Grumpy guests who caused damage - should I review?

[Dee1153]

We are new to hosting but are now on about our 19th set of guests.  We have been very lucky so far but our last guests were a mother and daughter who were a little different.  The daughter was an adult woman, her mother was a little older, maybe 60's or so.  The mother was very rude to my partner when he offered to help them carry bags in from the car.  She complained about how difficult our road was to park in although we had left our bins out to reserve the space for them.  When I went over to check they were okay the daughter chatted but her mother kept her back turned to me and didn't acknowledge me at all.  Apparently she was unhappy there was no TV but they knew that before they arrived.  The following day I waved at the mother at the end of the garden when I saw her come out and she looked outraged and went back inside the coach house.  Following that if they were outside smoking they moved their chairs behind some bushes so I couldn't see them.  They didn't respond to a couple of messages I left during the stay asking if they were okay or needed anything.  On inspection when they left there was trim broken off the front door, a glass was smashed and they had moved many items around in the coach house.  

It leaves a nasty taste in my mouth and I'm not sure what review to write or if to write one at all - it seems that they haven't written a review yet and I worry what kind of review it would be.  

[Lawrene0]

If you don't want to prompt them to write a grumpy review, you could always play the waiting game, @Dee1153 , in which you post your review in the last hour of the 14-day window. I do that sometimes when a guest appears to be unhappy about the rain, or whatever, and has left behind damage and/or a mess. 

You do a disservice to your fellow hosts when you remain silent. Then we get to host that duo and deal with their complaints and breakage. An honest review gives us a heads up so we can refuse them, or at the very least say, "Don't be breaking things here like you did there, okay?" 

[Brian2036]

@Dee1153 

I would anticipate an obnoxious review and probably say something like:

”Guests were quiet and fairly neat but left behind some minor breakage. After complaining about the parking spot we reserved for them they failed to respond to our attempts to communicate.”

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Dee1153  guests who arrive grumpy will stay grumpy and leave grumpy. They are unhappy with their lives and there is nothing the host can do to change it.

[Gordon0]

The grumpy ones really grind my gears, and it can be difficult to leave a non-emotional review when they were miseries. Personally I'd go for the eleventh-hour option and something akin to; 'X and X seemed at odds with the Airbnb concept and would have been better suited to hotel accommodation'.

A recent set of guests - who I reviewed like that - only went and gave me five stars (no feelings of guilt on this side) and have recently tried to re-book TWICE.

There's nowt queerer than folk.

Edit. That's some listing, @Dee1153 - very well done. 

[Ryan2352]

The only good thing about reviews is that they can't see yours until they write one (or 14 days pass from checkout).  I'm always conflicted about leaving a bad review, but maybe that'll change.  Had a guest inquiry and their most recent review was "Would not rent to them again, did not follow several house rules."  That request got denied immediately.

[Lenore22]

Who made the reservation? I'm wondering if the daughter booked and the mother didn't know what to expect--- and that's why she was grumpy. Maybe the mother would be better suited to a hotel, but if it's the daughter's account, I would maybe just note the difference. Note the damage, note the communication issue last minute. I could totally see a scenario where daughter books and mother just resents the idea of being around other people in a home share, making the daughter miserable as well.

[Sarah977]

@Lenore22  Those scenarios definitely happen. I recall a host posting about a couple who had stayed in her private room homeshare. Hubby had booked it as a surprise anniversary gift. Wife was quite obviously annoyed to find that what should have been an intimate occasion was booked in a home share. (Hubby, if he's anything like a lot of men, may not have been particularly attentive to the details 🙂 )

[Dee1153]

Yes the daughter booked - and she was booking because her brother was poorly and lives in Bristol and she was bringing her mother with her to visit - so I have to be a bit charitable and say perhaps the mother was upset about her son being unwell and not feeling up to meeting new people - but she was really so rude to my partner that it's hard to forgive.  Also it's not a home share, they are in the coach house at the end of the garden so have some privacy.  The daughter was friendly at least.

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 @Lenore22 

I understand your points, but I would still hold the booking guest responsible for their companions’ behavior.

 I once had a blind date with a woman who turned out to be really mean-spirited, abused the waitress continuously at the high-priced restaurant I took her to, demanded to see the manager, etc.

 I caught the waitress on my way out, apologized profusely, and gave her a tip somewhat in excess of the entire bill.

 I also sent a glowing message of appreciation and apology to the manager, who probably should have told us both to leave.

 I still felt responsible, and my next dinner guest was…the waitress.

[Marie6762]

@Brian2036 

Great story😀. 

[J-Renato0]

@Dee1153 

I would not report that someone is rude or grumpy in a review, unles the rudeness had caused some problem.

e.g. If there was an issue and it was impossible to deal with the guest due to guest´s rudeness.

Being rude is a problem for the rude person, a disavantage that the rude one carry with himself.

If we host we will have to deal with the rude and grumpy ones once in a while. If they do not bother me , dont break house rules or damage the property, it is not my business.

However, I would not host again a guest who was rude to me. 

As for the "trim broken off", if it is too expensive to fix it, charge them.
Send them a message via Airbnb, with a picture of the damage.
Send also the bill of the service to fix the damage.

If they refuse to pay, I would write on the review :
"Guest damaged the property. Refused to pay for it. "

Altenatively you could just say.
"I do not recommend the guest."

or..."Better suited for a hotel stay".

[Dee1153]

My partner has now managed to fix the damage - with the help of some superglue and a lot of swearing in Spanish...:)

[Dee1153]

I think I will leave it until the last minute to review them as suggested by many of you.  Thank you for your advice.  I have read a lot of other posts in the last couple of days and I think we have got off lightly!

[Laura2592]

@Dee1153I would say something like:

"So and so and her mother spent some time with us. They were neat but there were a few communication issues. We were concerned that they did not enjoy their stay as much as they might have. Minor repairs needed after check out and our rules around smoking not followed to the letter. Overall good guests but likely not the best fit for our space. "

Honest, conveys that there was a mismatch but doesn't blast them. I would leave them below 3 stars on communication and house rules at least. Lots of grumps out there. Its always best to warn the rest of us!