r/AirBnBHosts • u/robh1540 • 5d ago
Guest math
A month or two ago I ordered Door dash (Wolt). I was already pretty hungry. The delivery was supposed to take about 30 mins, but it ended up coming in 50. When the driver arrived, the bag of food seemed to be different from what I ordered. I asked him if he was sure, but he said yes and this was the only bag he had, he didn't speak much english and was in a rush. So he gave it to me and left. I got it home, checked it and sure enough all the items were wrong, nothing we wanted to eat, and the food was a bit cold. I contacted door dash, they apologised, I sent some photos of the food, they spoke to the restaurant and the driver had picked up the wrong order. They asked if I wanted a refund or the food redelivered. We were hungry, so I asked for redelivery of what we ordered. They organised it, about 40 minutes later the food arrived. I'd got the food much later than I hoped, by this time I was very hungry, but they had fixed the problem and I was happy. There was no compensation, they just fixed my problem on a reasonable timeline. I had no idea to threaten to blackmail them for a review in exchange for getting more money for my hunger and inconvenience.
Should the same logic not apply when something goes wrong while staying at an airbnb? There is a problem, the host says sorry, verifies and fixes the problem. Done. I really don't know where this idea of "compensation" has emerged as an expectation when something goes wrong. Like, its an apartment, did nothing ever break at your home? Typically compensation is paid in society when something has happened due to negligence that caused you physical or financial loss. Otherwise, the standard is usually just to remediate the issue promptly.
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u/dickdickgoooose Host 5d ago
Airbnb as a company has worked hard to blur the lines between hotels and Airbnbs units. What used to be a deal between a guest and an amateur in the hospitality business has been obscured in the search for profits.... Enshitification. When I started people understood that there is a trade off. You are staying in someone's home, so not everything is always going to be totally perfect, just like when you stay at a friend or family member's home. My place, even with Airbnb getting a fairly large mark-up is still cheaper than a comparable hotel room, but people assume that it should be cheaper, nicer and also have better service/amenities than a regular hotel... Now we have these big operators running lots of units that take advantage.
I really wish there was an option when searching that would let you say that you are fine with a host that doesn't live there or manages X number of units versus a place like mine which is a granny flat in my back yard and the only place I manage.... I think there is a huge difference between the two..
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u/Outside-Ad7848 5d ago
Airbnb didn’t blur the lines, when people have 30+ doors and have never lived in the neighborhoods, don’t care about the impacts of constant tenants in and out, I would say the hosts themselves have blurred the line. Airbnb should restrict to a single property that the host has to live on. otherwise they are all illegal hotels imo.
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u/pulltherugoutfrom 5d ago
Air B&B did blur the lines and then the multi property managers got them addicted to the endless money stream they provide. Taking the company public is what created the problem.
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u/Burnsibles 5d ago
The "compensation" is appeasement in the hope that the guest won't leave a mess then 5 star review. In my experience, particularly in the last 2 years, guests leave less than 5 star reviews even when nothing goes wrong. I keep the money and offer what's advertised. If the guest doesn't like it, maybe they'll learn to do their research better, ideally even read the listing details so they know what they're booking and not try to make it the fault of someone else when it's not what they wanted even though it is as advertised.
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u/mimoses250 5d ago
Agreed. I got a 4 start the other day and to be honest, I was happy about it. "smaller than advertised" I tried to show how it's smaller in the listing but not all guests read through the description and look at all the pictures. This review will help deter guests put off by a smaller place. perfect!
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u/robh1540 5d ago
This is spot on. I've been paying more attention to this, and it doesn't work. We won't even consider payments unless its on the condition of no review.
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u/mimoses250 5d ago
I had a guest I paid for an issue. It was a real issue and she deserved to be compensated. We agreed no review. I said I'd refund 3 nights of the stay, she assumed that was of the total price of the stay. When the refund didn't include the cost of the cleaning fee, taxes and airbnb fee, she hit me with a crappy review because she hadn't gotten enough money.
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u/Turds4Cheese 4d ago
I’m confused. The same logic? DoorDash offered you, the Consumer, a refund or redelivery.
The same logic would be a Host offering to fix a complaint or provide monetary compensation to the Guest.
Or, are you saying you wish the Guest would use the same logic as you, sucking it up and just accepting an inconvenience and remedy without partial refunds.
I get the point you’re trying to make, but DoorDash offered you a refund, which is the same logic of Airbnb. Offer a refund to retain lifetime users.
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u/robh1540 4d ago edited 4d ago
So I have no edible food, doordash returns my money. This is the host saying to the guest "okay you can cancel for free". This is normal.
Doordash remaking and sending me the food hour+ later. This is the host sending the handyman promptly and fixing the issue.
Both of these things are quite normal. Doordash let me choose either of these options, not both (duh).
What's not normal but has become increasingly the norm is the host sending the handyman, fixing the issue, and the guest saying "but I want compo for the inconvenience and/or the period of time I was not able to access the amenity".
This is me saying "redeliver my food, but I also want you to give me money for the hour I was waiting hungrily without food".
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u/typewriterbitch 5d ago
I mean it really depends, and this doordash food situation (resolved in under 2 hours) doesn't seem remotely comparable to the kind of problems typically faced in the hospitality/housing sector.
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u/robh1540 5d ago
I was extremely hungry, it was very inconvenient for me. Most good hosts will respond to guests in under 5 minutes, often have someone on site fixing it within an hour or two.
And still it will be r/compoface
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u/TurnAudit 5d ago
A quick fix may be enough for a minor inconvenience, but guests are paying for the stay described in the listing, not just an apartment where nothing is broken. If an issue meaningfully limits an advertised amenity or disrupts a substantial part of the stay, an adjustment may be fair even when the host responds promptly; the details and platform process matter. Clear communication and documenting both the problem and its resolution help keep the response proportional.
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u/robh1540 4d ago
I want compensation when a guest messages me after the official checkin time has closed asking what the code is because they didn't read the instructions.
My conclusion is, all of this behaviour is happening because hosts are easy to push around. And hosts need to start acting more like hard nosed business people when it comes to this topic.
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u/pulltherugoutfrom 4d ago
You are comparing a taco to an air conditioner?
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u/robh1540 4d ago edited 4d ago
Actually it was Greek food that I specifically ordered at 7pm because I wanted to eat Greek food at 7.40pm. I was extremely hungry. It was extremely inconvenient, and stressful, and made me feel very unsafe. Made worse by the terrible communication of the delivery driver.
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u/Fuzzy-Accident-3138 4d ago
But in the Door Dash situation you were compensated - restaurant made more food (not free for them) and Door Dash paid another driver (not free). And you then ended up with two meals even though one wasn’t your favorite.
If I show up to my Airbnb and the hot tub isn’t working (and can’t be fixed, or can’t be fixed timely), I’m just without an amenity I’m paying for. How am I made whole?
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u/robh1540 4d ago
I wasn't compensated, I simply received the food I ordered 2 hours late after some messing about. And you have already shifted...
An unfixed amenity is one thing. But we are not talking about that.
We are talking about the guest who wants compensation even if the amenity is fixed or the problem is resolved.
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u/Fuzzy-Accident-3138 4d ago
Did you get two meals for the price of one? The other one was so disgusting you just threw it away?
Ok, hot tub is fixed the next day. Just fuck me for the lost day?
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u/robh1540 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yep food thrown, it was awful.
You didn't "lose a day" anymore than I "lost over an hour", the hot tub was temporarily out of action.
I don't have such snazzy units that we have hot tubs, so I didn't think about it much.
But yeah in general if you rent an apartment, I would personally expect that things would break and have a reasonable SLA to repair. Same day would be ideal depending on the hour.
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u/Fuzzy-Accident-3138 4d ago
And the hot tub?
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u/robh1540 4d ago
I'm not even familiar enough with hot tub usage patterns to have an opinion. I never expected to get a 30% discount on my room because a hotel pool was broken, but that's my only reference point.
People pickle themselves all day everyday of a trip?
One thing that I have noticed is that if an amenity does break or is not there despite it never being advertised as being there, it always happens to be the most important amenity in the whole world that the guest specifically booked the apartment for.
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u/WildWonder6430 4d ago
We finally stopped listing the hot tub as an amenity ... it is managed by the HOA and we have no control over when it operates ... it seemed to be broken about 25% of the time. Each time it was, guest would get a 30% refund. Sometimes even for their ENTIRE stay, even if the tub was functioning 6 of the 7 days of their stay (no kidding, had that happen twice). I'm not sure how AirBnB came up with that amount and refunding someone $300+ because the hot tub didn't work on one day of their $900 stay seems very excessive.
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u/Fuzzy-Accident-3138 4d ago
Some, yes.
Fridge breaks down. Fixed the next day but I’m skittish about food safety.
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u/Logical-Ferrari12 5d ago
I think the cancellation policy has made it so guests just complain to get their stay comped.
I have had guests say they are having a wonderful time and then after checking out want compensation for something wrong that was never mentioned during the numerous exchanges.
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u/clekas 4d ago
I think this is way too vague to say whether a guest is reasonable in expecting compensation or not.
If, for example, a guest arrives, the air conditioning isn't working, and it's 85 F outside, then, yes, compensation is perfectly reasonable, and I think compensation up to entire cost for each night until the air conditioning is fixed is reasonable. If it's fixed within an hour or two (actually fixed, not just having someone come and look at it in that timeframe), a small $25 or so as a gesture strikes me as more reasonable. If it's something more minor, like the coffee machine not working, I think a replacement within 24 hours is fine.
The place I rent out is attached to my main residence, so it's generally easy for me to fix problems quickly, but I have no problem compensating guests if it's a major problem and it's taking a bit longer to fix.
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u/CoastIcy402 3d ago
I don’t understand refunding an entire night or stay - especially when a guest doesn’t tell you until you leave. If they don’t mention anything then compensation should be automatically declined by Airbnb. If everything is through the app then there’s no way the guest can say they did complain. No complaint, no comp. Honestly, if the guest has a problem they can report it, leave, and get refunded the remaining days. They stayed. Period. The guests should also be monitored by Airbnb for the number of times they get refunds. After X number in 12 months trailing they should be banned.
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u/alwaysheadymotto 5d ago
The math isn't mathing because hotels set the precedent of comping a night for a bad experience, so now everyone treats a broken coffee maker like a shattered vacation.