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Funny smoke alarm story (they are designed to be obnoxious)- I was staying at my daughter’s house this summer, and as they all get up fairly early and I don’t, I was sleeping with earplugs. One morning when I woke up around 9, and pulled out the earplugs, I was instantly bombarded with the smoke alarm in the room chirping like mad.
My son-in-law had apparently been running around the house an hour and a half previous, with a ladder, trying to figure out which alarm it was coming from, but they didn’t want to disturb me, plus they didn’t know I had earplugs in, and assumed that if it was coming from my room, I would have woken up, so everyone in the house had been subjected to that awful noise for all that time on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning.
are you aware there’s a glitch currently that if you check “kitchenette” it later converts to “kitchen”. I’ve had to turn them all off and mention it in my listing. And yes, that woman who complained, we offered her the use of our main house kitchen (which is connected to the guest suite via an internal locked door, she accepted, so we cleaned up, then at the last minute she cancelled and they went out. and still she complained in the review about it! I was pretty peeved and wrote a snarky response, but then my daughter said it was too strong so I had CS remove it.
ah yes, this is true, but I was trying my luck with the CS staff… a 4* review because the numpty didn’t read the description nor having functioning eyeballs is just not cool. But it happens, and I know, people read between the lines and realise guests are idiots too, but it’s the 4* that hurts. She can say what she likes, but don’t mark me down for something I didn’t do wrong!
When my guests check in, I send them a welcome message that says:
Welcome to 16 Slayton Road’s Airbnb Guest Suite:
We just wanted to check in and make sure that everything was as you expected when you arrive today.
If you have any concerns, please message us via AirBnB message system so that we can address any issues that might arise during your stay.
Pleasant dreams and enjoy your stay.
Only about 50 percent reply to this message but I do this more for a backup for Airbnb should the guest complain about something that I could have fixed.
I also have in my house rules the following rule:
Per Airbnb rules, if there is a problem or issue with your accommodations, please contact us immediately via the Airbnb website messaging or phone app to so that we can rectify the issue. In most cases, Airbnb allows a host 24 hours to rectify a problem but we need to be informed via the Airbnb Messaging system so that are aware of the issue. Notifying us or Airbnb after you have checked out denies us the opportunity to fix the problem and will not result in a refund.
Again, I don’t really expect that my guest read my house rules but I do this also for Airbnb. If a guest complains about something that could have been easily fixed and tries to get compensation I can point to Airbnb that not only didn’t they tell me there was an issue, I sent an inquiry when they first checked in and had it in my rules.
I haven’t had any complaints since I set this up but it’s also possible that I have become a better host and really make sure the suite is in tip-top shape which includes changing the batteries to the doors, checking lights and even having spares in the suite itself.
It’s a new amenity, they only added it in the last month.
yes, because the woman who mentioned we didn’t have a TV (correct) or a washing machine (correct) also mentioned that “the property is pet friendly so people with allergies should consider that”. She didn’t have pets, there are no pets in the cottage with her, and I presume she doesn’t have allergies, but she felt the need to be a helpful Karen and point this out for others?! I didn’t mind, because if it keeps the allergy people away (I’m sympathetic, I have such people in my family too, but I generally find those types to be less easy-going and less desirable guests) then she’s doing me a favour with her silly review. Still, 4* because “maybe other random future strangers might have allergies” is just bonkers.
I tell prospective guests if they ask about a negative review, that I’m a real host with real reviews. You can’t always please everyone. Most get the point. If they don’t then I’m better off not hosting them.
Do you change your light bulbs before they burn out? We received a four-star review once and one of the issues was that the bulb in one lamp in the living room was burned out. Bulbs burn out without notice, and it was working when the house was cleaned.
Because? Usually things like entertainment equipment can be used without the remote, by people getting up off their ass and pushing the buttons on the device. Like everyone did before the days of remotes.
Do you mention no light switches or fan controls absent using remotes in your listing info? I would be highly annoyed if I were a guest to have to hunt around for a remote, which someone else in my group might have set down anywhere, in order to turn a light on or off.
No, just as if I had no remotes I wouldn’t mention in the listing that there are no remotes and that light switches need to be accessed only by physically moving to the appropriate wall.
Of course, I see your point. It hasn’t (yet) come up as a problem.
Maybe we should set a house rule that would impose a fine (payable to other guests) for ‘losing the remote.’ Maybe one also for hogging the TV remote!
I check the remotes as part of my cleaning to make sure the remotes work and that the batteries don’t need changing. Not only could they “die” or leak but they could also be removed by a guest to use in their own device whose batteries have died. This has never happened to me but other hosts warned about it long ago so I added it to my list. Also a remote can stop working even though the batteries are good.
As can any device in this planned obsolescence world. My remote for my DVD player started going crazy- muting when I pressed play, rewinding when I pressed the volume button, etc. Put in new batteries, no change.
As it is quite humid where I live, I got the idea to put the remote in a tupperware container with a tight-fitting lid, with some moisture absorbing beads. Left it in there overnight and it worked perfectly the next day. Now I keep all my small electronics, extra batteries and so on in that container when they aren’t in use.
Yes, the most important thing is to keep the lock and smoke detector batteries fresh, and not wait for those to die. That’s what I thought we were discussing earlier where the impression I had was that all batteries were treated the same there. Our lock batteries tell us when they’re low; same with keypad.
In our house the remotes for the lights are important because it’s the only way to control the lights.
Our bulbs are all LEDs and it has been YEARS (more than five) since we’ve changed them.
Almost all my LED bulbs have been going strong for years. I just started replacing them as the old bulbs gave out, not all at once. I still have a couple incandescents in lights I seldom use. But I’ve definitely had a couple of LED duds. Like anything, some products can simply be defective.
Thank you! I was trying to find this the other day after I posted about what brand of countertop ice maker to get and got about 50 comments - but only two even attempted to answer my question.
a 4* review because the numpty didn’t read the description nor having functioning eyeballs is just not cool. But it happens, and I know, people read between the lines and realise guests are idiots too, but it’s the 4* that hurts. She can say what she likes, but don’t mark me down for something I didn’t do wrong!