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Hmmm, very tricky to guess correctly. First she hasn’t arrived nor stayed yet, so you never know which way it will indeed go; face to face she may be a totally different person. Count on her writing the review however IF she does in first place, not him (aka probably a classic ‘Harold’). ‘Alphas’ tend to respect strength, which you already have shown by reminding her you are not her servant. I would take a very formal, professional approach, and roll the dice. Here is another suggestion, give her the opportunity to write in the ~guest book~ and let her know how important that is to you, with plenty of space to express her moxy, oftentimes this opportunity dissipates the need for such types to write a 2nd ‘official’ review.
Thanks @Mearns and @Maggieroni for your advice and your view of the situation.
Yes, she doesnt have reviews yet, and it’s true that I’m kind of panicking before meeting her. I will follow your advice @Mearns and let’s see how does it evolve. I don’t have a guests book, mmm maybe it’s time to start one…
It’s fantastic to have support from other hosts, and the point of view of experienced hosts, or hosts with different walks of experiences. I love sharing and reading the stories of everyone. I feel lucky to have found this forum
I have found that fretting about things in advance is a poor use of my energy. And if I may suggest, going into the situation with a negative mindset is only likely to make things worse. I’d say greet them warmly, act as if you were happy to be able to help them out at the last minute. If the stay goes better than expected (and why wouldn’t it, you’re already expecting the worst?) you could give her a little information at the end of her stay about how the review system works and encourage 5* marks. Do you know the saying “you get more flies with honey than with vinegar?”
Thanks @KKC for your great advice. I understand what you tell. This is how I usually act in these situations, but it worked against me in the past. I got unexpexted bad reviews after giving my best to make difficult impolite guests feel welcomed and comfortable. After a couple of bad experiences with guests that came upfront like this one, I have been reconsidering the way I always act, I’m trying a different approach this time. All what you said, but reclaiming respect as well, and learning to deal with the consequences, which is true I am anticipating. Maybe she appreciates strenght, as Fred said.
It sounds like you don’t trust your own instincts/gut feelings. Whenever I go against my “gut” I end up feeling terrible, it’s taken a long time but now I trust my first instinct is my best one.
This is so true, imagine had we follow that all our lives.
@p_v: Nothing wrong with your thinking, you are obviously a most kind-hearted person, which begs the question: is being a sweetheart a requirement to be a AirBnB host in Spain? (I.e. you (Seville), azreala (Barcelona), Malagachica (Malaga), etc.) Holding other people responsible for their unkind manner is your right. Lets us know how ‘The Case of the Huffy Woman from Mexico’ turns out.
I hope it works out, @p_v. In my experience the guests I dreaded the most ended up just fine, or even great. Fingers crossed… But good job addressing her manner of speaking! That’s so brave
My Mexican guests arrived and they seemed to be a very nice couple, so different from the first messages online They told me they had a bad experience with the previous place / host -so maybe that was it- and they were happy with the room and my place. Wether they leave a good or not so good review is another question… Thanks again everybody for support and advice.
This couple created a big problem finally . I was in a meeting during their checkout this morning and I asked them to leave the keys of the house and the garage in my letterbox - I have done this before without problem. Now I come back home and the keys are not in my letter box. And their telephone is off. I contacted Airbnb to report the problem.
No, they drove away to another city! They left the keys in the letterbox of another apatment, another block, another street, in my neigborhood. The woman tells me that they tried 3 different blocks in my street and did not see a letterbox with the floor and letter of mine. My letter box has my name and the complete address, same block they were staying, ground floor, so easy. But they left them in some letter box in the neigborhood, just because it had the same letter and floor that my apartment, so it could be mine… No matter it was not my address and it didnt have my name. Why didn’t they call and ask? Today it was a nightmare, all day trying to find where the hell they left my keys… They didn’t even remind the address. Surealistic!! Now I also picture myself with Susanne Chen in this new TV sitcom about desperate homesharing… Some productor here wants to buy the idea??
Be careful about mentioning ‘she who should not be named’ you may get publically flogged for being snarky towards her
Your guest sounds like a train wreck. We just had a similar situation with a group of Swedes returning our key, once they checked out. Their excuse ‘We didn’t know how to get back into the flat to drop off the keys’ UM REALLY??
I’m in the process of charging for lost keys, ours cost $50 to replace, and let me tell you the Resolution Center is a big joke on trying to collect the money from the guests
️:heart:️:heart:️ you!!
They told me they had a bad experience with the previous place / host -so maybe that was it- and they were happy with the room and my place. Wether they leave a good or not so good review is another question… Thanks again everybody for support and advice.
. I was in a meeting during their checkout this morning and I asked them to leave the keys of the house and the garage in my letterbox - I have done this before without problem. Now I come back home and the keys are not in my letter box. And their telephone is off. I contacted Airbnb to report the problem.