Experienced Airbnb users, leaving a poor impression

Leave this off… It’s window dressing that probably really isn’t true! :smiley:

I personally wouldn’t say it because what I am really thinking is that I hope these people don’t ever darken my door or the door of any other unsuspecting host and that with this bad review no one would rent to them!

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They were guests who arrived with a critical air and demanding, yet your review emphasizes principally the conflict over your check in time that didn’t happen to suit their needs, and since your 4pm check-in time is not necessarily a plus, I would not make it the center focus of my review of them.

“X and Y, though seasoned travelers, turned out to be overall very high maintenance guests because they were very confused about many of the details of my listing. Obviously they didn’t bother reading them before booking.”

Just a thought, but I am in a great mood now; tomorrow morning, before my first cup of coffee might be a different story, then I would probably take a harsher tone and fry them. LoL

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I would like to see that!

As others have said, way to wordy. @Mearns wrote a fine review. Here’s another choice:

“These guests pushed me to allow them to check-in several hours early but I was not able to accommodate them. They still showed up earlier than the agreed time. It was an uncomfortable visit and I was disappointed that they did not show proper respect for me or my property.”

Good job submitting it for vetting. You’ll end up with a much better review that will be more helpful to other hosts.

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Everyone - thank you for your help!

Just to quickly clarify, these guests didn’t show up earlier than agreed upon. They showed up 30 minutes prior to my normal check-in time of 4.00 PM.

The issue was more that they implied they would rather cancel than wait until 4.00 PM, when I accommodated a check-in 2 hours earlier than this, they still asked me to contact them if the space was ready sooner, and said the need for an early arrival was because they would need to rest before seeing their family.

I wouldn’t have thought that 4.00 o’clock was particularly late for check-in, as many listings in our area have it at this time, but I do appreciate another perspective. We have been hosting for a little while now, and we don’t tend to have any problems. If guests want to arrive early, it’s usually because they don’t have a car, and can’t keep their luggage with them, in which case we always offer to store it in communal areas.

I think most hosts have check-ins between 2 and 3, and check-outs between 10 and 11. My check-in is at 3 and check-out is at 11, giving me four hours for back-to-backs for an 850 square foot townhome (1 1/2 baths). I can clean it in 2 1/2 hours if the guests left it immaculate but I usually need the full four hours. If you only have one room, perhaps you can figure out a quicker routine to clean (I’ve been doing this for a year so I have it down to a science). None-the-less, yucky guests. Most of your guests will be lovely :slight_smile:

OK…I guess I was reading your iniitial post differently. Do I have this correct now??

Guest said they needed to check in sometime before 2. You said not possible. Finally you give in and say 2 p.m. is okay. But then they don’t show up until 3:30??

My check in is at 4 p.m. So I would not change your check in time, unless you feel that you are missing bookings because of it. Just keep in mind that the guest is likely to respond to your negative review…so I would include anything in your review to dismiss anything he might accuse you of. I also believe lengthy negative reviews are a good thing. Because as a host, I would like to know the details, and not just that you don’t recommend the guest. My version is below. The reason I included the last part about not filing a claim - is because I can see guest saying you are making stuff up because you didn’t file a claim.

“I cannot recommend XXXX to my fellow Airbnb hosts and here is why: XXXX is also an Airbnb host and booked without asking about an early check in. He decided to instant book my property with a message stating his early check in request. I explained I had a same day turnover and could not accommodate early check in. XXXX kept persisting that he “needed” to check in early for a nap, and said he thought the advertised 4 p.m. check in was just an error. He began to ask what the cancellation policy was (a host should know this). In the end, I regretfully went out of my way to have the place ready at 2 p.m. He never communicated he no longer needed this, and arrived at 3:30. He seemed disappointed that the bathroom is shared (stated in my listing). Upon his departure I discovered my venetian blinds were broken, and there are now permanent cup rings on the coffee table. XXXX did not mention any of this, and I figured he would just deny any claim filed, so I didn’t waste my energy.”

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Darn it, I went ahead and totally forgot and had two cups of cafe before coming here this morning. :sunglasses:

I agree and another reason for this is the difference in the tolerance level of hosts. For example, I had lovely guests recently and when I read their reviews, one host wrote that their dog had left hairs all over the place and that he was charging them $300 for cleanup.

Because our rental has all tiled floors and because I supply lots of cheap washable throws to protect the furniture, that review didn’t bother me. They, and their dog, were here for several days and the apartment was in great shape when they left.

Other hosts with expensive upholstery and carpets would not have wanted those guests so it’s a one man’s meat is another man’s poison thing.

This is sooo true. I mentioned in one review I left about guests not being off of the property by my strict check out time. Their 25 minute late departure really caused me added stress with same day guests check in.

But I can see another host who doesn’t have a tight turn around window being perfectly okay with guests leaving later. Or a host who blocks off a day to clean wouldn’t mind so much.

That’s a great example. I have a 5 hour window for a 450 sq.ft. apartment and because I have linens and towels ready and the cleaning materials, loo paper and other supplies are all in a locked closet in the apartment, I can easily manage it in 4 hours. (As long as the guests have left the place in good shape). So 25 minutes late isn’t really a problem for me.

I like this except for filing a claim. You should stay away from those words as the guest can use it as grounds to have the review removed.

Cabin, also, I think it should be clearer that the guest was threatening to cancel if she didn’t get her way.

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that’s true - depending on the rep. they could just remove the review entirely…even though nothing was filed in resolution. We know all the reps. are competent :smile:

And I have feeling these guests would have been an hour late if it weren’t for my partner showing up and starting to weed eat. I saw the dad walk outside right after 11 (no shirt, no shoes) - so still not dressed. Then when my partner shows up, the wife starts running back and forth like crazy trying to load up. I think he was inside packing with three kids running around…sheesh!

But…they most likely will respect check out with future places. Let’s hope :smile:

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So, I left a review and finally got to read the one my guests left, which was quite awful. I’ll admit, while these people were horrible (and it did take a long time to admit that, because I always worry I’m overreacting), I did cry a little after reading it.

Though the purpose of their trip was to visit their son, who had just purchased a home in our neighbourhood, they stated the location was bad, suburban, away from cafes/restaurants (which is untrue, we’re a 10 minute walk away from several wonderful places), and had no views (odd, since looking out the window you have mountain views!). I guess they don’t like where their son lives, either? They booked our location because it was convenient for their trip, but still think the location is bad?

I don’t know whether I regret being quite civil in my own review by comparison. I would hope that anyone who clicks through to their profile and sees mine can read between the lines. Now I have to figure out how to best address her many public complaints (in her private feedback, it got much worse).

Here is the public review:

“Not a good experience. The bedsit is a house divided up into rooms to sell on airbnb, the bathroom is shared between 3 separately rented bedrooms.Not a good location, suburban, not close to cafes and no views… the reno has been done cheaply. Not much to rec emend for this place at all apart from very clean.”

After spending over $20,000 renovating our bedsit alone, and to improve guest experiences, I can’t help but feel rather hurt. We even documented our renovation journey, and it’s pending publication on a popular lifestyle website.

Privately, they said:

What X loved about your listing:
nothing

What X thought you could improve about the experience:
Hooks in bathroom for clothes fix lighting- bulbs shine in eyes… plastic tablecloth tacky noisy fridge need extra bedside table cant see tv from bed need a mirror in the bedsit to do make up with so you dont have to share bathroom Make it clear that the bedsit dosnt have a bathrooom… I assumed it would as every bedsit I have had does… have instructions for TV,aircon and your phone number on the info sheet. You say in other feedback your not a hotel??? but your place looks like a generic hotel but without the service… sorry to be blunt but this was the worst airbnb I have experienced…no character… it seems to be a money making venture… buy a house divide it up into as many rooms as possible and flog them on air bnb… the suburb isnt very interesting… cant walk to cafes, and no views…

Accuracy feedback:
Hi guys,i hope you can take this with my intention of continuous improvement. I think you need… Hooks in the bathroom for clothes, a mirror in the bedsit to do your make up with so you dont need to use the bathroom, better signage on your website that the bathroom is shared… the lights are at the wrong height and shine in your eyes…(maybe better bulbs) the plastic on the table is tacky, need another bedside table, a plunger for coffee…

Arrival feedback:
we liked that we didnt have to meet the hosts and key in letterbox good.you said in your information on bench we are only a phonecall away but didnt leave the number, when i needed to ring the numberon your site said not connected. Issue with TV…

Amenities feedback:
TV was an issue, plunger for coffee…

Communication feedback:
When I emailed about TV your excuse was to blame me for asking for an earlier check in time that was why you didnt check the Tv was correctly tuned in…I think your checkin times are too late.

Many of these things are non-issues. This is our home, which we live in, not an investment property that we’re monetising. We’ve owned it for 25 years. We only have two guest rooms listed, and which share a bathroom. A coffee plunger is provided. They said our telephone number is disconnected, however it is not (they said this during their stay, but it isn’t, and even if it was, we were replying to all their messages, even past 10.00 PM, without delay). Maybe it’s a lapse in memory, but I don’t recall ever saying we’re not a hotel in response to a review on Airbnb.

I haven’t looked at our star ratings. While we have been hosting for a while, the space is new, and we don’t have many reviews, so this will hurt us tremendously. We are, admittedly, not hosts because we love it, but out of necessity.

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Yikes, that is horrible!

That also comes across ignorant on their part. Would be interesting to see what you did write @isobelll . You could never, ever loose by taking the high road, in the long run.

My snarky side has been activated:

“So glad that your son has found a house to buy close to us, but it must be so disappointing for you that he chose a boring suburb with no views or cafes.”

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