Refund request 2 weeks after stay

[Ryan Richmond]

My wife and I had a new complaint.. 2 weeks after a guest checked out (actually 15 days 😊 so the review period expired) we suddenly got about 10 messages from a previous guest that all read “image sent”. I’m at lunch at work and my wife is getting out of a yoga class and I call her and she’s like, “I have no idea what’s going on.”

We’re trying to interpret the pictures and some of these are just like a picture of the microwave, a laptop on the floor, a vanity light with one bulb out.

And then an actual message comes through. 2 weeks after check out they wanted to let us know about some spider webs, a microwave built-in that was too high (based on preference), a power strip with loose wire connection and several other items that they never let us know about during their stay. We checked in on them several times and the only concern we knew about was they couldn't find towels. My wife offered to drive some over, but they found them by then.

My wife responded to the new complaint and said that she wished our guest had mentioned any of this during their stay so we could have addressed these concerns. The guest responded that because she was so busy during her week long stay she didn’t have time to report these and, “… would be greatly inconvenienced with potential solutions while we were there.”

They then told us that they usually gives 5-stars on reviews (based on their 3 reviews) and that she would be giving us 1-star and requesting a refund of $1,000.

My wife and I decided it was best to stick to our original response that we would have addressed their concerns during their stay. Coming back for a refund 2 weeks after a stay feels disingenuous.

We did follow-up on their concerns and are glad they let us know.

Curious if other hosts are seeing increased 1-star threats or requests for refunds after check-out.

[Mindy Nicol]

Wow, it seems like they are trying to get a free vacation.  Is this Airbnb?  Definitely no refunds and I'd tell them how seriously you take all feedback. I would definitely tell your side of the story and be proactive with them.  Document everything.

I just had a guest at a property that I manage ask for a full refund for a stay he booked last minute, ignored paying a pet fee, ignored my request for the pet fee, asked for an early check in.  He arrived, walked his dog and said didn't feel it was private enough. He asked for a full refund.  It is on 5 acres. I contacted Airbnb right away and let them know our side of the story. I asked for them to document and record the call. We waited out the booking, he never canceled, and we took the payment.  Airbnb took our side in this case.  I think it helps to loop them in right away if you have a challenging guest.