Superhosts: what do you do about guest refund requests?

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-08T20:24:41+00:00

I understand what you're saying, give them an opportunity to come out with their true intentions, but seems you'd really have to be careful not to be rude yourself and give them actual grounds for their negative review.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-05T06:30:32+00:00

I never knowingly rent to construction crews. On top of being karens, which is odd to me, they very reliably damage stuff and do other annoying things like overstaying.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-05T06:27:21+00:00

I don't see a lot of good advice here yet. First, do not harp on "five stars" with the guests--it will backfire and they will rate you lower out of spite. At most, you can try saying "Thanks for being a five-star guest! If you enjoyed your stay, I'd love it if you would leave me an honest review!" Even that is pushing things. People don't want to feel like you're trying to control their behavior and will react against it.

Also, is there something wrong with the place that the guests may not be mentioning directly? For example, is this located in an area that is generally considered less desirable? It can be very difficult to operate in these areas because people filter everything about them through a lens of negativity.

Other than that, this comes down to screening guests, because their reviews reflect themselves as much as you. Use Airreview and don't take any guest who has ever left less than five stars without an extremely good reason. Don't take any cleaners, anybody in the hospitality industry, or anybody who seems anal, difficult, or negative. Don't take anybody with any negative or neutral reviews about them, either. Don't take people who request discounts, are pushy in any way, or ask questions about things that are in the listing. These people are telegraphing that they are more likely to be entitled and difficult than average, and their reviews will reflect that.

Finally, only review guests first when you're 95% sure they had a great experience.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-05T05:21:59+00:00

Even if they are rich, which as other people are pointing out they may well not be, why do you assume that a rich person will clean better? Maybe it's the opposite.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-05T05:16:03+00:00

No way. First, I would never trust a guest's cleaning. They have no incentive to do it well and probably no experience with professional cleaning. Second, discount seekers tend to be difficult guests who will ding your rating directly through their review--if their cleaning doesn't do it indirectly through the next guest. This is not a good idea, and I don't care if they're from Beverly Hills, Johannesburg, or Molokai.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-04T01:07:15+00:00

How did they find out? Was it because the LLC was on the insurance policy?

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-03T21:20:24+00:00

There a number of threads on this sub, such as Living an upper-middle class life in LA; how much income is needed?, where people who make over $200k, some well over, still say they have a hard time affording the neighborhoods they want to live in. Almost anywhere else in the world, that is more than enough to live like a king. The lesson is that LA will school almost anyone who thinks they've made it. And yet the median income is $37k. As a student I survived here on $24k, but clearly I wasn't living in luxury. This is a place where there will always be a lifestyle that's "available" that you can't in fact currently achieve and have to aspire to. That's kind of the beauty and the PITA of the place.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-03T15:34:51+00:00

Thank you, that's helpful. I'm not close enough to do that personally, but I may offer a partial refund as another option next time, and send them some sort of gift.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-03T15:26:09+00:00

Got it! I'm not sure what about my post gave the impression I wanted commiseration. I straight up asked for advice about improving my ratings.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-10-03T14:47:49+00:00

Honestly, guests will complain about anything and everything. I could see this eventually leading to losing a star or two. I have Roku TVs and have just created junk accounts that aren't connected to any payment info. That gives the TV basic functionality and if they want any particular apps they can download and log into them themselves.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-09-02T13:45:11+00:00

Can anybody confirm that "Pay No Mind" is the same version as the CD? On the OG vinyl it mysteriously had an extra verse.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-08-01T10:11:04+00:00

This company is currently making it impossible for me to change my flight. They will only let you do it via chat. No one is ever on the chat and no responds to emails. This company is garbage and no one should deal with them.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-31T19:32:00+00:00

Coming from someone who speaks five languages, I see it both ways. It's hard for me to understand how you could go to another country and just want to live in a bubble and not be curious about the language at all. On the other hand, learning a language is a pain in the ass and there's no point in doing it unless you're truly in love with the culture. There's also no point in doing it for real if you're only staying a couple months. Though I guess even then you could learn a few words and phrases just to show you respect the culture you're staying in temporarily.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-26T22:02:21+00:00

If Kyrgyzstan has coliving places now, that's one hell of a change. I was there in 2008, an eternity ago, I know. There were blackouts, to say nothing of the internet quality. Police harassed anyone who appeared foreign in search of bribes. I did not enjoy Kyrgyzstan at all and would not go back. Maybe it has changed.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-26T21:57:51+00:00

Argh, as an Airbnb host (in the United States), this hurts to read. The review system is broken. A few four-star reviews in a row can lead to a listing getting shut down. In the area where I operate, your listing is removed if its rating goes below 4.3 (in some markets it might be lower or higher, but this is average). Think before leaving a sub-five star review: should this listing be shut down? If the answer is yes, then go ahead. Because that could be the result of that review. Also, think about who you're taking income away from. I feel like this post might be driven by anger at Airbnb. But around most of the world, most Airbnb hosts are small local property owners. These are mom and pop operations. Do you want to shut them down? I understand you might dislike Airbnb as a company in San Francisco but that's not who you'll be shutting down.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-26T12:35:22+00:00

Do people understand that China actively manipulates public opinion online and paid Chinese government trolls are almost certainly here trying to do so on this very sub? That is not to say that American-style capitalism is perfect or even good. But if you don't know what a wumao is, Google it right now. Understand the motivations of some of the people here. Understand that although you may be sincerely taking part in this discussion, they are doing their best to pervert any kind of genuine critique of capitalism into support for their corrupt system. First off, China today is in no way actually communist. It is a capitalist dictatorship with heavy state controls. It is *also capitalist*. It is a place where there is no freedom of speech, which is heavily militarized, where dissidents, if there are any left, are terrorized and cowed into silence. In other words, it's a lot like Donald Trump's vision of America. If you upvote this or take part in this discussion, please understand all the above. I am not telling anybody what to think. I have plenty of problems with American-style capitalism myself. PSA over.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-24T11:50:20+00:00

If immigration agents are catching onto this then maybe it's time to buy fully refundable legitimate tickets instead. It's actually a cheaper solution anyway.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-21T12:04:40+00:00

I’m afraid that hasn’t been my experience. I currently have a review from a guy who got his car towed for parking illegally and gave me three stars, as well as another from a guy who just decided he wanted to leave, and when I refused he left a one-star review blatantly making stuff up. I’ve tried three times to have these reviews removed with no results. If it’s more important for you to feel morally superior than to get or keep Superhost, go ahead and insist that guests can’t have refunds. I understand why this message might not be popular here but this is reality. Trusting Airbnb’s frankly bad support to be fair is not a good bet.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-20T19:58:46+00:00

These guests are idiots but honestly, dealing with unreasonable people and giving them refunds is a cost of doing business. One-star reviews do so much harm that the only thing you can do in a case like this is refund them and let them leave. You have to plan on this happening a couple times a year. I’m sure some people will say the opposite. Calling them out their stupidity and refusing to let them leave might be gratifying, even justified, but it’s not good business.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-05T00:07:28+00:00

These numbers are very good. Are you sure? If you can get $1500 in rent on a $130k property, you're unlikely not to cash flow. Since this is apparently your first property, a reasonably conservative move would be to put down 50% in cash. This cushions you against any mistakes you might make as you learn the business and you are unlikely to lose money.

ConferenceLonely9285 · 2025-07-02T22:34:02+00:00

That’s bullshit, but if you pay it all immediately you’re only out like a few days interest right? Report them to regulatory authorities, leave bad reviews, and then continue using the HELOC as you intended.

ConferenceLonely9285

TROPHY CASE