[Closed] Airbnb issues - what's a reasonable partial refund?

TBH, and this is very unlike me, if they offered a sincere apology and they did everything they could, which they seem to have, I'd be happy with that. Shit happens.

If the host was cool and you guys weren't too inconvenienced then I'd just let it go.
Maybe ask for a discount if you visit again?

A can of coke and a pack of quavers?

It's a bit inconvenient but not exactly earth shattering. As above, they've made the effort, I'd not be disappointed with just the apology.

if it didn't particularly inconvenience I'd also suck it up. It must have been a hard time for small business air bnb types already, they've got the cost of the repair now, and being nice and maybe banking some good karma is probably worth more than the small amount of cash each of you would get back.

But what do your friends think?

Also +1 to a good rate next time you want to visit, and a cake on arrival......

No showers or baths from a 1/4 of the time into your stay?
If it was my place, you'd be getting a 100% refund.

If they give you £10/night x 3 = £30 each back - is it worth the bother especially if they did everything and were apologetic?

If they offer something back I’d just take it and remember the holiday you enjoyed.

Thanks for the input all.

To answer some questions, washing was performed in a nearby stream for those with the constitution. Otherwise it was a jug of water warmed from a kettle and poured over the head.

Let it go seems the clear consensus. I just feel a level of responsibility for my friends money as I was the one who booked. I'll chat to them and see what they think.

£750 for 4 days and no baths or showers? A third back sounds OK to me. Some recompense and the owner must be making money at £500 for 4 days.

that they offered is important, that you can then respond with "Thanks, but no" means karma win for everyone concerned.

Wouldn't the host be insured for this type of thing? I'd certainly not 'let it go'. You don't have to be a RuleNo1 about it but that's not a cheap property! You had one night out of four with the services promised, I'd be suggesting a 75% refund (as the host or the guest!).

Not quite sure why people see Air BnB as a special case - its (mostly) people that have second / multiple properties renting them out for profit.

what do the Air BnB rules state? Have you looked at them?

Yeah I'd consult with the other guests but personally I'd be fine without a refund in those circumstances, if you think you're likely to go back maybe ask for a 20% off next visit agreement of something?

Let it go seems the clear consensus. I just feel a level of responsibility for my friends money as I was the one who booked. I’ll chat to them and see what they think.

Don't get me wrong, I'd not be refusing the offer unless it's genuinely derisory but I'd not be chasing particularly either.

I suppose the big question is did it ruin your weekend? If it did and I were you I'd be looking for rather more than if it really wasn't an issue.

I run an Airbnb holiday cottage. We had an outage on the broadband while a guest was there that lasted for the full week. We gave them £10 a night back (they paid £85 a night) as we were basically not supplying one of the advertised services. They were happy with that. In this case I would offer more than that, probably 25% off the whole trip.

I would ask for 50 quid and give it to a local charity. Unless the owner was negligent in some way, may be look at online reviews if it's happening all the time that's a different matter.

Stream washing sounds an adventure.

In this case I would offer more than that, probably 25% off the whole trip.

With ours I'd be offering the same, or maybe more. Your mob sound pretty flexible but there are groups that would have had a proper meltdown. And I would not be comfortable with refunding more to them than you just because you got on with it.

I stayed in a national trust converted farm turned into half a dozen self caterings and the dafties let their LPG run completely out. This was february. They went out and bought a few electric heaters and took the key off the log store so we had a heater in the bedroom and stove going in the living room but no hot water for 5 days. No compensation was offered. Families in other units went home early when informed the situation was not going to improve but we just got on with it - I suspect they did get offered something which irked a little.

I'd expect at least the Covid tax back

As above 20-25% sounds right, not being able to bathe properly the main issue

We also run an Airbnb, not had anything like this yet.... But we did have the mains water pipe freeze this winter when noone was staying... No idea how the partial refunds are facilitated, but I'd prob provide a substantial discount/refund - 50% of our fees...?

Stream washing sounds an adventure.

In times before AirBnB's winter holidays were always subject to such difficulties - would the pipe from the stream be frozen. Would the generator start. Would you be able to drive all the way or dump the car and walk the last mile etc... I've always seen it as part of what makes it different to be on holiday.

I’d expect at least the Covid tax back

of course, if you grumble about covid they might be asking if 6 friends staying in one house was within the Welsh rules!

Your mob sound pretty flexible but there are groups that would have had a proper meltdown. And I would not be comfortable with refunding more to them than you just because you got on with it.

Agreed, they were yes. But different groups are inconvenienced to lesser and greater extents by the same absence of a service. They had great weather and were out at the beach most of the time. I hinted we would provide more refund but they genuinely didn't feel they were inconvenienced much. If somebody had wanted to work while they were there then they would rightly have expected more compensation.

Ultimately, if there was an issue that you really couldn't live with and you wanted to leave then any decent person providing accomodation would provide a full refund for the entire stay. You can't really expect the same refund if you complete the stay.

See what they offer and then see if your pals are happy with that.

As above, you've paid a Covid-adjusted premium for the digs, so I would accept a partial refund if it were me.

MTBer with mates, I’d laugh it off. If I was with partner and it impacted trip I’d think I’d want 1/3rd off.

Running water is a pretty fundamental feature / expectation of 1st world accommodation 😂

Fast.com readings for all AirBnB’s / hotels should be a legal requirement. Again, not bothered myself but if you’re advertising people can work remotely and their is no WiFi / Mobile signal.

I have zero sympathy for most AirBnB hosts today that are simply slum landlords that expect you to leave the place clean while charging a rip off cleaning fee. Especially those renting the garage of their 150k semi for £100 a night that looks like a palace on the close up shots.

The small minority of genuine hosts that have put love into their places need to get real support and help if things go wrong though.

You bathe while on holiday!?

The host (the homeowner who had restored the house themselves, not a business) was extremely apologetic and said over messages that we would receive a partial refund. The rental cost £30 pppn,(£750 total for the weekend) which I considered good value.

Slight diversion - but I would argue if it's on AirBnb it's a business, just small scale. People don't do it for the love they do it for capitalism.

(Ex AirBnb runner)

Loss of WiFi, minor inconvenience, not able to shower, fairly big deal IMHO. 30% refund at least and that's based on them nor being dicks about it. I would beta backup pump is less than a grand, if you're making money out of your property you need to factor this in. You could have gone home on day 2, many would and expected a near full refund. Running water, ability to wash, pretty fundamental when letting accommodation. The fact it's Airbnb is irrelevant.

Crikey some of you lot are very very generous. No water to wash/shower/cook etc, washing in a stream??? Firstly I would not have washed in a a stream as you would be polluting it with the soap etc (criminal offence) so that would be out. You may have noticed we are in a pandemic and being able to wash hands regularly is quite important!
Secondly I couldn’t care less how apologetic they were. You should expect them to be apologetic when a basic every day need isn’t supplied, that shouldn’t take the place of any refund.
The fact they couldn’t get a plumber isn’t the guests problem, it’s the owners, they should have emergency contacts in place to deal with such things. What would have happened if there was an electrical or gas safety issue? If you are running a business you need to be professional and have all these things covered. BH is no excuse - that’s the sort of time you can guarantee you will have booked out so as the owner you need to be prepared.
They should have a backup pump - probably not installed as a cost saving but it’s come back to bite them (I work in this field and it’s a common story, most people are advised to get one but they rarely do).
In my line of work if something fails and impacts the customer badly and they complain then they get all their payment for a year refunded, pretty much automatically.

Refunding the whole cost is very little compared to the bad publicity you could get but not exceeding the customers expectations.

I stayed in a national trust converted farm turned into half a dozen self caterings and the dafties let their LPG run completely out. This was february. They went out and bought a few electric heaters and took the key off the log store so we had a heater in the bedroom and stove going in the living room but no hot water for 5 days. No compensation was offered.

You’re kidding right? I would have demanded to be moved to somewhere ok or refunded in full. Sounds like they did the bare minimum and it worked, they would have been laughing at you behind your backs. It’s the NT, they can easily afford the refunds!! It’ll be a local manager who doesn’t want to lose his bonus I bet.

The problem in the UK is that people won’t complain, won’t kick up a fuss and that is why the service we get from a lot companies in the retail/service/tourist sectors is so dire.

I’ve lost count of the amount of things I’ve gotten refunds/compensation for. I’ve never been nasty, blown things out of proportion, lied or asked for unreasonable adjustments/refunds etc. Calm, polite but firm always works. But I will not accept service or goods which aren’t as advertised/poor quality/damaged (usually in transit nowadays!), why should we?
I will also take time to sing the praises of anyone who does well, especially those who go above and beyond what they need to do.

No running water I don't think you could get worse and having to wash in a stream sorry this is not acceptable. If I was owner I would be embarrassed and most probably forfeit the majority of the charges.

If you had decided you couldn't cope without a shower for three days and decamped to a hotel I think a 75% refund would be correct. However, you took the option to stay on and use the place in spite of the issues, so I think a discount, 20/30% seems about right?

Rule number one etc.

An aside - did the Airbnb owners enquire into your party before you arrived?

6 Friends - I guess there are permutations that might make that work and be legit with current Welsh covid self catering regs....2 couples both bringing along their single support bubble mates as an elaborate blind date to offload their support bubble hangers on, two menage a trois households getting together...or more boringly 6 friends who house share at home.

edit - damn, I can't read. 5 friends - my more interesting permutations are out the window.

I wouldn't of stayed and asked for a full refund.

However, as you stayed, I would be looking at 25 - 30%.

We have a converted van that we can stay in but the one thing missing is showering/decent washing facilities so that would be one reason for me to book an airbnb right now. So if that wasn't working it would be a fairly big deal and I'd feel a little ripped off personally. As has been said, washing in a stream is a no no with the soap etc going downstream.

I do feel like lately (probably just me) we let stuff go by and just accept it as an inconveniance rather than kick up a fuss so I'm trying to stop doing this because I'm not here to be walked all over even if it's for daft things. Example, we stopped at McDs and grabbed some food on the way to our destination and they missed my cheese and herb melts and rather than just stay annoyed I contacted their facebook and a voucher for a meal is on it's way to us in the post.

Loss of WiFi, minor inconvenience, not able to shower, fairly big deal IMHO.

You got these the wrong way round, yeah?

1/3 back for me.

edit – damn, I can’t read. 5 friends – my more interesting permutations are out the window.

no you were right OP+5 friends = 6 friends.

Update: the owners sent me a £150 refund, which I think was fair and roughly in line with what was suggested here. As some have suggested, if we had gone home I would have felt entitled to more back, but we didn't.

In a belated attempt to avoid a covid thread derailing, the group is an extended household (also all jabbed as it happens). The owner was told this at time of booking.

Secondly I couldn’t care less how apologetic they were. You should expect them to be apologetic when a basic every day need isn’t supplied, that shouldn’t take the place of any refund.

Sure, but in a country where a Thursday evening clap replaces actual pay, anything can happen.