Even on the other side of the world I know the Northern California coast is famous for its fogs, rain and humidity. Why would someone from the USA go there who had a problem with humidity for a holiday 
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Well…deal with these fuzzy people by re-branding your place as a Retro Retreat …
Kind of like a time travel experience and invite them to dvelve into the space.
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Musty = mold. Always. Old books smell musty because they have mold/mildew growing in the paper.
I know that’s not what you wanted advice about, but I am a person who is extremely allergic to mold. I can smell it as soon as I walk in a house, and if I don’t leave immediately, I will be sick for days. So if I stayed at a “musty” AirBnB, I would probably be complaining too.
For other complaints that you think are silly, I would just ignore, unless you’re getting the same complaints over and over. Then it might be something to take seriously.
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It’s the plaster. I had a 1900 Edwardian property and a 1926 Craftsman when I lived in Central California. I know the smell well.
Do you describe the property in your listing the way you did here, highlighting the historical California old growth redwood frame and plaster walls? Maybe you can make it a feature instead of apologizing for it? That’s what I did with my circa 1900 building that I had listed both rooms and apartments on Airbnb. Only had one knucklehead mention the hallway plaster odor. Everyone else loved the historical aspects of our “old California” property.
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Bwwwwwhahaha. 50% humidity, wow I’ve not seen that in hmmmm, ever? I live in the south and it’s 98-100% humidity outside and comfortable feels anything below 75%. Of course my skin looks great for my age, but my hair suffers and blows up large…it’s the source of “big hair southern gals.” LOL. Kidding aside, is that what one should aim for – 50% inside? I’ve never heard that before.
Yep only INSIDE. Humidity where I am averages at 70% outside where I am, although its cooler. Often it’s near 100% with persistent light drizzle.
No! In the UK we treat all our old timbers so they are fungus and pest free. Period properties are at a premium because of the charm and cost of maintenance. It’s not a case of old house equals scudsy.
Not necessarily knucklehead. If the plaster has blown (hydroscopic salts have been irrevocably activated due to damp) then it needs replacing. All this damp stuff is bad for health. Musty odour equals not ok!
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In hot temperatures there is higher humidity as more moisture can be held in the air. I am assuming you have no musty smell, so nothing to complain about.
I have mold in the seaward facing walls. But I hide it with the smell of wet dog.
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What an awesome outpouring of support. I am definitely going to reword the listing to highlight the old train station timbers and Old time plaster walls, using the descriptive wording supplied by @dpfromva - Thank You 
so much! We’re also going to raise the price because that seems to be the general consensus as being part of the problem. I am very happy to have found this forum, it has been super helpful.
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well the link IS on my profile. 
I’ve had a few of the Picky Princesses who can’t/don’t/won’t read a listing, then rock up and complain about this, that and the other because they haven’t. I now send every booking, including IBs, an initial message along the lines of-
“Forgive me for perhaps sounding pedantic, but there are a few things I need to be sure you are aware of, based on experience and to be sure that we will meet you expectations. Please be aware that we live here too; Chance Cottage is our lovely home where we offer a small amount of B&B, so we are not an entire property to rent. There may be other guests staying whilst you are here but there is plenty of space for everyone when we are full. We have two friendly cats so may not be suitable for anyone with an allergy. Although they are excluded from bedrooms, they are free to roam their home. If we are not what you were expecting or hoping for, I fully understand your need to cancel”.
I’ve done this for about five months now, after the 4 geneticists from London expressed surprise that we live here, whilst fussing the (expected)cats. You’d think there would be at least one brain cell between them… And were total Picky Princesses! No mismatches since! You could use dpfromva’s splendid spiel in a similar way perhaps.
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If you are keeping the musty smell then mention it in your listing description to tune expectations and keep away anyone who is allergic. You could get a very nasty cancellation if someone is sensitive to damp.
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I’m not planning on keeping the musty smell. I am working on getting rid of that and I have several plans in mind. That isn’t the only issue that’s come up that’s just the most recent one. It’s actually only come up twice. I am just trying to figure out how to deal with this demographic that is appearing, they are generally females between the ages of 20 and 26 or so. They have a vague list ( I say vague because they really don’t give me specifics in the review process just one star off here And there in categories like cleanliness, accuracy, location and value ) of things they didn’t like after they leave, however while they are staying they keep telling me that everything is wonderful, it’s such a great place to stay, they just love it! Then turn around and slap me in the review process. I have had 4 of this type of guest out of 34 stays, since we started hosting in May of this year. Granted most of their complaints are generally pretty ridiculous after I message them to politely ask how I can improve for future guests, and so far don’t have a common denominator generally speaking. (odor came up twice as a cleaning issue) I just want to learn how to communicate with these guests in a productive manner. I don’t know if there’s a solution, it may turn out the best solution is to avoid them in the first place. In a sense convince them that they just really don’t want to stay at an Airbnb they need to go stay at a hotel. Basically, I’m just wondering if anybody has any tricks or advice on how to spot them in the first place. Sidenote, I have already changed the description in the listing while I am trying to get this under control just to give people a heads up.
I get 4 stars sometimes (alongside ridiculous dings for my cat who I have constantly reworded my listing for) and it’s very annoying when you’re a superhost. I think it’s just an hotel thing, where people think 5 stars is the Ritz or scores can’t be perfect. I have been interested in the threads on here about educating the guests about the star system.
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I have experienced similar issues with this demographic. Although mainly female, some males too.
I had three women stay who worked for Airbnb in London, with someone systematically breaking a house rule, until I sat them down for a little chat… One was from Montreal, the other two were French, and the cultural differences were stark. The two French girls were immediately and profoundly apologetic, whilst the Canadian girl simply whined that
she didn’t see why she shouldn’t do/use xxxx, blamed her colleagues etc etc. They were as taken aback as I was. Guess who made the booking and broke house rules.
I felt like charging Airbnb for their training session on how to behave as guests, particularly when you are openly representative of the company employing you.
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Oh, man, thank you for this, @dpfromva. I BOUGHT our house because of the smell. I love it. Although it is - as many things in life - all a matter of degree. When it gets too damp, as it did this summer, I run a dehumidifier in the cottage in addition to the basement. Personally, I feel AC makes my place smell MORE musty, but my guests run it constantly, which makes me bonkers.
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Two I had were separate English mother/daughters travelling around Oz. The mums were real Hyacinth Bucket’s and gave me 3 stars. My guess is the daughter’s had decided to stay in Australia and the mother’s not happy and flown out to see what the fuss was about. They were probably complaining about the Australian weather, food and how our B&Bs weren’t up to their standards (“not a skerrick of potpourri or Royal Doulton to be seen”) before they boarded the plane at Heathrow. Not saying English people in general are like that but there are the occasional Hyacinth’s lurking out there.
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