Guest walks out of Airbnb and wants full refund

[IgglePiggleLovesUpsey]

I've had a bit of a crap day today tbh and the icing on the cake has been having to liaise with Airbnb support - I feel I have gone over so many details regarding a guest that decided to leave early due to issues with my property and now wants full refund.- so naturally I have come here to go over it again.

Timeline

• guests confirms that she and her partner will be using property only but would like use of spare bedroom. 2 adults
• I inform guest some building work has taken place to access loft eg new staircase and loft hatch, it's not quite finished so please avoid the area. She says it's fine.

• Guest arrives, is shown round property, then mentions she will be returning and bringing 3yo. They return, order takeaway, use bathroom etc and then contact Airbnb support to complain about property and say they want to leave citing hygiene and safety as issue. They don't cancel reservation.
• Airbnb contact me, back and forth we go, I want to know what the issue is exactly and be shown photos but they aren't shared.

I call, I message etc and eventually I reach out to guest asking to clarify issues and if she has left of intending to, only then do I find out she left that night. By this point I've stayed away for 2 nights and have packed all my stuff expecting them to stay for 11 nights. I think it's cheeky for them to expect a full refund when they made use of the facilities, didn't indicate they had any issues when being shown around, cost me time and effort to prep for their arrival , lied about number of guests and never even informed anyone they had left.

Or am I unreasonable? They found one small screw on the floor...so they felt it was unsafe for the child...the one we didn't know was going to be there. Also I forgot to check behind the TV stand...there was a clean coffee lid and a light switch to the loft in the area they were asked to avoid wasn't screwed back. I wiped clean the mirrors one last time before leaving and the tissue was referred to as 'trash' left lying around and bathroom slippers suddenly counted as shoes left lying around. The only issue I accept wasn't ideal was that a cupboard - that was not for the use of the guests but had the door removed and was leaning against cupboard.

Unfortunately , it seems to be a very British thing to not address a problem face on, and instead by way of email . It's the same when people leave bad restaurant reviews, don't tell the restaurant whilst there and instead just leave a negative review on Google. Doesn't give the owner/ establishment a chance to rectify. If it was me, I would have contacted you directly but lots of people take the other route to avoid potential conflict

So why wasn't your listing updated to reflect the current condition of the property? Why were they only informed of the works a week before they arrived?
It doesn't really matter if you think it's adequate or not, the property needs to match the listing - and yours clearly didn't.

Gone are the days when people were happy with slightly shabby accomodation on airbnb, they expect it to be up to the standard of hotels/ holiday rentals and if you have building works going on with rubbish, screws and exposed wiring that is so far off an acceptable standard it's not even funny.

Give them the refund and suck it up.

One stairway at the top of the house you agree in advance not to access.

I don't think if I'm doing air b n.b I could get worked up about that. It was mentioned and agreed in advance.

The tissue, lid and cupboard door are the biggest issues, but again, I just don't think given it is someone's home I would see that as a massive problem.

Edited for tyoos

The initial mistake is yours: you should not be having guests in the property while there is some building work going on.

It really is just common sense.

Which is equally unprofessional and if it affects the contracted terms the company are obliged to put it right. Which may involve a price reduction for the loss of facilities or even changing hotels - which is what the guests opted to do here.

Is this your usual place of residence? As it says you moved out.
I'm asking because you say we live with a toddler so could have put a gate on the stairs had you known the 3 y o was coming. If you live with a toddler why isn't the gate already there?
Also, are you implying they planted the coffee lid and the screw?
I've never heard of bathroom slippers but I'd be a bit eugh if i saw someone's flip flops in the bathroom.
When i go away i prefer to book a house or a flat. I don't want fluffy slippers in plastic etc. I prefer the extra space. But i don't want to see your stuff and i expect it to be spotless.

Well that's a bit weird. Some grandma's are in their 40s, many are in their 50s. If your house isn't safe for an adult of working age it can't be safe for anyone. To be fair even if the grandma is 70 or 80 they are safer than a 3 year old. This sounds like age discrimination. I was with you until that point!

In zone 1 in London...I've stayed in worse hotels.

You seem upset by use of word trash. I’d assume renter spoke American English. But a coffee cup lid and a tissue are rubbish (trash) and shouldn’t have been there.
I wouldn’t expect used flip flops in a bathroom I was renting.
The unscrewed electrical cover and propped up door and screw on floor are all potentially dangerous. Does your home insurance cover you renting out the property?
The property should have been clean and safe. I’d refund and thank lucky stars cupboard door didn’t fall on them etc resulting in a claim.

If this thread shows anything it's that expectations can vary wildly.

And that trusting a stranger is risky (both ways) and even the smartest website including reviews and ratings etc can't fully change that.

I think it just shows some Airbnb hosts are crap so book at your peril.

not worn in any other room

But have they been worn by you?

Plenty of my friends have grandkids. They are not elderly!
I don't believe a word of that.

I think if the home is not up to standard you shouldn't let it as sole use. You could let out one room while you're there and then you can keep an eye on things. In the traditional air BnB style before it became just another holiday cottage booking site. Obviously that would be less attractive for guests and worth less money

Very frustrating, particularly as she was aware of these issues before arrival .
I would charge her for the day she stayed ( plus £20 for the extra guest that she failed to tell you about) and refund the remainder. It sounds like she was looking for a reason to cancel but I don’t think you’re going to win this one .

None of that is relevant to the property?

I have a 3 year old and lots of his friends grandma's are a similar age to me....never realised I would be considered too old to stay in an air BnB!

I didn’t call it a renovation. You still had a chance to address the issue of the child, you hadn’t left. However, anyone staying could invite someone over with a small child so it’s irrelevant unless you are banning small children. You stated would have waived the fee if she had asked you so it’s a moot point.

You sound totally unprofessional, OP. It reminds me of the time I booked a local AirBnB for friends who were visiting my area and when they arrived it was clear the owner had just packed up her kids and taken them somewhere else for a couple of nights: food in cupboards and fridge, clothing in all the drawers, the patio doors not locked, children's toys stuffed away everywhere and all the signs of someone giving the place an inadequate clean before leaving. It was only two nights so they stayed, but if they'd booked 11 nights they would have walked away and asked for a refund. People booking exclusive use of a property with Air BnB don't expect to have to live around your building work and mess. You were a fool for being tempted to take such a long booking with your homee in disarray.

I think having a staircase fitted is a renovation

The staircase was completed, so no longer a renovation and it wasn't in the listing.

How do you know what they did in the couple of hours there?
Very common scenario to not say anything on being shown around. You go, they look around properly and see how it really is. They are tired, get food and make plans. One partner perhaps saying it’s not so bad, another saying I’m not staying here, frantically trying to find other accommodation.

Op says it's not quite finished.
If it was completed they wouldn't have been asked to stay away from it.

OP states: “building work has taken place… it's not quite finished so please avoid the area.”