This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Great suggested review from @KenH @faheem
Sorry to hear of your latest problem guest.
And please don’t apologise for not being on here so much before asking for advice. There are quite a few people who join looking for advice, and then are never seen again 
You have been a great asset to the forum.
I don’t think it’s petty at all. Do leave a review.
Ken’s review is great as always. I might shorten the last bit to “Did not follow house rules on use of AC and was uncooperative with government lodging form requirements.”
I might also leave out the “complaints” sentence as you initially calculated the fee incorrectly, if I understand your post. As a guest, I too would be annoyed at the lodging asking me to break down the fees – a guest won’t understand that Airbnb does not provide us all the info.
Related question – I used to be able to see the Airbnb guest fee on the reservation confirmation i get as host, but can’t find it anymore. Did Airbnb stop showing it? My current guests have family in the area, so I urged them to take a postcard with direct booking information. I told them Airbnb charges 12-20% , and they seemed surprised. Were they just not looking at the details, or is Air burying this somewhere so it’s also not readily apparent to guests?
As usual Ken nails it.
With all due respect to HICHUP by @KKC I think there’s a business opportunity for Ken -> KREW (Ken’s Review Editing Wonders)
No, it’s apparent. It’s there when you reserve, it’s on the receipt that Airbnb emails you. If one looks on their itinerary it’s not obvious, you have to do some clicking to get to the receipt. It’s about a third of the way down the receipt.
Was you guest local or a foreigner? I only ask because I (a westerner) stayed in a hostel in Bombay (as it was called then) in 1995 for a wedding and being of the louche habits of a 30 yo man was not very tidy and word got back to me that I was leaving the room in a state when going out each morning. They were probably right but it never occurred to me they would care, just leave it, I was only sleeping there not partying. So maybe she was a foreigner who was unused to local customs and basic politeness and had decided to shut them out rather than address the issues.
Feeling guilty on leaving I did give a very big tip to the room cleaner. And then the manager appeared looking for his. Then the groundskeeper…word got around fast.
I would advice you to have the guests fill out the form the first day when they arrive not at check out. Also keep the reviews simple.
I honestly couldn’t read all of your message; it was too long and too detailed. I get it that the bathroom was not clean and communication was not ideal plus the AC left on. Just say something about these, sparing the details. A couple of sentences in the review, that’s all.
Hi @KenH,
Thank you for the suggested wording. It looks good, though I’m not sure what a reader would think of:
Even before arriving, the complaints began.
But it seems the site consensus is that short is generally better. I know I tend to be wordy.
Hi @Helsi,
Thank you for the kind words. It’s seems there is a non-trivial amount of turnover in the site. I don’t see some of the old faces, and don’t recognise many of the new faces. But the topics remain the same.
Hi @dpfromva,
There was no error on my part. But perhaps a little more detail would be helpful to clarify. Initially, the guest booked for one person. Then she said another person would be joining her. She asked what she should do - I said she should cancel and rebook with two people, which afaik is the only option that Airbnb allows. She then wrote back and said the extra charges (for the second guest) were too much (as you know, Airbnb directly charges whatever they want, we don’t).
I checked, and the figure she quoted was more than it should have been. I know how much I’m charging, and Airbnb adds approximately 25% on top for my listing (Airbnb fees + GST (Indian taxes)). I asked her for the breakdown of the cost to try to figure out where the problem was, and she refused to provide that information, though it would only have taken her a few minutes to take a screenshot. I think she did provide screenshots of the total figures (original/current booking for one person and hypothetical revised booking for two people), which wasn’t exactly helpful. I could dig it out and post it if anyone cares.
Hi @JamJerrupSunset,
The lady is German, but lives in the Netherlands. So yes, she’s a foreigner. Ironically, I generally get along well with German people. They’re generally fussy, like I am. Though I suppose a people don’t necessarily conform to stereotypes.
I got the impression that she was just very busy with work, and didn’t really care. Though I really don’t expect much from my guests - it’s generally unrealistic. But some basic courtesy is not difficult, and goes a long way.
I occasionally get people who clearly just regard my home as cheap lodgings. I tend to not get on well with those people. I’m not sure if this lady was in that category, though. The few contacts I’d had with her previous to that, she had been quite polite. She kept saying - “that would be amazing”.
Hi @adrienne12,
Yes, of course I get the guests to fill out the forms as soon as possible. Actually, I send it to them via email, and sometimes they send it back in advance of arrival. That’s usually a sign of a good guest, in practice.
Do you mean the message, or the review? Sometimes a little detail is necessary, otherwise the reader would not be clear what happened.
Sorry, I didn’t understand initially.
Topic below - it was a suggested side business with appropriate acronym. I attempted to continue the tongue in cheek humor with a new business opportunity for Ken, who is truly the master of reviews.
Thanks, that’s a very funny post by @KKC. I must have missed it. As mentioned, I’m not here as regularly as I used to be.
Both, I had difficulties reading the whole message and I didn;t see a sample of your review.
Short is better and keep to the essential facts. Too many she sad I said and then… I, as potential future host of this woman, don’t need to know what she did at your place minute by minute. I just need to know what went wrong, itemized kind of. like this, this and this.
The review draft starts with:
and ends with
I don’t think that was particularly hard to figure out, but perhaps I should have indented it, or used a block quote.
No, indeed but your review plus your message/explanations were so long and written in the same way, like you were talking with us, that I lost track. Sorry.
