reasons for a refund

Some people do this to get something for free. I've seen this on flights, at hotels, at restaurants, etc.

As a policy, landlords should investigate the seriousness of the situation and then, in most cases, just say NO!

Of course, if the problem is serious....like "the water pipe broke" and made the unit unusable, then it would be prudent to provide a refund.

A complaint about "a bug" or "the power went out" should be addressed with an apology but nothing else (IMHO).

F.I.

Every complaint has to be looked at with some validity. The internet and one's ability to post whatever complaint could kill a person's business by bad mouthing. A poor response from an owner could send a customer on an internet smear campaign which could kill a business real fast. Internet has brought customer service to a new light!

When we choose to do something on vacation we read all the reviews of the business before making a decision. If they get a few negatives we usually move on to someone who hasn't received any.

Tippi:

Ahhhh, yes.....the Blackmail scheme........I really hope that people don't take all of these complaints seriously.......when I research a property I read a number of entries...good and bad....on the bad ones I try to determine just what is "bad"....usually I find that one can not make that determination....thus I place these in the "looney box". You can usually pick out the "blackmail schemes".

I've seen unfavorable reports regarding "too many steps to walk", "the pool was too deep", "too many foreigners at this resort (this was for a resort in Egypt)", "I slipped on a rock, therefore this resort is dangerous"...if you just looked at the headline with their one star rating and not reading the reason you could be very misled about the property.

On a recent TripAdvisor posting for the Point Pleasant Resort a person gave a "negative review".....they contend that they asked for a specific unit and was told that the unit hadn't been cleaned so they couldn't get that unit.....they also contend that the unit they received was in terrible shape.

The facts.....we, the owners, were in the unit they requested at that time....so therefore they couldn't get it anyway. The unit they say they received is NOT in the rental pool. Plus the unit is a Junior Suite and they had 2 adults and two teenagers...Junior suites are allowed 2 guests, only. Hmmmmm.

Owners need to take action to correct these unjustified adverse reports. A couple of highly publicized legal actions against these people should quiet down the unjustified negative reports.

F.I.

btw...the resort in Egypt was absolutely amazing..."even with all on the foreigners"...which I thought was a great experience....a Polish family even invited us to come to their home in Warsaw........

When I stay at national hotel chains I complain and demand partial refunds wherever there is a problem that affects my stay (such as huge amounts of noise, water not running properly, broken or non-functioning appliances, etc.) When staying at guest houses and villas I am pretty slow to complain and even when I've had to make requests I've NEVER asked for a refund. I've even made a few minor fixes while staying. For me the difference is whether the management has the resources to have avoided the problem or to quickly fix it--it really burns me up to pay full fees to hotels that seem to have lots of employees on hand but nothing is getting done. The difference is also in the nature of the relationship for me: I see villa and guest house stays, even though they are paid stays, as more personal and collegial.

But to answer the question posed: my favorite reason given by a person who wanted a partial refund here in the USVI during a stay: "It's just too hot here and I really couldn't use the deck because of it." :S

As Tippi says, though, *every* complaint has to be treated with respect, even if you can't give the relief requested.

Best,

Islandlola
---

I've gotta say I've had some bad villa experiences in the caribbean, its taught me to be very careful when I book and I get everything in writing. I've also been on the other side receiving the complaints so I understand that as well.

I've complained before that it was too hot, that was because I was promised a/c and the place had none. 🙂

The scorpion thing really made be laugh, we rented a place once in Bisbee AZ and it was their monsoon season. In one night I caught over 25 scorpions (felt like Indiana jones). Needless to say the landlord was a jerk, we took him to small claims and won.

Never had a power problem. Regardless of what goes wrong the customer also has a responsibility to act with grace and respect as well. Really makes me sick when people use these lame excuses to get something for free.

Future Islander....

You must be one in a million. I don't know of that many internet readers that give bad reviews as much thought as you do. Most people read it and move on seeking/find what a person is looking for without negative reviews.

Too many listings to analyze a negative unless it is blatant people tend to believe what they read. Sad for an owner, but that's the way the internet works.

Customer service is key and should be a daily goal to make the customer happy in some way. People work hard for their money and if they choose to spend it want to be satisfied.

Tippi

Too bad there aren't internet reviews of customers of hotels/villas who trash a place.

Tippi:

Thanks...but I don't know if I'm one in a million.

The rules I use are rather simple......

1. I like TripAdvisor (and VINOW too).
2. If a review is negative I look to see how many reviews this individual has written. I find that many of the bad reviews are written by a person that has published only one review...this makes me suspicious.....are they getting even for not getting something? Or are they competitors just trying to "bad mouth" a place? Also, you need to investigate what their complaint was about.....some complaints are pretty ridiculous.
3. Glowing reviews might be provided by the "owners" themselves....thereby you really need to "weed" through these as well.
4. If a place has 10 bad reviews out of 15 and the authors have provided other reviews for different properties then I would stay away from that property. Of course 10 five star reviews (same conditions) then I would have confidence in that property.

Here's a hotel that we used even though the reviews were less than perfect......Athens, Greece, last November...several complaints.....several authors really knocked down the property......but reading into the reviews the authors indicated that the food in the hotel's restaurant was lousy and very expensive (that was their main problem). So we didn't use the restaurant, instead had a delightful dinner, in town, at a sidewalk cafe....as for the hotel accommodations..... well I rated it at 4+ Stars.

F.I.

Trade you must be high on your meds today....:D

Not nice Tippi

Removed my comment because I don't need the attitude I know I'd get from the not nice person to which my comment was directed.

Honestly, being in the restaurant business, I hate giving away something for free for no reason. Unfortunatley there is an element of people who pray on chains for discounts and free meals. Before entering the private sector I spent several hellish years with Olive Garden as a GM. We were instructed by corporate to offer a free meal if someone is dissasisifed. Yes, there really are people who eat 5 Shrimp Scampi, call over the manager, make a seen and get a free meal. Not in my restaurant, after a server check back and a manager table visit, you are paying. Obviously, if meat is under cooked, or something is percieved as too spicey, or any realistic problem occurs, we will make the situation right and everyone leaves happy!!!!!

I like to check reviews as well. For my first trip to St. Croix, I definitely used them to decide where to stay. I'd do exactly what Islandlola would do... *-) I hate those trying to get something for nothing... but bad service deserves something. Fortunately for owners, I'm not sitting around, if things aren't going my way, I complain early & if it doesn't change, I just leave... low tolerance to have my hard earned money used for something that I'm not happy about... Which is why I read reviews and ask around for references.

dougtamjj,

Have you counted how many times Trade has made that comment to posters on this board? Where was your not nice comment then to Trade?

After all that phrase was coined on this board by Trade.

Tippi

According to a search on this forum Trade has used the word meds 4 times since she started posting and the word medication 1 time since she started posting.

Glad you acknowledged this fact that the phrase was coined by Trade!

Tippi, my comment wasn't even directed at you. You are not the center of the universe. My comment was about the many people who wreck hotel rooms or leave places filthy dirty, are rude to waiters/waitresses, sales people or others in service industries, are obnoxious, who toss their bottles & trash out of the safaris they're touring in & generally behave like the sterotypical ugly American. It's too bad there cannot be reviews on THEM. They are free to trash a business on the internet if they don't get what they think they deserve (even if they don't) but nothing can be said about them.

Not nice Tippi

Thanks, Tam. I don't know what her problem is.

I didn't acknowledge anything.

I started this thread to hear some other humorous absurd reasons for people requesting villa refunds.

I am sorry to see it morphed into an online pissing and dissing.

Sloop Jones