of course, you are right. My bad - thought I was responding to the person YOU were responding to, by telling them to make short stays so they do not have issues. Convoluted, I suppose. Not about you!
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Ah, ok. Well, I really got a chuckle out of it. Because I know you also know how tough this forum used to be. When I first found it, it took me 4 months before I got the courage to sign up and log in.
It was like Scared Straight 2: Hosting. 
And it worked and I’m still grateful everyday 
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I’m booked every weekend through October!
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That’s awesome! I’m sorry, I promise I wasn’t trying to be discouraging. It just seemed like quite the steep mountain to climb and I wanted you to know that you had that option. But if you have a bunch of bookings on your calendar already that makes a big difference so you’ll be fine.
I do recommend hammering in that no kitchen and only one sink situation. But there was something off about the guest that left you that last review. It sounded vindictive but with no cause. It’s not common though, you should know that, that it’s not likely to happen again.
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@JJD
It’s not steep at all! There is one flight of stairs and the rest is flat grass. I mean it is grass so maybe there’s a little dip or something
I wasn’t talking about your walkway. I was using steep metaphorically as in, it’s a steep climb from that rating up to a better rating.
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@JJD
Oh! Lol. If none of the bookings I have cancel due to this review I at least get the money back that I’ve put into the space. I guess if I stop getting bookings I should cancel this listing and start another in October?
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Hopefully your upcoming bookings will result in 5 star reviews, the “special” review (that guest was obviously the type who enjoys finding fault with things and likes to blame her own inattention to what she is booking on anyone but herself ) will be buried by then, and will cease to be an issue. Just concentrate at this point on fine tuning anything in the unit that may need attention, and making sure your listing info is as clear and informative as possible.
Someone asked for the link to my place. Here it is … critique away!
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Yeah, you wait and see. If you stop getting bookings completely and/or get cancellations because of the review then you could change your plan then if you wanted.
I was basing the option on you only having 3 reviews and not a bunch of other bookings. Once you start getting other reviews it’s not worth it. While it may be worth losing 2 positive reviews, to ditch this wild one, it isn’t worth it to lose 7 good reviews to ditch the wild one.
I just wanted to mention it because it’s not usually pointed out as an option. I suspect it’s even frowned upon by some hosts but it really is a business so I think it’s fair for that reason alone. As long as the goal is being a better host and running a good place then it’s okay.
To be absolutely clear, the larger hosts that I see doing it are real losers (there are 3 separate groups of them in my city). They never get a good review so it’s obvious that they aren’t even trying. They just keep starting over, at least monthly, weekly sometimes (they never have more than 3 or 4 reviews before they do it). And their guests continue to say that the listings are dirty, that their check-in was delayed, that were 3 forks and a spoon even though a full kitchen is advertised, etc, etc.
I think that because of that kind of big investor host group and that reputation that it may feel a little unscrupulous or something to smaller hosts. Or it may just be under the radar. I only noticed it in the last couple of years.
However, if it can be used be bad then it can be used for good as well. It seems like brand new hosts tend to get a disproportionate amount of these kinds of reviews. Often a guest has tried to take advantage of them because they’re new and when the host resists they give them a retaliatory review. And of course, sometimes hosts are still learning and just outright make a mistake. And, personally, I think it’s okay to take the do-over if needed.
It’s really a self-cleaning system so it doesn’t hurt anything. Either a good host gets a second life and becomes an even better host or they go the way of the loser-groups and continue to relist over and over. I’m okay with the system sorting that out for itself, with the good hosts coming out on top.
It’s also self-leveling. A good host wants to build something so it’s not worth starting over all of the time. You don’t want to start over after you start collecting good reviews, because you don’t want to lose them. While it could make all the difference for a new host just starting out with a couple or three reviews to do it once, there’s no benefit to it beyond that stage, so I don’t see it as a problem.
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I really like that slide!!
But here we go and more or less based on that review:
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You need a photo showing the shower.
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You need a photo of the actual stairs and entrance from the bottom of the stairs. More than one photo if needed to show people what they have to do to get inside.
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You need two photos of the not-kitchen.
One that features (closer up, not from across the room) the closet with the mini fridge and microwave that is captioned, “Mini fridge and microwave for beverages and light snacks (there’s not a kitchen).”
One that features (closer up, not from across the room) the cabinet with the coffee maker and a similar caption, “Coffee maker for your convenience (there’s not a full kitchen).” -
You need to remove that accessible parking spot from the listing. It is going to bite you in the a** (it might’ve already, that may have been what upset these last guests, if they were expecting more accessibility). It is not helping you and it is a disservice to anyone that needs an accessible parking spot (because of those stairs). Sorry, I’m an accessibility expert so if there’s not an accessible entrance then that parking space is not relevant and should be deleted. If you think that there is something I’m missing, please let me know but it reminds me of this:
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I agree with JJD about the pictures and descriptions that will address what the unhappy camper said. But that view and a fire pit with wood would overcome any hesitation. And if I could meet the Yorkie it would be a deal for sure.
I’ve stayed in many Airbnbs and looked at thousands of listings over the years and I think your place is well above average. As long as Airbnb doesn’t sink your search rank due to the one review you should be able to stay in business.
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Absolutely. And did you see @Cyndyrr327 's slide?? I might have to fit it into a road trip. I’m kind of a sucker for something like that.
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Oh wait! I was assuming the ‘accessibility’ page was meaning how do they get there not disability type of accessible! 
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That’s interesting. I can see how you got there. It’s what-I-do so I never thought about that way. But, yes, that whole section is specific to accessibility for people with disabilities. Your parking is covered under Amenities, the “Free parking on premises”.
Now that you know, it’s a little bit funny, right? 
The greater concern is that it says it was “Reviewed and Approved by Airbnb”. It’s okay that you didn’t know but the person reviewing it at Airbnb most definitely should have known.
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Haha. Thanks for the positive remarks, I needed them today! Lol. That slide is freaking amazing! Some guy lived here 20 to 30 years ago who was an engineer. That thing needs no maintenance, I don’t know how but it never comes out of the ground never even slides an inch. People who grew up here who are in their 40s say that they came over here when they were in high school to slide on that slide
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Do you know his name? It might be fun to be able to offer a little history on it. I’m sure you’ll get guests that ask.
If there’s not a good one then you could make one up if you had to, one of those, “he also invented the tabs that keep cereal boxes closed after you open them and, yeah, built that slide for his youngest daughter who loved slides but was afraid of ladders”. I would be eating it up.
I also wanted to mention that there’s a place for “amenity limitations” under the Guest Safety section of your settings. I recommend you mention, again, that there’s not a full kitchen in that space. From what I understand, if challenged about it, Airbnb will often use it to determine that you gave full disclosure if it’s in that section. It’s not as if you’ve even implied a kitchen so it may not make sense but a lot of people really do not read so you just make sure you’re covered.
It shows up in this section on the listing. I call it the CYA section:
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@JJD
good story!
Ok I will work on all this tonight. I really appreciate everyone’s insight!!!
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There is a section in the description called “Guest access”. That is where you can mention where the guest parking is, where they enter the unit, etc.