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I’ve only had to leave one bad review for a guest before, and it wasn’t even that bad. I just had the most annoying, unreasonable guest ever who is demanding a refund. From other advice on here, I guess I’ll wait until the last minute to leave a review, hoping that they don’t leave me one (Fat chance though!), but need advice on how this sounds.
“Super uptight, impossible-to-please, professional complainer. Nit-picked and found fault with the smallest quirks and made exaggerated claims about my property in an attempt to get a refund. (All through text so far) Very stressful. Avoid. Definitely wouldn’t recommend to other hosts.”
I know I need to add this in that the actual profile it was booked under was the husband, even though it was the wife I had all but one interaction with. I also don’t want to violate TOS, but not sure I completely understand what does violate the TOS. I expect this guest to leave a heinous review especially considering she claimed there were “safety hazards” in my property and “too many complaints to list”…I’m talking about things like a small crack in the end of one floorboard that creaks when stepped on, in an almost 100 year old home. I hate that her review will be at the top of my page for who knows how long and tarnish my listing that has otherwise great reviews.
Good for you. I know there may be some here who will dissuade you from leaving this review or coach you to reword it. I’d leave it just like it is. What a nightmare.
And there is probably good reason the husband booked it!
’ x and his wife were impossible to please and found complaint with every little detail, right down to a crack in a floorboard in my 100 year old home. The whole experience has been very stressful from the beginning. I cannot recommend to other hosts and I would not welcome back to my home’
in regards to TOS, I haven’t actually read them (I know, bad host!) but from what I understand when it comes to reviews it must be factual. So don’t say anything that could be misconstrued. I know you’re also not allowed to mention any disputes, so probably best to leave the refund bit out.
I totally get what you are saying. I’m hesitant to bring up any of her complaints because I don’t really want to give credence to any of them because they were so petty. Honestly, the problem IS her personalty. I got a bad feeling with speaking to her on the phone several days before her arrival as all she did was complain about anything and everything. I told my co-host…uh oh, I think we are in for a problem guest with this one.
This prompted me to see if she had her own profile. It looks like she doesn’t. I’m sure she will not use Airbnb again as her experience was so “intolerable”…this is the type of person that would complain people didn’t speak English if she went to a Spanish speaking country. Ha!
It’s a good thing to leave a bad review for problem guests. More hosts should do so, but I understand why they don’t. However, what @EllenN said. It’s important, I think, to say that the guest actually did. As the saying goes (and it’s a favorite saying of mine) the devil is in the details. E.g. “Nit-picked and found fault with the smallest quirks” - what did he nitpick and find fault with? “made exaggerated claims about my property” - what exaggerated claims did he make? There’s nothing wrong with highlighting the worst stuff, but do include some level of detail. It makes it much more convincing, and I assume you want to convince other hosts not to host this person, right?
I completely get where you are coming from. And I think your initial stab at the review sounds great. But in order to keep this nightmare (refunding bait) guest out of the Airbnb system…it’s best to detail examples. Many hosts just say something vague like “would not rent to XXXX again” and hosts just think it was a personality clash or something. Then they get accepted again, and the saga continues.
If you want to list some of the petty complaints then I (and am sure others) would happy to suggest and construct a review that lets hosts know to BEWARE - and also lets hosts know WHY they should careful…while at the same time not mentioning the exact specific details of her complaints.
I like your review. The exasperation with this guest comes through loud and clear. No more details are needed! I don’t want this nightmare at my house nit picking everything.
Good riddance!!!
PS if you would like to share this nightmare in our private lounge, look for the notification. I’ll send you an invite.
For sure!!! I worked a few summers in Yosemite at the tour desk in the Lodge. I had a woman tell me in response to a question about the valley floor tour she’d taken, “Well you couldn’t really see anything because there were so many trees in the way.”
I also heard this A LOT: “What’s there to do here?”
I just had a young couple that were SO loud and obnoxious, noise, 1am showers, etc, (every time I politely asked them to lower their voices or stop slamming doors they just looked at me as if I was not there, and continued).
I KNOW they left me a bad review because they wrote it as soon as they walked out the door -something like"she has a lot of rules" bla bla, and I saw that the next place they stayed they claimed the poor guys bed was “horrible”, now that will kill a persons business!
The guy left them a short, nice review. Im sure he regrets that!
I also just realised that his girlfriend stole 2 pairs of VERY expensive shoes from my closet!
I know there is no way to prove that…
I feel its my responsibility to say something, to protect other hosts, but will stick to the facts, not my opinions of why they did what they did.
Young Dutch couple , stayed inside the house most of the visit - would probably be fine in a place without children & house rules regarding keeping excess after-hours noise to a minimum.
If you host them I also suggest you put away any valuable items cherish.._
Hahaha. I could see some of you just knew I would be stumbling into this thread and in typical Mearns form suggest to write a one sentence dismissive line and be done with it. Surprise, surprise not this time!
@FtWorthGal Your initial post does shows how utterly disgusting was to have this type of guest. Personally I would also be and would relish the opportunity to fry her. I would like to suggest this structure in a tight paragraph: First sentence an ‘overview’ opinion. 2nd-4th sentences give examples with some wit, even humor may apply. 5th sentence a parting shot and conclusion. Copy and paste if they leave a public review.
The trick is make sure YOU sound mature and cool, which from your posts I am guessing you are.
Whether you can prove it or not I’d ask them about it and open up a case. At the very least it should be in Airbnb’s records so when it happens again maybe Air won’t be quick to take their side. And I know hindsight is 20/20 but I don’t understand why your things are where they can access them. I also know that guests will even pry open a locked door if they can but I’d put things away into a lockable space. Locks are available for every configuration of door.
Hi yes I opened a case and will remove the comment on the review and leave the case private.
I cannot lock up my entire house -I have 2 kids; shoes were in living room closet.
Okay, so here is a clearer picture of what happened, but I know its way too long for a review.
“X’s wife was impossible to please and found complaint with every little detail, right down to a creak in a floorboard in my 100 year old home. X’s wife texted days before arrival to tell me she had severe food allergies and needed to be assured the oven would be cleaned thoroughly. Ok, no problem. Recently having had the antique oven repaired, I tested it after I cleaned it and discovered it was getting too hot for the set temp. Stovetop & broiler still working perfectly. Called antique stove repairman, it was determined the oven thermostat would need to be replaced, but it wasn’t possible to obtain the part in time, so I called X’s wife to determine the best solution to her cooking needs. Ended up purchasing a new turkey roaster & countertop convection oven the day before check-in. She seemed pleased because it eliminated any food allergy concern and was more than sufficient for her plans. After granting their request for early check-in the next day, I received a fretful call minutes after their arrival. After walking her through how to operate the typical Lennox analog thermostat which she claimed was “too old and should be replaced”, she complained about several nit-picky items such as one ceiling fan pull string being too short, the hangers in the closet being too close to the wall, “pink mold” on the shower curtain (I assured her it was freshly laundered but had a slight mineral stain at the bottom from the antique brass fixture in the claw-foot tub) and the new roasters placement on the counter not being adjacent to the plug (easily moved to plug). She sarcastically asked if there were any other “problems” she should be aware of. Besides the unfortunate problem with the oven, to which a solution was found before arrival, the other things she mentioned were nothing more than minor quirks. X called 2 hours later with a question on how to operate the TV, which I immediately answered. I was completely taken by surprise when I received a text the next evening @ 5 pm, telling me they had just checked out because they could “not tolerate” the highly exaggerated “inconveniences” and “safety hazards” in our home such as the creaking floor board and low water pressure (patently untrue) and saying a refund was fair. Avoid these drama seekers. Very stressful.”
Actually, that strikes me as a relatively reasonable review as is. Maybe with some minor tweaking. For example, I would avoid language such as “drama seekers”. Also, qualifying adjectives like “highly exaggerated” are not necessary, imo. Just stick to the facts. If the statements were not accurate, explain why they were not accurate.
As I learned when I wanted to review my guest from hell, they cannot be longer than 500 characters… Which is not very long when you have loads of bad stuff to report!
She may not even review you. She’s a super host and doesn’t want a bad review either. Wait until almost the end… Two minutes before expiration to drop your bomb…
