Quick vent - Wish me luck, booked and dreading Guest "suggestions" and review

1

UPDATE: They left this morning and I miss them. :wink: Really lovely people and he lived up to his reputation of coming up with things that were “wrong” or “needed fixing.” According to his better half, he’s the energizer bunny of projects and she was really hoping I’d keep him busy to he’d let her lounge in the pool.

I really hope they don’t ding me for having an older home that needs work. I did discuss the ratings and that I was more concerned about them feeling looked after and welcome, so I hope they understood that… and grade me on it!

It was a comedy of errors here with him. Every little thing that could notquitework happened…He sat in the zero gravity chair and the elastic laces gave way (Amazon can’t get replacements to me until tomorrow). So he sat in a partially sprung chair. Some grout came out of the shower tiles and he was going to repair it (I did, and he seemed OK with that). They said they liked the sound of water fountains and they had found a $20 option for their pool, so I ordered it and he tried to install it at 10pm without any luck. Luckily, I got in the pool with a mask and snorkel the next day and installed it. I now have a pretty water fountain in my pool. I told her I didn’t like pumpkin spice anything and later saw her pumpkin spice coffee creamer… when foot came out of mouth, I made them pumpkin spice muffins (keto/gf) that they loved.

I hope the extras I did outweigh the projects… fingers crossed…

I did like them a lot and they did get on the floor to say goodbye to Bella…

Booked these guests for this coming Thursday. Read the reviews from the hosts - all nice, but this “constructive feedback” from the guest to the host has me wondering how badly he’ll savage my big, older home that only has me to care for it (and yes, the weed mat shows in places…) Also, this is only his 3rd review on Air from almost a year ago.

xxx is very nice and I think she means well. There was nothing that we couldn’t live with but it definitely needs some work. There were hand-written notes EVERYWHERE!!! i.e. Do this but don’t do that…I’ve never experienced this before. Also, we paid a pretty healthy cleaning fee, yet we were expected to take all the linens off the beds when we left, and take out the garage (sic) as well. Again, this is something we pay for and therefore, I don’t think we should be asked to partake in these duties. The property outside is in need of a lot of attention. The grounds really are a mess. Weedmat exposed, scrubby, and unkept. The price is right and space is a decent size but she could make this a more pleasant experience.

I don’t think the host reviewed this person honestly (guilty, but nevermore!), so I may be back asking all of you to help me review a “better suited to a hotel; wants the Ritz on a Motel 6 budget”

1 Like
2

Somewhere on this forum a host said that leaving a bottle of wine for his guests always got him a good review. Leave this guy a bottle of wine and hope for the best.

1 Like
3

Honestly, that sounds like a pretty fair review to me. I’d be pissed off if I had to strip the beds and still pay a cleaning fee. The nitpicky stuff about the weeds etc, are because they left with a sour taste in their mouth about the whole experience, viz:
The price is right and space is a decent size but she could make this a more pleasant experience.

So… as long as you take care of them and deliver what you promise, you should be ok. In my opinion.

9 Likes
4

Me too. And handwritten notes all over the place would bug me too. I’ll bet anything that your place @casailinglady is much nicer than the one that guest was reviewing :slight_smile:

Even thoiugh your property is old (so is ours) I bet you keep it in better shape. The outside of our place is much less than perfect (it’s the responsibility of the condo board) but I talk about it during the house tour, so it’s no problem.

I’m sure that you’ll make sure that the guest has a great experience with you.

P.S. I wouldn’t leave wine for the guests unless you have budgeted in your sums for a decent one. I’m not saying an expensive one and I’m in no way a wine snob, but a real cheapo can be worse than leaving the guests nothing!

5 Likes
5

She can get a Sutter Home Chardonnay or Merlot for about $7.

6

I leave a free bottle of cheap Chardonnay, there’s a particular label that isn’t well known as cheap, that about 2/3 of guests drink! If they are snobs, they get to bring their own. Our guests are younger and seem to appreciate it after a long drive in traffic.

1 Like
7

the one I buy is 4.16 if you buy 6 :slight_smile:

3 Likes
8

Wine doesn’t make up for sub-par hosting and lack of attention.

Unless I’m your guest and there are two bottles :laughing:

11 Likes
9

Doesn’t sound that bad, wonder what the stars given were, and why the things noted were left in the public vs. the private feedback.

There have been threads here about host putting out lots of signs and notes. Some hosts defend it, but this is the feedback I would expect.

Hosts that ask guests to strip the beds are doing themselves a disservice since it’s much easier to see stains while they’re still on the bed and subsequently treat them before they become permanent.

10 Likes
10

@gypsy But aren’t you in California? Amazing chardonnays are inexpensive, even cheap, in California. One of the things I miss most!

1 Like
11

Yes JJD we are near Los Angeles. I’m a red wine drinker…:grin:

1 Like
12

I don’t think this in itself is a problem. Some people (myself included) don’t stay in Airbnbs very often.

I’ve had guests leave previous hosts nitpicky reviews and they’ve left me positive reviews. It made me wonder if the nitpicky review was warranted.

1 Like
13

I’ve been annoyed by this, and left it in reviews as well. I don’t mind following checkout instructions that involve stripping the bed (or in some cases, even putting the sheets/towels in the washing machine and running it before leaving) but I definitely mind it when there’s a significant cleaning fee. I’ll pay the fee or I’ll clean, but if you ask me to do both—while I’ll probably do it—I’ll gripe about it in the review. This is especially true because check-out instructions are almost never included in the host packet you get in advance.

14

I only ask take garbage out because that makes guests fo around the house and pick up after themselves. It takes a long time to just pack garbage after guests.

2 Likes
15

The only problem, @Ritz3, is he messaged 3 times that he and she aren’t partiers. They’re “older,” in his words - 56 and 51 - and “their partying days are over.” I’m 61 (what!!!) and my days of having a good time are still going strong… :wink:

EDIT: I don’t drink a lot, but I do enjoy my G&Ts and wine and I don’t drink in the house when non-drinking guests are here.

3 Likes
16

@jaquo thanks for the positive vibes. I own my home so I can’t blame a condo board for weed mat showing or for grass that’s less than perfect (I recently cleaned the solar cover for my pool on the lawn and now have a pool-cover sized brown spot…).

I’m not going to leave them wine.

I also disagree about the notes. It appears they booked a whole-house stay and I’d leave notes for anyone staying here in my quirky home. But I’m in-home, so I can address any questions irl.

Two of the three reviews he left were very nit-picky and when a guest says “great for the price, but…” all the time I’ve spent on this forum leaves me wondering if he’ll be the “constructive criticism” guest from heck.

I’ve had a run of male guests of a certain age who have been a real PITA with the “You could do this better and do this…” so I’m feeling a bit leery.

He’s from NY and so am I, so wish me luck and hope that all my years in CA and now the South have helped me bite my tongue! :wink:

2 Likes
17

I miss CA for that reason - Temecula trips. Ramona is putting out some good reds now, too. When I lived in Ventura, we did the “Sideways” tour before it was a movie. Lots of fun feeding emus while sipping red wine.

3 Likes
18

No offense, but that’s the cooking wine. :wink:

3 Likes
19

We love Ventura! Enjoying the nightlife/ dancing with our Bff, and can stay at her house or on the boat!

1 Like
20

OK, I’d be annoyed by the post it notes. It shows lack of organization and communication. You’d lose points with me because of this. People come to your house to relax, not to be policed around. I wouldn’t even read what you wrote on the post-its to be honest.

In my house I put every useful info (wifi, restaurant recommendations etc) in a binder with laminated sheets. I also send most of them them via message before they arrive at my house.

For a while I asked people to strip the beds until I got a particular angry and bad review about this and now I don’t ask anymore. Weeds and poorly kept grounds would probably make me not to book you, if you had a pic like that on your profile.

Guest expect the grounds to be in decent shape, so yeah, I’d mention this in the review too.