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I’m fairly new to the Airbnb game. I listed our studio 2 weeks ago and am booked through the end of April. We had a guest checkout today that was here through the Christmas holiday. She was also a first time guest. She was quiet and kept to herself. We have self check in and out, separate entrance, attached bathroom, but does share a wall with the far end of the house. She left me a page and a half letter about everything that was wrong. This is a BRAND NEW space from the floor up. New furniture, new bedding, carpet, tile, paint, bathroom, I mean everything. She was the only the second person to stay so far. I have a mini fridge with complementary water and wine, a basket of snacks, fresh baked cookies, a Keurig with an assortment of coffees and teas with all the condiments.
I’m looking from feedback from this group to help me better my space.
In her 2 page letter she complained the bathroom was dirty with black hair everywhere. Mind you this is brand new bathroom and she is only the second guest. The first was a bald male. It was cleaned after the previous checkout and before hers. Only two days transpired in that time. Oh and I’m blond.
Second was there wasn’t enough outlets. The bedroom has 4 and the bathroom one. Plus the clock has usb charging ports.
Third was the noise level. Said it was extremely loud. I communicated with her that it was Christmas and we would be having guests in our home along with Christmas morning with our children (2 of which are adults). The room is separated by a long hallway, and a living room. I promise there were no ragers. I couldn’t even hear when she turned the tv on, not to mention this is part of a house. Clearly communicated that in the description however private with its own bathroom and entrance.
Fourth was the fact that I washed the dirty mugs and wine glasses she used that I provided for the free wine and coffee so that dirty dishes didn’t pile up and to avoid a bad review that I didn’t take care of this.
And fifth the tv needs to be higher up. Not on the console table, but I should mount it on the wall.
Is this the norm or unrealistic expectations? Am I doing it wrong?
No, you’re fine. Your guest sounds like a nut job. Leave her a review so that other hosts know about this behavior! Don’t make any excuses for what she mentioned, just straight facts. “____ was the 2nd guest to stay in our brand new space. After her departure, we discovered a 2-page letter in which she made all sorts of bizarre complaints about the space, such as she didn’t like the height of the TV and that 4 outlets in the room weren’t enough.” (Seriously… what on earth was she doing in the space that she needed so many outlets, anyway?!)
You’re space is beautiful! Don’t take it too personally. She sounds like she has some mental health problems. Our first guest was a real nutcase. She flew in from Florida and didn’t check in until two days later. Where was she we asked? Still at the airport!! She actually said she gets great comfort from hanging out in the airport. She also brought an emotional support dog.
Poor thing!
It’s going to happen that you’ll run into challenging guests. Has she reviewed you yet?
Just be honest and factual with your review.
Good luck don’t get discouraged by this!!
Absolutely not. Did she have previous reviews? There seems to be a kind of scam going where people choose new hosts and stay and then complain, often asking for discounts, free stays, etc. I’m sorry this happened to you. But you’ve stumbled onto our humble forum and we have a wealth of info here to help you avoid more problems. I think your place looks fantastic.
Oh, that’s her problem. They are some of the most obnoxious people on the planet because they always think they have to teach you something, hence the 1.5 page evaluation. She sounds like one of the extra weird ones. I’d ignore her suggestions and give her a nice surprise on her review.
I would follow the review suggestion above. Other similar must know she is picky picky even in a completely new place. Don’t let her know about your review plans.
@jkamm gave you a good review to write up for this guest.
You are doing nothing wrong that we can see. Occasional nutters are an unfortunate side effect of this business. Ignore the whole thing.
If, on the other hand, you continue to get comments about the low TV you might consider wall mounting it. Likewise if you continue to get noise comments, look into getting a white noise machine and earplugs.
Have you actually stayed overnight in your space to see what it’s like for a guest? That’s a good idea.
Welcome, Hayley. As other posters have said, your space is beautiful. My first guests were my worst too. On the bright side, it is all uphill from here. Has the guest reviewed you?
I’d say your place is lovely too! The photography is quite nice too.You’re so lucky you got a full schedule of guests right away. Would we rather have the fullness that you are looking forward too? I think Yes…We are still waiting for our new guests to sign up!
The tv comment is the giveaway. She’s a nutter. Please don’t let this put you off. Your future guests will love what you have provided. Me personally I stopped providing chocs a long time ago. As they say, it will get better. Good luck!
I would always be happy with any feedback guests give me, but wouldn’t immediately act upon it. Maybe buried in the pages there are some good tips for improvement, but they will only prove to be good once more guests start giving you the same feedback. Meanwhile, highlight a few things in the 2 page letter, put it in your feedback folder and RELAX! Your place looks great and for the moment there’s no need to worry about ANYTHING.
Please search on here for how to leave a last minute, 14 day review. That way if she hasn’t reviewed you she won’t get a prompt to say that you have reviewed her so she needs to review you to see your review. And secondly, hopefully you will have some more recent reviews so her’s won’t be the top one. Good luck, we have all had nutters but it’s tough when it’s only your second guest.
My house shares a wall too. Once every year or so somebody complains.
I put in a white noise machine, and provide wrapped earplugs on the pillow.
I explain in my listing they may hear household sounds.
Other than that - nothing else I can do.
If you can put some soundproofing on the wall that can also help…for example, put shelves or furnture on the shared wall. Or hang a quilt floor to ceiling. Or build a closet.Anything that will collect the sound and stop it from traveleling from one space to the other.
Be cautious on another point…if you share an HVAC between the 2 units, smells will carry over top. I used to get complaints on that, but now we have independent units and that is much much better.
Regarding washing dishes and mugs…does that mean you entered the unit while it was rented? I strongly advise against entering a free standing unit that is in use, unless it is for a weekly cleaning, which should be arranged in advance, or for a mantenence issues, which should have notice to guest.
Ignore the rest unless you get repeat negative comments.
And hang the tv on the wall…guests can use the console table if it is clear of the tv. It may be a convenience issue or a space issue.
The decor is beautiful. I think you are up the road from me. Good luck and keep an eye out for new regulations and legislation that could affect your rights in the future.
What a lovely place! The decor is beautiful. Everyone’s covered the question you asked so the only thing I felt was possibly warranted for immediate action was the TV on the console. I would mount it. Otherwise, good luck and you do get some good suggestions from guests, and some lovely guests, so don’t let this one bother you too much. When we were new we had suggestions from a bath mat in the shower to other things – all of which now have guests telling us, “you’ve thought of everything!”
