Horrible review!

1

So i was left this review by the last guest who stayed with me.

“I am so disapponted here actually. Because Tara didn’t mention she’s dog sitter. She just mention she has 2 dogs on her prpfile. Her dogs are lovely, but other dogs that are brought were super noisy.If I knew this, I wouldn’t come here.They made noise at nights, mornings which cause me less sleepness. Sometimes there were 7 dogs(including her 2dogs)maximum.They were barking around, whinig around…I know it’s dog things that I can’t do anything, but was so stressful to me, even I like dogs. Rooms were not that clean.I found my bed sheets were covered with dog hair, bathtowel, floor in my room. If I were her friend, offered for free stay, wouldn’t complain about it. But I was a guest, and paid for that, so she should have cleaned the (URL HIDDEN) room was dirtiest room I’ve ever stayed.I’ve traveled a lot,stayed at many variety places…other places were much better than her room. She told me If I had something to ask, just ask her, so I did. I asked her about how to use wash machine(because I’ve never used a type of machine she had), doorlock that didn’t work well, wi-fi that stopped working suddenly). I might have asked a lots of question because I am not used to live in winnipeg yet, I saw her irritation to be asked often. The location of her house was not so bad. It’s quiet place but in the house, you can buy food at store really nearby.You can take bus from portage avenue to downtown in 15min( even you can walk to there). If you are super fan of dogs, just go for it. I chose this place just because price was cheaper than hostel, but I would never stay at the place again. I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I didn’t like her either. This is 2nd use of Air bnb for me, since 1st host was really nice and friendly, so I just expected to be the same on next host which wasn’t and made me more disappointed. I found dog hair in my hair brush,guessing she used it for dogs, I reported to custmer support.I was very shocked when I found it…what kind of person she was anyway?”

This is NUTS!! No one has ever left me a review close to this before. In fact, everyone has loved my place! I asked Airbnb to remove it but because it didn’t violate any of their policies, they couldn’t.

I’m trying to find the right response for this review. Here is what I have so far …

"Shizuka -

I am sorry that you seemed to have a stay that is inconsistent with my other reviews. I’m not sure the reason for this, however, perhaps it can be a learning opportunity for the future.

All of your complaints were clearly things that I had outlined in my profile for potential guests.

  1. I have two dogs, and there are often additional dog in the house as I do pet sitting. This is stated in my profile.

  2. The dogs make noise. I am VERY clear about this fact and make sure to point out that this can happen in the morning when they are excited to go outside.

  3. Guests are expected to clean up after themselves. This is not a hotel or a hostel and I make note that when a guest uses a space, they are to leave it they way it was found. I take on the responsibility of cleaning the common area floors etc. because it’s likely that some of that mess (hair etc.) is from the dogs. However, I won’t clean up after someone after they have ate, cooked food, used the bathroom or slept-in/used their private room. Guests are responsible for these tasks and the price of my listing reflects as much. The room and the house are cleaned before each guest arrives and while some accumulation of dirt and dirt is expected, guests make the ultimate determination of how clean they wish their space to be.

I do wish you had brought up these concerns to me. Especially as your stay was three weeks and I could have tried to make things more accommodating for you.
I apologize if you felt I was ‘irritated’ with you when you asked questions but I believe that must have been a misinterpretation of my messages as most were via Airbnb since we hardly ever spoke in person.

Finally, I don’t appreciate the insinuation that I would use any of your personal belongings, let alone use them on my dogs. I’m not sure what it is you saw, but it was certainly not from me.

I wish you the best of luck with your travels or if you choose to stay longer in Winnipeg. And hopefully you will have better communication with your next host to better insure a happy stay."

Thoughts? Should I remove the numbered list?

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2

I am sorry there was such a mismatch between you and your guest.

I can imagine that even if you are a dog lover having seven noisy dogs in the house you are sharing wouldn’t make for the best stay if they are noisy day and night.

I wasn’t clear from your response, but are you saying the guests room and the bathroom they use were completely free of dog hair and cleaned to a hotel type standard on arrival?

And communication mostly by messaging with a guest staying in your home for three weeks does sound like something wasn’t quite right with the relationship between the host and guest.

I think your response is too long.

And I don’t see anything in her review about you using her belongings.

If I have understood, correctly I would say something like.

"I am sorry that you were disappointed with your stay. Having said that I do make it clear in my listing and messages to guests that I run a dog sitting business and there can be up to XXX dogs can stay at the listing night and day with attendant noise,

'Your room and bathroom were cleaned to a good standard before your arrival and were completely free of dog hair.

"I am sorry that throughout the three weeks, you didn’t feel you could bring up these issues up with either with Airbnb or myself. My five star reviews reflect that many guests have enjoyed a stay with me. I am sorry that with you that wasn’t the case/ Best of luck with your future travels.

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My advise would be to focus on AIRBNB hosting or dog sitting. Not both.

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4

Why? Quite a few people do both with great success. Sounds like this guest expected their room to be cleaned by the host during their stay. I don’t think any of us do that.

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I’ve done both for a while now and it has never been an issue.

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6

Yes, this is what it seemed to me as well.
Never once was a concern brought up to me in the entire three weeks she was there.
Why?

7

Maybe @KKC will pop in and share how she successfully hosted in a shared space before she had the private entrance installed.

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8

The guest states clearly that she found dog hair in a brush which she assumed the host used, and that she reported it to Airbnb.

9

I just don’t think it is good business to offer accommodations that you will be disturbed even if you say so in the description. Would be like a restaurant saying you will get sick from food on the menu and serve it anyway because of warning.

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10

That is a false equivalency. Disturbed is subjective. Food poisoning is definitely not subjective. Many restaurants mention allergens on their menus and serve the food anyway. The point is to warn people who would get sick from the food. I adore dogs, the more the better. Dog hair doesn’t bother me. The original poster says that she is clear in her listing about the dogs and how much noise they make.

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11

You are right @Zandra I missed that bit.

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Sorry I couldn’t see from your replies

  1. Was her room and key communal rooms such as bathroom and kitchen free of dog hairs?

  2. How many dogs were living there during her stay?

  3. Was it only in the early morning that they barked/made a lot of noise or was it during other times such as during the night.

I can’t see where she said she expected her room to be kept clean by you, just that ’ Rooms were not that clean.I found my bed sheets were covered with dog hair’.

As hosts who share our homes, yes it’s up to guests to keep their rooms clean during their stay (although hosts generally clean guests rooms weekly during their stay and change towels/bedding. Hosts also generally keep communal areas tidy (although guests should obviously tidy up after themselves in the kitchen/bathroom etc.

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13

If you have dogs, every room they are in has dog hairs. We vacuum daily, but there is still dog hair everywhere. Guest who are offended by dog hair should stay in listings that don’t have dogs or only have non-shedding dogs.

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14

  1. Her room and her bathroom were free from dog hair (I keep both doors closed so the only way it got in is if she let them in or tracked it in herself). I mentioned to keep the doors closed unless she wanted to dogs in there. It’s impossible to keep dog hair out of other areas as they are all connected. However, the kitchen and all other surfaces are dusted and/or cleaned of dog hair. (Like, you’re not going to find any when you are cutting food on the kitchen counter.)

  2. The number of dogs varied. Sometimes it was just my two, other times there could be four, 5 … It all depended on who booked.

  3. I put in my profile that the dogs make noise. Period. They don’t really at night (as I would have been woken up by it as well … I am a light sleeper and their safety is a priority!). They of course make noise during the day when playing, eating etc. I have another long term tenant who lives in my basement suite so I know if I leave the house, the dogs are usually just resting and sleeping. She will tell me!

15

Exactly … Walking from the front door to the room would track in hair.
But I don’t wash anything the dogs use at the same time as anything people use is in the laundry. Like sheets and towels, all separate from anything dog related.

16

Thanks for clarifying.

Difficult to know what to say. Sorry you seem to have had a run of bad luck with some of your guests (going by your previous posts).

It sounds like it wasn’t a good match.

I wouldn’t go into too much detail in your review though. Just state the facts. Dog sitting business clearly mentioned in your listing. Guest room thoroughly cleaned. Communal areas also cleaned daily. Good luck on future travels.

I am sure if this review is in isolation people will see it in context.

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17

You wash dog thing in the same machine as guest linens? No wonder there is dog hair in the sheets. You don’t have a separate machine?
Did you clean, change linens weekly?

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18

I don’t think many people have two washing machines. We wash our dogs’ linens in the same washing machine as the guests’ linens, but not at the same time. Nobody has complained about dog hair. Again, if finding dog hair in a listing would make you believe that the listing doesn’t live up to your standards; you should choose a listing that doesn’t have dogs.

19

The guest is claiming their bed sheets, towels, and the floor were covered in dog hair. I would clarify this upfront in the review. Your response does not clarify this. Was this a bold faced lie?

If it was an outright lie and no dog hair was on anything, then sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Many will disagree - but then respond with saying the guest brought her own dog and that’s why there was hair everywhere. Maybe then if the guest says you violated policy, then Airbnb will remove both reviews.

If Airbnb is going to take the stance that lies are not violating policy then lie right back. That will anger the guest and hopefully they will call and both reviews will be removed. How can Air claim the guest’s story was their “experience” but your story does not qualify as your “experience”?

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20

I have 3 dogs - 2 malamutes and a schipperke
I have 2 seperate entire houses that I host with their own washing machines.
I have no issues with dogs.
I just feel that if you are minding numerous dogs and hosting guests, I would have a seperate machine to manage the dog side of things

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