So just received this review from another host

1

So just received this review from another host. I thought it would be trouble. Prior to stay:

'Hi noticed that your cottage is still available for … period. Is it walking distance to school and seeing it said $100:00 per night in the ad and it is a longer booking can you make a discount? ’

Me: ‘It is $150 per night in January and we don’t discount. It is within walking distance to the schools.’

Her: "Decided to book yr place for the pool . Not sure whether my daughter is joining me at this stage. Will let you know closer to the time.’

Her: ‘Looks like my daughter will be coming with me so might be good to have an extra bed. Hope it is suitable she is a tall adult ?’

Me: It is a standard size single fold up bed as listed.

Her: will give it a go might be a bit hot both in a double

Review:

The heat wave was out of your control! However, when we booked back in July, air con and adequate fans were not on our agenda and their absence made it impossible to rest at your venue. We tried to get more rest by utilising the rollaway. This was totally inadequate with barely no mattress and very noisy when tossing and turning. Each night we were met by giant cockroaches. The lack of screens may have contributed to this. The flimsy curtains ensured early wake up and were not reassuring for privacy. The brown, half piece of soap was not pleasing. We both love dogs but found their presence on the day bed and on the internal lounge was too intrusive. The venue was very clean and close to town as promised. I thank you for the use of the pool

Me: So how do I respond?
We provided two fans, if you want air con please filter for air con, it is the middle of summer and far hotter where she lives as a host. If air con and fans were not on your agenda why is that my problem? The single fold up bed for a child was listed, and messaged, so why is it my problem?

Umm we don’t have giant cockroaches but in our house about 20 metres away and we don’t have screens.

Curtains are all good especially since you need to be at a course at 9am…

The half a piece of organic artisan aniseed cocoa coconut soap which we do not like to waste. Our listing says organic.

Please let us now if the dogs who are mentioned in our property annoyed you considering you were out most of the time!

2

I wouldn’t send this reply it sounds too defensive. Before I suggest a response, can I check whether your dogs have access to the listing?

1 Like
3

I would not reply to the review at all. I certainly would not use the reply you wrote above – it’s both aggressive and sarcastic. Every review and any potential response should be factual and neutral in tone.

IF you absolutely MUST reply, then I would say something like:

“Sorry to read that you didn’t enjoy your stay. If you mentioned issues during your stay we would have addressed them immediately. Perhaps next time you should choose an hotel.”

4 Likes
4

I agree with Ken and Helsi that your reply is a bit much. I’m not inclined to replies but since this one seems to make allegations that aren’t factual, esp. regarding bugs I might address that.

1 Like
5

It seems to be a case of once guests have a bad night’s sleep they start looking for things to criticise. If you must reply, which I wouldn’t, you could try: “This is a good opportunity to remind potential guests booking in Summer that while we provide fans there is, as is normal in the area, no AC and the windows can be opened to capture cooling breezes. Please read the listing thoroughly to ensure our place is suitable for your needs as we want all guest to have a great experience”. Just a suggestion though.

12 Likes
6

@Helsi I’m not sending that reply I was just venting.

4 Likes
7

@KenH as always you come through with a great review

8

@JamJerrupSunset I like your review as well.

1 Like
9

I think I might come down on the side of posting a reply due to the cockroach nasty comment.
“Oh dear, I so wish you had brought these matters to our attention at the time and not after the fact! We strive to be good hosts, enjoy sharing our home, and would have loved the opportunity to take care of things. We’ve not had any complaints or issues about insects in the past, but of course immediately called an exterminator to ensure the comfort of future guests. As noted in the listing, we provide fans but there is no AC, and the second bed is a rollaway cot. I’m sorry the listing did not meet your requirements, and wish you safe travels.”

14 Likes
10

Reviews that start “I am sorry that your experience here was less than perfect” just annoy me. They are boilerplate and probably not even true. At best you are sorry they left a bad review not about how they feel. Use the reply to highlight something positive about your place (“cooling breezes”) to distract readers from their negative comments and to remind them to read the listing. Telling me you are sorry/not sorry about something just wastes a valuable millisecond of my precious time reading it.

1 Like
11

Reviews that start “I am sorry that your experience here was less than perfect” just annoy me.

I prefer to thank the asshole who left the bad review…

Thank you for your comments… this is why you are an asshole…

or something like that

RR

5 Likes
12

I don’t know where you are hosting, Shanghai, but I think that JamJerrupSunset has quite a good point in that these ladies weren’t able to sleep well in your cottage and for $150 per night plus whatever Airbnb adds on top of that, that is a steep price to pay if it is in US $.

You don’t mention for how many nights they booked, but have you ever tried to sleep in your standard size single fold up bed for that many nights?
Or … shared a double bed with a tall adult kid of yours for as many days?

Perhaps your sleeping arrangement is nicely disclosed and triple mentioned in your listing, but you knew better.

13

Australia so about $72 a night?

I have to disagree. The host should not be responsible for a guest choosing an inappropriate listing for their needs. I, for example, don’t like to sleep hot so I need listings that have AC or it needs to cool off at night and I can use a fan. But I put that on me, not on my Airbnb.

However, if people are going to be like that maybe it’s best to not offer the fold up bed.

5 Likes
14

Yaaas! Maybe cause when I read bad TA reviews I like it when the hotel manager fights back rather than apologises for “not having met your expectations”.

2 Likes
15

@AlexSJ we are in Australia and it is summer so high season. Accommodation is limited at this time as it is extremely busy. She was here for a 5 day course and she actually wanted to stay an extra night which was not available. It is clearly stated that the fold up bed is suitable for a child.

2 Likes
16

I’m actually a little shocked at how gentle people have been in their responses to you. I think this is a really valid list of complaints by the guest and a lot of things that you may want to consider changing about your listing.

  1. I realize that you don’t advertise air conditioning, but if your house gets miserably hot, no one is going to enjoy that. If I’m going to a place where temperatures are going to get higher than about 80F indoors, I would feel an air conditioner is a necessity, not a luxury item. I don’t want to be hot and sweaty on a trip. But that really is a personal preference, so if you’re set on not providing a/c, just make it really clear in your listing that it might get hotter than people are comfortable with. I put a window a/c in our unit during the really hot months.

  2. Uncomfortable and squeaky mattress on the extra bed? Definitely something that should be addressed by a host. If you are advertising a bed and people are paying to sleep on it, it needs to be comfortable.

  3. Consider getting blackout curtains? People want privacy and not to be woken by the sun at 5am when they’re on vacation. :wink:

  4. People should not be seeing cockroaches. Do you really think they just made that up? Just because you don’t see them in your house doesn’t mean they aren’t in your AirBnB. I would recommend investing in regular preventative maintenance from a pest control company. Definitely worth the cost.

  5. A used piece of soap? EWWWWW. I don’t care how organic it is. I’m not sharing bar soap with another guest or my host. That’s disgusting.

6 Likes
17

Why do you believe the guest list of complaints is “really valid?” As many complaints as you’ve gotten that you said were undeserved I’m actually a little shocked at your response. To provide some context Shanghai has been a member here a long time and I’d consider her credible.

I also think you may have misunderstood some of the issues, she may be along to clear that up.

2 Likes
18

Valid in that they aren’t petty, made-up issues. If I’m paying to say somewhere, I expect a comfortable bed and no bugs.

I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with people being nice in their responses… it’s just not really the norm in this forum. :wink:

What undeserved complaints are you talking about that I’ve gotten???

19

Shower not working that they didn’t tell you about, retaliatory reviews from guests that you charged for extra people, people complaining that there is junk and trash in the neighborhood where there isn’t .

1 Like
20

@jkamm

  1. It was during a statewide heatwave. Some areas got up to 48 degrees celcius, we only got up to 40. We don’t have air con in our home only fans and a pool. When I travel in Asia where I know it will be hot I always book a place with air con, my choice to do so.

  2. If a child was using the bed, as mentioned, it wouldn’t be a problem.

  3. 3 of the 5 sets of curtains are block out curtains, the other two are black.

  4. We do treat the place for insects but sometimes in the heat they can’t be avoided. I know @konacoconutz had a similar problem in Hawaii at certain times.

  5. Hosts and guests alike don’t read as we know. The soap was not used. We make our own soap and cut it down to size to suit, especially good with overnight stays so you are not wasting huge amounts of soap. It was an aniseed myrtle and cocoa soap, hence brown, but one of my personal favourites.

5 Likes