14 Five Star Reviews and I get this message...

[Laura2592]

"Hi Laura-- thanks for asking about snacks for our stay. There will be 3 of us, maybe 4 if our daughter at McDaniel is free to join us for part of the time. Two of us are gluten free/celiac and 2 of us are vegetarian. Though wine seems fun, we don’t normally drink alcohol. Looking forward to a fun weekend and clear cool days!"

Reservation is for 2 for 2 nights. This person has 14 five star reviews. She did not disclose until the day before the stay that she is possibly doubling the numbers. She didn't ask either. Its obviously assumed she can bring whoever. We state this clearly and re-iterate it as well.

I asked her to update the reservation. She did and is now complaining about the extra charge which "seems substantial." It does seem to have a pretty substantial fee attached. For her reservation (and she only updated for 3 people, AND has booked at an old rate, so its $20 per person per night for 2 nights) she got charged $48 extra. We got $38. I just said "really?! Wow, that isn't what we see on our end. ABB does add fees unfortunately."

Seriously after THIS many stays she should know better. But I am sure she will be difficult now.  You can't win. 

[Laura2592]

Now she is complaining that the cost of the stay is "huge." Its $160 a night for her 3 people. Which is our booking rate now for 2.

I offered a no penalty cancellation even though it is less than 24 hours before her check in. This is a holiday weekend and she only booked 2 nights which stinks for us anyway as we miss much better bookings, And she says "I didn't read the listing but loved the pictures." 14 five star reviews. Just goes to show....

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Wow, this one sounds more like a brand new to the platform member! You do wonder how on earth she could have that many 5 star reviews. I hate it when you get the ones you ‘didn’t see coming.’

I had a similar booking not long ago, but new member no reviews. Her messaging after booking was quite snarky, complaining about the cost. I was a bit taken aback, as ‘those’ types usually come in with discount guns blazing. So I explained a few things about fees and pricing, and said ‘I completely understand if you would rather cancel.’ Nope, all good. So I secretly seethe and worry about the stay and her resulting review. The booking was for 4 (2 adults, 2 kids, one night only) and the garage camera captures FOUR vehicles arriving! There were about 9 people total, some of which were kids, and plenty of balloons. This was during a lockdown, when we were only able to host single families. So, it’s obvious she’s decided her kid MUST have their birthday party, covid be darned, and that a rural property tucked away from prying eyes was the way to go. The damage was done, one night only, and all the extra guests but one left  for the night, so I didn’t kick up a fuss. House was in fine shape but was I ever mad. I left an honest review, and got a glowing 5 star from her. That was a big surprise. Even 5 in value. Strange, given her earlier snark. She sent me a supremely pissy message after she read her review, and threatened to change hers. LOL. 

[Rebecca1458]

Ugh, I'm sorry you're being hassled with that. This is why it's so important hosts take the time to honestly review folks. Though it's possible she wasn't difficult with prior bookings, I doubt that's true.

[Laura2592]

@Rebecca1458reading more carefully a few spaces with occupancy 2 (one bed, one bath) mention so and so and her family...lol. I didn't read closely enough. She obviously brings the whole crew with her wherever she goes and doesn't like to pay more than 100 a night.

This is a lose lose for us. A 2 night booking at an old rate over a holiday weekend with a crabby guest is really no better than no booking over a holiday weekend. I have contacted ABB and hope they can sort it out. I hope she can find a different place to stay. I will happily refund her.

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Darn. That is a good reminder to not be lulled by many 5 star reviews, and to have a closer look at them.

At least you have a good chance to get it cancelled. 

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253  right! I saw 14 reviews, 5 stars all and read the first one or two. There was no indication in her message that anything would be amiss. Visiting her daughter at college. 2 people on the reservation. Now the other daughter and maybe the boyfriend will come,. all with special dietary needs....

I certainly didn't look at the price points of her stays. $160 /night is definitely way above her average. 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  As I've never used IB, I don't see guests' star ratings, which has never bothered me a bit, as they really tell you nothing concrete. They are just as subjective as the ratings guests leave for hosts.

I always read a guest's prior reviews, not just one or two, which hopefully contain real information. It honestly doesn't take that long- you can skim through even 30 reviews fairly quickly.

[Laura2592]

AANND... after a quick search for 4 adults for her dates in our area/ a decent radius we are STILL the best deal. She can get a 1 bed/ 1 bath apartment for about the same. We are a cottage on a dedicated, partially wooded lot with 1500 sq ft and 2 beds with a bath attached to each,  plus fire pit, patio, deck, gorgeous porch, BBQ etc etc. 

So chances are she won't cancel as she can see the same things. Sigh. 

[Laura2592]

Now she is being nasty.

I tried to call her just to smooth things over. No answer.

I think this is a must-cancel.

[Angela714]

.

[Pat271]

Guests are asked to describe their traveling group when they make a request to book. Not providing that info is my first clue as to how well they follow directions.

However, I’m a kind, forgiving soul, so if they fail to do this for some reason, I always, always ask, for multiple reasons: 1) it provides clarification so that there are no misunderstandings later, 2) it establishes a 2-way communication pattern that will hopefully serve throughout the stay, and 3) it helps me evaluate whether the guest is a good fit.

If the guest doesn’t answer, I decline the request before it expires, with a note that further information is required in order for the booking to complete. So far, they have all rebooked and provided the requested information without complaint.

As far as extra fees go, I think with all of these articles and posts flying around online balking about Airbnb fees, it is emboldening guests to whine about them just as a matter of course. In this case, though, it could be that the $40 extra is being treated as an individual charge, and I believe guest fees are on a sliding scale depending on total booking amount. So a $40 charge may have a 20% guest fee, whereas a $1000 charge may have 12% guest fee. The correct way to determine the new guest fee is to recalculate the total booking amount, and then calculate difference in guest fee. I would hope they would do this correctly, but from what you said, it may be that they are not doing that.

I similarly sometimes end up having issues with highly-sensitive guests with extreme, specific requirements and needs.

I have absolutely no issues personally with these types of guests, as I have my own quirks in this department when I’m a guest (for instance, I really have a hard time sleeping with traffic noise, so I asked to be placed as far off the street as possible).

However, I usually try to redirect this type of guest to hotels, as hotels may be better equipped to serve their specific circumstances. It isn’t so much that I am being snarky, or afraid of reviews, or not wanting to hand-hold, etc. - it is just that I want the guest’s accommodations to be as suitable as possible for their specific needs.

[Laura2592]

Hours and 2 CSRs and I was able to use my penalty free cancellation. I have the dates open but no instant book so this person doesn't try again.

She sent a final message saying that now she "asked her husband to stay home and hes disappointed" so we were up to 5 guests on a 2 guest initial reservation with a grudging extra payment for the third. She sent me a list of what she won't do to clean up after he stay as we have a "huge" cleaning fee ($35.) And she was nasty when I said that I was happy to fully refund if she thought this might not be a good fit.

All of this finally convinced the second CSR. The first was kind but had no idea about rules whatsoever.

Lesson learned here.  I am digging way into reviews from price point to house capacity from now on.

She filled up VM with rants and swearing after the cancellation came through but sent a sweet as pie message in the ABB chat 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  "She sent a final message saying that now she "asked her husband to stay home and hes disappointed"

Nice touch, quite the guilt tripper she is. Glad you were able to get it cancelled without penalty.

[Mark116]

@Laura2592  Yikes.  But then, as I've said before, anyone with more than 5 or 6 reviews, e.g. very frequent Airbnb users are almost always high maintenance.  It's weird though for someone who has 14 reviews think that $35 is a huge fee, even if your space is out of her normal price range.

I say:  use the cabin yourself this weekend unless you have plans.

Did you try to explain to her about the maximum capacity, and the importance/reasons why guests need to be accurate about this, or not bother?

I'm curious, what actions did she refuse to do re the cleaning?  I expect this will be good for a laugh.