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I just wanted to get some insight on a review I’ve received from a guest.
To give context, I host studio apartments in my country (not in the US). The standard size of the studio apartments are around 22-30 sqm. Anything bigger is already a 1 bedroom apartment. The apartment I’m referring to right now is in a building where upper floors (26th and up) are still being worked on but the noise stops at 4pm. I have included all this info in my listing and to the messages to my guests before they book so they are aware. I have another listing in the same building and no one has ever complained about the noise.
So I just had a guest complain to me at the end of his stay that the room is too small (the room is 24 sqm), the building is noisy and the stove was not working (I checked it after he checked out, it was working perfectly fine as it’s brand new) and that it was not worth the money he paid. It’s around $30 per night and he stayed for a week. That price is middle ground in the building as some studio apartments even go up to $50. The location is smack dab in the middle of a very popular tourist location too.
He is now giving a 3 star review just for those reasons.
I just wanted to ask for some insights on how I should tackle this? I believe I did my part in informing him of everything and he never informed me of anything during his stay, only at the end. This listing only has 5 reviews (all 5 star) and getting a 3 definitely makes a big dent in the rating and I’m afraid it’ll impact my bookings.
Would really appreciate any insights, thank you so much!
Update: I’ve seen some of his reviews to hosts from the same building and he is giving everyone a 3 star rating, all because the room is too small for him and the building is noisy. At this point, why does he continue booking apartments in the same building if it bothers him
He continues booking because the price is right. I would block him because he might book your studio again. Send a message to Airbnb asking that they remove the review because you clearly state on the listing the size of the studio and do warn guests of the construction noise. They probably won’t remove it but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
I know that most hosts advice not responding to a review but since you only have five reviews, I personally would respond. I would mention that the size is clearly stated as well as the warning of noise.
This guest clearly is a miserable person when he keeps booking in the same building and always gives a 3 star review.
Also definitely mention to Airbnb that you can see from the guest’s profile that he has booked other studio apartments in the same building several times, and left 3 star reviews for them, complaining about exactly the same things.
Obviously the guy has a pickle up his butt and he enjoys the power of being nasty. Perhaps the lesson for all of us is to check the guest’s previous reviews of other hosts as part of our booking checklist.
Another example where it would be helpful to write the guest at booking time and say “I just want to make sure that you clearly understand A and B, and that you are comfortable with this. If you are not comfortable staying in a budget-priced property with these characteristics, please cancel this reservation and switch to another Airbnb listing that is in a better position to meet your needs.”
Got it, I’ll try to see if airbnb can have it removed. I’ve seen posts where hosts haven’t been able to get them removed so I’m not expecting much But like you said, it doesn’t hurt to try thank you so much!
The weird thing is, his reviews prior to staying in the building have been excellent. 5 stars all around, and from hosts in the same vicinity as well! So I was totally blind-sided.
Don’t put too much stock in star ratings. They are entirely subjective- what one host might consider 5 stars another might consider 2. There have been threads here where hosts have asked how many stars to give a guest who caused some problems, and the answers ranged from 5 stars (“Seems like a normal type mess to me, part and parcel of being a host”) to 2 stars (“So disrespectful- I wouldn’t want him as a guest- 2 stars”).
Star ratings are just one tool in your vetting toolbox, not something to trust exclusively.
Maybe he is a tidy neat guy, he didn’t ask questions and didn’t damage things. He deceptively seems a nice guy… So hosts gave him 5 stars because no one expected the backstab from him. Did you leave him a review?
It’s possible that the hosts gave dishonest reviews… some hosts come here to this forum and say things like “i don’t want to give a bad review, they seemed nice” or “I was afraid to give a bad review because xxxx - unfounded fears of retaliation, for example”. These hosts are what made your life difficult, since you were hoping that the reviews were honest and contained info for you to use in vetting the guest.
