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We rent three private, city centre apartments and have hosted over 500 reservations.
We do in person check ins and have detailed info dossiers in each property which means we rarely hear from 99% of guests.
However there are some guests that constantly seem to be messaging with questions but are otherwise good guests.
This is fresh in my mind as we had some guests leave yesterday after a 5 night stay and the quietest day we had 8 questions from them, the busiest 17!
Now iâm wondering if I should mention the neediness in my review?
They were nice people, left the apartment spotless but I kind of feel I need to warn other hosts just how high maintenance the guests are?
But I donât want to come across as overly harsh.
They weâre relatively well travelled, middle aged North Americans who told be this was their 4th trip to Europe in recent years so I canât even really put the constant questions down to culture shock.
I usually just donât review high maintenance guests, but if it was way over the top I could see doing so. They wonât change unless they realize the problem
Have a comprehensive manual for the listing. If they fail to read it I would give low stars for communication i.e. not taking note and not respecting your time and space. Yes mention it in the review.
Eight in one day is bad enough but 17 really takes the biscuit! I would find this really intrusive on my time, but then again, as I live on the premises, people can simply ask me stuff face to face. Just out of interest, what sort of questions were they asking you?
I think I would definitely mention publicly that they were high maintenance but I would start with how spotlessly they left the apartment and were pleasant people, then something like âbut they spent a lot of time sending me queries that wereâŚâ, Fill in the gap! Perhaps in your private review tell them that you found receiving so many queries quite time consuming.
XX were nice people, left everything spotless but messaged us at least 17 times in one day with questions about things that had been answered many times previously.
They can but theyâd have to go looking for it and itâs cumbersome. The Chrome AirReview doesnât help with that. When I reserve an Airbnb I check the reviews guests have left them. I would only look for reviews he left the guest if there was a problem area I was concerned with, e.g., guest left a bad reviewâŚI wonder what he said about that guest?
The point remains that the review you leave for guests primarily benefits their future hosts.
Like Rolf I am strongly in favor of hosts reviewing all guests.
I appreciate these âfiner points of reviewsâ questions and reading other hostsâ answers. I agree with @KKC and others who say please review all guests. If you worry about being too harsh, there are short & sweet ways to say things that will give a heads up to other hosts.
"The guest was very nice and tidy. They were highly communicative, and we provided a lot of info-desk type support throughout their stay.
You can also do the âcriticism sandwichâ: something nice, the issue you had, something nice.
âThe guests were very nice and friendly. Be prepared to provide a lot of information/support (we answered at least 9 questions/day, sometimes many more). They checked out on time and left the place tidy.â
Such a review wouldnât always be a deal breaker for me. It would give me the chance to ask myself whether I could provide the kind of support they expect during the timeframe theyâd be coming. Sometimes, I can; other times, I canât. Youâd empower me to make an informed choice, and spare me (and the guest) some disappointment. Thatâs what reviews are meant to do, imho.
Very impressed with this thoughtful response. You have turned the issue around so that the guest shouldnât feel criticised, yet hosts can understand what to expect.
In my view, it is unlikely that a critical review will change the way these guests handles things in life. It seems that they have a confidence issue when it comes to making their own decisions. Yet it seems, in every other way, that they are good guests.
Iâm going to print your reply AmyB and apply the principle to other ways I respond to things in my business and private life.
@JohnnyAir. Itâs nice to hear when my feedback helps someone, and extra nice that you could apply it in other areas of life. Thank you for taking the time to say so.
I hate when people pester me with questions. I answer legitimate questions though, but anything beyond that ⌠no. I had a guest who pestered me with a gazilion questions for a 1 night stay, left the lights on when he left and blood stained pillow case and I simply banned him from Airbnb. He wanted to come the second time and got so angry, insulted me in text messages that I had to report to customer service. Yes, Iâd love to read in other peopleâs reviews if they are the âtalkativeâ kind.
To be honest, I think thatâs partly what Iâm here for. If people stay in a hotel, they can certainly ask the concierge for info. The concierge might live fifteen miles away and have information thatâs just from tourist leaflets. Hosts, on the other hand, know exactly whatâs going on where, the best place to get pancakes, which bars to go to if they want to watch Formula One, what the lifeguard flags mean at the beach ⌠(or whatever).
Jackie, I donât mind that, although I put together a comprehensive booklet with things to do, restaurants and addresses. What I mind is stupid questions and asking me like every hour throughout the day like I donât have anything else to do than to be at their services. For example: can I check in early? Yes. Later: can I have extra pillows? Duh? They are in your closet. Can I bring a friend? Can you come over? I want to cook for you.
I had a similar issue and I only mentioned it in private feedback. I said: that if all my one night guests messaged me that much I would give up hosting! I received his reply, that I shouldnât accept one night guests, and that I had insulted him.
