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I had a couple stay last week. It wasn’t extremely unpleasant, but there were things that stood out with these guests.
The husband smelled like BO the whole time and left the room smelling like BO
They showed up an hour early, but went to the park across the street. I was painting. Then they kept sending me messages saying they didn’t think the message went through. I responded multiple times through airbnb. I called and left a message. They finally texted me. After I finally got them checked in (took 20 minutes for them to come to the door), they said the husband got a cell phone for the first time, he didn’t know how to use it, and the wife told him not to call me as “people don’t call anymore”. The phone number listed on their profile is their home phone.
They left the kitchen messy each morning. Coffee grinds all over. Didn’t clean the French press. Left dirty dishes. Didn’t close up and seal the coffee beans. And the weirdest part… they left cabinet doors and drawers open.
I got the impression that they think I’m running a hotel. That they can show up whenever and dirty up my kitchen, and then I’ll scurry behind them and clean up their messes.
We have 2 listings and one of them shares our kitchen and bathroom. Apart from the messaging/phone calls, you’ve just described 50% of our shared-home guests. I can get pretty darn cranky about things like that, especially because we are in the Caribbean and fleck of unwiped fruit on the counter attracts fire ants within minutes. Guests get a little 5 minute tutorial on “burdens of the Caribbean on kitchens and bathrooms” when they arrive. Some pick it right away, some text while I’m talking. lol
These were the most blatantly messy guests I’ve had when it comes to the kitchen space. Most guests make a modicum of effort to clean up after themselves.
I know, right? They may not have our standards on cleanliness, but at least they try.
I’m wondering if it would behove Airbnb, with all this success and seeming change in type of people accessing their services, to put a bit more effort into “tutoring” new users about the original target audience for their services, and to emphasize that amenities and services provided by hotels may not be part of their experience, but that in other ways, they get a whole lot more.
Of course, that might drive a few people away and they are making too much money to risk that…
People who don’t close cupboard doors and drawers drive me nuts. I hate when I smack my head on an open door or my hip on an open drawer. I have a close friend who has this bad habit. He is Cuban. His husband says, “Philip’s family must have been really wealthy when they were in Cuba. They could even afford door and drawer closers.”.
I think you could drop the cell phone annoyance and give the guy a break for being a newbie with that device. I go through a learning curve every time I get a new smart phone. If I didn’t have a teenage daughter, I would be lost.
Were you planning to wait till the last minute to post a review? This only makes sense if the guest has not submitted one. But in that case, some recommend it, because if there were problems, the guest may post a bad review if he sees you have posted yours.
Chloe’s review is a good start, but I’d add a little detail. I’ve occasionally read bad reviews for guests who have make a booking request or inquiry and I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of detail. So, please say something about what the guests actually did in a reasonable level of detail, possibly cherry-picking the worst stuff (from your perspective) and let prospective hosts make up their minds how bad it is.
From my personal perspective, confusion involving phones isn’t so bad, though giving hosts a heads-up about possible communication problems is not a bad idea. Communication issues can be as much trouble as anything in this business. Personally, I’m more bothered about people making a mess, which shows disrespect. But everyone has their own perspective. Did they do any real damage, or just leave a mess?
I’m now beginning to think that “these guests are better suited to a hotel” is kind of lazy. I agree. Let’s put better detail about why.
These guests were not a great fit for my place. While I’m understanding of their communication glitches, they left the kitchen messy, including dirty dishes, opened cabinets and drawers and food out. I felt like they expected me to scurry around and clean up after them. Personal Interactions were awkward. Sorry, cannot recommend.
Honestly, call me jaded but I don’t know why some hosts feel the need to state one positive thing as almost a consolation prize. You didn’t like them, they were stinky and dirty and you cannot recommend. I certainly wouldn’t want to host them.
They don’t seem THAT bad. Not closing drawers and cabinets is a weird, weird personal quirk that some people have. And it drives others nuts. But the people who do this are often oblivious to their problem and it can be quite embarrassing.
I’d go with something in between. These guests would be better suited to a hotel or an entire house listing, rather than a private room with a shared kitchen. They were pleasant enough but weren’t attentive to keeping the kitchen clean for others after they were through in the morning.
The biggest problem is the disrespect as faheem said.
They didn’t treat me like a person who was graciously accepting them into my home. They treated me as subhuman.
They literally didn’t make the leap from “I’m at a hotel. As long as I’m not loud and don’t trash the place, I can do what I want.” to “I’m staying in a young woman’s home. I’m grateful I’m not paying hotel prices, but this definitely isn’t a hotel. It’s like visiting a distant relative. I need to make a good impression and be respectful.”
I agree! There should be AirBnb 101 education for all new user provided by AirBnb, not the host. And the guests cannot book until they read and sign-off on the information.
Brilliant. Does anyone have the ear of whatever non-computerized program is running its site? Just curious. They don’t even have a phone number for Central America - we’d need to call their closest listed number in Mexico.
I’ve suggested that before - guests need to pass a quiz (for house rules) before their reservation can go through. But that would mean some guests realizing they can’t do as they please…and Air would lose out on bookings…sigh
I changed our informative House Manual to say in the second paragraph:
We will give you a 4-5 minute tutorial upon your arrival on the challenges of cleaning and maintaining kitchens and bathrooms in this climate and setting.
We’d appreciate it if you didn’t send and read text-messages during this tutorial, or roll your eyes at us (yes, this has really happened!). The tutorial is for your benefit and important for not creating temporary or lasting damage to our beautiful home and to ensure the Fire Ants do not take up residence in our kitchen, bathroom or your bed!
