Review too harsh?

Jeff and his 4 friends were friendly guys when we met briefly, but I was disappointed with shape of the house. I think it was their first Airbnb experience, so maybe it wasn’t clear that you aren’t supposed to leave beer bottles, half empty drinks and garbage strewn about like some people might in a hotel room. However, I do have very clear rules (which are posted on the wall & easy to see before booking) on washing your dishes and not leaving wet towels on the wood floors, both of which were ignored. I expect to do thorough cleanings before each new set of guests arrives, but I don’t expect guests to break rules and leave loads of garbage for me to remove after their stay. I even gave them a late check-out (which I rarely do because of a tight turn-around schedule)."

These were 5 police officers from LA and he described the group as clean & respectful in his booking request. It took an extra 2 hours to clean. Now, I worry about leaving a negative review because of retaliation I experienced from a terrible guest I had before, however I don’t want this guest to be able to instant book my place again.

Hi @FtWorthGal,

What kind of retaliation did you experience? Just curious.

Search “neurotic and unreasonable guest”.
They left a horrible review filled with exaggerations (and outright lies) after I refused to refund them and then they called an anonymous complaint into code compliance who paid us a visit.

Hi @FtWorthGal,

Yes, I see that thread. Reading now. Thanks.

Yes, I just read the entire thread, saw no mention of retaliation?

Oh sorry, the I guess whole story is not there, but in the private bad guest lounge.

I understand your feelings about this but it’s imperative that we leave honest reviews. The group violated your clearly stated rules and were in general, not tidy and respectful. Just state that in the review.

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I see many problems in this review. Too harsh isn’t one of them. Sarcasm; " I think it was their first Airbnb experience, so maybe it wasn’t clear that you aren’t supposed to." One of my pet peeves is hosts who state that it’s okay to leave hotel rooms a mess; “strewn about like some people might in a hotel room”. Your description of your cleaning; " I expect to do thorough cleanings before each new set of guests arrives, but I don’t expect guests to break rules and leave loads of garbage for me to remove after their stay." I would never state in a review that I permitted a late check out as potential guests who read this review might want it for themselves. If I were you I would reword your review to simply state the fact that you don’t recommend this group as guests because the left a lot of garbage mostly composed of beer bottles, many of which were half full, left wet towels on the wood floors and didn’t wash their dishes all in violation of the house rules.

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Agree with Ellen. Save the sarcasm. Keep it straightforward. State what they did and how it broke the rules. Don’t say better suited to a hotel. A hotel doesn’t want them either.

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Thanks. To be honest, I didn’t mean it sarcastically at all, so I’m glad to know that’s how it sounded! I will take your advice. See, that why I like this forum :slight_smile:

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Well as long as none of the cops are local, and your nose is kept clean…then there shouldn’t be much for them to retaliate with. I think that other couple were psycho control freaks, and just couldn’t stand the fact they were refused a refund.

I don’t think your review is harsh. I’m sure they all saw the rules listed on the wall. I think leaving the late check out comment is fine. It shows the guest took advantage of your generosity and chose not to clean up. Most travelers will never read your review because they would have to know to click on the bad guest profile in order to see what previous hosts left that guest.

I think that the host mentioning his/her generosity implies that guests have more responsibility to follow the house rules if the host does something extra for them. I believe that guests should believe that following the house rules is the most basic part of being a guest, not something they need to be bribed to do.

If a late check-out is something that you try to accommodate for most guests, stating it may encourage possible guests to book with you if they are choosing between yours and another.

When guests ask about checking out late I expect that means they will have the time to properly go through our check-out list. For instance, guests who need to rush out first thing in the morning might not have time to be thorough, versus if I allow them a 1pm or 2pm check-out.

Unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way, and it just gives them more time to make a mess. :persevere: Too bad your guests took advantage.

We’ve had some bad experiences with cops, corrections and firemen, too. They often seem to use their jobs to their advantage when requesting a booking, but we end up with complaints and a big mess. I’ve learned my lesson and I’m actually MORE sensitive about booking to them. Oh! is that discrimination??

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I never grant late check out, because they always use it for an extra beach day, thus rushing back and not leaving the place as neat as if they were checking out at the proper hour.

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I allow a later checkout if it’s possible because it usually means a good review :slight_smile:

But if guests want to leave their luggage while they enjoy their last beach day, then I accommodate that too. Mind you, it’s easy for me because my own apartment is opposite the rental, I work from home so these factors mean that it’s easy for me.

Also, as @CanadianHost says, I like to leave them enough time to clean the apartment so I’m being selfish really :wink:

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Not for me. Ungrateful and have never heard extras mentioned in a review. If anything those same guests who got extras from me left cracks about something else. Plus, then I’m unable to rent it that night in the busy season.

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