Should I respond to my guest, reviews already submitted?

DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE!!! In public – or in private. You can’t change anything, anyway. Just let it go. Block her if necessary.

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I would not be happy if I would book a listing and the host would try to spring a pet addendum or any other addendum on me that was not previously mentioned.
So, yes …it should be detailed in the rules.

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@AlexSJ Agree, that’s why I never brought it up. I do always mention it up front and it is in the Rules that it must be signed if pets are in the picture. I will find a way to incorporate it more clearly up front, however. I can no longer assume everyone agrees that a dog barking at full volume for six solid hours isn’t a healthy or humane thing for a pet or a human, not to mention four of them.

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This is ridiculous and should not have to be spelled out to people. What’s next? We have to tell them the dogs have to go potty outside? There doesn’t need to be a special addendum for this.

We are ultra-dog friendly. I don’t care if they’re in the bed, I don’t care if you leave them alone uncrated, I don’t care if the velvet armchair is full of hairs when you depart but it is common sense that a dog shouldn’t be allowed to bark that long. Most cities have laws addressing that kind of barking.

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So I’m not sending the pet rules to the 60% of my guests who aren’t traveling with them, the listing rules reference them:

You agree to read and be bound and to abide by both these rules and the rules and guidelines you will be provided in the House Manual and Pet Rules, upon confirmed booking. Yes, you can get a copy prior to booking; send a message. We respond quickly if we’re awake.

The pet rules are very friendly and consist of three bullet points.

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I totally agree with Ken H. Do not respond and block her.

And it will all be over soon. After the next two bookings you will have forgotten.

Ah, you summed up parenting a teenager perfectly! My weekly (if not daily) challenge. And I am determined to uphold it! :wink:

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Ha ha, try it with two of them!

Fortunately they are both a bit older now, but I remember it as if it were yesterday :angry:

JF

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@JJD Thank you. This is kind of my point. She said, in her message, “Dogs bark” and claimed that I must not be “pet friendly” if I don’t tolerate it. I don’t think it is pet friendly to allow it.

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Update: I just need to write about this to get it out of my system. I appreciate the venue. This is actually my first negative experience with a guest, can you believe it, after 20 months in operation and 57 bookings?

I woke up at 4:30 AM realizing that her verbiage was really strange, and I got the feeling that she might be angling for some sort of money back option. She opened her message with the statement: “Well, I was just going to chalk this up to a “learning experience” but I guess we are doing this.” Then she claims to be overwhelmed and stressed by my messages that are “passive aggressive” , and implied that her entire visit had been ruined by stress (I sent one welcome message and one message about the dogs, and one follow up about the dogs, each on separate days.) I think she is making a case for a refund!

I decided to call Airbnb to see if I could head anything off. They naturally assured me that they always take the side of the person who is in the right, so I have nothing to worry about.

@KenH @Ritz3 I agree, also, I just needed extra encouragement not to hit “send”. The ability to “block” someone is no longer available. I started the process, hoping it had been restored, but no. The only option given is to contact customer service. I think the woman is unstable, I started to get a little nervous about it so I wanted to block her, but discovered that this feature has been removed.

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“Report User” under “Send or Request Money” on the left side of the message stream, about 2/3 down.

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Me, personally I would have not been listening to the dogs barking for 6 hours … and certainly two days in a row. I would probably gone in the unit after 20min and put an anti bark collar on the puppy … or taken him in with me.

Read through this post. Perhaps calling Animal control is a bit krass, but a message mentioning it would get the point across nicely.

My beef with your suddenly appearing fine print lays more with the crating …I would certainly resent that and probably seek a cancellation as a guest.

Then it is really a good thing that you came here before clicking any/one of your messages back to her!

If as a host in the UK, I experienced a similar situation, I would be on the phone pronto to the RSPCA, a national animal welfare charity, and definitely by the second day’s repeat. They have statutory powers to remove animals in distress, and to prosecute owners. Yes, dogs do bark, but not for hours on end, without a pee/poo break and left on their own. That’s plain cruelty.

But I would probably have collected the puppy after 20 minutes too, and taken the others for a pee/poo/run regularly. I can be a bit soft on occasion…

Call Airbnb and ask them to block her because she makes you feel uneasy. Otherwise, she will keep harrassing you.

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Wow. I’m sorry. Just wow. She sounds like an overly aggressive numbnut, looking for a fight. I’d call Airbnb and tell them to review the messages while on the phone with you and that you are feeling threatened and they need to earn their fee and STOP this guest’s behavior now.

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What I’m finding it difficult to understand is, if she loves her dogs so much that she has to bring them with her to your place, why go out all day and leave them behind? I’m guessing its because your Airbnb is cheaper for her than finding a decent boarding Kennels!

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@JJD I did use that option, but was never given the choice to “block”, just to contact customer service.

@momovich Oh, that’s disappointing. Did you call in and have her blocked?