Goodness. is this the average observation? i just hosted a newbie who was really a pain, and then a seasoned airbnb traveller who was really kind enough to give me a 5 star rating with only private feedback on some improvement points (which i agreed with). I’ve always though guests with good reviews are safer bets. If this is not the case, I really need to rethink my market.
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Oh I see, now that’s an idea. Thanks:)
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Thanks for the suggestions. Really appreciated
I get your point, thanks for the encouragement. I’m fairly new at hosting and great to get the encouragement. Thanks:)
I usually review later in the day. However, that is interesting for sure.
Yes, previously I think.
Great response. I had a similar situation last week, a guest with 8 positive reviews who took 5 rolls of toilet paper, a brand new bottle of body wash and a stack of condiments. Do you think this is the first time she has done this?
I mentioned it in the review. I believe people will still host her but will be wary. I don’t think she will do it again as she has been called on it once so won’t want it mentioned in another review.
She responded, denying it all, said the soap bottle was empty so she “disposed” of it for me - think that means she put it in her case and took it home as it wasn’t in the bin. She also said there were only 2 rolls of paper, and no spreads. I felt like messaging her privately and saying: I put those things in my myself, you are lying, but I don’t want to get into a slanging match.
The cleaner had smoke coming out of her ears at her reply! She was the one that had to rush to the supermarket to replace the soap that would normally have lasted a few weeks.
I got some satisfaction as the thumbs down meant she lost her right to instant book.
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I ummed and ahhed about leaving a thumbs down as I thought it was a little harsh as this was the only issue. I toyed with the idea of not clicking on either. What made me decide to take the thumbs down step was that every time I have given a guest the benefit of the doubt or gone easy on them in some way I have been sorry, by either their behaviour or review.
The fact that she decided to reply to my review saying that it was all untrue and that I hadn’t supplied all things that she took makes me pleased with how I reviewed her.
She has done this before and no one has mentioned it in a review.
I think lying is reason enough for a thumbs down.
I agree but the lying only happened when she responded to my review…
That is not the case. I see you asked on another thread about the guest I cancelled because she had multiple bad reviews. Not only did she IB my place, she instant booked places after mine. All a thumbs down does is restrict someone from booking a place that requires Recommended by other hosts. And once she gets a few thumbs up she is good to go
Thanks, that’s really interesting to know. I only presumed that (my bad) as when I have guests with multiple reviews and some are negative I notice they have to ask me to book. I have the ‘recommended by other hosts’ option set on instant book.
Interestingly, today I had a guest whose three reviews were all positive and she had a 5* rating send a request to book. I accepted her but was perplexed, have I missed something?
No I get that too. My guess is that they previously had to inquire so they are hesitant to book without asking? In my case ai ask for people with pets to inquire first but not everyone does so.
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Yes, it’s pretty normal. Sometimes they are enquiring about a certain aspect of their stay though.
I also ask for people to contact me first if they have a dog, since I put it in my pre-booking message it seems to be working better. I say: please let me know if you wish to bring a dog - no instant book. 90% of people who book write: I’m not bringing a dog. I don’t know how to write it better so they understand that I don’t need to know if they are NOT bringing a dog only if they ARE.
The woman with the 5* rating didn’t ask me any questions just sent a request to book. I went over her profile to make sure I wasn’t missing anything but she seems 5*.
Holy smokes, I am starting to learn this maybe true. I love your answer, it was so funny at the same time. Thank you.
I am now finding that the ones that are newbies (most of the time) are the best guests.
Most of the time the seasoned ones have been good but there is the odd few, I am getting.
Surprisingly, the couple gave me a great review. I had no idea what they were going to write as I couldn’t read them.
thanks so much for the great reply, it was awesome:)
@Jen1 I’m glad you found it useful and amusing 
Honestly, I’ve found it best not to anticipate anything any more. Sometimes your instincts tell you that certain guests will want or expect a certain thing or attitude but it’s always 50/50 in the end.
I once hosted a guest with seven (7) 5-star glowing reviews. My expectations were similar to yours. And similarly the expectations didn’t match reality or past reviews.
Cleanliness, Communication, Minor Damage; Any one issue probably could have been overlooked however the combination irked me more than it should have, especially combined w/ expectations from prior reviews.
Both he and and his girlfriend each texted that everything was great and they looked forward to coming back. That made me most nervous. I wasn’t going to write a review but I wanted to prevent him from rebooking. ABNB Helpdesk advised that I needed to leave a review before I could block someone. So I wrote one.
I was new to the forum and had not yet been tutored by ‘Jedi Review master’ @KenH. As such, I mistakenly wrote a review with far too many details, however honest.
Aside from there term “literally” 
, there can be some downside → It was only after he had seen my review of him, that he notified ABNB and filed a discrimination claim against me.
Fortunately when ABNB read his review of me (a great 5-star review), as well as his positive messages to me during the stay, they concluded that there was no discrimination and his claim was in retaliation for the negative review. However (no surprise here) ABNB wouldn’t pursue any action against a guest who created a false discrimination claim. 
He also left a post review reply, below my review of him, with many lies trying to rationalize what I had described. It upset me then, but with some distance I realize that if I were a prospective host, I actually think it makes him look worse.
I encourage you to leave a review.
Lesson Learned:
And come to this forum for advice before you leave the review.
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You can respond to their review even if you did not review them.