Just had a guest wrote a review on my property. Overall he was quite complimentary (enjoyed the stay, love the area, like the decor, amenities and comfort). But then he went on to say (and I quote) “One of the light bulbs in the living room was out. For that I will take out one star.” Seriously?!
Our condo has a wall to ceiling windows with A LOT of natural light coming in during the day, when we clean and prepare the apartment. So we didn’t make it a habit to turn on and check all the lightings. So it’s not like we keep a dead bulb on purpose. Also, we kept a couple of extra bulbs in the kitchen drawer, just in case. If the guest had let us know, we could easily replace the dead bulb.
Any of you have similar experience? Is it worth contacting Airbnb for this? Anything they’d do in situation like this? Or should we just grin and bear it?
Yes just grin and bear it. Air wouldn’t do anything anyways. They will say you have so many good reviews this one dinged star won’t matter yada yada… Unfortunately it will happen.
It happens, forget about it and move on.
No use contacting Airbnb.
Only takeaway, check your bulbs between guests. Believe it or not, I check all table and bedside lamps and main lights during a turnover. Mainly because we have LED panel lighting in all rooms and it isn’t a 30sec job to change one.
JF
I would want to contact the guest directly, tell them what an asshole he is for doing that and had you known he was going to be so petty you would have mentioned his body odor.
Glad we have this space to vent!
RR
*[quote=“Dsatrio, post:1, topic:32853”]
. But then he went on to say (and I quote) “One of the light bulbs in the living room was out. For that I will take out one star.
[/quote]
Hopefully this was in the public review, so hosts reading the review in the future will see this and immediately start laughing. And then decline to host this entitled guest.
Yeah that would be an immediate decline. My house is old and has all kinds of issues. I call it character but this guest would give me 0 stars at that rate.
I check all lights, fans, the TV, clock/radio, AC, microwave, fridge, kettle, GFCI in the bathroom.
I started this after getting called by guest that the TV didn’t work once, that was because the input button had been pushed and it was on antenna instead of satellite. It used to be the beside lamp wouldn’t work if someone turned off the switch that’s on the outlet expander. So I had to switch out the kind of outlet expander I had. Another time the blow dryer didn’t work (due to the GFCI getting tripped). A five star host should check everything before every guest. A five star guest shouldn’t be such an idiot. But what are you gonna do?
The guy was definitely a jerk @Dsatrio but I have to say I am another host who checks all lights in the house everytime there is a turnover to make sure they are all working.
It only takes a few seconds per room and another minute or so to change a bulb.
If he requested to book my place, I would have so much fun declining him and telling him the exact reason why.
I also think it’s interesting that so many people would decline. I have instant book so of course I wouldn’t be declining. Also I’d have to have Air Review enabled and I’d have to check his reviews that he left. Better to use that time checking the bulbs instead of checking to see if someone complained about the bulbs.
These types of issues always make me SMH, I mean honestly we can check and dbl check everything and light bulbs will still burn out at will or the toilet will clog, etc etc. Honestly do not people live in their own homes and have no light bulbs burn out? Just review them honestly without venom…as much as sometimes I would love to ask people if they have a brain.
Yes, after one guest telling me the TV would only play DVD’s and show actual television, I always check that the “Source” button is on TV. But then again, it’s in the house manual, including an image of the remote with a note of what buttons to press for what. In English, Spanish and German!
JF
Yes, I have the DirectTV remote control guide in the guest room. And I imagine many guests do check that first.
Yesterday I discovered the satellite tv wasn’t working. A thing called the SWIM was off. It’s plugged into the circuit that includes my bathroom and is hooked to the TV in my bedroom and the GFCI had tripped the day before. I’d reset it but it didn’t occur to me to check the TV in my room. Now I know The guests the night of no DirectTV had just put the TV on Netflix and were fine but some guests would have probably been unhappy and deducted a star for not having a promised amenity.
For me, it’s not really about the bulbs but the pettiness.
I check the bulbs too, but there’s always something that can happen despite the host’s best efforts.
A weed pops up in the lawn the day after the guest checks in. The power goes out for 30 minutes because of a storm. One spider is seen. The window AC unit is noisier than what the guest is used too.
Maybe these things can be mentioned in either the public or private reviews, but the OP’s guest sounds like he was on a power trip and looking for reasons to deduct stars.
It’s not really a case of checking bulbs and so on - ideally all lights, the AC, the fans and the TV are all switched on when the guest arrives. It looks a lot cosier and the TV is on a low volume playing music. That way the guest knows that everything was working fine when they arrived.
Yes, we have spare bulbs in the cupboard (and I show the guests the contents of that cupboard during the tour) but if your light fittings have modern bulbs that last for eighteen years or whatever it is, you’ll not have to worry about it for a while…
Awful guest - she should have messaged you privately if the light was out and it was a problem. I suspect the light was not a problem at all, but this is the type person that is just looking for something to complain about.
Airbnb will say that his review is consistent with TOS. They will not remove it. It’s a battle scar, and a darn good giggle for anyone reading the review.
Our guest called us and I quickly came and changed the bulb. She mentioned that very positively in her review.
I occasionally have dead light bulbs. As I can’t climb ladders I wait for the electrician to visit for other work or if it is easier to change then ask a friend or handyman. It is annoying that so called long life bulbs you pay extra for aren’t that long life at all. I admit it looks a little unprofessional but there are other lights nearby. I just had someone give me a 3 for Checkin because the key had been taken by the previous guest (the door was unlocked and in this area that is not a problem) and I couldn’t find the spare. I did eventually but didn’t want to disturb them or go down in the dark so waited till after breakfast then gave them three and asked them to keep one that worked. In the review they said “No key and not provided till next day”. Whatever.
And what about those ants that appear after rain that I haven’t trained to not come indoors!