Need help with a negative review

1

Had a very nice guest stay in many home. He was a little quirky but nice. Responded quickly to messages etc.

Before he stayed he reserved 5 days. 3 days before he mentioned he may only stay 1-2 days and requested a full refund. I was uncomfortable but we discussed it. I told him he could cancel or we could do a change request for a minimum of two days.

The day before check-in he said he’d be in very late and asked if that was ok. It wasn’t but I said ok and setup a smart lock so he could check-in at ten pm, but still intended to meet him. In case I was too tired. He checked himself in at 4am. Glad I didn’t wait up.

The next day he said he was going to leave. His plans had changed and he needed to get on the road. So he sent me a change request for one night. I declined. We discussed it and I sent him a change request for two nights. He never accepted so after 3 days I cancelled the change request.

He also checked out late. Checkout is at noon. So I drove by, intending to clean up but when I saw the car was still there I left. I messaged him and asked when he’d be ready. He said he was leaving. I told him when I was on my way back because I would need to get back to work. He checked out 2.5 hours late. I didn’t charge him for it since he technically ended up paying for 5 days. When I got back and he wad still there, I knocked on the door to let him know I was there and see how long he’d be. He said he was just finishing up emails. I sat on the deck outside.

He left trash on the counter and dishes in the sink. Not sure if he would’ve if I hadn’t been there, probably, but the trash was right next to it. Dishwasher is next to sink.

He also asked me to review him as if he never stayed at my house and that we resolved his issue of needing to’not stay’ amicably.

We had a nice chat before he left. He gave us sauerkraut because he owns a business doing that, which was nice (even though I don’t like it).

Told me before he left I probably shouldn’t airbnb my home because it smells like my dog.

Need to sum this up but don’t want to offend him too much. Just the facts no emotion.

Thinking…

(Name) was good at responding quickly to messages. Checked in/out late (4am/2.5 hours). Asked me to review him as if he hadn’t stayed. With his last minute changes in plans (scheduled 5 days but only stayed one) he probably would’ve been happier at a hotel. Asked for a full refund, offered a change request for two days that was not accepted.

2

Leaning toward…

(Name) was great at quickly responding communication.

He may have been more comfortable on this trip with a 24 hour check-in desk. He mentioned a couple days before check-in potentially only needing 1-2 days of his 5 day reservation and requested a full refund for the unused days.

The day before he asked if he could check-in around 10pm (about 5 hours after my check-in time). I told him I would stay up and meet him for check-in and setup a smart lock just in case. I got tired close to 10 and sent him the code to check himself in. Checked in at 4AM.

Sent me a message the next day mentioning he would be checking out late and sent a change request for one day. We spoke and I offered him a two day change request (despite my strict cancellation policy), he didn’t accept the change request before the end of his 5 day reservation so I cancelled the change request.

Since he was checking out late, I texted him when I was on my way. He was still there and I waited outside while he finished up his emails. I didn’t charge him for the late checkout because of the 5 day stay/change request debacle.

(Name) requested that I review him as if he’d never stayed in my cottage and we’d amicably resolved his change request.

(Name) owns a sauerkraut company and was nice enough to leave us a sample jar. Would recommend him as a polite guest with good communication if you’re able to accommodate off check-in/out hours.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Overall
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Communication
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ Cleanliness
★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Check-in/out timeliness

3

I think you need to summarise the issues without going into war and peace. I think your guest behaved badly and your review should reflect this. He messed you around and then didn’t leave when he said he would. And asked you to lie for him. I wouldn’t say that was good communication.

Then his parting gift was to say your house smelt.

6 Likes
4

Today is the last day to review. So I know what I wrote it’s long… How would you say it?

5

Although XXX was perfectly pleasant, I cannot recommend him as a guest.

Initially, he booked for five days and then shortly before arrival wanted to change this to 1-2 days despite my having a two night minimum stay.

He checked out nearly three hours late leaving dirty dishes in the sink and rubbish in the kitchen

He then asked me to lie about his stay at my property.

(My bill is in the post !!! :slight_smile: )

12 Likes
6

Lol thanks.

Do you think this will offend him or make other guests think twice about staying with me for complaining?

7

Yes he’s not likely to be happy if he sees it - but does that matter- you certainly wouldn’t want someone who messes you about and asks you to lie for him to stay would you?

Your other guests are unlikely to see it, your review goes on his profile not yours.

1 Like
8

:roll_eyes::roll_eyes:

What’s he going to do if offended? What if he’s written a review that you can get offended by?

If a prospective guest gets wary of booking you because you reasonably pointed out faults of a previous guest (assuming they navigate to your previous guests and read their reviews), is such a guest worth having??

5 Likes
9

Oh please… if you are going to keep hosting successfully, you must develop a backbone.:rofl:
Review him honestly.
Think about how many guests do not hesitate to crack us hosts over nothing… Leave an honest review (Helsi’s is perfect) and don’t look back. He’s a bad guest. None of us want him, no matter how pleasant the personality. Some people are charming (thinking politics here) while continuing to inflict great damage.

For god’s sake gentlemen, DO YOUR DUTY! :rofl:

13 Likes
10

Thank you for the feedback… Just wanted to find some happy medium without over-sharing

11

Just me, but I wouldn’t complain about someone who paid for five nights, leaving late after night 1. The sequence of events seems to be:

  • “I’m leaving”
    -Requests 1 night stay/informs you he will be checking out late
    -1 night stay rejected. He knows he’ll be paying for a minimum of 2 if not 5 nights
    -You show up when he’s still paying/entitled to have the room.

I get that the ideal would have been to let you know that his plans were delayed, but he could have legitimately thought- okay, it’s mine for two nights I guess. No need to rush. And he was nice and didn’t try to get away with anything- he more than paid for the right to check out late on Day 1. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt for a miscommunication.

And as far as the late check-in, well, he did okay it with you the day before and you said it was okay. He can’t read your mind to know it “really wasn’t.” And once you gave him the keycode to check-in himself, I’m not sure what inconvenience that caused.

Just my two cents. If I were the guy, I’d be surprised to get a bad review, for being nice, communicative, and paying five times more for a one-night stay than is normally charged.

7 Likes
12

Yes you ended up making money so I don’t think you should mention the extra days you earned for nothing

13

I didn’t give him the code until 10pm because he knew I wanted to meet him and mentioned he might be a couple more hours. I waited up until ten but am lame and had early work. So went to bed and sent the code.

At the time of checkout he was asking for a full refund and I sent him a change request, he just never accepted it. He called to tell me he’d be leaving soon, which is why I showed up and left then texted and came back and knocked, then waited outside. He said he was leaving and at that point was getting a refund.

Cleaning up his little bit of trash and dishes didn’t bother me but being asked to lie in my review, and make lots of exceptions to check-in, checkout, and refunds… Was what I didn’t like.

He didn’t get the refund he pressured me for because he didn’t accept it before the end of his reservation. So I cancelled the change request.

I emailed him. We spoke on the phone. He knew it was waiting to be accepted.

1 Like
14

The lying is weird. I don’t like this guy. It was his choice not to stay the full time. You should not have felt pressured to do anything.

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15

Hi @Hostlearning,

Here’s a technical question. At some point the change request would naturally expire. Are you saying this didn’t happen? The words “cancelled the change request” certainly sound like you did it manually. Was there some reason you didn’t just let it expire by itself?

And I’m on the fence about the bad review. I don’t know if I would mention all the complicated stuff about day changing unless you think he behaved improperly. It certainly sounds a bit ditzy to me, but I’m not sure whether it crosses the line into bad behavior.

I think a strict cancellation policy, if applied, would entitle him to no refund in this case, correct? Wanting to change the reservation after arrival, that is.

16

I felt pressured despite my cancellation policy, especially with his talks of reviews, but in the long run decided if he wasn’t willing to accept/cancel the request or approve the change request he pressured me to have done before checkout that yes I cancelled it. I didn’t know it expired but frankly with the house reserved thru Monday and no change request it’s not like I could have rebooked.

17

Yes in future I’ll stick to my strict policy.

18

Yes, that makes sense. It’s not reasonable to wait around after checkout on the change request with your calendar blocked for the next few days. It does sounds like the kind of situation where it is best to stick to your cancellation policy.

2 Likes
19

I always worry about the effect a more negative review would have on other guests considering staying with me!

1 Like
20

Understandable…i wondered about that. Can guests see reviews I write?