Would you respond to this review?

Should I respond to this review or just let it go? Considered response is at the end of this post. Thank you for your thoughts about this, dear online host family.

Review from guest:
Shelley
June 2018

This is a lovely, cozy private bedroom and bath with a separate entrance and outdoor sitting area. The decor and little touches (brownies upon arrival, supplies for tea/coffee) made it feel special. Everything was spotlessly clean - except the water (see below). The host left out several booklets and brochures with information about what to see & do in the area, and those were very helpful in determining my food and activity choices there. I was really looking forward to a long soak in the tub but unfortunately a local construction crew hit a pipe by accident, making the water undrinkable and unsuitable for bathing. The host responded immediately and purchased bottled water which was appreciated. I was disappointed that she made no concessions for this, and even sent a threatening message to remind me to pay an extra $10 for my partner staying one of the nights (even though he could not bathe, there is no breakfast provided, and was there less than 12 hours). Perhaps I should have suggested she waive the fee as result, but I felt it was the least she could have done, considering this significant inconvenience. As result of this, I would not return to this particular Air b&b.

The message I sent her through airbnb that she describes as " threatening."
Shelley, you agreed to pay $10 for your extra guest but forgot to put it through the mail slot. Please send it through airbnb as soon as possible. Thank you. And thank you for leaving the suite in such great condition. This error of yours won’t be mentioned in the 5-star review I plan to leave you :slight_smile:
Review request details
Sent with :heart: from Airbnb

Considered response:
City Road Repair crews accidentally damaged a water line. The water was murky for a period of one hour, in total.
City Hall instructions were to run the taps for twenty minutes, after which time the water would be clear and safe for drinking.
This information was passed on to the tenant, along with bottled drinking water.
The water was clean and clear after the taps were run for the required twenty minutes.

It is regrettable the tenant deemed the reminder to pay the advertised $10 fee for her unregistered, unexpected extra guest as “threatening.”
Message she was sent:
Shelley, you agreed to pay $10 for your extra guest but forgot to put it through the mail slot. Please send it through airbnb as soon as possible. Thank you. And thank you for leaving the suite in such great condition. This error of yours won’t be mentioned in the 5-star review I plan to leave you :slight_smile:
Review request details
Sent with :heart: from Airbnb

This is the only yucky review of over 240 positive ones. I’m leaning towards letting it go, but do want to hear from you if you think it best if I respond.
Thank you!

Dear guest,
It’s so regretable when work on water pipes affects the household plumbing, I do apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience! Glad I was able to immediately provide bottled water, plus provide information that all was well after 1 hour outage and letting the tap run for 20 minutes. It’s not unusual for guests to forget to drop payment for extra guests in the mail slot, and for me to send a reminder to please pay through Airbnb. Thanks to your feedback, I’m reviewing my standard message to make sure it does not sound abrupt or impolite. I wish you safe travels.

7 Likes

Don’t respond. Ignore it and move on. It’s not worth the time or brainpower.

1 Like

I would call Airbnb and ask to have it removed based on the lie that your message, through the Air system was threatening, which is a provable lie. Worth a shot.

RR

1 Like

Don’t refer to guests as tenants, they are different legal entities altogether.
In your response just briefly say the water problem was just for one hour, and you gave bottled water.
It sounds like you asked for cash for the extra guest originally, this is not advisable since it blurs boundaries. Stick to the system. The guest obviously felt entitled to a free extra guest for the water problem but never asked, this was passive aggressive. Perhaps it would have been politic to have confirmed with her on the app that all was well after the water problem was resolved and ask if there was anything else you could do, to dissapate the feelings of resentment she was storing up.
She has accused you of threatening her as your message could be interpreted as saying she will not get a 5 star review if she doesn’t pay up for the extra guest.
Unpleasant guest all round.

Thanks for this noticing I called the guest a tenant, Jess. I was writing up a tenant/landlord contract for a LTR property and had tenants on my mind when the guest’s review came in :slight_smile:
When the guest asked, mid-stay, if her companion could join her I messaged she could pay the $10 in cash. Will you please clarify if I should have chosen the Change Reservation option to add the $10? Does that work even though the guest had already paid for her stay?
Thank you for your help!

Your suggested response is certainly taking the high road, dpfromva! Thank you for a valuable lesson! If it’s okay with you, I’m going to use this part of it as my response, if I do respond:
“Dear guest,
It’s so regretable when work on water pipes affects the household plumbing, I do apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience! Glad I was able to immediately provide bottled water, plus provide information that all was well after 1 hour outage and letting the tap run for 20 minutes. It’s not unusual for guests to forget to drop payment for extra guests in the mail slot, and for me to send a reminder to please pay through Airbnb. Thanks (for) your feedback.”

I’m just not big enough to add the last section of your suggestion ie: “I’m reviewing my standard message to make sure it does not sound abrupt or impolite. I wish you safe travels.”

I’ve lived half my life in Australia and half of it in Canada. Abrupt and To-The-Point wage battle between my will and my reason with Polite and Hide-What-You Really-Think for the sake of harmony.

2 Likes

Yes, you can ask for money for various issues via the resolution centre, including extra guests.

I think your response is spot on. I believe in setting the record straight and never allowing a bitter, passive aggressive Guest to leave a false impression about your property without countering it. If even at minimum, your response will send a message to would be jerk guests that you won’t tolerate bs from people.

Astra, haha don’t credit me with taking the high road. The main intent of my suggested draft message was to highlight what a gracious and reasonable host you are and what a demanding jerk your guest was! (For other potential guests reading the reviews.)

2 Likes

But it sounds so very charming and innocent. That’s the magic!