Well - it's happened. I need help with a review for a guest

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We’ve been fortunate - almost all of our guests have been wonderful. But the ones just about to leave have been pretty poor, and I want to leave a fair review for other hosts. However, we are a fairly unique property, and I’m not sure what is fair to mention and what is not, so I am hoping for your input.

Our background: we rent out our entire vacation home. As in several other areas in the Caribbean, we have staff to help out on a daily basis - housekeeper, groundskeeper, driver, etc.

A person new to AirBnB IB’d our property a couple of months ago for their family of four. We are a fly-to location for them.

Issues/annoyances:

Contacted guest numerous times in to see what arrival details were (we don’'t have a street address, so you can’t drive to our home without specific directions and you can’t just hire any taxi to take you to our home). Guest never responded to Air communications or email communications.

Finally got through to guest two days before arrival by sending a text to their phone number. Suddenly, they had another person for their group and hoped that would be OK (we charge for extra people). I sent the reservation alteration and it was paid quickly.

Guest and family have been extremely messy, leaving wet towels on the bathroom (tile) floor daily, digging through things supplied for them and leaving the extras on the floor, and leaving piles and piles of dirty dishes and pots and pans in the sink and the surrounding countertops and the cooktop and on the dining table. The only part of that against the house rules is the dirty dishes over night - they are supposed to at least load the dishwasher and run the rinse cycle so they don’t attract bugs (the house is open-air - not sealed up and bugs get in quickly and bring their friends when they find lots of food). The house rules are posted on the refrigerator (thanks to @konacoconutz for the idea to do that), which is three feet from the sink that was piled high with almost every dish in the house. Our housekeeper says these are the messiest guests we’ve ever had (we’ve been fortunate to not have any parties held!).

They also drank every drop of every bottle of liquor that was left by us and other guests. Most guests have a little, and leave a little.

There’s nothing major here - nothing damaged or a high cost to correct. And any single item would not be an issue for us. But it seems to be a general disrespect for us, our home, what we share with them for their use, and our staff.

I don’t want them back. We don’t need money badly enough to put up with this again.

But - most hosts on Air don’t have staff. We suspect part of this is that they expected our housekeeper to pick up after them - otherwise, why is she there?

Which parts of this would be important to you?

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Can’t recommend Guests. Very Poor at Communications; disrespectful to our property and staff, massively messy – leaving unwashed food-coated dishes laying all around (in the tropics!), piles of wet towels dumped on floors, etc. Acted as though our housekeeper was a scullery and laundry maid who was supposed to pickup after ever mess they made. We don’t want that kind of business.

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I’m so sorry this has happened to you, and yes, this would be important to me; I wouldn’t want these people staying in my home, so I wholeheartedly agree with Ken’s input. Even if they did expect your housekeeper to pick up after them, they treated her with utter disrespect. Do you think perhaps racism played a part?

As an in-house host, there is less opportunity here for guests to behave so badly, but your post did remind me of a Canadian couple, who treated me with total disdain in my own home. Nothing was good enough for them, and the woman complained about everything possible, with a sneer; even a restaurant recommendation wasn’t good enough and it was my fault their (very good) food took so long in arriving. Their daughter, embarrassed, quietly apologised to me but after a few days I’d had enough and politely asked them if they would like to move on as they seemed so discontent with their stay. Bingo! They were so shocked that Mum asked me whatever made me think that. When I gently enumerated her serial complaints, and how they were making me feel in my own home, I could see a light bulb of insight go off in her entitled brain. Their manner changed enough to make the next few days bearable until they left, but I did have the joy of seeing their daughter look on with admiration. She eventually escaped the room so they couldn’t see her laughing.

I stopped hosting anyone for longer that five days after that, unless by mutual agreement for work purposes.

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Hope this never happens to me, obviously–if it does I want you to write this type of thing–amazing. BTW, I have been a professional journalist/editor for 40 years!

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Was anything said to the guests by staff about cleanliness and house rules? Thevfact that there is staff on hand and overall vacation mindset may have hllped them " forget" the airbnb standards as your listing is unique. Sometimes a reminder is necessary. In general- I assume that anything kept in a guests reach will be consumed and price accordingly… otherwise items are locked up or put out of sight- food, liquor etc

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Hi Pitonview,

Obviously these “people” are not experienced travellers, never mind experienced Airbnbers. I suspect their sense of entitlement is simple ignorance, in the fullest sense of the word. And once they realized that your staff wasn’t ‘the help’ things changed.

KenH’s review rocks!

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If this impacts anyone’s opinions - they own and operate a hotel.

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I didn’t know my opinion of them could be lower but…

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No. Probably just used to having someone pick up after themselves or tired of picking up after everyone else and wanted someone else to pick up after them for a change.

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Our staff didn’t say anything. The housekeeper didn’t want to ruin their vacation and they were ignoring her anyway.
I agree about anything left out may be consume, and we do price accordingly. If that were the only issue I wouldn’t have a problem with them.

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The lack of communication would be an issue for me, definitely. And the lack of following the house directions regarding dishes. The consumption of liquor left out and the towels on the floor, no. In most hotels they say leave towels you are done with on the floor or be nice and reuse and tell us that by hanging them up. Assuming these were in the bathroom, it would be expected. I would think the staff also get tips…were they extra generous for their messiness? I hope so, especially since they have their own hotel. Since they are first timers on the platform, I’d tend to severe feedback in the private section and be a little less negative in the public feedback than some of the suggestions already supplied.

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It got even better! They broke the handle off a faucet in the master bathroom and hid it - perched the handle back on top and didn’t day anything about it when they left. Unfortunately, it will be considered wear and tear (the faucet is 15 years old) so I can’t make a claim.

I’m not as annoyed about the damage as I am about the hiding of it. We have a same-day turnover and at least our housekeeper discovered it before the new guests arrived. The faucet still works as long are you are careful, and there are two sinks in the master bathroom, so the incoming guests shouldn’t be inconvenienced.

@Atlnative = nope, they stiffed her - only paid her enough for her cooking services.

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Are they from a non tipping culture?
I find the whole tipping thing confusing as we pay proper wages in Australia and we are famous for not tipping overseas - to the point that we won’t be served once they hear our accent!

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From the USA, at least currently. I have no idea if they were born in the US or not.

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Your situation is a little unique, I would hesitate to leave a bad review for things midstay that could be corrected at checkout. I don’t think most hosts would not care if guests are slobs so long as they clean up at exit. For whole house rentals.

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I think the broken faucet handle gives you every right to give them a bad review. I don’t want to host them.