I am really kicking myself for being overly generous to a rubbish guest. I was so looking forward to him checking out this morning at 11am and he dropped the bombshell he wanted to leave his oversized luggage here until this evening (without asking nicely or offering to pay half a day). I said this wasn’t convenient because I did not have the space and had another guest arriving, and it would have been better if he had requested in advance as per listing information. He RAISED his voice at me, saying he had only just found out his next host couldn’t accommodate him early (how is that my fault exactly?) He obviously knew yesterday he had no provision in place. I reluctantly allowed him to leave the luggage and keep the key to collect so I wouldn’t have to wait in for him. I really wanted to stick to no but had a knee jerk panic about his review.
Check in was not smooth. I offered him use of my ironing facilities on the Sunday evening for his week of work. Twice he argued he wanted to iron one shirt every morning. I had to put my foot down and said this would not be conducive to 4 other people trying to have breakfast in the morning. He argued again his shirts might get creased again so I explained the hangers and rail in the room would take care of that.
He had a habit of ignoring coasters and putting wet cups and bathroom things on waxed/ varnished furniture. I informed him in advance that someone was viewing his room one morning, I refreshed the room including opening the curtains, making the bed and putting wet things on the coasters but he did not take the hint. I have marks on the wood now. (Also in the shower room where there are ample other options to put wet things but he chose to use the one wooden thing in the room.)
I asked him to let me know straight away if he had any problems with hot water on the app (I can fix that in 1 minute flat), but he failed to inform me twice, preferring to retrospectively complain.
He left a 6 inch diameter brown stain on the bottom sheet which went through the mattress enhancer underneath and nearly damaged the mattress. He did not inform me despite summoning me for his check out and knowing I had another guest.
He asked for a refund of his last couple of days for no good reason, but left it when I said I don’t tend to override policies on my listing. He was an all round pita.
I am thinking 1 star for cleanliness and communication, 3 for rules and a thumbs down. I am so grateful my other guest is a delight, and that I have boundaries in place or he would have been a lot worse.
Oh dear @Jess1
You seem to have had for more than your fair share of bad guests in the last year.
In your situation, i would have directed him to the left luggage facility at Bristol TIC. Check in for Airbnb is post 3p.m. so he would have known he would have needed to store his luggage for most of the day.
If he’s asked for a refund, he’s not likely to give you a good review anyway, so there’s no benefit on being super flexible with him when he’s been a royal PITA.
If a guest raised his voice at me he would have been out on his ear. Never mind doing him a favour. I certainly wouldn’t have let him keep the key.
i think you are right about the review.
Deep breathe he will soon be out of your hair.
Do you mean telling him to use Temple Meads left luggage? Yes I was kicking myself the moment he left for being too nice. It was his problem not mine anyway. 9 times out of 10 I let nice guests leave their luggage, but they always ask in advance and don’t assume. He was a first time guest and I don’t think Airbnb sets expectations enough. I am really pleased all my rules are clear or he would have been a lot worse.
Yes. The refund wasn’t to do with dissatisfaction, I think it was because he was hoping to move into a landlord place, but he didn’t get it anyway.
Hi @Jess1
No when I said " i would have directed him to the left luggage facility at Bristol TIC"
I meant Bristol Tourist Information Centre 
Would you mind PM’g me his details @Jess1 in case he continues to stay in Bristol. I don’t want him staying with me.
Thanks.
I would have told the jerk he was welcome to leave his luggage on the sidewalk, but NOT IN MY HOUSE!
Move the ironing board into his room. Nobody uses it. And he can pretend he is surfing!
Stored baggage is a dicey issue. It’s not insured by the Host guarantee, so it’s on you. Hotels charge for this too btw.
Raised voice is a one way ticket out of my home. NOW.
It’s a small room and theoretically one of the 4 other people might want to use the ironing board. Plus I have experience of guests damaging the ironing board/iron. Ironing facilities are not offered at my listing, they are a special favour. My listing is budget so they can afford £1 a shirt to get them done at the launderette if guests want to cause a problem about it…
He has left me a very good review. I think he has no clue how his behaviour affects others. He’s probably the apple of his mother’s eye and could do no wrong. How shocked he must have been at my honest review. The world is not your mum.
Btw the brown stain on the sheet and mattress protector came out with Vanish Platinum. I didn’t stop to enquire, just treated the stains at arms length and chucked it straight in the washing machine.
Invariably I will be walking through the new person and then the previous person will turn up to collect their luggage and fumble around for keys maybe wanting to chat or ask how to get somewhere or just to use the wifi. Its annoying this is why hotels have receptionists. I learnt not to submit to leave luggage requests. I just say no. When they are gone they are gone i want the keys back and to deal with the next person. I am situated near Kings Cross/St Pancras they can leave their luggage at the left lockers there.
Once I found that one of the student girls had a travel iron and was ironing on the bed! I hit the roof! There is an iron and large ironing board in the utility area. I read her the riot act about fires and endangering other people in the house. Now I have those short ironing boards hanging behind the room doors, they don’t cost much about £7 or less from IKEA.
Theres always something surprising no matter how long you have been hosting, smh.
Yes left luggage is a nuisance. I do it for nice guests. I would have said no to this guy but he ambushed me last minute and didn’t take no for an answer. Never mind he’s got a fair review from hell as a result.
I’ll look out for those ironing boards but I don’t want the risk really. People could just be normal and do 5 shirts for the week.
This encourages more bad behavior in the future.
What the hell’s with the judgement gal?! I was ambushed by a big 6 foot bloke on a Sunday morning on my own with my flipping dressing gown on. Pick on someone else and stop victim blaming. All you have to do is read my review of him and YOU don’t have to suffer like I did thanks to my honesty. It goes without saying my private feedback to him was uncompromising.
This is a forum for hosts. We take very seriously what happens when other hosts do not review publicly with honesty, so that the next host does not know about the guest and make an honest judgement call whether they want to accept a flawed guest; when hosts ‘give a pass’ to guests who flaunt rules or bend arms, so that the guest shows up at the next host’s home with a sense of entitlement that was given by the acceptance of the previous host; when no review at all happens because the previous host ‘wanted to be kind’, exposing the next host to the bad traits of that guest.
That’s why most hosts here take umbrage when someone says that they did the right thing but in reality made life worse for the next hosts.
If I am understanding you correctly, are you saying that you don’t think @Jess1 left an honest review? She says right in the very post you took your quote from that she hit that guest with a completely honest review AND smacked him in the private feedback as well
I doubt that @Jess1 needs me to stand up for her, but my code of right and wrong won’t allow me to see someone called out for something they clearly did not do. If I am mistaken that you are calling her out for not reviewing honestly, could you please clarify what you are saying she did that
Thanks
@Rolf You falsely accuse me of not leaving an honest review when I did, plus I gave the guest a thumbs down and a dressing down in my private feedback from the safety of having got the shit out of my house. You also defend the odious suggestion from judgement gal that my actions encouraged future bad behaviour from guests.
I have already explained I was alone and could not argue with a man one and a half times my size clothed in a dressing gown. I suggest you improve your reading comprehension and have some compassion for fellow hosts.
It seems that Rolf misunderstood what was being judged. “Judgment gal” has a forum name and is also entitled to an opinion about how you handled the request for luggage storage; Rolf conflated the review with @Militaryhorsegal’s post. In any case, neither of them has violated forum guidelines in their expressions of disagreement.
It seems the issue is settled with regard to the question and now all that’s left is finger pointing so I’m going to close the topic.