Sunshine it comes in as 6th and doesn’t really sound that bad if I don’t expand. Let it go and besides your place looks so nice and you have plenty good reviews that I don’t think it will matter. When ever I look at places to stay if a see a nit picking review among all positive reviews I blame the reviewer and give the host the benefit of the doubt.
Robert that would be my husband’s worse nightmare since he is In charge of our Department of environmental resources for Miami dade . I hope you wait for the 14 days to review them and give them a honest review, what a nightmare for you.
Cheers Carmen!
I contacted Air today but still waiting for an agent to get back to me. It maybe not possible to remove it, but I want to try. I feel the guest was extremely defamatory about my character and there was so many untruths. We will see
sunshine: It is really not that bad. I didn’t ‘hear’ the terrible things you heard. Honestly, if I were shopping on your listing I would not give that review a second thought.
But I think this is what happened - your reviews are so over-the-top, with guests wanting to move in with you permanently, singing your praises high above the mountains, that these guest encountered a reality that didn’t match the stars-and-rainbows experience other guests people raved about. They encountered a human that had an amazing personal event happening in their lives at the same time.
I think their expectations were so high you couldn’t have matched them.
At the same time you may be a bit more tired and emotional after a big family event, which can be a quagmire if highs - and lows.
I would LEAVE the review. Let people know that you are not perfect, if you didn’t talk loudly outside their room, or come in late making noise, that’s ok - some day you might. 99% of the people reading this are going to just realize you’re human. It will give them a reality check.
My guests rave about my breakfasts like I serve them caviar and champagne or something. This is going to happen to me - I’m going to have an ‘off’ morning, or warmed up croissants from Costco will not fullfill the fantasy they developed after reading all the glorious reviews about my warmed-up pre-cooked sausage and warmed up frozen rolls - and they will slam me AND my breakfast in their review.
This is great all the replies. Because I know how it feels. I have to many properties I manage not to have some bad reviews. Realize you can’t make everyone happy. But like someone said it’s a great time in your reply to nicely point out why your place is worthy. The breakfast the coffee. After you collect +20 plus reviews and 80% + are great people aren’t stupid they will understand that this one bad review is meaningless.
^^ That was my suggestion at the outset. To reiterate, I would take the vein along the line that -
“As all other of our many guests have found, the merits of our place are X,Y,Z which they have appreciated so much, a pity it didn’t quite fit you as well. We wish you the best of journeys”.
The theme is to isolate them as a fluke (aka the dreaded nut case) LoL.
My husband told me you only have to worry with gasoline in small amounts if it get into the sewer or a body of water. For the most part it is very volatile and will evaporate given time, although you will have the killing effect with plants as it will seep in the soil and the roots will leach and water source from deep in the ground. He told me what he would have done is dig the soil out and remove as much as he could so there would be little residual gasoline left.
Hey Sunshine - please don’t sweat it any more. Your place is fab, their review (come up second on my viewing) stands out only in its discrepancy from the other fabulous appraisals, and no prospective guest will be put off by it (who can reasonably expect their afternoon sleep to be crept around?! - immediately indicates their self-centredness). Really, don’t honour their review with anything more than a brief note “I’m sorry your experience didn’t match those of all our previous guests who have noted our high standards and loved their stay; all the best for your future travels” or something as others have indicated. PLEASE DONT do a long reply. I’ve up voted a couple of more useful reviews, and if I ever come to Belfast, I hope you’ve a space!
Thank you so much Caiti!
I feel for you on this, Sunshine. We had our first (and only) bad review a couple of months ago. We receive 5stars every time, and are VERY descriptive in our listing. At one point we were actually renovating our kitchen, so we slashed our pricing in half and mentioned our reno, this included that no labor would be happening during visitor stays, only on days we took our listing down. This was our way of offering a REALLY affordable stay for travelers looking to eat out during their stay (we still had water, a fridge, microwave, just lacked cabinets and stove – but we provided a 2 person setting for people staying in our 2 person listing – as to accommodate them with drinks, etc.). Well, when this review came about … we had finished our revo and were only lacking door pulls to open the cabinet (which were still able to be opened)…. Which they claimed it as “being remodeled” which is hilarious because we did a walk through with them to show we had just finished the remodel. They went on and on about the remodel, talking about it, complimenting us, etc. The loud party was my boyfriend and 3 friends talking QUIETLY upstairs, with light music – think 10/100 on your TV “loud”- at 11pm – which is when the friends left and we went to bed. And the parking situation… I literally can’t with this couple.
That said, my reply has made headlines with some people that stay with us, I’ve had two tell me they booked our place because they loved my response and found it hilarious – esp since the other 40 reviews are basically telling us we do an amazing job hosting. Anyhow… I’m here to say… don’t let one bad egg ruin your time. I say take the time to make a detailed write up and respond to the review thoroughly (based on MY experience). I think personality goes a long way in all things and if your other reviews shine, this one will not kill your business, if anything it will act as a gate keeper (based on your response) for shitty potential guests (or at least that’s my optimistic outlook on it!).
The BAD REVIEW: “The location was great. There was only street parking, about 1-2 blocks from the house. Their kitchen was unusable during our stay, as it was being remodeled (it would have been nice to know this, as we wouldn’t have booked it.) the walls are thin. When you’re in the bedroom they lease out for airbnb, you can hear everything going on in the living room, kitchen, and even upstairs. They also had a loud party the last night we were there until maybe 2 am. RUDE. If you’re going to airbnb - take it seriously. We were in town exploring a possible business venture (recreational marijuana) and wanted to support local homeowners with additional income. This stay wasn’t the best.”
My [smartass-ish] REPLY “Chrissy, thanks for your feedback - the kitchen was being remodeled (counter tops were the only missing part during your specific time with us) and this was listed in our description under the subtitle “Other Things to Note”***, which I have since updated due to now having counter tops. Our refrigerator, oven, microwave, sink/faucet, and dishwasher have and were all up and running and available for your use if needed. I’m sorry you did not see that in the description, but it was noted and very thoroughly described, it seems other guests have always been very informed upon reading the listing before you, because no one has ever had issues with this detail since we’ve been hosting (our kitchen remodel has been happening since our first booking through all of our bookings; August 2015-November 2015). Previous to editing on 11/16/15 (due to kitchen remodel being complete) the listing read, “As you might notice, our kitchen is not shown in our description pictures, this is due to our kitchen being remodeled at the moment; we will not be doing any remodel work while guests are staying due to noise (we will take those dates off our calendar). Appliances, such as refrigerator, over, and microwave are all up-and-running and available for your use, but this stay is best for a person(s) whom want to explore many of our great cities restaurants- trust us, there are so many, and we love, love, love giving recommendations!” I am terribly sorry for the noise that happened that Saturday night, we understand your frustration and were not trying to be rude, we had 3 friends over and were listening to music in our upstairs living area. As far as parking, I also have listed in the subtitle, "Guest Access" that we have alley parking, which is to accommodate guests that request and need a more tailored parking arrangement. Our guests usually find street parking to be the easily accessible option since the alley can be tight, but we have always and will continue to offer our guests alley parking if they so inquire (a simple text message or message on Airbnb is fine, I’m happy to street park my car!), especially because I know parallel parking can be a pain if you’re not comfortable with larger city parking. I, unfortunately, cannot control if one night our street parking fills and 1-2 blocks is the only option, but as previously stated I have and always will be accommodating to guest requests regarding parking. ***“You are welcome to enter from the front, which will probably be easier access with street parking (which is another notable positive to our location: free street parking!). The back is alley access, we are normally parked in the back, but if you are at all worried about your vehicle, I welcome you to let me know before your stay, I will reserve the spot.” I would highly encourage reading the descriptions of Airbnb listings fully before booking a location, or if you ever have any questions regarding a listing that you have read, to most definitely contact the host(s) through the website to increase communication on a subject you are anxious about. I’m sorry your stay with us was a bad experience, we will take your recommendations in mind for future guests, Chrissy.”
Just be forewarned! If you even answer with one word it will expand their whole terrible review and your response! That one is going to quickly drop off the page. I would not respond sunshine!
You could still send them an email privately and rake them over the coals, but I wouldn’t even do that! Best to move on!
Some people our such knobs, they must crawl out of the woodwork! Horrible little people!
Konacoconutz, I have not done anything yet. After a draining couple of days, today I’m finally getting over the trauma! I feel she is a sad, bitter person. I believe a great deal in karma
Ps: The agent I got from Air was hopeless.
Oh and I got a new booking today, which cheered me up! Maybe the people are looking for a party house
Sunshine, this will be a distant memory soon… And if it feels better, call them all the names you want!
The guy who complained after I got him a deal on the helicopter is forever a mealy little weasel and the nasty b. who complained about the windchimes and left that horrible feedback is called the Alberta witch. Jennifer, the quiet professional, is forever known as the party s__ut! Since she hooked up with a strange guy and brought this creep back to my home. horrible knobs who crawled out of the woodwork indeed!!! Excuse my language, but these guests forced me to create these names for them!
Party scout? Is the missing word scout?
Ooops… typing on my ipad so the letters were transposed.
But YES… she was a party scout obviously as well as a party s__t. hahahahahah!
Apologies for coming in late here. Wish I’d seen this earlier. Have a look at:
Absolutely hilarious! Love it!
Miss Anti-Valentine, I’ll name her, although I have a few stronger words spinning in my head!
or Valentine Schmalentine