Type of guest to avoid?

I just need to think of how to word it diplomatically and then wait til the last day.

Now I feel like I need to hide the coffee away. I put out a lot for the large groups and long stays, and don’t think it take half of it away when a pair of overnighters stay.

Xena, this is what guests do to us, sadly. Make us want to squirrel away items intended for hospitality. Definitely wait until the last minute to leave the review…get the exact hour from a rep, but it’s typically midnight on the last day in the guest time zone. You could say something like, unfortunately, this guest was not a good fit and thought all the coffee supplies for the house were theirs for the taking. They walked off with $-- worth of coffee and tea after a two day stay. I was disappointed and would not recommend.

Please! Because if they ever come to Hawaii, I don’t want them enquiring here! Just like if you ever get an adventurous older couple enquire from Alberta, I should have let you know they complained about wind chimes in an area not by their rental, let the place a mess and stole supplies. Just no.

Xena, though we dont want to loose our cool and always be professional and polite, coffee stealing is not ok. Coffee is expensive, it was not theirs, your guests knew that they were doing a wrong thing by taking it. Just say it was not intended for them to take away, and it belonged to the house.
I just had a guest stealing one set of towels. It was not even that good set. Who does things like that?? Unfortunatelly i can not hide towels from my guests:).

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I never put out wine, though have provided a couple of local craft beers to some guests that appreciated it. The fruit bowl has been a much bigger disappointment. It makes such am impressive splash on the table, but rarely gets touched. I have found that a separate bowl of seedless grapes goes well, and sometimes certain fruits go well - one group liked the apples, some have liked the bananas, one group loved the strawberries, but mangoes usually just rot and oranges barely get touched. I shrank it to a simple small bowl and handed out a fruit checklist, but not a single guest ever filled out the list. I guess healthy eating is low on the list… :frowning:

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I put out a small canister of either beans or ground…there is a grinder there for serious coffee drinkers… and a box of Trader Joes instant. There is more than enough for a two day stay but not enough to take or to go stale.
I can only treat people as if they were actual guests in my home…more for my ego than their comfort, probably.
I also leave a couple of stamped Nashville postcards with instructions for them to write their mothers and only one taker so far.

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This is my experience also. I provide guests breakfast every morning. I put out a pretty display of fruit on a crystal plate, along with a small knife. Almost never ever gets touched.

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Xena, I’m a new host - only 6 months and about 35 or so groups. This is one thing I see. Different guests do completely weird things. You should limit the coffee that a guest can walk off with - but how many guests left it just where it was? In other words, I’m thinking, we can make a lot of rules or change a lot of what we do because of one guest’s oddity, but then the next guest will come up with another surprise. Am I making sense?

It’s tough to hold on to a good, hospitable attitude, We need to be wise, take precautions, but try to remain open to enjoy the good things.

And leave honest reviews. ; ) What Kona said was fine - Just “while guest was (quiet/clean/respectful/a good communicator) I was very disappointed that they took a large amount of coffee and tea with them” They may not be a good fit for airbnb hosts"

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I also try to avoid older people for the same reasons! I’ve hosted nearly 400 groups over 3 years, and the old folks cause the majority of complaints and and stress for me.

That being said, there are cohorts of adventurous, fun loving retirees who are wonderful guests.

Generally, I won’t accept older people if they are first time airbnb uses. I am also explicit that my listing is not handicapped- friendly nor is it suitable for people with mobility issues. I don’t want anyone falling and suing me!

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LOL… good one! …

Here’s what I decided to do about coffee. I do have to have it in the room at the least. So i bought a big can of Yuban on sale and then bought a mason jar, which I labeled “coffee.” I then put the Yuban in the glass jar. :slight_smile: Because I can’t supply guests with Kona coffee (grown nearby, but it is WAY too expensive) I give them the unnamed generic brand. :slight_smile: If they truly hate it they can go buy their own Kona (links to my friend’s estate helpfully given) and cannot complain I don’t offer them Kona coffee. :slight_smile:

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It’s that hotel staying mentality that makes them feel entitled to the supplies. Like you stay at the Hilton and supply yourself with every soap and shampoo that is restocked daily by Housekeeping, etc. Or worse, you stayed at the Mauna Lani and snuck off with the bathrobe!

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Reconsider a blanket policy like this. You may be missing out! Some of my very best guests have been older newbies. The ones I have now… couldn’t be more darling. Sweet, friendly, appreciative. And when they enquired I almost turned them down!!! New and had a cat for a profile pic. No info about themselves. Now that I met them, I realize they were probably new to Air and shy.

Also, VERY OFTEN newbie guests haven’t stayed at other AirBnBs and have not had the chance to get spoiled and entitled yet. For that reason, they often think my place is the Taj Mahal!

I also have stairs and am not handicapped accessible. I guess I don’t get enough REALLY old (how old is old??) guests enquiring. You know, the tottering kind. :slight_smile:

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I agree about the age thing…I have had such amazing guests from France, almost all of them retirees and they were so much fun! I had a slew of them last year and thought I hope I’m that interesting when I’m their age. They were lovely as guests too…so I don’t think going by age is a good idea. I honestly think that Air attracts mostly intrepid or at least willing to be intrepid travellers, especially if they are older.

I’m the same Kona, with people thinking my place is a palace! It kinda makes me laugh, but I’m also happy when my guests are happy so it’s all good.

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hear hear!!! I think my guests, 98% newbies, are so thankful I’m not a crazy woman and the ‘airbnb thing’ worked out well, that they are simply terrific. Oh, some odds and ends here and there, but as I’ve said before, the person with the weirdest photo and profile has been my best guest yet. I don’t even look anymore.

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Spoke too soon… my current guests didn’t seem as “happy” as they were when they first got here. Maybe they hate it?

“Also, VERY OFTEN newbie guests haven’t stayed at other AirBnBs and have
not had the chance to get spoiled and entitled yet. For that reason,
they often think my place is the Taj Mahal!” Kona, you are a card, that is a very astute observation…

Speaking of ‘Europeans’, I really have found them a total delight, of all nations of Europe. And they ARE so well-traveled and interesting.

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lol!!! Why thank you, :slight_smile: I am indeed flattered!

My nightmare guests were a couple who are like 20. They asked me how to find weed every single day which is illegal here. So I couldn’t help them. On the review they left for me it was written that I was not that helpful during their stays.

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Maria…Hope you communicated through the Air messaging system. I would call Air and tell them the story and ask them to remove the review. Even if you don’t have proof of the conversation I would still call Air and ask for removal. Stoppid kids… !!!

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I second you. Couldn’t agree more. Boo. Boo. Boo.

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