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Guests come drop of their stuff hang out in their room for awhile and then leave for dinner. No problem, have fun, whatever. But then they come back with a bottle of wine, my other guest and I have some wine, but my husband who had just gotten off work from a 10 hour shift decides to go to bed early after his chores (it’s a Monday btw). He’s kind of shy and not really social anyway, he chats a bit but in the review the guest slams my husband for being unfriendly and brings his overall experience to 4 stars.
What the heck do I do about that, it’s not like I can just be like “oh, okay sorry I’ll take care of that.” Especially when he’s just renting a room. I share the kitchen but the living room isn’t really part of the deal, I mean I don’t mind if someone wants to come chat and whatever, but I can’t control my husbands level of interaction. I did have a chat with him about smiling a bit more and upping his friendliness, at the same time though if he’s tired, the man shouldn’t be asked to perform like a monkey.
@dcmoone, I love that. “My husband is not one of the listed amenities.” LOL! Very good!
I agree that perspective guests are going to disregard that review. That being said, I am in a similar situation. My husband works nights, 12 hours shifts. He gets home at 8 in the morning and gets ready for work at 5:30 PM. In the morning, he’s tired and wants to get to bed. In the evening he’s too busy trying to get out the door to be very social. I mention to all my guests when they arrive, that they may not see much of my husband and tell them the reason why. I don’t know if it would help head off a situation like yours, but it’s what I do.
I understand your predicament. Airbnb is my little adventure and my husband is barely tolerating it. I’ve had to have a couple discussions with him about how he interacts with guests. I just try and limit how much he has to deal with them. If I don’t do this, one day he will just say he can’t take it anymore…and I’ll have to respect that. Suite retreat will cease to exist.
So, learn from your experience and try and tweak things at home so there’s a bigger buffer between your guests and your husband. It sounds like you enjoy being social with your guests - is there another place you can do this where your husband doesn’t have to be seen or heard when he comes home?
We need to have a ‘snappy reply’ contest to this one.
My husband thought of one "I’m sorry you were disappointed that my husband did not socialize with you. He only spends time with the guests he finds charming and attractive"
Or
“Thank you for mentioning that in the review - I wouldn’t want future guests to expect that they are renting my husband for a fireside chat in addition to renting a room. I charge extra for that.”
I wasn’t going to say anything but it was just one of those things where I’m like “how do I handle this?” SuiteRetreat and I are definitely in the same boat. I appreciate the commiseration.
We have another living room in our basement and I just asked him if maybe he would feel more comfortable hanging out down there when there are guests over and he doesn’t feel like interacting. He actually seemed very open to it.
It was funny though, all the little things we provide as “extras” are my husbands idea and then this guy comes and is like “are you sure your husband is okay with you doing this?” My answer in my head was like “Nope, I just do this and he has to suffer because why not.”
I think you should at least private message this person (idiot) about dinging you a 4 AND mentioning your husband, who just got off a long WORK day and was tired and excused himself to get cleaned up and some rest, was not ‘friendly’. “Like, thanks a lot for the 4 star ding A*****e! You are not welcome to darken my doorway again.”
“I am sorry that my husband was not to your satisfaction. Unfortunately George Clooney is not currently available and I therefore regret to inform you that I will not be replacing the current model”
And grrrr, what a nerve! Don’t know about you but I criticise my husband and family all the time but as soon as someone else does it, the claws come out!
It is possible to ask them to edit. Try to grovel first and explain?
But it really reflects more on the guest than the host to make such a lame comment.
That’s great there’s a little quiet sanctuary for him! Speaking of extras. I offer guests a bonfire on our beach in the evenings. Before, the only interaction my husband had with guests was setting up and lighting their bonfires for them. Now I only make him set it up - when nobody is around - but I go down and light it. So of course I get all the glory . Oh that bugs him lol! Good luck with everything @melmo and keep me posted on how things progress.
My daughter often dashes into the other part of the house when guests are coming or going - but loves us doing airbnb and helps with breakfast and making beds - which is in addition to her ‘assigned’ duties. Some people love making things nice for others, but just don’t want to chat with them! Every time I ask my kids if they still want to do airbnb, I’m always surprised that she’s 100% for it. Meanwhile I have a son that I have to reign in from chatting with the guests…
. Oh that bugs him lol! Good luck with everything