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I am new here and I know the topic of ‘difficult guests’ have been discussed many times over. But let me share my situation and get your input.
I recently had an overseas guest who rented my 1-BR apt for a month. He raised MANY complaints and demands and kept on comparing me to other hosts. I dread answering his messages because I could feel it’d be another complaint. Some of his complaints were:
The sofa was uncomfortable (It was a brand new sofa bought 1month before, not a lumpy old one)
The comforter is useless, so get rid of them (He could have folded it and put it in the cupboard)
The pots and pans were too small (They are not toys, but real pots and pans. How small can they be?!)
The cutting boards were too small (I provided 2 cutting boards, 1 small and 1 full size)
The 118-cable channels did not meet his likings as an ‘adult white male’ (118 channels and still…?! It even has 6 sports channels)
There is no movie channel (We never promised any movie channels)
“I am a news person and the cable TV doesn’t have a decent news channel” (apparently CNBC, Bloomberg, Al-Jazeera, DW, EuroNews, Channel News Asia are not ‘decent’)
The clothes hangers were cheap (These are not flimsy hangers from the dry cleaners. I purchased them in a home store)
The dining room table was too small, and demanded another desk (a proper working desk) to be brought in (The table was a round dining table that fits 4 people, and we are not ‘Airbnb for Work’)
The food vendors around the apartment don’t speak English so he could’t eat out. He said I provided false advertising! (We are in Jakarta, Indonesia. Right in front of the apartment complex gates there are many local food vendors and restaurants)
And when I refused to fulfil some of his demands, he started saying that the other hosts would bend over backwards to please him because he was renting for a month.
This went on for almost the entire month he stayed with us. As a new host, I am trying to be courteous and fulfil his demands when I could with the hope he’d give us a 5*. Towards the end, I finally told him that some of his demands were unreasonable. He became very upset.
What would you do to a guest like this without jeopardising your chance of getting a good review? I felt as a host we are sometimes at the mercy of the guests and Airbnb.
TIA
Wait 14 days from the minute you get the first prompt to review him then let him have it. If he reviews first, before the 14 days then let him have it.
You think you have any chance of getting a good review from this loser? You do not. Please let other hosts know in the review that his demands were non-stop and give him no stars and a thumbs down.
Face it – you will NOT get a good review from this self-absorbed, entitled, demanding a%$hole. Forget it and go on. Write a factual, unemotional review like this:
“Cannot recommend Guest. One unjustified complaint after another for 30 days, many about things I have no control over – 118 cable channels did not meet his likings as an ‘adult white male’, brand new sofa was uncomfortable; 4 seat dining room table was too small; food vendors in the area don’t speak English… and on and on.”
I am sorry that you are experiencing a guest who is clearly taking advantage of you.
If he compares you to other hosts, did he have prior reviews? If so, were there any indications that he was unrealistic?
I agree with the others, that based on what you described, there is no pleasing this “adult white male’, and to expect a positive review is unrealistic.
If I had a guest who was so unhappy, with no remedy, I would first alert ABNB and advise them of the situation, documenting all his complaints as you laid out here, and then advise the guest that since there didn’t seem to be a way to satisfy him, it would be best that he find other accomodations.
I like to use this Costco example as a way to approach a guest. There are some people that abuse the system and there comes a time to sever ties.
I wish they would revoke more memberships. I love Costco but the cost of letting people take advantage is borne by all of us. I’ve seen people bring back a grill at the end of summer, and people after Christmas returning a Christmas tree. Some people really have no shame.
What was he doing in Indonesia? It sounds like he was out of his “White male” comfort zone and should have stayed at a Hilton or other chain hotel.
In case you are not aware, the review system is double blind. He won’t see your review until he writes his own, or after 14 days, if he doesn’t write one, yours is published and he can’t write one.
You have nothing to lose by writing a truthful review.
I am sorry you had such a horrible guests. Sometimes guests like this gravitate to new hosts because they know established hosts wouldn’t put up with their appalling behaviour.
In your situation I would have asked Airbnb to cancel their booking as they are rude and keeping asking for facilities that were not advertised in your listing.
If he was in Indonesia for a month, he should have learnt some of the local language.
This guy sounds like a self-entitled jerk. He will not leave you a decent review - the most you can hope for is that he doesn’t leave one at all.
Wait until the last opportunity and leave him an honest review mark him down for communications and be honest about what an appalling guest he was.
Next time do not give in to unreasonable demands and don’t put up with poor guest behaviour.
I’m sorry you got such a jerk as one of your first guests! Most guests are SO great, it’s a shame you got stuck with a dud!
As others have said, there are some people you’ll never get a 5* review from. Your only consolation is that this guy is a miserable human being who looks for the shortcomings in everything he sees.
At least you’re not that guy!
You only had the misfortune to have him in your life for 30 days. The sooner you can get over the stay and his (probably) miserable review, the less time he’ll continue to take up space in your life.
It’s easy to say “let it go”, but one of the best hosting skills you’ll develop is just that: you won’t love all your guests and a small percentage will be terrible. Deal with them as quickly as you can and then “let it go”.
Next time you’ll know this “eternal complaint” game and put an end to it early on by asking Airbnb to rehome him.
Please please don’t do that again. You know that you supply value-for-money accommodation, right? Sometimes I think that the way we treat guests - and that means treating them firmly if they are a menace - is more important than the amenities provided. Please learn to be a bit tougher
Guest: The hangers are cheap.
Host: Do you think so? Do you know, I bought them at xxx and the cost $xx for a dozen. I thought that was excellent value for money - just like the accommodation…
I’m not sure what he means by this comment. Does he want to watch porn?
I agree with others that this guest con’t be pleased, and wouldn’t even leave a 5* review if you gave him a free stay. If you are trying to build your reviews and listing, I would recommend hosting some shorter-term guests.
I’m so sorry you had to go through this. We have two properties and in the three years we have been hosting, I have experienced this exact type of guest exactly four times. In almost all instances (aside from if you reaaaaally need the money) I absolutely agree with what @HH_AZ said to do. And they almost ALWAYS leave the house messier than most guests. Along with a superiority complex that allows them to believe they are the ideal demographic of guest (they never are).
We just finished hosting a guest like this and noticed they had charged a movie on our Fire TV account without telling us. Meanwhile, they wanted to know if we wanted a list of things they would fix about our home (aside from the novel of complaints already sent). It is not only discouraging, it is disparaging.
Some people are just miserable inside and don’t know how to properly expend their energy in productive ways.
Hah yeah, my husband was like “you know where she can stick that list”
I think guests should be mindful of not going overboard into insulting someone’s house for the sake of. It is still our house and I’m not going to tolerate it. We’re happy to fix any issues that come up but no one needs to be lectured on why they deserve special treatment or why we aren’t running it the exact same way they would. It was another Super Host no less.
Again, thanks for the comments and inputs. I have learned SO much in 24hours by joining this forum. The consensus is to just write him a honest review and give him a thumb down, which I will definitely do.
I have also went ahead to communicate with Airbnb regarding him. The Airbnb staff sounded helpful and sympathetic, and asked me to gather screenshots of his petty demands and complaints. Without being asked, they even offered to take down any negative review from this guest if he violates the content guidelines.
I had a similar guest & I wrote a truthful review about him & I matter of factly addressed the items in his negative review in a public response.
The advice of the forum is usually let your positive reviews offset the bad. Unfortunately, although the unit is no longer an active listing, the review continues to display on my profile. This was a one-time rental of my Dad’s condo before his Home Owners Association banned STRs. So I felt compelled to leave a response.
My guy’s complaints were similar to your list.
These two were kindred spirits or who knows may be the same man!!!
By the way—my guy’s comments about the news channel was because he couldn’t find Fox News in the 200 channels available (it was there! But he missed it)
I personally would have asked AirBnB to relocate him to another apartment. Someone that needy will always leave a bad review so why bother with trying to please him. It’s not worth the aggravation.
