I hosted a superhost

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Where to start? hmmm - ok I am coming to the end of my second summer season of renting out my downstairs basement apartment. Last year I achieved ‘Superhost’ which it seems has been a curse as mentioned by another user in another post.
At the beginning of summer a French family booked for one night. I didn’t even bother to look them up as they were ‘superhosts’ and it was only one night (normally when someone stays for one night you can’t even see they’ve been in the place) my mistake!

They arrived yesterday for 1 night, and I now have to leave them a review…
Alarm bells began to ring when 2 weeks before the messages started, needing directions from a faraway town to mine, I got confused as the lady was asking me directions from a ancient Greek site (I might have been here forever but I don’t know all the sites in Greece) instead of the area. We finally figured it out and I gave her directions. She sent me a message to tell me she’d ‘ring me’ when they know what time they’ll arrive. OK all good until I looked them up. Big mistake - HUGE. It seems the husband according to reviews uses airbnb to promote his tours and is quite aggressive when persuading people to go on them AND give them 5 stars.
OK back to the visit - I had been away for the weekend so on Thurs I messaged them to say I won’t be in Europe until Sunday night so if they need me before Monday to message me through the internet to avoid costs. They thanked me for letting them know. We arrived back Sunday night (I’d basically got the apartment ready before I left) Monday morning I sent them a message via airbnb to ask arrival time … NOTHING. 5 hrs later waiting in my house, unable to go to do a much needed supermarket shop after our 3 days away I messaged them again NOTHING!!! I even explained that 'I need to leave the house for 30 minutes’
They arrived without a call (as promised) at 5:30pm luckily I was on my balcony so I saw them arrive.
I went to greet them at her first comment was ‘we didn’t have internet on the road’ (eehhhh call me then or message before you leave!!!) Then he got out shook my hand and aggressive said ‘We have been in Greece for 10 days and we have been treated like KINGS! What are you going to do for us, I am a superhost and have 300 reviews?’ I was taken aback and in my typical Brit sarcasm said 'For one day you’ll have to settle for queens’
Then I remembered some people have no sense of humour, whatsoever. He was one of them, from that minute he ignored me and left conversation to his wife. I showed them around, explained where the town is and explained where the nearest beach was, told them I am upstairs if you need me and also mentioned that the internet works in the living room as the router is above that room (my first look of disgust). The man then asked too personal questions for my likeing 'What’s your husband’s job? What’s yours? How long have you been in Greece? Did you marry a Greek?'
My husband arrived home with fresh eggs (we have hens) so I gave them six for breakfast, wrote down the timetables for ferries to Corfu and gave them that also and let them use the washing machine and asked them if they needed powder. I sent hubby out to buy wine as I thought I was going to need it! When he returned he said (and this is the clean version) ‘Why is that man sitting outside the apartment on the apartment steps with his laptop?’ This is a residential block and you do not sit on the steps!! I am assuming he was making a point about the internet (which is fine in the living room)

They left an hour ago. I made sure I was awake to wish them a good journey. The man barely said goodbye, just turned his back, the woman gave me a hug. The biggest shock was seeing my apartment left by a superhost! Sheets thrown on the sofa/bed - soaking towel - all rubbish bins full (including toilet paper one in bathroom … this is Greece) Pizza crumbs in oven - dirty footprints everywhere. The sofa (which was used as a bed) left in the middle of the room with all the carpet crumpled up under it as they’d just dragged it. The cds/dvds I leave for kids not put back in their places. The saving grace was the plates had been washed and the young son was a pleasure to talk to !
Now I am waiting for my review. I also have to give them one!
This is where I need help as if I write one now it will be awful! No one has ever left my apartment in such a state after 1 night, not even after a week! I have a young surfer guy coming this evening (just to sleep and leave first thing) and I was hoping that the place just needed a quick clean and change of sheets … nope! It needs the full works!
All this for 4 people for the grand sum of 22euro!

Over to the experts …
BTW if you are the ‘superhosts’ who were my guests and are reading this, have a ruddy good word with yourselves!

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Dreadful!

Can’t recommend xx guests. Communication was terrible to non existent. Conversation was awkward. And worst of all, they left the apartment an awful mess (describe in detail.) All this for one night? they won’t be welcome back!

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I’m wondering whether they did this on purpose as I have the ‘superhost’ status. The place they stayed in before me was a really old place in Athens which was a new place on airbnb - they have left him a glowing review and he’s said that they left his place immaculate! Have a feeling the man would have prefered to have dealt with a man rather than a ‘little woman’

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Why are you only charging 22 euro’s in peak season in Greece for four people for a whole apartment?

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I don’t live in a tourist area and the usual guests are Greek or Balkans. It is one of the most beautiful areas of Greece though (Preveza) there’s also a slight problem with the place as it has been flooded a few times in the past and I can’t get rid of the damp smell no matter how hard I try! It’s in the bottom cupboards (wardrobe/kitchen) I do state all this in the ad : https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9353553

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Hi @asimenia !
I am sorry for what happened, it is very upsetting when you feel like you have to meet guests impossible expectations.
If I were you, I would be pessimist and expect a bad review. I have the feeling that they left the apartment in such a bad shape just to piss you off. So, take a deep breath, write a note of your today’s feelings then wait one-two days (or more) before writing a review. This way you can be polite and cold. Nobody would blame you about the tone of your review if you state the facts and don’t fall into his “game”. Mention his awkward sentences and gestures, but don’t mention your expectations, nor your doubts about him being a superhost (I mean, how can be Superhost such a bad person? This is what I think you thought, and I would too). Let the reader draw conclusions. The only time I wrote a bad review, I added my feelings and he replied to each sentence like laughing at me. This is why I suggest you to list the facts. I know it would be wonderful to tell the world what you think about him/them, but this can turn against you, like you are the “typical hysterical woman with crazy hormones”, even more if you had the feeling that he would have preferred to deal with a man.
No offense, of course: I am a woman too and I love my hormones and mood changes :wink:

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Hi @asimenia

These certainly sound the guests from hell. Why are some people so keen on being so a PITA?

I would definitely leave an honest review. Why not draft something and post here and we can comment/advise. Then you can get it out of your system before you post a more measured version on Airbnb.

I would definitely mention their poor communication and the awful state they left your property in.

Be interesting to know what do his reviews look like on this site?

By the way have you tried those industrial style humidifiers - I had to use those once when I had an office that flooded - took a good few weeks to get rid of the damp but definitely solved the problem.

This would give you a chance to dry the place out and perhaps give it a bit of an upgrade so you could then charge more.

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I am very careful with Superhosts :slight_smile: I got very nice ones and I got some not nice :frowning:

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For future reference I am a superhost and supernice (well most of the time when I am not disagreeing with people on forums)

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I’m also one and stayed at an airbnb at the weekend- it killed me to write privately that the place wasn’t very clean … my daughter had a shower, walked across the floor and came to show me her filthy feet. You could see a thick layer of dust on the floor when the light hit. :frowning: Also I went to use the toilet brush and it was loaded with black fungus …bacteria I presume. I wrote it all privately though and just took a star off cleanliness, hoping she’ll see what I saw. I really didn’t want to give a bad review as she was a lovely girl, and maybe I’m just an older clean freak!

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There is no excuse for the disgusting toilet brush and it sounds like the floor hadn’t been cleaned in too long. However, you didn’t say where this Airbnb was located, but in many parts of the U.S. we don’t typically take our shoes off when we enter the house. Therefore, if you walk barefoot in our houses your feet will get dirty.

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