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Guys, I am terribly disappointed about this last review of my apartament. Since I started renting the apartament, I have always received great reviews, but this last guests left me questioning my ability to host. I take great pride in how spotless is my apartament because i want do it myself ( i tried working with few cleaning ladies but i wasn’t very satisfied on how they did their job).
So in this last review the guest first stated that the location is inaccurate- because the taxi driver didn’t know the street ( ?! ).
My apartament has a full beach view, with the sea just below the building. The following blame she left me is that the stairs to the beach are uneven and there is no handrail for the elderly people (!!!). How I am supposed to improve something that is public domain? Those are not my stairs and i simply cannot fix anything to them, I’m not the mayor of the city!
The following topic is about the apartament itself: that I didn’t cleaned the apartament very good ( while I was reading this, my face turned red instantly of fury). She wrote that after 1 hour of walking in the apartament, she saw that her white socks turned dirty. I mentioned above, I leave 20 meters from the beach- so if there is just a slight breeze of wind, it is extremely possible that some sand will enter in the house, if the windows are open. But before the guests showed up, i vacuumed extra carefully the entire apartament and then i mopped TWICE with like the best floor detergent. Next, she said that the bathroom rug was disgusting ( I just had cleaned in the washing machine, so I can’t possible imagine why she said that, I swear). Then, that the faucet holder is not placed well ( i have to give her this one, I will fix this one of this days, but still… ) .
The following, she complained about the fact that the balcony was dirty ( I must mention again: i vacuumed and mopped it ) but it is just meters away from the BEACH! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP THE SAND AWAY. And that the other balconies of my neighbours look bad. Like why?!? With what is it any of my fault?! The cherry on top was that she complained that in the neighbourhood she found a lot of stray dogs and cats.
So this is it, guys! What can I do? Should I answer? What should I answer? I am mad because I know how much I worked to give my guests the best holiday experience and I am frustrated with this outcome that will probably affect the judgement making of potential guests. I couldn’t sleep at all last night because of this review, it left me wondering if I should continue renting my apartament on this platform. Thanks in advance for your replies. Have a wonderful day,
You can’t please ALL people ALL the time. You will occasionally have guests who enjoy trashing their host, just for kicks.
You could invite someone impartial to tour your apartment rental and ask for their blunt feedback on safety and cleanliness. Do not accompany them during their inspection.
I would ask a real estate agent who frequently shows homes to buyers. Realtors are better at finding flaws.
She may have some valid points, or she may have no valid points, … but…you will need to toughen up and develop the ability to understand that in business, you WILL be criticized…NO Matter What. So look to improve, take feedback seriously, but with analyze it for accuracy. Determine what you can change or are willing to change. I have had thousands of guests…2 whole houses over 9 years. You will hear everything. This weekend a guest did not like that her room had “double beds”. I guess she was not assigned the Master Suite. First time in 9 years I had negative feedback on that. I will ignore it. We need double beds because not everyone in a group is a “couple”. Her issue / not mine. Good luck developing a backbone. You will need one to endure the hospitality business.
PS: Stay away from bathroom rugs, they are nice for homes, but not for STR. They always have that scruffy look, even when clean and washed.
Just copy the hotels and offer a cotton towel kind of rug, hang them folded over the edge of shower or bath to enhance the image of being fresh and clean.
Try to see what you can learn and/or do, and move on.
Yes, this can happen.
ACTION: Give guests a well known reference to tell to the taxi driver.
No, you’re not the mayor, you are more than that, you are a citizen.
ACTION: Contact the city and complain. Tell them the situation is dangerous ,not acceptable and that you want it fixed.
We live in a place with lots of air pollution. We can clean and within a few hours the floor is dirty again. Not a lot we can do about it.
POSSIBLE ACTION: Inform the guest, advising to keep the windows shut if they want to minimize the floors getting dirty. “Unfortunately a pristine location, comes with the fact that our floors get dirty again more quickly. Thank you for understanding.”
Well maybe it does look disgusting to other people.
ACTION: Buy a new rug? Or just give guests an extra towel to put on the floor?
You already know what to do, and you realize you should have done it earlier.
When did you clean? The day she arrived or a few days in advance?
ACTION: Always question how you do things and see if there’s room for improvement.
ACTION: Talk to the neighbors on this years condominium meeting.
Stray dogs and cats might lower the value of your property.
ACTION: Talk to the mayor, you’re his client. You can complain and put things into motion.
If all of your other reviews are good- just ignore this one. Most will realize that everyone will have a bad review occasionally… and its usually bs. If I have 100 -5☆ reviews and one 2☆, then it should be clear that my listing is a good one. You cannot please everyone. Maybe fix what you know needs fixing and have a pic if the stairs to the beach that shows no handrail.
DO NOT reply to her review. Accept the comments. Take a breath, and move on. If you get more than one review that mentions the same things, fix them – whether you think they need fixing or not, your guests think they need fixing.
If there’s a next time, please copy and paste the actual review so we can see exactly what was said, and how it was said. What we read above was your interpretation of the guest comments, not the actual comments.
I think you need to hear them out. Ask for the reason why they gave you that review. You cannot please all people, and i think that you have done anything you could. Just take it as a lesson.
There is a built in hostility among STR hosts against people who have the nerve to have an opinion
I have seen so much fury against guests who had the nerve to leave a 4 star review. What is wrong with them? Can I get it removed? How should I respond? I had 70 five star reviews until this idiot!
GUESTS. PAYING GUESTS! They owe you nothing. They are not there to help you get perfect ratings. They are your customer. They have opinions. This is a free country. Some of them are daft.
Respond to each post in a professional manner. This comes with the territory. You will get occasional stupid reviews. If we cannot handle it, we are in the wrong business. Stop fretting.
Yeah, we all been there. Calm down first. Then either you don’t respond at all or say something like “thank you for your comments” then state the facts the you are close to the beach and the wind might bring sand indoors". Don’t respond to the other ones that you obviously can’t control and are not your fault. Prospective guests will see that. As a matter of fact if you reply to her review you do it for future guests, so be very careful what you write, be professional and state facts.
