How to Handle Guest Complaints

When a guest encounters an issue upon arrival or during their stay, handling it quickly and professionally is essential. Typical complaints include check-in problems, cleaning issues, missing items, damages, or amenities that don't match the listing. Understanding how to respond appropriately can help you resolve issues fairly and protect your reputation.

Why handling complaints matters

• Fairness for guests: If something disrupts the stay and it wasn't the guest's fault (and wasn't clearly communicated before booking), guests may be entitled to compensation.
• Better reviews and future bookings: Fast, solution-focused communication increases the chance of a positive outcome and protects your rating.

Understanding complaint validity

When is a complaint considered valid?

A complaint can be considered valid if the problem is linked to the accommodation or its surroundings and could reasonably have been prevented, communicated, or handled.

Typically valid complaints

• Poor property conditions
• Non-functional or unavailable amenities
• Wrong advertisement
• Inaccessibility to the property
• Property uninhabitable
• Poor road conditions in the vicinity of the property without an alternative route
• Essential advertised points of interest unavailable (beach closed)

Typically invalid complaints

• Weather conditions
• Some non-essential points of interest unavailable (restaurants, supermarkets)
• Typical cultural or local conditions (includes noise disturbance typical for property location, for example, in city centre)
• Normal noise by neighbours during the day
• A little bit of dust on surfaces or a spider web
• A little bit of dirt or fallen leaves on outside areas
• Old-fashioned furniture or interior
• Failure to read the advertisement properly
• Force Majeure on host side
• Damage by a third party, for example, burglary (unless proof of pre-existing security issue at the property)

Guests are requested to inform you immediately if anything is not right during their stay and have up to a week after check-out to report it. Most concerns can be resolved quickly when addressed on-site, and prompt communication helps prevent further inconvenience.

Assessing the severity of an issue

Complaints are classified according to the impact they have on the guest stay and the disruption caused.

Minor

Small inconveniences that do not impact the usability of the property or the overall stay.

Examples: not enough cutlery; worn furniture; non-essential appliances not working (toaster, coffee machine).

Moderate

Issues that affect comfort or parts of the property's functionality, but the stay can continue.

Examples: temporary loss of hot water, Wi-Fi, or heating; cleanliness issues; bugs; daytime noise disturbance; bedrooms being locked; strong smell with identifiable source; incorrect location by more than 5 km; several separate minor issues.

Major

Issues that significantly limit the intended use of the property or create serious disruption.

Examples: health or safety concerns (mould or pests); loss of critical utilities (water or electricity); night-time noise disturbance; more than 3 separate moderate issues.

Severe

The property is not usable or accessible, or there is a serious health, safety, or privacy breach. The guest may not be able to stay or may need to leave.

Examples: guest cannot access the property at check-in; flooding or fire; bed bugs; severe mould; CCTV in private areas; host entry without permission; not enough beds or space for the booked number of guests.

For moderate, major, or severe issues, a solution should be appropriate to the impact on the guest's stay.

Response time expectations

When Holidu steps in to resolve a complaint, specific response times are expected based on the severity and timing of the issue.

On-site issues for valid complaints

Severity	Expected host reply time after Holidu contacts you
Minor	Within 24 hours
Moderate	Same day (max. 12 hours)
Major	Within 2 hours
Severe	Within 2 hours

After check-out issues for valid complaints

Severity	Expected host reply time
Minor	Within 2 working days
Moderate	Within 2 working days
Major	Within 2 working days
Severe	Within 2 working days

Getting support for guest complaints

If you need assistance handling a guest complaint, contact the Holidu customer service team. The Holidu assistant can help you navigate the complaint resolution process and ensure all necessary steps are followed correctly. This support is available to help you manage complaints effectively and maintain proper communication with guests.

Platform responsibility and standards

Booking platforms are not responsible for property-related issues and will not refund their commission. However, each platform has hosting standards that allow them to refund or cancel bookings if a guest provides valid documentation of a violation, such as health hazards or misrepresented listings.

If Holidu needs to step in and compensation must be granted based on the severity and validity of the issue, the compensation will be handled by Holidu and recovered from you using the Balance Concept.