Unhappy Camper

[Suzie Q]

I suppose it had to happen sometime... We had a guest who arrived on the later side. She knocked on a neighbor's house, who was very irate, thinking it was our house. We provide very specific instructions. Prior, I called and got her voice mail. Her cell phone did not work in our neighborhood (AT&T). When she came to our door, she told me she must have forgotten to pay her phone bill. I immediately whipped out my cell phone and handed it to her to use to give her peace of mind to get her phone matters settled. When I realized she had AT&T I told her there was a dead spot in the neighborhood and she could probably get reception at our house, which she did.
I gave her the tour. She said nothing except telling me about the incident with the neighbor. I told her the neighbor and I were not on good terms.
She said she was going to go out to eat. I never saw her again.
I ran her credit card this morning. She called moments later and said she didn't think the property was properly represented by the online photos (which I believe it is.) She said she felt it was a bedroom in someone's house. (Before we parted ways last night, she did ask if I lived here.) She said she will refute any charges and threatened to go online and "blab" (my words, not her's) and she mentioned Trip Advisor. She also brought up that there was a stick in the patio door and she could put in a shorter stick for privacy if she wanted to crack the door for a bit of air (one patio door and no other windows). She mentioned, "Trip Advisor."
Do I knuckle under and reverse the charges?
Thanks!

 

[Breakfast Diva]

I'm sorry this just happened to you. The one time it happened to me, I buckled into the guest's threat and gave them their deposit back and they did a horrible TA review anyway. My suggestion is to keep the money because anyone who threatens to write bad reviews will do it no matter what.
She left you in the lurch and didn't tell you she was unhappy with the room. She should of at least called you when she had cell reception to tell you she was unhappy. She gave you no opportunity to re-rent the room.

 

[gillumhouse]

Do not knuckle under!
#1 - if she knows about TA reviews she has pulled something similar before and knows TA puts terror in the hearts of innkeepers.
#2 - she told you she was going out for dinner, not that she was not staying
#3 - she shoots herself in the foot if she does go to TA because you can use that as proof she was actually there if she disputes the charge.
You met all of your obligations to her. The room was booked, ready and waiting, and she arrived (so it was not a no-show). No reversal of charge. If she could not give you an opportunity to even attempt to satisfy her displeasure, she has no standing. IMNVHO

 

[Suzie Q]

Do not knuckle under!
#1 - if she knows about TA reviews she has pulled something similar before and knows TA puts terror in the hearts of innkeepers.
#2 - she told you she was going out for dinner, not that she was not staying
#3 - she shoots herself in the foot if she does go to TA because you can use that as proof she was actually there if she disputes the charge.
You met all of your obligations to her. The room was booked, ready and waiting, and she arrived (so it was not a no-show). No reversal of charge. If she could not give you an opportunity to even attempt to satisfy her displeasure, she has no standing. IMNVHO.

Thanks, Folks! You do my heart good. The "son of a gun" was that I had two calls yesterday, wondering if I had availability last night...
Smile.
If I'm not already on TA, can someone else create that listing?
I did have her sign the guest book as I do all guests, upon their arrival.

 

[EmptyNest]

Do not knuckle under!
#1 - if she knows about TA reviews she has pulled something similar before and knows TA puts terror in the hearts of innkeepers.
#2 - she told you she was going out for dinner, not that she was not staying
#3 - she shoots herself in the foot if she does go to TA because you can use that as proof she was actually there if she disputes the charge.
You met all of your obligations to her. The room was booked, ready and waiting, and she arrived (so it was not a no-show). No reversal of charge. If she could not give you an opportunity to even attempt to satisfy her displeasure, she has no standing. IMNVHO.

Thanks, Folks! You do my heart good. The "son of a gun" was that I had two calls yesterday, wondering if I had availability last night...
Smile.
If I'm not already on TA, can someone else create that listing?
I did have her sign the guest book as I do all guests, upon their arrival.
.

DUH!!! Yes it is a bedroom in someone's house...what does she think a B & B is!!!!
Yes she can create it..but..it will probably be more trouble to do than it is worth..IF she doesn't already have a TA account. If someone toss something like that out at you ...then you know they are a PITA and always have been:-( She's obviously tried to pull this one before. Do not worry about the threat. If she posts something...you can always post a mgt. response. Do not let her hold you hostage!!!
I don't see anything about cancellation policies on your site. That really should be there so people know what will happen if they leave or do not show. Is there a cancellation policy on your webervations form and do they have to check they agree?? Make sure you have that.

 

[JBloggs]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait.

 

[EmptyNest]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait..

Nothing for any lodging in her town yet. Let's just hope it is PITA blowing off. Nothing may come of it.

 

[Suzie Q]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait..

Nothing for any lodging in her town yet. Let's just hope it is PITA blowing off. Nothing may come of it.
.

This is our policy once on the booking site:
We do not allow guest pets nor children. We do not allow smoking indoors. For multiple nights, if a guest cancels less than 7 days before arrival, the credit card will be charged. The credit card will not be charged if we will be able to receive another guest for those days reserved. These days will remain as a credit for up to one year. Cancellation is required at least 48 hours in advance, or the nights you booked plus tax will be charged for single nights. If you fail to cancel, no credits will be issued. Your credit card number holds your room. We will ask for the actual payment as you leave. We do not allow candles. Check in is 4PM or later, with check out by 11AM.
Thanks for prompt. Will add something like this to main website. She booked over the phone.

 

[wendydk]

I'm sorry this just happened to you. The one time it happened to me, I buckled into the guest's threat and gave them their deposit back and they did a horrible TA review anyway. My suggestion is to keep the money because anyone who threatens to write bad reviews will do it no matter what.
She left you in the lurch and didn't tell you she was unhappy with the room. She should of at least called you when she had cell reception to tell you she was unhappy. She gave you no opportunity to re-rent the room..

I agree with Diva. Leaving and never coming back gives you absolutely no chance to deal with her complaints. A room in someone's house? DUH!

 

[Somewhere in Paradise]

I am so sorry you have to deal with this.
Because I was just in this situation I would at least try to call her and make nice with her. I know its awful to kiss a** like that - when she really does not deserve it at all - but it is way better than getting a bad TA review.
If you do that then you will really know in your heart that you did everything you could have to avoid to bad TA. Which to me is worse than losing the money for the bookings. Reputations are worth alot more that a few hundred bucks.
If I had mine to do over I would have liked to know that I had made that effort. It is worth a shot.

 

[Hangfive]

We always run the charges at check in time and have the guest sign our registrations which includes our policies.
Not so long ago we a similar situation. Of course we had alrady swiped the guest's card and had a signed registration.....can't refute that. They tried...it failed.
Oh and they did'nt post a negative review as threatened....at least not yet.

 

[Suzie Q]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait..

Thanks, Joey!

 

[Morticia]

So she was just sitting around waiting for you to run her card and as soon as she saw that she got on the phone? That sounds fishy.
I wouldn't refund anyone who threatened me.
You might want to look at your policies. To me they are confusing. Too many things going on at once...credits, no credits, single nights, multiple nights, etc.

 

[Somewhere in Paradise]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait..

Nothing for any lodging in her town yet. Let's just hope it is PITA blowing off. Nothing may come of it.
.

This is our policy once on the booking site:
We do not allow guest pets nor children. We do not allow smoking indoors. For multiple nights, if a guest cancels less than 7 days before arrival, the credit card will be charged. The credit card will not be charged if we will be able to receive another guest for those days reserved. These days will remain as a credit for up to one year. Cancellation is required at least 48 hours in advance, or the nights you booked plus tax will be charged for single nights. If you fail to cancel, no credits will be issued. Your credit card number holds your room. We will ask for the actual payment as you leave. We do not allow candles. Check in is 4PM or later, with check out by 11AM.
Thanks for prompt. Will add something like this to main website. She booked over the phone.
.

I don't want to come across as mean, but your cancellation policy is very confusing. you have house rules mixed in with cancel policies.
Maybe you would simplify a little:
Credit Card deposit of one night required to hold space. Cancellation less that 48 hours prior to arrival are non-refundable unless we can rebook the space.
I think its a good idea to take the card info upon check in too that is what they do when you check into a hotel - I think people expect it, as has been discussed here many times - sometimes the card does not work, or they could even sneak out early and not pay.

 

[Suzie Q]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait..

Nothing for any lodging in her town yet. Let's just hope it is PITA blowing off. Nothing may come of it.
.

This is our policy once on the booking site:
We do not allow guest pets nor children. We do not allow smoking indoors. For multiple nights, if a guest cancels less than 7 days before arrival, the credit card will be charged. The credit card will not be charged if we will be able to receive another guest for those days reserved. These days will remain as a credit for up to one year. Cancellation is required at least 48 hours in advance, or the nights you booked plus tax will be charged for single nights. If you fail to cancel, no credits will be issued. Your credit card number holds your room. We will ask for the actual payment as you leave. We do not allow candles. Check in is 4PM or later, with check out by 11AM.
Thanks for prompt. Will add something like this to main website. She booked over the phone.
.

I don't want to come across as mean, but your cancellation policy is very confusing. you have house rules mixed in with cancel policies.
Maybe you would simplify a little:
Credit Card deposit of one night required to hold space. Cancellation less that 48 hours prior to arrival are non-refundable unless we can rebook the space.
I think its a good idea to take the card info upon check in too that is what they do when you check into a hotel - I think people expect it, as has been discussed here many times - sometimes the card does not work, or they could even sneak out early and not pay.
.

I do not consider your comment mean. I consider it constructive criticism, and I appreciate your input. I guess we just notated our policies as situations came along.
How about:
Your credit card number holds your room. We will ask for the actual payment as you leave. (People believe just because you asked for their card means they've already paid.)


For single nights, cancellation is required at least 48 hours in advance. Multiple nights require a cancellation policy at least 7 days in advance. The credit card will not be charged if we will be able to receive another guest for those days reserved that are cancelled with the above guidelines. These days will remain as a credit for up to one year. If you fail to cancel, no credits will be issued.


We do not allow guest pets nor children. We do not allow smoking indoors. We do not allow candles. Check in is 4PM or later, with check out by 11AM.

P.S. I haven't received email notifications to posts for quite a while now, perhaps 6 months, although I do not post that often. I do have the email option check marked.

I did ask the present guests if they had any problems with the way the rooms were represented on the web and they said they did not. One guest said we were a breath of fresh air. Another place they'd stayed had asked them to switch rooms, then after they'd gotten home, called and said they owed an additional $100!

 

[Morticia]

She may have already written the review, so I would hold on til you hear more. Just my opinion. I am so sorry this happened to you! This is always proof for me that there are some really crappy horrible people in this world, we know you and you do not misrepresent, you are 100% genuine! You are a great person!
If you don't have a TA account yet...I would wait..

Nothing for any lodging in her town yet. Let's just hope it is PITA blowing off. Nothing may come of it.
.

This is our policy once on the booking site:
We do not allow guest pets nor children. We do not allow smoking indoors. For multiple nights, if a guest cancels less than 7 days before arrival, the credit card will be charged. The credit card will not be charged if we will be able to receive another guest for those days reserved. These days will remain as a credit for up to one year. Cancellation is required at least 48 hours in advance, or the nights you booked plus tax will be charged for single nights. If you fail to cancel, no credits will be issued. Your credit card number holds your room. We will ask for the actual payment as you leave. We do not allow candles. Check in is 4PM or later, with check out by 11AM.
Thanks for prompt. Will add something like this to main website. She booked over the phone.
.

I don't want to come across as mean, but your cancellation policy is very confusing. you have house rules mixed in with cancel policies.
Maybe you would simplify a little:
Credit Card deposit of one night required to hold space. Cancellation less that 48 hours prior to arrival are non-refundable unless we can rebook the space.
I think its a good idea to take the card info upon check in too that is what they do when you check into a hotel - I think people expect it, as has been discussed here many times - sometimes the card does not work, or they could even sneak out early and not pay.
.

I do not consider your comment mean. I consider it constructive criticism, and I appreciate your input. I guess we just notated our policies as situations came along.
How about:
Your credit card number holds your room. We will ask for the actual payment as you leave. (People believe just because you asked for their card means they've already paid.)


For single nights, cancellation is required at least 48 hours in advance. Multiple nights require a cancellation policy at least 7 days in advance. The credit card will not be charged if we will be able to receive another guest for those days reserved that are cancelled with the above guidelines. These days will remain as a credit for up to one year. If you fail to cancel, no credits will be issued.


We do not allow guest pets nor children. We do not allow smoking indoors. We do not allow candles. Check in is 4PM or later, with check out by 11AM.

P.S. I haven't received email notifications to posts for quite a while now, perhaps 6 months, although I do not post that often. I do have the email option check marked.

I did ask the present guests if they had any problems with the way the rooms were represented on the web and they said they did not. One guest said we were a breath of fresh air. Another place they'd stayed had asked them to switch rooms, then after they'd gotten home, called and said they owed an additional $100!
.

I'd ease up a bit on the 'We do not...' Turn those around somehow and don't mention dogs and children together. It puts a bad feeling in the guest's mind who has either or both.

Smoking, including the lighting of candles, is not allowed. We are a smoke-free inn, which includes the lighting of any kind of candles. We cannot accommodate pets. (If there is a place nearby that will board guest pets, you could add something about that.) Accommodations are limited to 2 adult guests over the age of 21 only. (Or pick an age, if you want to put an age in.)

 

[user 26]

i am confused.
you gave her a tour. she left to have dinner and never returned.
was she, in fact, 'checked in?? signed the register? given a key? when would she get the key, when she came back? or did she get a key to her room?
if no key, no signature, it sounds like in her view (or her pretend view) she never actually checked in.
my guests paid a deposit at reservation and balance at check-in, so i am not experienced in this type of arrangement.

 

[Samster]

I'm sorry this happened to you also.
I'm a little confused too about if this guest actually completed the check-in process. I think you might have a hard time refuting the charges based on info from the Wise Ones here in the past. It's kind of a "she said, she said" situation. She booked over the phone so didn't have to check off a policies acceptance, she might have signed your book but no registration form agreeing to your policies (like no refund for early departure), and did she actually unload her things?
Tough spot.....

 

[Suzie Q]

i am confused.
you gave her a tour. she left to have dinner and never returned.
was she, in fact, 'checked in?? signed the register? given a key? when would she get the key, when she came back? or did she get a key to her room?
if no key, no signature, it sounds like in her view (or her pretend view) she never actually checked in.
my guests paid a deposit at reservation and balance at check-in, so i am not experienced in this type of arrangement..

I'm waiting for cookies to cool for the present guests. LONG DAY!
She came, I gave tour, I had her sign the register book. I gave her the code to the front door, which she wrote down. She pressed me for a good place to have a steak. I'm not a steak eater, so I told her about 2 places in town that serve steak.
She never said anything negative until the next morning when she called. I've never been asked to sign a policy nor pay in advance, except one place here in the Midwest had me pay in advance. The folks in Europe want a copy of your passport.
C

 

[Suzie Q]

I'm sorry this happened to you also.
I'm a little confused too about if this guest actually completed the check-in process. I think you might have a hard time refuting the charges based on info from the Wise Ones here in the past. It's kind of a "she said, she said" situation. She booked over the phone so didn't have to check off a policies acceptance, she might have signed your book but no registration form agreeing to your policies (like no refund for early departure), and did she actually unload her things?
Tough spot......

Hi!
I've never signed a guest policy sheet, although we've stayed in about 20 bnbs. Maybe it isn't a Midwest thing. Never did in Europe or the West Coast, either. She did not unpack her things, which is not unusual.