Hmm. I’ve let my price creep up gradually as I accumulated positive reviews. Maybe it’s time to raise it quite a bit, so people won’t make a decision just on that.
OTOH, if this bad review stands, I may have to lower it to get any inquiries.
That’s a good idea, thanks.
Air decided to leave the review up.
You will probably need to unequivocally answer that charge and declare it false.
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I don’t know my son and his friends, my nieces and nephews and younger cousins are all in the this age bracket. They certainly wouldn’t go and live somewhere to study or work without checking out the area.
They all travel quite extensively (my son did his first solo trip around Europe by himself at 17).
Perhaps European kids are more streetwise?
How’s this?
Pest control was here two days before Elizabeth arrived. She never mentioned a problem while she was here.
We have no bedbugs and never have had.
There is no mold here. She never mentioned a smell while she was here.
There are many possible reasons for an allergic reaction, including food allergies.
It’s a neighborhood of working families with kids and dogs, as described in the listing. Not a high crime area.
Um, I might make it stronger.
To clarify, we have absolutely no bed bugs, mold or any adverse conditions at this property whatsoever. This guest has made allegations that are completely false, unsubstantiated and unproven. Also, she never mentioned her concerns while here. For future guests: I take pride in offering guests a beautiful, safe, pest free, and affordable property in ====, and enjoy sharing this wonderful area with them, as evidenced by more than -xx- positive reviews.
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I might contact the guest and tell them you are looking into consulting an attorney regarding filing defamation charges. That might make them nervous, even if it is not true. 
️Maybe she will consider contacting Air to edit her review. What a total b*tch. She better not ever come to Hawaii.
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Just wondering if you sent Airbnb an image of the bill from pest-control … and perhaps the previous as well. You want to show them it is a regular thing …
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That’s a good idea. Bedbugs are a serious allegation and could ruin you. Submit documentation showing your places is on a quarterly spraying contract and ask your pest control company to give you a letter certifying no bedbugs. Then open and escalate a case with Air.
Oh. My. God. This is the harm this insane guest has done. Just like potential guests, one of my own peeps has seen the word bedbugs and ASSUMES IT’S TRUE. There are no bedbugs here. No mold. No criminals lurking in the parking lot. OMG.
Call back and ask for a difference case manager to say “this cannot stay up as it is a false review. I’m hoping for your assistance on this matter since it materially affects my business. I will also be pursuing a defamation lawsuit against Fragrant Guest given the seriousness of a false bedbug allegation to my hospitality business.”
for some background:
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If the guest is dishonest/unreasonable etc. about a refund it really is other hosts business. I just had a guest try to claim a refund for a day when they weren’t gone by check out time, and left the cancellation later than needbe (all for no extenuating circumstances) which lowered my chances of getting a replacement. I will be mentioning that briefly in the review for sure.
Update: The room sat empty for six weeks. An experienced guest and host knew enough to overlook the malicious review and booked two months.
During the hiatus, I looked into an efficiency apartment in a 62+ apartment building, and plan to move there by January. I’ve taken huge risks bringing strangers into my home for more than five years and now feel like enough is enough.
Current guest is okay, but I’m all done feeling responsible for other people’s housing satisfaction and worrying is one guest bothering the other guest, are the neighbors bothering the guests and vice versa. Enough.
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You know, this is good and I like hearing these stories. Sometimes you just have to give up some income for greater peace of mind. Sometimes selling your soul is just not a good payoff. Good luck going forward.
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I’m a writer, and I’ve been doing some semi-amateur editing. Like any other business, the difficulty is in getting customers.
I wrote a book about writing, My Writer’s Sampler: Exercises in Learning to Write Fiction. It’s a great book, but there are literally millions of books on Amazon, so in the absence of a marketing budget, it’s not likely to catch on. It’s a semi-finalist in the Florida Writer’s Association’s contest this year.
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I’m a writer also. A lot of it is connections and networking. Who you know. I’m lucky enough to still be working with colleagues and friends I’ve known for 30 years.
I engaged a realtor today. He believes it will sell, as is, in a matter of weeks. Monday I’ll go apply at the 62+ apartments. Whew!
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I agree with River Rock. Keep the review short and to the point.
Done! I sold the condo and moved into the 62+ efficiency apartment. No more accommodating my life to guests.
I knew I’d made the right decision when the last guest left the iron, plugged in, turned on, lying hot side down ON THE BED. And then complained to Air that I violated his privacy by going in to turn it off.
Thank all of you for your help and support over the years.
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