cell phone service can be spotty depending on provider (1-2 bars).

Guests (who is also a host) got there late yesterday evening for a 6-day stay. At 11:30 PM, they message us through the app to inform us the place is beautiful but a major issue that they are not how they missed was the lack of internet and cell signal which is crucial for their work. A couple of other things to note: here on a mini vacation but need to be accessible, there also to visit mother and ill husband. 

We were asleep so the message didn't wake us up; however, the call from Airbnb at 12:15 AM did wake me up. The guest is looking for a refund due to lack of internet which they acknowledge missing in the listing. 

Since then, we have touched base and they are booking a different place (not sure how they found a suitable one at this time). They said, they've obviously stayed one night and we'll need cleaning service as well. So not looking for a full refund, but anything you can do to offset the 5 of 6 nights would be helpful. 

I did not hear from him until around 11:30 today which would be after checkout time, so I would say you are on to Night 2. I have sent a message with our offer, but looking to my BP friends to weigh in on how they would handle it.

Thanks in advance! 

 Something that I do is I have my virtual assistants send a message right after someone has booked that mentions any shortcomings in the property and asks the guest if they are OK with this and tells them otherwise they should cancel immediately.

And I have my offshore assistants keep following up with the guests until they acknowledge and confirm that they are OK with the list of shortcomings that we sent them.

You should start doing this to prevent future issues and headaches

“Thanks for booking, we are excited to host you. Kindly respond to this message and acknowledge that you are OK with the lack of Wi-Fi and cell service on the property.

If you anticipate this being an issue, we kindly request that you immediately cancel your reservation before Airbnb charges you the booking fee…”