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]

@Mark116we got a much better reservation almost immediately after ABB canceled hers. We just left the days open and within about a half hour they were filled with what seems a very pleasant guest. I guess we will find out if that impression is true 🙂

But yeah I hear you on the "ABB Expert Guest." They do give me pause. And this is someone from my commuting area who stays a lot at places around the area but not all near the daughter's school. It always seems off to me.

This guest refused to:

Strip beds

Wipe down surfaces

Take out trash

Run the dishwasher

Vacuum

because our cleaning fee is so high. LOL. I said "well of that list, we ask guests only to strip beds unless the trash is particularly fragrant."

[Mark116]

@Laura2592 You don't ask them to run the dishwasher?  Why not, just curious?  On that list we we ask them to do the dishes and depending on their stay, sometimes we have them take the trash outside and sometimes we tell them to leave it...depends on where the last day falls on city trash pick up, how hot it is and how the long the stay, etc.  

[Laura2592]

@Mark116 we say it's up to guests if they want to run it but they don't have to. Some of our guests are really uncomfortable using a dishwasher. No idea why. So we don't force them to.

We pick up all the trash as there isn't reliable service  that we can take a can out on a specific day weekly. We don't want guests to have to do it either.  

[Sarah977]

@Mark116 "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. "

Really? That has not been my experience at all. I've had quite a few guests who were seasoned Airbnbers with pages of good reviews and they were totally low maintenance. They thoroughly read the listing description, communicated excellently, and were appreciative and left 5* reviews.

[Robert5501]

That is exactly my main complaint with hosting. I honestly think that about 20% of the time people book stating they are coming with two and show up with 3 or 4. This is our first year hosting so I am continuing to update our house rules to address all which we have experienced this year. We have put a $20 per person per night after the first two guests because of the extra cleaning required. I have also recently added to the house rules "no add on guest" "only the number of guests stated in reservations will be permitted " and now I do ask in my pre booking message to review and agree to all house rules prior to booking. We are at the end of our season so our bookings have stopped but I hope this helps to curtail people from booking 2 and showing up with 4. We open our homes to complete strangers and when the first meeting with them is based on dishonesty that really puts us on edge. 

[Laura2592]

@Robert5501 yes this is also my biggest annoyance. We too have an extra guest fee. It's not a lot and the majority of our guests never blink as we are still well priced in our market even with it. But now and again we get a guest like this who treats it like a suggestion and decides to shoe horn as many people in as possible. It's just not worth the effort and aggravation especially when we can just enjoy our space this weekend instead. I'm boggled that ni one has called this particular  guest out in a review yet.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Laura2592  you constantly have interesting guests 🙂

[Laura2592]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 seriously.  We have had 3 problems in a row. I'm really exhausted 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  Even when you don't get real problems, you do seem to get some strange guests, like the one who took it upon herself to repot your plants without asking.

You have such a lovely, normal place, it's not like it's some outre listing set up to look like a dungeon which could very well attract wackos.

Maybe you should go there and do some sort of smudging ceremony or something to ward off weirdo, nasty guests.

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 maybe! 

I sometimes think that the little house has such nice energy it really inspires people to covet it and do things with it that are really not appropriate  (repot the plants) or it just kind of rejects certain sourpusses. But barring that, you have to understand that people who book generally live in the DC area. A more entitled,  highly strung, competitive group you would be hard pressed to meet. Our cottage is in the boonies but still close to DC and Baltimore.  Guests come from the city and the burbs. They are typically pretty high maintenance and there's a fair number of "complaints get a freebie" tries. 

Its annoying but I also deal with very high maintenance folks in my day job. So on some level I understand the way people are around here. They skew towards the miserable and pushy, unfortunately.  I do my best to be polite and diplomatic but vent here to you all 😉

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  Yes, there's that- certain offerings and areas tend to get a certain kind of guest. I've been lucky that way- guests are coming for a relaxing, laid back beachy vacation, so they are actually out and about much of the day and quite mellow when they are home. 

[Z-2]

I think most of you are asking guests too much. To me, any guests who I want them back, I will give them 5 stars. For guests I don’t want them come back, if they are good, follow the house rules and clean, no damage, but not fit, such as too picky, complaining about something I can’t fix, I might still give them 5 stars. If they are not that good, but not too bad, even I don’t want them return, I normally just not write them a review.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

oh, tnx @Z-2  that's so helpful for their future hosts

[Z-2]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 Some guests are very clean and polite but for my sound front house, there is sometimes insects, also older house, so sometimes I just feel it’s the fit problem, not the guest problem.

[Laura2592]

@Z-2I rarely leave a bad review. I try to be as diplomatic as possible. But when I do, it is well-deserved. If there are issues with clean up or not following rules I will say "clean up took extra time" or "so and so brought unauthorized guests to our space." These are not mean, harsh or nasty statements but they are factual. More often, I leave private feedback. I give 5 stars more than any other rating. When its less, it really is deserved.

Hosts have an obligation to be honest. Sometimes guests don't realize that their behavior is not positively viewed and will improve immediately. Sometimes they are just out to scam and will move on. The bottom line is that my cottage is MY space.  I pay for it. My name is on the deed. I am responsible for it. If people aren't going to be respectful, I don't make enough on any one stay to put up with it. I don't believe its fair to me or anyone, guest or host, to give people a pass if they are a problem.