But the sky was OK?
Was the guest’s name Van Gogh?
1 Like
Every time I read this I laugh. I think this is exactly right.
For sure. I do not live in fear of bad reviews and I agree, those things wouldn’t make me happy either. But they aren’t issues with my Airbnb that I can correct (except the curtains which are now up), nor are they known or repeated issues with the neighborhood. If they were, surely in the 3 years I’ve been hosting someone would have brought it up. I also live on property so I would notice if a neighbor had a dog that barked incessantly all hours of the night. But yeah, I’m expecting a bad review from them and it’s fine.
I was their first Airbnb stay. This is part of why I feel it’s important that the review reflect their expectations/perceptions of very normal things in an urban environment. They might be perfectly fine guests for certain types of Airbnb’s but I think any hosts in a major city will want to avoid hosting these folks.
Thanks all for the advice. I’m waiting to the last minute to review these folks unless they review me first. I’ll have to come back in 9 days to give you the update.
4 Likes
Oh, there are plenty of barking dogs in rural areas and suburbs, as well as other animal sounds, motion sensor lights, insects and other critters and smells. I wonder how these guests would have liked the smell of freshly manured fields?
These folks would have complaints anywhere and everywhere.
1 Like
True! It cracked me up, their message started with, “I hate complaining like this…” and I was thinking - yeah right! I bet you love to complain. When they asked for a refund this is how they worded it, “Under the circumstances and what we had to endure I believe some sort of reduction or credit should be applied to our charges.” The “endure” makes me laugh every time.
3 Likes
That’s a nice sentiment.
Thinking about this a little more, it’s quite a compliment to you that they really didn’t find anything wrong with your place. Yes, the black-out shades, which now you have, and the mysterious lump in the mattress but basically they found nothing,
I’ve sometimes wondered what some of the Hosts here would find amiss with our place. I mean, there’s always ‘something’. And yet these guests basically found neat to nothing.
You’ve got to feel good about that.
2 Likes
I have a noise disclaimer in my listing. I was going to repeat it here, but I went to check the wording and found Airbnb had edited it!! What the what? In fact, they edited everything under Safety & Property features.
Oh, and under the caption “Where You’ll Sleep,” they show a stunning picture of . . . the closet!
Sigh.
3 Likes
I’m guessing you had to resist asking “Are you putting me on?”
"Am I on ‘Candid Camera’?
1 Like
I did get instructions quickly from Superhost support messaging:
- Go to Listing Details
- Click property and rooms
- Look for Rooms and spaces
- Click edit
- Choose the Bedroom area
- Click edit photos.
I guess when Airbnb sent the pro photographer (after I whinged about my accessibility feature photos not being reviewed and approved for months) some Airbnb app auto-allocated the photos, or the order of my original selections got scrambled as the photos are now a mix of old and new.
2 Likes
Exactly, they sound like intentional scammers.
1 Like
Thanks for heads-up. I’m actually blocked for bookings right now, but I’ll check mine.
Honestly, I think they were just older people that have no real grasp on how Airbnb works. I have had scammy people before but these people just seemed out of touch. I’m sure they are telling everyone they know about how terrible this Airbnb was and the host just didn’t care etc etc.
3 Likes
I was thinking the same thing. While there are plenty of hip seniors who are tech-savvy, travel the world, stay in hostels, hike and camp out in the wilderness, and are wholly adaptable and interested in learning and experiencing new things, there is also a fuddy-duddy demographic of seniors who really should never rent Airbnbs. They’d be much better off staying in chain hotels where everything is always the same and they know exactly what to expect. (I’m 73, and I always picture these people, when they were young back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, as having been clean-cut members of the Young Republicans, while the rest of us were going to love-ins, rock concerts, and backpacking around the world)
7 Likes
Ding ding ding!
I’ve had plenty of seniors stay with me and they are amongst some of my best repeat customers. Many times their children are around my age and live in my neighborhood.
But yeah, these folks fit the “ok, boomer” or “tell me you’re a boomer without telling me you’re a boomer” demographic just perfectly.
3 Likes
Is that some new-fangled triple decker bunk bed there in the closet?
1 Like
Leave a SHORT honest review. Long critical reviews listing grievances make the host look whiny. “took good care of my place but they were unhappy and made many complaints about trivial matters. I would not host them again” If they give you a poor review, leave a short response in defense of your airbnb. Your good reviews will speak loud and clear to future guests
This is a great point. I’ll definitely keep it short.
2 Likes
Perfect!!! This tells it like it was.
It’s fun to read what you have written. I have only left reviews which accuse a guest a few times. These guests did not complain to Airbnb to take it down, but I always wonder.
What is the likelihood of this review being taken down by Airbnb? It seems like any thing that is a persona attack or accusation has a risk of being taken down. OTOH factual review without judgement on guest’s character or qualities has lower chance of being taken down?
2 Likes