Guest leaves 2 star review but doesn't stay in house

[Simon364]

Hi I wonder if anyone could help please.

First I should say I am a Superhost with very good feedback from all my previous guests. I always try to be flexible to help my guests.

However in this case I had one challenging guest. He had booked single bed for 28 days, but a few days before arrival he asked if his girlfriend could come also. I explained that is was only a small room with single bed so it wasn’t possible. He was on strict cancellation policy so after a few messages of trying to sort a solution (that was discussed on another thread here!), as a goodwill gesture I offered 50% refund , and if I could fill the room, then he would get the rest of the money.

He declined that offer but said he would come 14 days later, for two weeks only. He eventually arrived but had his girlfriend with him, and they both brought all of their stuff into the house. After making him welcome with coffee etc, I asked what the girlfriend’s plan was. He spent a lot of time trying to persuade me to let her stay in the single bed with him, but I said it wasn’t possible (as I had said in all the messages). I was surprised that they had no contingency, but he said she would stay with a friend nearby  - he wasn’t happy, as he wanted to stay with her.

In addition he kept changing his arrival dates. On the day he was due to arrive I asked him what time he expected to be there, he said in fact it would be the next day. So on the next day I asked him again his arrival time. I didn’t get any reply, until 11.45pm (when I was asleep) saying he would arrive at 1.30am from the airport (I didn’t get these messages until the morning as I was asleep)

In the end they never stayed at my place and when I got my review it was a two star. In the personal feedback to me he explained why:

1. He wasn’t happy that I did not make an effort to sort out accommodation for his girlfriend  (even though it had been discussed)
2. I didn’t reply to his 11.45pm message and let him in at 2am (even though I had chased him for his arrival time that day and previous days)

From what I have read, it isn’t likely that AirBnB will let me challenge the star rating, but I wondered if anyone had any thoughts. Also I would like to change my own responses to these situations so it doesn’t happen again, so any suggestions would be welcome.

Additionally I have also heard, that if the guest does not even stay in the property , then the review/star can be removed. Is there any basis in this? (Luckily, in the personal message to me , the guest states categorically that he didn’t stay there)

[Sarah977]

@Simon364  Your response to the situation should have been not to agree to him coming 14 days into the month-ling booking. Who pays for a month long booking and doesn't use half of it?  Or books a room that clearly only accepts one guest and then asks to have 2 stay? His intentions were questionable from the start.

Then when he arrived with his girlfriend and a pile of stuff, instead of welcoming him in for coffee, he should have been questioned as to what  was going on.  You have no obligation to let an unregistered person into your home.

[Simon364]

Thanks for your reply Sarah. In honesty I think if he has paid for a month and wants to come two weeks later, that is up to the guest, but it does cause a nuisance in waiting for them to turn up , especially if they are not clear about when

you are right about the questionable intentions, even before he arrived there was a lot of discussion about him trying to get another person in which was on another thread here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Guest-booked-for-one-month-in-a-single-room-now-wants-to-ad...

I am often stuck between being helpful to guests and making sure the right thing happens. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Simon364 Was your guest called Payam? 

[Simon364]

Yes! how did you know ?

[Sarah977]

@Simon364  You can click on any poster's profile photo here to get to their profile page and read their reviews.

[Sarah977]

@Simon364  Why did you leave him a good review, as if he stayed and why on earth did you mention "couple"?

Not only will that review mislead other hosts, it makes it sound like you accept 2 guests in your single room.

[Simon364]

Thats a really good point . Although he was a nuisance with the arrangements , they were not unpleasant. It was hard to know what to write, since nobody actually stayed

[Sarah977]

@Simon364  The purpose of you writing reviews is to let other hosts know about your experience with a guest, so they can have info on which to base an acceptance or decline. That they were pleasant over coffee is irrelevant. 

"Guest made several changes to the original booking and after requesting that he have his girlfriend stay in what is clearly advertised as a room for a solo guest, and being told no, showed up with girlfriend in tow, asking again for her to be allowed to stay, and when told no again, chose not to stay at all."

It isn't that hard to leave an honest review.

[Brian2036]

@Simon364 

He was very clever with his review. It sounds somewhat sinister but doesn’t violate the policy directly.

 I suppose it could be challenged as “irrelevant” because the guest’s preferences regarding reviews have nothing to do with the property, but you would have a hard time convincing a CS agent.

 I wish you had responded to his review with a note that his dissatisfaction may have stemmed from his attempt to add an unauthorized guest to his single-person booking.

[Simon364]

In his personal review to me, he is quite specific about being annoyed that I didn't let his girlfriend stay - (despite it being a single booking), is this something that would convince the airbnb agents?

[Sarah977]

@Simon364  No. They only remove reviews if they violate policy. What a guest says to you privately won't enter into it. (And if you ever write a review response, to any review, address only what is mentioned in the public review) 

[Anonymous]

@Simon364  "I have also heard, that if the guest does not even stay in the property , then the review/star can be removed. Is there any basis in this? "

No, what you heard was incorrect. Actually, it was a UK regulator that first forced Airbnb to allow guests who choose not to stay to leave reviews, but now that policy applies globally. See also: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/27/airbnb-agrees-reviews-loophole-intervention-cma-r...

You can't challenge a rating independently of the review itself, so the lack of relevancy is the only thing that might work in challenging the review. There is also time to post a response, but in this case I wouldn't recommend it. There's simply nothing there to respond to, so anything you could say would just draw unnecessary attention to the non-review.

[Simon364]

Thanks Andrew . yes I feel that there is no point in posting a response to the review, since I think most people would just pass it by without a thought

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Simon364  you were right about his decision to arrive 14 days past the original check-in date.  As long as his reservation is active he is granted to enter and stay.

It was nice of you to offer 50% refund + nights rebooked even when you were not obligated to do any of that.  If he was smart he would accept it and be grateful. But he wasn't and OK, it wouldn't be a guarantee he would give you 5* or a good review.

You know, guests often make mistakes like not reading the description or house rules or check-in info, not purchasing travel insurance etc... and then they blame hosts and demanding refunds. It is just a matter of time when any of us will get unfair or retaliation reviews and ratings. So don't get upset, at least you were paid in full 🙂