Dead light bulb

We get those horrible, tiny ants that are so hard to kill.

I’ve noticed a couple of hosts in my neighborhood have gotten dinged for them. Just waiting for my turn.

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I put something in my guest handbook I leave about ants and flies in summer. I live next to a dairy farm so there are lots of flies in summer when the wind blows from that direction which is fortunately rare. I point out the obvious that they need to shut the screen door if they want to keep them out. And leave out lots of insect spray.

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This is a good plan. It only takes seconds and actually makes you notice other things, like that massive cobweb hanging from the ceiling :fearful:
But yeah, petty guest.

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There’s a reason why there are so many “how many ______________s does it take to change a lightbulb?” jokes.

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I had a guest who did the same thing in their review, but they took away one star because “as an environmentalist it made me sad that they did not have central heating but individual heaters in each room so I take away one star“ I really wanted to reply to the review and say “as an environmentalist I would think you would just put on a sweater” :roll_eyes:

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LOL, good one. That was worth a review reply.

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I have always, always, always been dead against hosts responding to guests’ reviews. I have often posted here that I think it’s a terrible idea to do so.

But that is downright brilliant and I wish you HAD posted it :rofl:

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I did reply to the review, because I always reply to reviews it is just what I do. Normally it’s just something like thank you so much and you’re welcome back anytime. But because this guy brought that up and another issue that had been corrected since. I just simply said that the floor heater in the house (circa 1946) is an energy vampire and people could burn their feet on the grate so that’s why we don’t have it accessible and addressed the other issue and left it at that. But it was really really hard not to say “just put on a damn sweater. You’re from Boston for crying out loud!”

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And what kind of nitwit guest can’t change a lightbulb?

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Well they might not have figured out the trailer contraption circa 1954…

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The specific reference to the light bulb is petty. Comments like that make my husband very upset. However, I have had a lot of jobs where I had to rate using point systems and I take these “dings” more lightly. I know that many people consider 5 star ratings to mean perfection. Anything less, they think of as a “B”, not bad, but not perfect. Our home is 200 years old, on a busy street, with a gravel driveway so dust reappears within 12 hours and some things that are germ free don’t necessarily look sparkling clean. We primarily want to keep enough 5 ratings to continue superhost rating.

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Forget such guest. Maybe they are from the character, that they can’t difference between stay in a hotel and stay private. I case someone did such Evaluation for my guestroom, I write something like
that in the answer to his evaluation.

With reference to the reaction of airbnb I can say, that they will do anything. They do also anything if a guest is contaminating your guestroom with maggots.

Some people/guests are just unkind. Being able to review a property seems to go straight to their head. It’s a power trip. Don’t bother about contacting AirBnB they ALWAYS err on the side of the guest. We are also 5 star properties with the very very occasional 4 star. For instance one guest gave me a 4 star for accuracy. My photos and descriptions are EXACTLY as guests find the property. In fact 99% of our reviews say the property is even better in real life that in the photos. I contacted her about her 4 star for accuracy review and she came back to me saying that it would be good to have tongs and more china and glassware. The tongs were in the drawer and I have a kitchen dresser FULL of china and glassware. The property accommodates maximum 4, I have enough kitchenware for 10. So go figure that review??!! On another property of mine a guest gave 4 stars for value for money. An overwhelming amount of our guests give us face to face feedback that we undercharge for that property. It is simply stunning with amazing beach, ocean and island views. 2 days after that guest left she contacted me to rebook the property in the peak holiday period where the rates are advertised much higher. Once again go figure??!! I share these stories only to demonstrate that even here downunder in Australia some guests are unkind and power trippers when it comes to reviews. If it’s a public review I find a way of responding so very PC correctly but that makes the guest look like a fool against all the other shining reviews. Also in my welcome book I have a page dedicated to our philosophy on ‘house sharing’ what it means to us as hosts and as guests (we always travel with AirBnB). I speak of the difference between properties like hotels or resorts or holiday houses that are set up exclusively for renting as opposed to coming in to a ‘home’ albeit a ‘home’ that is shared with others. I also mention that this is our only source of income and that every review matters to our ongoing success. And suggest that if there is anything we might have missed please contact us immediately. I have a sense that this help people/guests become more conscious of what they write in their reviews. Hope this helps.

There’s nothing you can do . I had a family stayed, we provided all the baby stuff no charge. She left a nice review but 3 stars. I messaged to ask what’s the problem and what we can do to improve based on her 3 star. Never got any response. Some people are just bitching.

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Thank you all for taking time to write and giving me your 2-cents.
My takeaways:

  • Grin and bear it. The other 5-stars will outweigh this 4-star
  • Don’t bother contacting Airbnb as it would result in nothing
  • Do a check through before a new guest checks in. I personally don’t think this would solve any issues. Light bulbs could go out just seconds after you check it. It could go out during a guest’s stay and he would still knock a star off. Things could happen despite our best efforts, but I agree it’d minimise (but not eliminate) the problem.
  • A jerk is going to be a jerk no matter how satisfactory everything is; he would find the smallest piece of dead skin stuck in the farthest corner of the room and goes say that the apartment is dirty. There is no pleasing this type of sad human being

I just hope people could be nicer, more courteous and civilised. When I travel, I often use Airbnb as well. And if I find something is not working properly and it’s affecting my stay, I’d inform the host immediately so he/she could make the effort to rectify.

Again, thanks for your invaluable input. Have a nice day all. Happy hosting!!

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We had a guest that came out literally screaming and ranting that the “TV was Broke” and accused us of renting the accommodation under false pretenses by charging him for a tv that was “broke”.
I went into the room and turned it on with the remote that was immediately in front of it. He stormed out of the room onto the patio. The next morning they checked out and demanded a refund as they claimed the bed was not a Queen, and that the place was absolutely filthy, and that there was agarden hose across a pathway which was against the law. The only truth to anmy of this was that the hose was across the path but in spite of that was not contravene any laws.
As soon as they departed (after he reminded me that he was a professional wrestler, I took photos and sent them to Airbnb and asked them to look at our over 90 5star reviews. Airbnb declined their refund. They were also hosts but were not showing any reviews. Within a few days I noticed that their listing had been taken down but at whose instigation I do not know.
It’s incredible what some people go to in order to get a refund.

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Maybe it was 'roid rage.

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I had a guest leave a review which stated " a cockroach greeted me while I was brushing my teeth".
Took every ounce of my strength not to reply
“I hope he greeted you politely”.

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Funny and good one. :laughing:

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You should have done :rofl:

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