Damn you talking about curried goat! I’m so hungry for that now.
You asked, see what she says and take it from there.
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I had a young white female guest driving a BMW who expressed some concern on arrival. “All the houses have bars on the windows.” (This includes one of my front facing windows. I should have pointed out that her room didn’t have bars on the windows so she could feel safe). But I explained that it was very safe, that due to cheap labor ironwork was cheap here and most of it was installed in the 80s and 90s when crime rates were higher. My town in also 85% Hispanic and right on the border with Mexico so people are nervous about that as well. But she did seem calmed by my explanation and the fact that the door to her room wasn’t even locked. She gave me 5 stars for location, I was a little surprised.
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I just hope him asking does not prompt her to smack him in a review.
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Ah come on now, smack-down reviews come from nowhere sometimes as you know! The guest cancelled already due to her concerns so it’s only natural that a host would follow up to find out what was wrong.
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ummm, I wouldn’t go chasing her down to bug her about what’s wrong. She already told him what was wrong. The neighborhood was too “urban” for her and she felt unsafe.
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Well,maybe it would be good to know what exactly she means by “too urban”. I go back to my previous point: call out racism wherever it hides. It’s basically saying “there were a lot of black people so I didn’t feel safe because black people are inherently dangerous”.
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But why prod her? It could come off as obnoxious or confrontive. If the guest wanted to leave, she really did not have to give a reason. She could have just said it was not a fit and left.
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Because it’s the right thing to do? You know, for humanity and all. But we don’t know what she meant so I think it’s fair to ask her to explain. What’s the problem?
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Well because she already answered. but Mags it’s pointless to speculate. Let’s just see how she responds.
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As I said I have had people walk off the property because they didn’t like it or it wasn’t what they expected. I didn’t go chasing them down for further details. If they didn’t like it good riddance! Go pay 50 times more at a crowded resort.
We are making assumptions that she is racist but we really done know for sure.
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Yeah but she didn’t did she? She just said she didn’t feel safe. It’s important for mountainclimber to know what exactly what was the problem and it seems fair to ask her to be explicit. Sure, until she answers, we don’t know.
Let’s face it, she ain’t going to say ‘too many blacks’ is she? But maybe it’s not a bad idea to remind her of her prejudice, if that’s what it was.
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I just think Mountain got the win-win. He didn’t have to host a nervous guest and he got paid. Why chase after her now?
He is not going to change her mind or teach her a lesson.
And with that, I am off to my summer hip hop class!
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Whoa! Bars on all the windows. Sounds like all of Laredo, TX where I used to live. It wasn’t a bug, it was a feature!
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That’s a shame. I also live in and host in a large city on the East coast, although I purchased my home just outside of the city, so it’s more of a suburban feel. Maybe send her something like: “Thank you for choosing our home! We are always seeking ways to improve our listing. With the sudden cancellation of your reservation this evening, we would like some feedback as to what your concerns were and how we can improve our listing for future guests. Thank you and we hope you enjoy your time in our city…” something like that. This way she has to pinpoint what exactly was the issue. If she alludes to the neighborhood being too “black” or “urban” you can direct her to Airbnb’s non-discrimination policy as well as flag her and notify Airbnb. Good luck!
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Koko you are totally right…but by the time i read your advice I had asked her already. But she has not responded. i hope she does not respond…and that’s that. Win win…correct.
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and at the end of the day - doesn’t matter. she paid her money, she can stay or not. I think this is a case of us feeling that emotional response coming up - however tempered, when the bottom line is: let it go.
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Looks like I’m going to get flamed for saying this, but calling this guest shallow and racist and all those other harsh things doesn’t seem at all fair. You (we) seem to be a more sophisticated, experienced and well-travelled bunch. Can you think back on a time when you first travelled outside your home turf? Can you remember the feeling?
Years ago, on my way back to the west coast I remember stopping off in N.Y.C. to visit a friend I’d met overseas. I was overwhelmed and a bit afraid as I made my way to his neighborhood. My trepidation didn’t come from fear of dark skinned people, it came from being alone in totally unfamiliar surroundings. The subway was crowded and loud, and I got lost.
As a host I’ve only had one guest, a Chinese girl, whom I could tell was scared to death. I live in a fairly diverse but mostly white area. She spent a few days with me, and many of those days she spent in bed but loosened up a bit after she’d been out in the hood a couple of times and survived! lol
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Are most of your neighbours Afro-Caribbean born? If not, you are not in a ‘Caribbean’ neighbourhood but in a US neighbourhood 
where some of the community may have Afro-Caribbean heritage.
I would definitely call Aibnb and let them know what has happened and that as your neighbourhood is safe (hopefully as evidenced by previous reviews) you feel it is likely the guest wasn’t comfortable being in a multi-cultural community.
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Airbnb lets hosts cancel a reservation if they don’t feel “comfortable” with a guest. Now this guest cancels because she doesn’t feel comfortable with the neighbourhood. I don’t see any difference.
Why judge people’s feelings, for goodness sake? Why judge the feelings of a complete stranger, who just happened to book an Airbnb?
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How long was the reservation and how many days did she stay? At first I was thinking she planned to stay with her friend after you leave on her final five days. But after rereading it looks like she left after one night?