Just ‘hearting’ your post simply wasn’t good enough…
1 Like
I wander if she left her review for the stay?
I was that grieving widow with young children once. In the absolute fog that follows losing the love of your life and the father of your children, leaving you to raise them without him, I can’t imagine remembering to take out the garbage, or straighten up. That well be why she and her family were there, so someone could come in and clean out his belongings at her home without her being there.
I think you did the right thing by not reviewing her. And unlike some others on here, I would have that family back. From experience, I know that once they start to see joy again they will return to being the great guests they once were, and would appreciate your kindness.
A little story, when I was first widowed our bank froze all our joint accounts, including the household account we used to pay bills. My checking account had enough for a month, and I was beginning to panic. I had one small savings account, and a mortgage, at Wells Fargo, so my net value there was very negative, and yet they helped me pull the funds from the frozen accounts at other banks and gave me a few months if I couldn’t get the money back together to pay the mortgage. And they were very kind. That was over a decade ago. I’ve heard terrible things about Wells Fargo as a monolithic bank. But that kindness earned them my loyalty. And I am still there, with a lot more in my accounts than back then. Kindness doesn’t cost anything, and can buy your immense good will.
Those that want to point out her naked grief, shame on you. I would rather be reviewed as a messy guest than having my personal life displayed for all fellow hosts.
3 Likes
Duly noted.
202020202020
Upvote this response. I was widowed and, trust me, the guest was likely completely unaware of any mess or even any aspect of her physical environment. The friend had their priorities straight making sure the children were fed and cared for and providing a shoulder to lean on.
I would feel honored and privileged to provide a safe space for anyone going through such trauma. Hang the mess. I would never negatively review them, certainly not publicly and not through a private message, for the state of the property, unless they burned it down or smashed all the furniture up with a sledgehammer.
A review under those circumstances would serve no purpose regarding improving their attributes as a guest or as an indicator of future guest behavior on their part.
7 Likes
This is a hard one. I’m not sure what you should say in your review, but be gentle, factual but kind.
In hindsight it would have been an idea to talk about how well she was going to manage and what the other adult was going to do apart from manage the kids.
Chalk this one up to experience I’d say.
1 Like
I would leave a short, honest review with kind but factual language. I would not mention the bereavement or the child’s diagnosis as these are personal matters not relevant to the future hosts. “This may not reflect her typical guest conduct” would be as close as I’d come to giving an explanation without betraying privacy.