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Shall I leave a public response for this?

#1

So I just received this review which left me a bit miffed.

“Ren went out of his way to be accommodating and helpful. I really appreciated his help before and during the stay. The listing is quite accurate with the room and bed being very small. You also share a bathroom with the other male flatmate. While I felt safe in all of London, I probably wouldn’t book this location again as a solo female traveling at night time. But it is easy to get to the train and takes about 20 mins to get into central London. Thanks for your hospitality, Ren!”

Whilst it’s not negative per se, the passive aggressiveness of it really annoys me. Especially the bits in bold. It clearly states on my listing that the room is a single one with a single bed. And I live in a rather safe area of London - but like every residential area it won’t be busy with people at 11PM. I’m seriously annoyed for these comments, as all those details are stated on my listings - and plus, I’ve printed off her train ticket, free of charge. Not saying that I would charge for something like it, but it was nice of me.

Now, I don’t know whether to vent out my frustrations in a public reply re. area not being dangerous or unsafe at all, or just leave it like that.

Am I being unreasonable in being annoyed?

1 Like
#2

Guests barely glance at your details in the listing. I have started reiterating 3rd floor an no air conditioning in my response to inquiries. The first 8 reviews all mentioned those items as negatives even though it is clear in my listing. I would not bother to respond for fear of looking defensive. If you cant resist perhaps "We enjoyed having you, while the shared bath and small bed are clearly laid out in the listing it appears you did not see it!"
But I would just ignore.

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#3

The best place to vent is here on a forum with sometimes sympathetic hosts. I don’t see the review as being passive aggressive, I see it as an honest expression of how she felt. I’d let it go because hosts who feel they have to respond to any negativity in reviews rub me the wrong way. The bed is small, she states it’s small. Why is that a problem? Her feelings about the neighborhood can’t really be challenged.

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#4

Hello

Fellow Londoner - how galling when guests nit pick like this. I doubt your guest has been in ‘all of London’

By the way what part of London is your listing in?

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#5

You have no room (all puns intended) to be miffed about that review. It is truthful and straightforward. There’s no passive aggressive behavior there.

If I were a single woman traveling alone, I sure as heck would never book a room in place where I had to share the bathroom with an unknown male, and I would want other single female travelers to know that is what they would get in your place.

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#6

Hello fellow Londoner here too.

Hehe you got what I always get. I list my place as small; I often get in the reviews ‘the room was small’. I often reply: thanks for pointing this out, it’s good for guests to know exactly what is on offer. It was a pleasure hosting you!

Sting removed :slight_smile:

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#7

Oh please Ken…the entire review is passive aggressive. Why do you think she bolded and then said “Thank your for the hospitality!” - the guest chose to book a place where you share a bathroom with a male. I am female and have been a roommate with three other males and even had to sleep on an air bed in the same room. We all shared the bathroom. She obviously did not read what she booked and now feels like she needs to educate the entire world!

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#8

Was she referring to the LOCATION as being unsafe for a sole female? That is how I read the review, but maybe I skimmed it.

#9

I read the same thing. I was directly responding to Ken saying how he would never book a place if he was a female traveler - and had to share the bathroom with an unknown male. He said he would want other female travelers to know this too.

That is shocking to me…because as a female traveler I would ask if I was so concerned a male might use the same bathroom.

1 Like
#10

I took that part the same way too. She would have felt safer if she was walking with someone else late at night…

#11

Reviews are an appropriate place and means for guests to report their experiences with the spaces they book through Air. The fact that an experience may differ from what the guest anticipated – even as based on the information available at the time of booking – does not constrain the guest in this valid review purpose. Hypothesize if you will: “I knew the space would be small and un-airconditioned in a dark and empty part of the city. I thought I would find those features inconsequential but, in the actuality, they mattered significantly. I was unhappy in this space.” THIS IS FAIR COMMENT, HOSTS!

I have been reading this forum for several months now and I am chronically dismayed and surprised by the sense of entitlement expressed by so many Air hosts. Look, don’t get into hosting if you are going to be devastated when someone’s experience does not comport with your intentions or flatter your efforts. Ruthless comment by the guest goes with the territory.

I speak from bitter experience: One of my guests rated me low for “Accuracy” because she loved the space so very much and felt that the pictures in the listing simply did not do it justice. That stung, but it was her view and so be it.

Whining in public about the slights and bumps that are a core part of the undertaking does far more to repel a potentially good guest than does the content of a middling review.

If you can’t take the heat, well …

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#12

You sound like you are entitled and cannot hang and take the heat yourself…

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#13

I don’t know why women freak out about sharing space with men. Bathrooms have door locks. I had a lovely week long stay at a hostel in Rome, across the street from the Vatican. Shared a three cot room with two chaps. No problems. Most recent stay in London, mixed sex dorm in hostel, again no problems. Bathrooms weren’t segregated but did have locks.

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#14

It is annoying - I get it. But replying will only bring more attention to it. She is just a very detailed person, very analytical, picking pieces here and there.

Most guests, I think, skim over reviews anyway. Very soon it will be lower in the list.

Blow it off - move on to the next guest. Have you looked at Amazon.com lately? I was noticing tonight almost a total absence of 5 stars. There will always be someone unhappy at some point. Just keep being a marvelous host - keep the big picture in mind.

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#15

I don’t know why either, but some are very fearful. Maybe it has to do with their upbringing?

I host just one guest at a time in an open living room area and the bathroom is shared with me. I rarely have people over when guests are here and I live alone. I get more bookings from females than males. I don’t say it, but maybe they pick up on my gayness and feel secure because of it; but I’m not sure.

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#16

Gaydar! Laughs. I referred a lady pt of mine for a massage to treat neck/ arm pain. She said she enjoyed it, female masseuse. She told me how she was anxious about being nude under the blanket. Seems she and her four sisters shared a room, all changed in the closet, never saw each other undressed. I expect she’d have issues sharing with anyone.

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#17

It’s in Kennington - 3 mins walk from the Tube station. Quiet, residential street. For its position and price, I feel it’s central London on a dime!

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#18

I don’t want to cause drama with this comment, but I feel it is a very ‘american’ thing to say: she is clearly used to live in wide spaces, and perhaps not used to European standards. I don’t think the room is that small, for a single… it’s the first time this is mentioned! What do people expect for £35? Seriously…

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#19

That’s exactly what annoyed me. The feeling of “By the way, this is the surprise that awaits you once you book, beware!”. My house is literally the quietest place you could get, my poor roommate works 9-8 and I’d be very surprised if she bumped into him more than once. Certainly never in the bathroom!

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#20

No doubt @ItsRen, there is a big difference as to space between the two continents.

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