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Hello fellow hosts. I have the following draft review that is due shortly and was wondering your thoughts. I know it is longer than most recommend so suggestions are appreciated. For background this guest also tends to leave VERY long (although usually 90-95% positive verbiage) and it appears from my new stats on the Performance tab of the app that she gave all 5 stars. Technically she would be due a refund of $30.50 based on our pre-booking agreement about her dog and son but owes $50 for the unauthorized and unregistered guest. She also opened up a futon that requires me to bring in assistance to put back up to a couch so that is annoying and requires extra logistics as well. I have also debated not putting the negative parts in and just charging the difference and/or including it in the review and still charging the difference. I appreciate thoughts on all.
Karin, her husband, Ralph, and adult son, Tyler, were very tidy guests taking good care of the house and property. She was a great communicator prior to arrival and kept me apprised of their actual arrival time that evening. When there was an issue with the tub spout in the newly remodeled bathroom she let me know that afternoon so I could take care of it that evening, as well as a couple other things that needed attention due to it being the first guests since the remodel. She had some difficulty accessing the smart lock one night (took 10 - 30 minutes) and messaged me about it but I had already gone to bed and didn’t see it until the next morning. I would say they were perfect guests except for the fact that one night that their son didn’t stay they had an unregistered and unapproved child over instead, and appeared to have slept on a futon that had not been made up with sheets.
So what you’re saying is that she swapped out one guest for another? If so, and the guest count was the same, she probably thinks she’d done no wrong. I can’t see an issue with it either.
How do you know they slept on the futon with no covers? They might have brought a sleeping bag.
I think you’re being picky. I’d leave it at this if were me:
I would let it go because from the beginning of your review it sounds like they were decent enough, not the ideal guest but also not the worst. It might come across as sounding picking which might be a turn off for future guests reading the reviews. I too like JohnF’s review.
You can pare down a too long review by condensing phrases like this. “Karin and family” would do just as well. there are other phrases in your draft which could also be condensed.
I agree that swapping a child for the son is no big deal, and think it’s a bit petty to expect her to pay for the “unregistered” guest, since her son didn’t stay that night. If she had been a bad guest, I could see that just adding more fodder to her “bad guestness”, but it certainly doesn’t sound like she and her family were objectionable. And it seems that there were a few glitches due to the renos that needed attention, which you dealt with at the time. You don’t indicate that she made a fuss about these things, other than to let you know- she could have demanded some refund.
And unless you specifically leave instructions not to unfold the futon or use it as a bed, I can’t see why you think that’s some kind of disrespectful behavior. How was she supposed to know you require assistance to refold it? If it was my place, I’d have a note in the house manual- “If you require the futon for sleeping, please do not use it without sheets- let me know and I’ll make sure to provide you with bedding for it. Also, I have to call for assistance to refold it, so much appreciated, if you do use it, to put it back in its original position, thanks.”
I just had a guest checkout this morning after a 6 day stay, the place is pretty messy but it will clean up. I am soaking some white towels now, red wine stains and the colored towel I leave for such things was still where I put it, next to the white ones. I walked through cussing and saying WTF is wrong with these people! But in the end I ask would I have them again? Yes my payout was substantial and if the towels do not clean up I will donate to the animal rescue. I am going to do the laundry and let the housekeeper clean on Monday. I am not going to give them a bad review, they were not bad guests and although I am pissed off about the towels it is a cost of doing business.
RR
UPDATE . The towels cleaned up 100% I have to say I was surprised.
Wow, this is really picky. Isolation getting to you? I’d let this stuff go, and forget the picky charges too. As others said, there were 3 guests.
I know you’ve been dealing with a lot of chaos, as we all have. You don’t seem to be as relaxed about this as you would have been in the past. I hope that you can find a way to de-stress.
I would let it go, especially if the tub spout wasn’t working. I know you took care of it, but imagine from the guest’s POV – you’re naked in the bathroom, ready to sink into a nice hot bath, and it doesn’t function.
Was there a problem with the smart lock or was it totally user error? As an Airbnb guest myself on occasion, there is nothing like lock anxiety to add stress to a trip!
Did you tell them the futon was off-limits based on the number of guests or whatever?
You’re already nailing them with a fine for the guest switcheroo, which I also wouldn’t bother with, unless my jurisdiction required names of all guests and I provided advance notice to that effect. Question: What would you have said/done if the guest had asked to substitute friend for son one night?
I would be kind of afraid to stay with you, I’d be too nervous I’d do something wrong.
Hosts hate guests who are nit-picky, yet often turn around and nit-pick their guests. I’m a firm believer that hosts and guests need to cut each other a bit of slack, because none of us are perfect. As long as someone isn’t obviously trying to be a PITA, and their intentions seem good, I tend to let things go.
Hosting has been a lesson in this for me, because I home-share and tend to be a control freak in my own space. In the beginning it bothered me when guests had a pile of food items on the kitchen counter, even though it was neat and contained. I never said anything, but it disturbed my sense of aesthetics. I gradually let that go- it’s really not important- these people are putting money in my pocket.
I am a bit confused. If the stats changed, then her review would be visible, and yours (or you missed the review window). In my experience, stats do not change without a visible review. But … Air may have changed their system and I am not aware of it - also possible.
Anyway, in this case I would give them a good review. Let the rest go. Your place had some issues. She let you know quickly, and you fixed them. And it’s part of the game.
It sounds like you are a bit irked but that is balanced against their expectations of a stay without issues. Hope that makes sense?
I did finally arrive at that- only took me about 2 and a half years, duh One guest cooked so much and had so much food, though, that it far exceeded the size of the basket, which had been quite adequate for the rest of the guests. They don’t need to be labeled, though- I only host one guest at a time. Even with the basket, tea drinkers tend to leave the box of tea sitting out on the counter- but I imagine that’s something they’re used to doing at home, too.
I’m just curious… do you put the milk carton on the table, or do you put the milk in a pitcher? The jam jar or a jam pot?
My great aunt couldn’t stand seeing merchandise labels on her dining table unless they were on a just-opened gift. Jam pots, cream pitchers, butter dishes… and boxed cereals were not dispensed from a box, but from glass cylinder jars, with a ladle. And that was informal, using the Fiestaware (no orange!).
She had 2 full sets of china, the “good” Noritake for family company, place setting for 12, and the “best” Haviland setting for 16, along with silver coffee and tea services, and 2 sets of silverware, one for each china set. She had 2 china cabinets, plus a special teacup cabinet for her cup and saucer collection.
She was raised entertaining that way, and she kept to her standards until she was no longer physically able. My house is her sister’s (my grandmother’s) house, and I let siblings have the china, but I got the silverware. I love having pickle forks and fruit tongs, tons of serving pieces and weird knives and spreaders that all match, but some silver pieces can’t take the dishwasher, so it’s stainless for every day for me and the B&B while the silver stays in its anti-tarnish chests.
Oh my goodness, no, I’m not at all like your aunt- I have a hodge-podge of dishware (I actually call it the poor girl’s Fiestaware)- it’s almost all solid colors, orange, red, yellow, turquoise. I just buy it by the piece when I see one I like or to replace broken dishes. And I’m a minimalist- I don’t have a bunch of stuff around I might only use once a year.
I don’t put the milk carton on the table, or put it in a pitcher, because I don’t drink milk The sight of someone drinking a glass of milk makes me want to barf. I do use cream in my coffee and I use it out of the carton it comes in. I’m not much for transferring things into other containers because I don’t see the point of creating more dirty dishes. I’ll even put the leftover rice in the fridge in the pot I cooked it in, rather than transfer it to another container.
I don’t mind packages of things being out when people are in the process of using them at all, but I don’t like them left out visible on the counters or shelves apart from that.
Interesting little factoid about Fiestaware- it was originally a Woolworth’s product and quite inexpensive. A friend told me when Woolworth’s closed or stopped carrying it in the US, his friends in L.A. used to come down and buy it at Mexican Woolworth’s because it was still in stock.
I finally figured it out, if you see you have a review pending and your % of reviews 5 stars is unchanged then they left 5 stars. I always review first so it would not make a difference to me.
Maybe not overall, but I would have still mentioned in the review. “Great guests, friendly with excellent communication, etc…etc…Cleaned up red wine with a white bath towel”.
It came clean with a soak and a wash, I want them to feel welcome to come back. I admit I was pissed off when I saw it but I am glad I did not mention it in the review considering it is clean now.
One guest cooked so much and had so much food, though, that it far exceeded the size of the basket, which had been quite adequate for the rest of the guests. They don’t need to be labeled, though- I only host one guest at a time. Even with the basket, tea drinkers tend to leave the box of tea sitting out on the counter- but I imagine that’s something they’re used to doing at home, too.
The sight of someone drinking a glass of milk makes me want to barf. I do use cream in my coffee and I use it out of the carton it comes in. I’m not much for transferring things into other containers because I don’t see the point of creating more dirty dishes. I’ll even put the leftover rice in the fridge in the pot I cooked it in, rather than transfer it to another container.