Review Assistance and your interpretation of a guest situation

1

What do you make of this guest and how would you rate / review her:

Guest Profile

  • 5.0 rating: 15 reviews from hosts / 3 reviews from guests
  • ‘lives in NY’
  • no face picture - uses a picture of a heart tree
  • has no last name; just a first name and initial (ex. Betty L)
  • Some of the reviews refer to Betty, others refer to Candace.

2 weeks ago, she IB’d for a 3 day stay: “Hi ___ Excited to stay at your airbnb”

I provided my reply with thanks and information and let her know I’d be back a couple of days prior with additional details.

2 days prior to arrival I sent my standard pre-arrival message with details and asking for arrival time and other misc. I did not hear anything until 1pm on day of arrival. It was via text (not app)

GUEST: Hi ___, what are the checkin instructions.
HOST: I text back that I had sent all that via the app.
GUEST: She texted back “I appear to be locked out of my AirBnb for whatever reason”.
HOST: I text her the instructions and asked what time she planned to arrive. And I ask that after she gets settled in, that she try to resolve that App issue, since AirBNB looks unfavorably on hosts who communicate off platform.
GUEST: said she understood and would do so, and be arriving around 5pm.
GUEST: an hour later she messaged me (on app) saying “AirBNB helped to get my account unlocked (apparently it was hacked into within the last few days) so I changed my password and am all set now).”

Guest arrived, I showed them around. It was she and her boyfriend. My initial assumption (based on the reviews was I might be hosting Lucy & Candace) I asked if they flew in from NY. She looked confused and said she now lives in S.Francisco. :thinking:

I followed up the morning after arrival to makes sure all was good.
GUEST: “Everything is good so far!”

the “So Far”, made me nervous. :grimacing:

There were no issues with the guest for the 3 day stay. I didn’t really see them. Unlike most guests who just want to lay by or in the pool, they didn’t. Their car was gone in the morning and didn’t return until evening.

Yesterday afternoon I messaged them departure instructions for today.

Departure Instructions.PNG
Departure Instructions.PNG1496×1182 274 KB

She responded this morning
GUEST: “Thanks. Checkout instructions are noted. If it’s OK we’d like to check out at noon”
HOST: I responded with “Definitely OK. Thanks for the status.”
GUEST: “Perfect, thanks agin for the awesome stay! You’ve been a great host.”

First indication that all was good. :relieved:

They left at noon. It was OK clean, they loaded the dishwasher and had started it*. Nothing major other than lots of hair on the bathroom floor (expected) and despite the instructions they left all the towels on the floor (not in the hamper). Not worth mentioning but just giving context.

I started to empty trash and putting linens in laundry basket when I noticed this from the DW*

suds 2.HEIC
suds 2.HEIC3024×4032 3.17 MB

Then opened it up to suds
suds.HEIC
suds.HEIC3024×4032 3.16 MB

I can only guess they used Dish soap instead of DW pods?
dish soap.HEIC
dish soap.HEIC3024×4032 3.67 MB

First time in 170+ guests that has happened. Quick catch so it didn’t turn into an ‘I love Lucy’ episode.

QUESTIONS

  1. Do you think this was a 3rd party booking? I’m guessing I hosted Candace; and that Betty might be her mother.

  2. Do I mention the DW in a PM or at all? I was going to send her a message (after a review, if I get reviewed) inquiring if it was Dish soap. Only because I’d like to know if there’s a problem in my communication or dishwasher or just their lack of DW acumen.

  3. How would you review?

My thinking:

  • Communication: 3
  • House Rules: 5
  • Cleanliness: 4
  • Overall 4
  • Would you host again? No.
2

I’m puzzled by the tough grading.
Why wouldn’t you host them again? Many guest profiles have an old address. Say, Betty and Candace were housemates at one point, and you got the one who set up the account with the BF. Since you didn’t inquire whether it was a 3rd party booking or ask for names of each guest specifically at the time, I would hesitate to ding them on that.
I would assume the guests do not have a dishwasher and made an honest mistake (one of my kids did that once and half the kitchen filled with suds. I was laughing so hard I had trouble mopping). I would clue them in with a private message. The hair and towels are so minor I wouldn’t downgrade on that either.
Why the 3 on communications? It appears that the guest responded to all your messages.
At most I would review to give a heads up to other hosts “While I wasn’t quite sure who my guests were – their profile and reviews indicated 2 women from NY, while the guests were a man and woman from SF – they were polite, communicative and left the unit clean and in good order.”

6 Likes
3

Jeez you’re a hard man to please. I’d knock off one for comms and one for house rules and that’d be it.

As regards the dishwasher, while staying in an Airbnb just round the corner from here, before we’d bought the house, I did exact same thing.

OK, it was after a very boozy lunch, so I’ll admit my mental faculties were impaired, but unless you’ve ever done it, you don’t know what is about to happen!

Took me ages to clean up, and several rinse cycles of the DW to remove the last traces of fairy liquid. What a twat!

JF

4 Likes
4

Had it not been an Instant Booking, I probably would have declined because of the lack of response to my initial questions, and texting me the afternoon of arrival. I think guest and host should provide timely communication and have the courtesy to alert the host of arrival time, at least the day before arrival. If it was a problem with hacking, it just seems too coincidental considering the other discrepancies.

I’m not lacking guests, so I can be discerning.

I wasn’t dinging them on that. I only bring it up for other hosts perspective. I had no reason to believe (at that time) that it was a 3rd party booking. And asking for names seems redundant when the name is on the profile of the booking. In hindsight her initial message or subsequent ones, never did sign her name.

Don’t I know it. But I’m now leaning to 4 5 4 with overall 4

Thank you for the perspectives.

5

Sorry, not seeing any house rules violated? And also communication? These folks sound like excellent guests; starting the dishwasher for you was a plus not a negative.

Look at this as a way to improve YOUR side; for example, leaving dish soap on top of the dishwasher soap under the sink was apparently confusing enough for the guests that they used what they found under the sink on first grab. Maybe put dish soap into a small dispenser on the sink, and the dishwasher soap alone? Or with short stays, physically have dishwasher tabs already IN the dishwasher? In other words, making things ‘people proof’ makes things better for everyone.

Also, many folks who are traveling do not easily reply or respond, they may be on a plane for example, and not getting an instant reply does not mean the guest was being uncommunicative.

6 Likes
6

I thought you were an onsite host. If I had any questions or concerns I’d bring it up with the guest on arrival or soon thereafter.

Yes, I’d absolutely ask the guest.

Given my experience this isn’t a terribly problematic guest.

Communication 4
Rules 5
Cleanliness 5 unless there is something besides the dishwasher
Overall 5
host again Yes.

All that said if I usually have guests that knock it out of the park then maybe I’d say no just because she took the spot of a potential better guest.

1 Like
7

There’s the comms.

House rules is for the third party booking, and not sending arrival time. Bit of a doubler, but hey ho.

JF

8

I didn’t say house rules were violated. I said House Rules 5
I said communication was not ideal (for me) but I’ve revised from 3 to 4

The DW situation is one I’ll just chalk off. 1 in 170 occurrence. If someone can’t discern dish soap from Dishwasher Pods, then it’s less of my problem and more of theirs. But indicative of not wanting to host them again.

In my departure instructions I only ask them to place dishes in the DW. I do not ask that they wash the dishes. I may revise the instructions to be more explicit.

WiFi is everywhere, so that excuse is no longer valid especially with millennials and GenZ, as these guests were. When you are sent a note 2-3 days in advance of your arrival, have the courtesy to reply within a day, … unless the message went to elsewhere because it was your mother’s app (possibly).

9

I have had a number of guests that don’t communicate in a way I find ideal. The only thing I think about this is that it’s gotten more hotel like. We have zero communication with a hotel. We book, arrive, check in. So many guests expect same at the Airbnb, like it or not.

But if something is essential, I think you have to tell the guest so. I’ve added “you must tell me if you have a pet with you” recently because it’s that essential to what I need.

4 Likes
10

You have been at this too long. You know all!

I actually lost a 5 day booking because of this 3 day Instant Booking. 1st was an inquiry and she asked a question that I responded to but with time difference this IB happened before she booked.

airbnb book
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1 Like
11

I ask my guests to load the dishwasher, but not to start it before they leave. I let them know that my cleaning crew will start the DW when they arrive.

2 Likes
12

This is why I send check in instructions on platform, then copy and paste into a text. 90% respond by text and then I text going forward. I do not care Air wants us to communicate on platform.

I would give them 5 stars and invite them back.

RR

2 Likes
13

It’s that ‘especially’ that gets me. These youngsters haven’t been using wifi, cellphones, the internet, apps etc. for as long as we old folks have. :crazy_face:

Anyway, back to the topic. The guests don’t seem to be bad at all to me, but I’ve noticed here often that I’m a pretty lenient host. The dishwasher thing would annoy me but people can be a bit dumb.

I honestly couldn’t say whether or not any given guest had a surname or reviews in another name or no photographs because I don’t pay much attention to those things. (Although I do remember a guest - a lovely older lady as it turned out - whose name on her booking and on her profile was ‘J’).

I also don’t want communication until the evening before arrival or later. I don’t have check in instructions because they get the keypad code from me when they arrive. I find that communications between the booking and the day of arrival are, to be unnecessary.

But the above is just me. So that was just a long-winded way of saying that all hosts are different.

2 Likes
14

I can’t see where there are any problems with these guests. I would host them again but kindly and gently mention to only use the pods in the dishwasher - I’ve also made the mistake once because I had never had a dishwasher (we have one now, I’m not impressed, but my husband is because he grew up with one). There is nothing to indicate that they soaped the DW on purpose. No need to mention it unless they book a return visit.

Though I also would prefer speedier communication, this happens often when people don’t have their notifications set, most don’t know to go and set their notifications. If I really need to hear back sooner (usually re: a dog as @KKC mentioned), then I send them an email (they will get an email without having notifications set) letting them know that I have sent a message on Airbnb, asking them to log in and check it. Every single time I have done that, I have gotten an apology and an “I didn’t know I had a message” within an hour. I also put “Please turn on notifications” in my booking message and it is rare that it happens now.

If you don’t know that it is a 3rd Party Booking and you don’t from what you are saying, I wouldn’t hold it against them. That’s your job to find out if it’s something you want to know. Most guests don’t know that they aren’t supposed to book for someone else. I often educate guests about 3rd party bookings and then help their 3rd party set up their own account. You’re welcome ,)
Regardless, different names don’t necessarily mean a 3rd party is involved - there are so many other reasons. Also, guests are not required to use their real name. I think that stinks but you can’t hold it against them since they are not technically breaking any rules (but you should hold it against Airbnb).

I’d give these guests a full 5-star review and let them know they are welcome to book again in the future. (And if they did, I’d do something to make the dishwasher issue not happen again).

2 Likes
15

On another note… How to get rid of the suds when a guest does this again, and they will…

Throw a bar of soap in with it and let the cycle finish. It sounds counter productive but it works. If you have ever taken a bubble bath you may wonder why the bubbles go away, it’s because the soap was introduced to the tub.

Once upon a time I owned a carpet cleaning business and we would throw a bar of soap in the waste water to keep it from foaming up.

RR

3 Likes
16

Bingo! We all have our approaches and sweet spots. A lot of people are saying “heads in beds”. I’m less about quantity and more about positive experience with guests. there are many fine people, on both sides! :wink:

I think my sweet spot will be, and when I’m ready to slow it down, a transition to hosting only prior guests or their referrals (off platform).

I realize that my expectation for timely communication is far greater than most. Comes from my former career. I currently do consulting work for a builder, and his client will text me instead of the builder or his staff because he knows I’ll respond in minutes rather than days.

I don’t believe it was intentional, just naïveté. I’ve gotten consensus and agree to not mention the DW or suds. It would accomplish nothing since I don’t plan to host them again.

Thanks. I should have googled it, but I wound up bailing the suds and water out of the DW, then let it finish its cycle; then rewashed the dishes.

All the responses herein have provided me good perspective. Thanks everyone!

3 Likes
17

They don’t sound like they were the best but they definitely weren’t the worst. I think the communication was good, it sounds like they were quite clean and the dishwasher thing was a mistake, really, the worst part was probably the fact that you weren’t sure who they were.

It’s generally a good idea to request the names of the people staying in advance - that way you don’t have this issue. My city requires us to check ID, so usually there is a meet and greet, but with COVID, it’s not ideal - you can still request ID from guests in advance, either a picture of their ID, or at least their proper names. I don’t use my full real name anywhere, ever, so I would imagine people think I am some sort of odd character but I am actually a very easy guest.

Often here, people request a lease signed - especially if there’s a property manager involved. I’ve had to provide my ID a lot in the past but now that I have an Airbnb myself, I’d feel a lot less comfortable providing ID electronically to someone - especially if they weren’t a “company” per-see. It’s a bit of an invasion.

I love guests who aren’t around so I’d probably give those people a “yes” for would host again. my worst guests are ones who hang around the house 24/7 and make messes, cook, bbq, run every util day and night… people who “go out” are definitely good in my book! All those weird little off platform communications would rub me the wrong way a bit, but no party, no additional guests, no big messes, no extra guests… your perspective may be a little harsh

18

Really? I thought it was only @RiverRock.

1 Like
19

yep, just like when Trump says a lot of people are saying…

3 Likes
20

Communication was NOT good (for this host)

I’ve had guests who were “quite clean” and “exceptionally clean”; these guests were neither. I’d describe them as they “attempted to be clean” but the pile of towels left in the bathroom floor, the puddles of water on the floor and vanity, and the excessive amount of hair in the bathroom puts them in a 4 (for this host)

175 stays / 165 reviews gives (this host) ample basis for comparison. I think I have only given less than a 5 star review 3 or 4 times in 3 years. I don’t consider myself harsh.

We all have different standards / expectations but (For this host) this guest was:
House rules 5
Cleanliness 4
Communication 4

Thankyou for your perspective.

1 Like