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One cool thing I just noticed is that the message page on Airbnb is now telling me exactly how much time I have left to review guests, so I know I have 6 hours to review this pair.
Please see my review below. It’s probably too long. Also, not sure if I’m being just way too picky. These two irritated the hell out of me during their 4 night stay. They were not the world’s worst guests by any means, but compared to the very vast majority of other guests, they were difficult for us. My review, if I post it, will be their first bad one out of 10 Five-Star reviews, which makes me wonder if it’s me.
Martin and his girlfriend were not ideal guests in comparison to the hundreds we’ve hosted. Martin only asked me about storing two bicycles well after booking. We don’t have a secure place for large items outside, so ended up with bicycles in our dining room. They ignored a house rule about turning off lights and fans when leaving for the day, and left the bathroom light and fan running for hours while they were out several times. Martin had difficultly figuring out where to park his car, despite clear instructions, and seemed annoyed when we brought up the issue a couple times. We do offer use of our washer and dryer, but ask guests to let us know beforehand when they want to do laundry. They never asked the first time, and on the eve of departure, thought it okay to start doing laundry, again without asking, at nearly 10PM. Lastly, they took what we felt was, in comparison to other guests, extreme advantage of the breakfast foods provided each morning.
It sounds like they were in a private room so I might make this clear. If I’m wrong the. Many people won’t care about asking to use the laundry.
I had guest for a month long stay that very often left the bathroom fan on as well (whole house listing). These were the same guests that left the front door open with the AC on…why on earth would people do this? It wasn’t even a particularly quiet fan…the noise alone would annoy me.
I don’t think so. As a host, I would be glad to read your review as written. I would probably accept a booking from them but I would make sure that they are fully aware of amenity restrictions such as laundry and no storage space.
If they came by car, why on earth didn’t they simply secure their bikes to the rack I’m assuming they had on the back of the car. Like most people do.
On reflection, I think I’ve changed my mind. I wouldn’t take a booking from them, not in my own home.
I agree it’s a bit long and borders on a bit picky. I also think the question about them being in a shared space was open and very important to a host who needs to know if they are a good fit.
You can play around with this as I probably don’t have it all correct (were they friendly/tidy?) They weren’t all bad, right? I would not point out the car or breakfast items…just the key ones about house rules:
Martin and his girlfriend were friendly and tidy but did not pay attention to our house rules which are important for in-home stays. The lights and fans were left on even though they’d departed; use of our washer and dryer is permitted with prior communication, but they failed to ask or started laundry late at night; and they were not good at communicating other needs, such as a place to store bicycles, which we had no choice but to put in our dining room for security reasons.
'Way too wordy and detailed. “Your Bad” that you allowed the bicycles to be stored in your house, so don’t complain. “Your Bad” too is you left out breakfast items for four or six, and the two guests ate it all.
Here’s a factual but unemotional review to use:
“Martin and friend were nice enough, but didn’t bother ask about secure outside storage until they showed with two expensive bicycles and wanted to store them in the house. Ignored house rules about turning off lights and fans, as well as parking where they were supposed to. Started doing laundry at 10PM one night, without asking!”
ok, yes its too long and you are a bit picky, but I understand your ressentiment. Been there, done that. If you offer breakfast you can’t criticize how much people eat. Also if you don’t have it in your house rules that the guests have to specifically ask for permission to do laundry, you can’t complain; you can only say they inconvenienced you. If I were the guest in someone’s house I won’t start doing laundry or make noises after 10PM. They were inconsiderate. Also you can’t complain that they had difficulty finding the parking. Maybe they were tired, maybe they were not that intelligent, maybe they needed new glasses. Can’t complain.
I’d say “Guests didn’t inform us about bringing bikes at the time or before booking and we have no storage, so we ended up storing them in the dining room which it inconvenienced us greatly. They left the lights and ceiling fans on when they were out of the house, despite a house rule that says to turn them off. Also they did laundry at night and inconvenienced us as well.”
Martin and friend ignored important house rules in a shared-home listing. They didn’t communicate well beforehand, failing to ask about securing two expensive bicycles until they showed up. Then insisted on storing them in the shared dining room. Lights and fans were left on whenever they left the house, and they ignored the parking instructions several times. Started doing laundry at 10PM one night, without asking. Wouldn’t recommend due to poor communication and not reading house rules.
Me too. They sound like the classic “oh we’re seasoned airbnb guests with 5* reviews so we can do we want”. I’ve had a lot of them and they are my absolute worst kind of guests. I think your review is fine just as it is. You will be doing them a favour as well - they need reminding that they’re not as great as they think they are.
And, crucially, you will be supporting all us hosts. I’ve had guests who received a less than great review during their travels that only appeared after they’d booked my place. They arrived, chastened, and were model guests.
Thank you everyone, I appreciate your input. It’s nearing the end of the summer season in my neck of the woods and I start getting cranky this time of year, so I value the advice of others who may not be quite as frazzled as I am.
The review I posted is as follows:
Martin and his girlfriend were not ideal guests in our homeshare listing. Failed to mention a need for bike storage at booking. We don’t have secure outside storage and felt pressured to find a place for expensive bikes, which was our dining room. Ignored a house rule about lights/fans, and left the bathroom light and fan running when they left for the day. Also disregarded house rule about scheduling laundry time. They did laundry when they pleased, without prior communication, and once at 10PM at night. We would not host Martin again.
I tried to shorten it because I know I have a problem with “short and sweet”. I feel the need to explain everything, LOL!
I installed a new moisture sensor switch that does that and turns off on either a timer or when moisture levels go down. Not very expensive and definitely worth it.
