@Mita127
@Mita127 wrote:
Did your review of the guest stay on her profile?
Yes, as far as I can remember. This was several years ago and I don't remember the guest's name now to check (plus her review is gone from my profile). I do remember that CS told me the guest would not be notified that her review had been removed, so it's highly likely that she had no idea.
It wasn't a fun experience, but it was the one that taught me that guests will lie about having read the listing/house rules. This guest insisted she had read the rules, "but that doesn't mean I need to remember them."
When the guests checked in, one of my cats walked into the room and she said, "Oh you have a cat!" I said yes, I have three, as mentioned on the listing. "THREE!!!!" she exclaimed in astonishment. Later that night, after the guests turned off their radiators, she messaged me asking for an additional heater. I went up to the room to turn the radiators back on. This is when she said, again astonished, "Oh. We didn't realise we would be living with you. Well, I suppose that is okay..."
Later, when I challenged her on not reading the listing, she said that she knew I lived here, she just wasn't expecting me to be staying there that night (??) and that she exclaimed because she likes cats so much, not because she didn't know about them. All of this was in the message thread, so the CS rep could see that from start to finish, this girl was simply lying over and over. The weirdest part was her claim that there was another person living in the house. I'm not talking about the other guest, which she was aware of, but every time her and her friend caused some kind of issue, they tried to blame it on some other imaginary person she said was here. Like I wouldn't know who is and isn't living in my house!
Were there any red flags with this guest? Well there was one. She had seemed quite concerned that there would be another guest staying and that he/she would 'bother' her and her friend. I should have known she would be difficult. Why pick a shared listing if you are uncomfortable with sharing?
Anyway, this experience taught me to reiterate certain points in writing (e.g. cats, stairs, traffic noise) before accepting a booking and the guest needs to message back that they are okay with those things. It's not foolproof, but it has certainly helped. I also have an 'Easter egg' question in my house rules.