I’ve hosted over 40 guests and have never had to deal with this situation. A Chinese girl around my age checked in yesterday and is constantly hovering over me when I’m in my place and wants to talk nonstop. She has never used Airbnb before and said she using it to not be bored in the home and have someone to hang out with. If it was for a few days, I could deal with it but she’s staying 10 days. I typically have plans every evening but am home for 1-3 hours a night and want to cook dinner and be able to watch some tv. She’s too scared to leave the home after 5pm because it gets dark out. All my reviews state I’m a friendly guest and I do like to chat with my guests a bit, but she’s way over the top. Is there a nice way to handle the situation? I could go in my bedroom and watch tv on my laptop, but I’d much rather use my 55" in the living room.
What is the reason for your guest’s trip to your area for 10 days?
I always talk to guests before they book to make sure there was a good fit. If I knew someone wasn’t happy to go out after dark and was staying by themselves I am afraid I would have turned the booking down.
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Sit her down for a friendly chat. Say you are happy to have a tea/coffee with her when you get home, but you lead a busy life and do like time to yourself when you get home to cook/watch TV.
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If you are in a big city (in the US?) is there a local group for young Chinese people that you could point her in the direction, so she would have people to socialise with. She may feel better if there is a group she could go out with in the evenings.
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If you are only home for a few hours a night you might need to compromise and watch TV or read a book in your room, if she doesn’t get the hint and your want to escape.
Cancel her reservation with some excuse
She’s here to take care of some family personal business. She just booked her stay the day before and had a last minute flight from China. She didn’t get into any details and I didn’t want to ask. I assumed she would be out a bunch to take care of stuff. After she checked in, she said she booked her stay longer to hang out in Chicago more. She studied at UIC so she’s pretty familiar to Chicago and knows some people.
Helsi, I totally would have turned her down if I knew that. Your advice seems pretty spot on.
I don’t understand why people who need this constant human interaction don’t just book into a hostel, which is pretty much designed for solo travellers to meet other solo travellers.
I had a couple stay who left a shitty 3 star review because they were ‘disappointed’ they didn’t get to hang out with us. Grrrr
I noticed a new item in the Guest Interaction section of the listing edit screen on my desktop computer just after “Guest Access”.
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I wonder if there’s a similar question somewhere on the reservation side.