Dear friends, help me to write a short but negative review to guest who sent me this message “I’m very disappointed. This is not a home, this is a lodging you use for commercial purposes and all the units are here like cheap motel/hotel. I can get this for less than 300bahts in Bangkok. I feel tricked. This is no different than any other lodging on Thailand, why are you listing this as a home?! This is old and dingy and smells funny and old. I would never chose this place for this price knowing it’s a guesthouse. I’m going to report this to Airbnb, very disappointed.”
Is the guest being honest? Is it a home ? Did you trick them? Is it old and dingy? Has anyone else made complaints?
What do you think you should write in the review?
RR
Can we see the listing please?
@RiverRock @Debthecat it looks just like on pictures, it is 40 years old building which was cheaply renovated 7 years ago, so it is old but i clean it pretty well, it is in the city center and it is 19 USD per night
she is telling she can get it for 300 Thai baht which is 8 USD - that is definitely false and makes me feel miserable for my effort
and as she made me feel something i definitely want to write a negative review as short as possible
@KenH is pretty good at keeping reviews short and to the point.
Besides complaining what was bad about this guest?
RR
2 Likes
@RiverRock she didnt check out yet, and i never met her so nothing else to say
well clearly she have unreal expectations and clearly didnt read anything in the listing, she is clearly not an airbnb person and dont need local experience
but do other hosts care? i am not sure
If she was that unhappy…
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She had 24 hours after checking in to let Airbnb know she was unhappy with her accomodations in order to get a refund or booked into another place. She knew what your place was like from the pictures & from the moment she walked in.
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Did something prompt her to send a message complaining? Do you know if she has complained to Airbnb? Is she looking to play the system and an after-stayed & enjoyed refund?
2 Likes
The place looks fine to me and unless the listing has changed since she booked, she can’t say that she was misinformed. So I can only conclude that she’s a nutjob. I doubt she has a hope in hell of reporting the listing to Airbnb - if she did, they’d probably file her in the loony department.
As @RiverRock said, @KenH’s the expert in short, sharp reviews. I wouldn’t spend any time thinking about it. I’d use her terminology and just put something like ‘very disappointed’ 
Place looks fine to me too. My question is, HOW did she send you that message? Through the Airbnb Message system? Or by private text or email?
So… even though she send that message, she stayed anyway? Hasn’t moved out. Hasn’t written anything else… How long is she supposed to be staying?
She could certainly report it, but I doubt Air would do anything… it sounds like a “typical” rant in an attempt to get a refund.
"Cannot recommend Guest. She sent me a negative (and false) rant message in what appears to be an attempt to force a refund. In spite of her complaints she stayed XX nights.
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Have you contacted Airbnb yet? I would do that asap in your case and let them know that you have an unhappy guest. Ask them for “what to do” and “what do they recommend”.
Most likely they will be of no help, but it will get this matter documented. Make sure to point out in no uncertain terms to Airbnb that your listing has over 200 reviews with a 5 Star Accuracy rating. This lady is sure to leave a bad review and getting in touch with Airbnb preemptively might help with that.
I would also write a very sweet reply to this lady mentioning your very high accuracy ratings and offering to cancel her stay asap.
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i am not sure whats in that head, but i am sure airbnb will let her cancel it if she contact them as they are very generous with hosts money even no reasons
I had that type of guests who used airbnb thing of giving 50% refund if they complain very hard, just my rooms are so cheap i hardly understand why people will spend their time for that, but as well i am hard to understand why they are complaining
like for 19 usd be happy that you have walls and be very happy when you find out that it is well managed property
i wasn’t writing any negative reviews for years but i want to start
3 Likes
@KenH Thank you for bad review sample,
i think as she paid 19USD per night she is too cheap to cancel it and loose even 1 dollar
i got that type of people a lot
maybe she was trying to get full refund even if she stayed or a discount, idk
@AlexSJ Yes i wrote her very respectful answer just because she paid money for it,
i can see you are clearly right about contacting airbnb, i personally think waiting for 1 hour in line and talking to some intern who has no clue what to do does not worth 19 usd a night so i didnt, but you clearly motivated me to do so the next time
19US is not that cheap for Bangkok.
There are plenty of very nice condos in high rise buildings with pool an gym that one can rent for even less that . There are entire units that are rented for even 10$ with very good reviews. So your guest didn’t go for the cheapest price possible.
I am sure your guest saw what’s out there and she knew that for 19US she could get something she likes not just Walls and floor
I looked at the listing.
It seems like a “what you see is what you get” place. You even call it modest. I’m not really sure what she means when she says it’s not a home.
If she wanted something more homey then that is what she should have booked. If she were complaining about something like the cleanliness or missing sheets, then she would have reason, but as long as the reality matches the photos, it her own fault.
“The guest booked my place, which is clearly described in the listing and is exactly like the photos. She was unhappy with her own choice and contacted me with rude complaints.”
2 Likes
@Yana not in the city center, ones which are in high rise buildings and 20 usd will be like 1 hour drive away
You clearly indicated that it was an apartment. Perhaps they thought it was a house but that was their mistake for not reading. You have 204 reviews and have a 5 star rating. If it were I, I would simp!y write “I’m sorry you were under the impression that it was a house. It’s a lovely apartment and I"m sorry it did not meet your expectations. Thank you for your stay.”
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That would be a reasonable reply if the guest left a bad review (for hosts who are willing to reply to guest reviews) but it doesn’t serve its primary purpose. In other words, it doesn’t tell future hosts anything about the guest when they look at her reviews.
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You will never get decent high-rise in BKK city center for that price, even the cheapest 15sqm Lumpini room. The place is perfectly priced and accurately advertised hence 200+ reviews.
Looks like the guest never been to Bangkok and listened too much of digital nomads “screw 9 to 5 and move to Thailand as you can live on 200$ a month” promotions.