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So I’ve noticed ever since I could not honor doing an alteration to a guest’s stay because he wanted to move into his apt sooner and wanted a refund on the days he would not be staying, he’s no longer wanting to make me Indian food or even talk to me as much as before.
If he leaves a bad review because of this, what can I do on my side? It just pisses me off to no end that I did invite him to go hiking with a friend and me for a 3.5 hr drive to hike and back and he was grateful, but now he’s acting this way over not getting his way.
I’m also wondering, how much do you limit your interaction with guests to avoid them trying to do special things for you in hopes of getting a special favor in return?
It sounds as though you are befriending this guest. You need to know where to draw the line. You’re going for long hikes together, he is making you special dinners. The answer might be different for each guest, as everyone is unique. At least it sounds like you both are compatible enough to enjoy doing things together.
Why not tell the guest that you will show those dates as being available again, and if they are re-rented you will give him a refund? It is fair to you both that way, and maybe your friendly relationship will be mended again.
Friendly interaction with guests is fine, but it’s important to establish boundaries.
I replied to your original post about this matter, and as I wrote there, anyone who is moving should be prepared for there to be an overlap of a few days between their old and new accommodation. It seems that host-guest interactions may have blurred a little in this instance, and he felt comfortable enough to ask for a refund to leave early.
If you’re sharing communal spaces with guests, and particularly with a long term guest, being social is fine within reason. I would have perhaps shared a meal with this guest once to be polite, and then gently let him know that if he made too much food there were storage containers he was welcome to use. I don’t think your guest was offering you food with any expectations, but it did contribute to making him feel comfortable enough to ask you to make an exception with your cancellation policy.
Every host will have a different perspective on how much interaction with guests is appropriate. However, if you’re spending a terrible amount of time socialising with a long term guest they may begin to see you as a roommate rather than a host.
Yeah… I think you stepped over the Host line into He Thinks You’re Friends territory. Now he wants you to treat him like a Friend and give him deals on his stay that go outside the bounds of the host/guest relationship.
We would never “go out” with guests – for pizza, a hike, anything. You are not there to entertain them, or be entertained by them. You are there to provide them a place to sleep. Anything more is heading towards non-professionalism.
What can you do if he gives you a bad review? Nada. Zip. Zilch. Suck it up and move on. If you respond to a bad review, you’ll just sound petty. Write his review as factually and unemotionally as you can.
I don’t think some degree of social interaction with Airbnb guests is unprofessional. Airbnb is not a faceless, pure hotel service, the personal (and thus social) element is vital to what distinguishes Airbnb from Hilton, Premier Inn or Travelodge.
The key as many folk have said above, is to know the boundaries. And this is a learning process.
I interacted a lot more with my guests back when I offered, among other things, kitchen access. I felt that it didn’t necessarily help the bottomline, ie, good reviews. For that and other reasons I’ve decreased it, or changed other things to make it less likely.
Still, in all cases, it’s only when they have expressed an interest - like going to the pub with me, have I engaged in any social activity beyond the hellos and how-are-yous.
Like @Astaire, my interactions with guests has decreased significantly since I stopped granting full kitchen access.
I tend to be super friendly and helpful when we see each other, but as a rule, I do not hang out with them.
There has only been one time that I actually went anywhere with a guest, and it was truly an exception to my rule.
It was a mother/daughter duo who had NEVER been to a rural area in their entire lives. They showed great interest and kept asking me questions about the ‘Walk About Town’ booklet I’ve made up in which my guests can stroll, see 2 waterfalls, a lake, 2 rivers and 3 parks, among other things.
But, by day 2 they still were just driving to the mall, or the outlets.
So finally, I said, that’s it, let’s go.
They didn’t know how to react to being so safe, to having spots so close by, and they actually had a difficult time on one very small trail walking in some parts cause there were roots and a bit of grade to it…so I had to show them how sometimes, you have to put your feet sideways in order to have good traction. They had a really marvelous time after that and went on that walk 3 more times!
That, like I said was an exception.
I prefer to be very helpful and friendly, but guests should do their own thing.
But, I’m a loner by nature.
Brave of you though, to get them off their comfort couch, off the beaten track! Could’ve backfired if they didn’t like unfamiliar stuff. But I guess they were in good hands
Yeah, I don’t usually kidnap guests! But I could tell they were really interested, but the thought of walking to these places was just really foreign to them! They thought it would be dangerous to be in these places. But of course, the only people you meet are cool outdoorsy folks.
So far, ABB doesn’t have ‘experiences’ in my area.
Believe me, I’ve tried!
I have about 3 scenarios for ‘experiences’ in my planner!
Well at least you’re ready for Experience hosting when it arrives! I’m a CPA, so all I can come up with is “Exciting Instructional Session on Medical Deductions,” or “The Magic of Compound Interest – Why You Should Open an IRA Now!”
I’d go for that experience!
Actually though, my little trek around the area is not really enough to ‘qualify’ for an experience.
But I also do Chakra Workshops, Reiki , Guided Meditations, that I could easily make into an Experience.
