During a guest's stay, issues can arise. Here are the most common complaints and how you can address them effectively:
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Check-In Problems and Communication Issues it is really important for you to provide clear check-in instructions in a timely manner.
Check-in instructions can be added to the arrival information of your property. Please, remember to keep this information up-to-date, including the contact details for the check-in person. Please ensure your guests receive the correct information and update them personally via email, SMS or WhatsApp if a change occurs after they booked.. Here you can see how to update your arrival info: How to modify my account details?
It might happen that, despite your instructions, the guests still face some problems during their check-in. Make sure the check-in person is reachable at all times during check-in hours. A speedy reaction is essential to solve the issue as soon as possible and avoid further complaints or worse, possible cancellation by the channel if your guests cannot check in.
If you have any language barrier with your guests, our Customer service team will be happy to help you and contact the guests on your behalf.
- Incorrect Location Please, be sure that the address and the location on the map of your property are correct. If you see that the address information is wrong (wrong address, wrong house number or wrong pin on the map), please inform our Customer Service as soon as possible.
- Discrepancies Between Photos and Reality The pictures in the photo gallery must match the real offer. For example, if a barbecue is among the pictures, it should also be there when the guests are at the property.
- Missing Amenities: it is crucial to keep your listing updated. If an amenity is not available anymore, please remove it from the service configuration. Here you can see how to modify amenities: How can I change or modify my property’s amenities?
Be sure to contact our customer service so that your description can be amended. When a service is activated or disabled in the configuration, the text is unfortunately not updated automatically!
If any amenity is temporarily or fully unavailable (for example: pool is temporarily inaccessible or grill has been removed and won’t be replaced), you must inform all future guests who booked at the time when the amenity was configured as available. Please, consider the possibility of a compensation for those guests as their stay will be impacted by the missing amenity. Legally, they are entitled to compensation to make up for the unavailable amenity they booked. The amount is at your discretion and our customer happiness team can be of advice.
Additionally, it is important to specify in the description text any kind of restrictions your property may suffer from: for example, pool opens only during certain periods of the year or times.
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Cleaning Issues Guests expect to find a clean property with no traces of previous guests, ensure thorough cleaning (remove food from previous guests in the fridge, for example)
- Safety Hazards: Issues like mold or pests are serious safety hazards. Proven hazards can lead to booking cancellations and full refunds to guests. Some channels may unpublish your property and cancel future bookings until the problem is resolved.
- Security Cameras (CCTV): It is mandatory by law to mention them in your property description and to configure them in your amenities. Be aware that channels take this discrepancy very seriously and may unpublish your property in case of non-compliance.
Here you can find more related information Security devices and CCTV.
Although guests are advised to contact the Host on site to report any issue impacting their stay, they do not always do it and contact the channel they booked through or Holidu instead. In this case, we will contact you to inform you and ask you to assist your guest and help them solve the issue.
If the guest contacts you directly, please assist them as soon as possible to ensure a swift resolution and avoid an escalation.
A prompt reaction is key. Please inform our Customer Happiness Team about the claim raised by your guest and attach any kind of proof (chat screenshots, pictures of the issue and the steps taken) so that we can document it on the channel (if applicable) and mediate better should the guest contact us as well or decides to involve the channel they booked through.
Please, make sure to keep your advertisement up to date and to inform us promptly about any important changes which were done. An excellent accuracy will automatically improve your guests’ ratings and thus, the number of bookings you receive.
We advise against issuing any direct refund to the guests. In case you want to refund your guests, please inform us, we will be happy to mediate. If you want to refund your guests, we will find the best and more secure way to do so, based on the case.
Please inform yourself about the channels’ standards and terms and conditions. Both Airbnb and Booking.com can decide to refund guests who provide enough documentation illustrating issues they are encountering during their stay.
More information about Booking.com´s policy here: Customer terms of service
More information about Airbnb's policy here