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I love PG Tips or Typhoo , so I have my English Guests bring a package of both and for my Australian ones they have to bring Tim Tam Cookies . My latest discovery was Brians Tea from Ireland , the Best . It was actually from the Head Food Manager from Airbnb Dublin . !
With that all being said , I have experienced all kinds of world wide travelers . Some of them have acted in the same way Americans have been accused of . So its not just an American issue . I use it as an opportunity to discuss Culture and Social norms .
But I think for some reason I am lucky , in that I have never had the issues that most others here have had (for all manner of issues ) . I like to think that its because I have an very fully written description of my listing . I also use the first few messages to make sure that they fully have read the listing and understand what is and is not included in the stay . Full directions from the Airport , Confirmation of the dates they have selected , their arrival time at the Airport (including the Flight info so I can check for delays ) and the ETA at my front door .
Check out time and any other details on questions they may have . Its a lifer saver to do this as it removes any chance of them complaining about mostly everything , as its all in writting from me and them , so its hard to claim you didn’t understand when you agreed to it in writting !! So if any problems from guests , its from first time travelers and Newbies to Airbnb .
They just take an extra 5 mins of hand holding to start and lots of Big extra fees to prevent poor mannered guests . if you Lose my House Keys ($275.00 US ) , If you miss your agreed upon check in time and its not travel related delays , just some lame excuse that you decided to go off and site see and let me sit here waiting to guess when you arrive ? NO, NO, NO , you get a very polite and firm message that the next time I am available for check in time is …( fill in whatever time is best for you ) Gets them moving very quickly , but I also will not wait even another 5 mins for arrival . I do give leeway for guests that might get confused in directions , but thats what Texting and Airbnb messaging is for . Oh , and I forgot to mention in my case , I offer a Hosted Stay , In my private Home , so I say in the first communication that I am a Private Home and not a Hotel . Thats my 2 cents . I must be doing something right ? Over 500 Guest stays and only 2 non 5 star reviews .
Because we are fed constant propaganda from birth that we are the best country in the world and everyone else wishes they could be us. We are discouraged from learning other languages and our knowledge of geography is severely limited. With seven corporations owning virtually all the media outlets, the propaganda machine is really i control. Not everyone buys into that, but the majority do. It tends to create a$$holery.
I am with you. Older people pick on every little thing. I tell them outright if they have a problem no matter how small that they should tell me. The last ungrateful couple complained that the continental breakfast I offer is boring. I think its wrong that Airbnb holds this against me. The complaint is against continental breakfasts which they accepted when they accepted my offer to host them. The couple consisted of US citizens born Australia and Chile who live in New York.
US citizens are not alone. I had two Argentine women stay with me for three years running for two week sojourns each time. Their last evaluation of me stated that one of them thought her bed uncomfortable. After staying at my place for 6 weeks total now she tells me! I could have changed the mattress the first day had she told me.
I am most upset that Airbnb uses such remarks against us. My compensation is that I will never permit those people to stay in my home again for stabbing me in the back.
like all people its not the country its the state of mind the guests have about how they holiday and most americans of a certain age expect to be waited on hand a foot - so Zandra to avoid future attacks by them just say no to americans - of course if you are in America then you cant really do airbnb and not say yes -!! my experience after 7 years of hosting is middle aged Americans are on the whole a difficult and entitled bunch who treat hosts as hotel staff and make them feel like they are offering a service for the money they pay rather than a place to share - they think of us as cheap hotel rooms -
I’ve found, like others, that my most difficult to please guests are middle aged Americans. I am, by the way, a middle aged American myself.
Current guests are a middle aged woman and her college aged daughter. I went down to greet them this morning, with my typical and sunny, “Good Morning! Did you sleep well?” The reply was, “Hmmm, well, I always sleep with a ceiling fan. There isn’t one in the room, so that was, um, difficult.” Comments like this tend to leave me speechless, as it seems the only thing I could say is, “Oh! I’m so sorry for that obvious oversight! I’ll be sure to get one installed this morning!”
I really am not sure why people like this choose an Airbnb room. I’m fairly certain this woman has means, because of the 40K late model SUV she parked in my driveway, and the fact that she’s here to help her daughter through orientation at our expensive and exclusive nearby university. She could afford a hotel. Oh, wait. The majority of those don’t have ceiling fans either.
With all these insulting comments about middle-aged Americans (which I am), it makes me reconsider using AirBnB for travel.
Perhaps as hosts we should up our game and practice professionalism by putting aside preconceived notions and stereotypes and strive for hospitality no matter the challenge.
As a senior citizen myself, I see three economic statuses of older Americans that are red flags for that ‘harrumph’ and ‘well, I suppose I can suffer through it’: poor, middle class, and rich.
The sense of entitlement and the arrogance of 'I know that you told me that there was no eating in the room, but I think that it is not good and I give you four stars for a house rule that I dislike altho I agreed to it before booking" knows no bounds.
I totallt agree that countrysiders and suburbanites expect more when they come to urban listings. They are used to paying less money for bigger spaces. They also have trouble with the common issues relating to older homes (common in the city) like less than 8’ ceiling height in the basement, no central air, etc. My guests from NYC, Chicago, LA, Boston, San Fran and Europe are usually very pleased and have no complaints. My small town guests sometimes have a laundry list of complaints, many of which are fully explained in detail in my listings in very obvious ways. I always brace myself before their arrival and lie low as the onslaught plays out.
Thanks, I can buy them locally , but if I can get my guests to buy them for me ! LOL
PG Tips sell for about $3.49 US by me in San Francisco , so its not too expensive and World Market has them and Typhoo also , but they are $$$ there . I also have a Specialty Fee from all Australians coming to me . Tim Tam Cookies . You can sometimes get them here but they are $$$ and they are trying to break into the US market , but like I said before , I do a Cookie Surcharge , so I get plenty of those also .
I make sure all of my Guests leave with a nice bottle of California wine to drink
so its a fair trade !
I’m an American Millennial (so I’m in my early 30’s). I have found that I also hate hosting older Americans (like baby boomer age). They require the most attention of all guests and will comment on things in my reviews that I have clearly in my listing as a heads up, such as being near an airport, so there are low flying planes. Why book with me and then complain about it, when you could have read carefully and not booked to begin with?
