Guest lost key and it cost us money! Retalitory review! Help!

[Ann10]

Hi,

I just had a guest that I do not think was good at reading instructions and lost the key. I had to call a lock smith and pay the cleaning lady $25 to go there for nothing. I called the guest and she was completely spaced out and said she locked the key in the house. However, the key is no where to be found. I thought for once I'm not going to be held hostage by the review process. She kept stressing that it was an accident which I'm sure it was. I asked 2x if there was some other place where the key was because no one could find it.

Now, I told her if we didn't get the key we need to change the lock. The locksmith went there and made new keys, but I thought he found the key. I'm not sure what to do. One side of me, thinks the guest should pay especially since the key is lost. On the other hand, I think maybe it's our fault for not having the spare. I'm afraid if someone claims that they were robbed, they will blame the person with the spare key. I had a guest who claimed $600 was missing from the place(it was bogus) and tried to blame the cleaning lady and when I said there wasn't a spare key she tried to blame me.

Now, she has given me a review and I feel that it's bad. Not that I freaked out or anything but she was  telling me she left the key in the house and she didn't. I'm managing the place remotely. I wonder if I should call her while there is still time for her to change the review. I know I said I didn't care, but I will lose my SH status. Help! Also, how do I start a new topic?

Also, what does it mean if invalid HTML was found in message body? What huh?

[M199]

@Ann10 

If this helps, we had similar concerns when we started.  Since then we have installed a digital keypad. In case the batteries die, we also have a lockbox as backup with key.  The digital keypad is changed to each guests last 4 digits of their cell number on their reservation. Of course, there is also a master passcode we do not share. We do this digital lock coding so that previous guests can not return after their reservation has expired.

We use Honeywell.  There are also WIFI and other enabled locks on the market.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

@Ann10  It's an awful feeling when you can see a critical review coming even though you know you did nothing wrong. But calling the guest or trying to persuade her to change the review would probably backfire - when people edit unpublished reviews, it's usually to make them worse.

Instead, you might as well go ahead and send your review so that hers can't be revised anymore. And yes, a Resolutions claim for the locksmith would be totally valid. When a guest loses a key (regardless of whether you have a spare) it's imperative to have your locks changed, as otherwise you have no idea who might have access to the house. 

[Ann10]

Thank you for your input Andrew. I agree with your assessment.

🙂

[Brian2036]

I get that “invalid HTML” message from time to time.

I’m not sure what it means, but if I hit “reply” again it usually works.

There are some things about this website that do not always work well.

[Ann10]

@Anonymous,

Somewhere on this forum a host posted about leaving all 3s,  saying no you would not rent to the guest again and not saying anything. I kinda understand this because then Airbnb can't find a reason to take down the review. What do you think?

[Brian2036]

@Ann10 

I think you should say something. That’s what other hosts see.

 You can always word it as a compliment.

”Guest now understands that lost keys are expensive.”

”Guest’s behavior may be improving.”

”Guest sometimes responds to questions regarding missing items.”

” Guest is good at making excuses.”

[Anonymous]

@Ann10  I don't agree with the host who posted that. The only reason to review guests at all is to help other hosts make informed decisions about whether to accept their requests. It's frustrating to get a request from a guest whose review indicates that there was a problem but provides no useful info about what kind of issue nor the degree. Without this vital context, the star ratings are meaningless, so all in all it's no better than leaving no review at all. 

What's relevant to future hosts about your experience is not that the guest misplaced the key - that could happen to anyone - but rather how the guest communicated and cooperated with resolving the problem. We want to know whether guests represented themselves honestly, followed the rules, left the home in an acceptable state, and presented unnecessary hassles in communication. 

[Ann10]

Guest lost the key and didn't offer to pay the cost of the locksmith. She did offer to pay the extra amount of $20 that was charged because there wasn't a key inside the house, as she stated. Communication was not good. Seems like she did not read check out instructions. Guest did not tell me before the cleaning lady got there that there wasn't a key leading me to have to pay her for her wasted time We had to block the calendar for one night and the locksmith's operation was botched because she told me there was a key in the house leading me to believe that I did not need to change the locks. Now, I have to pay again because I didn't have the locks changed which I would have instructed had I known there was no key. It's been stressful and I feel a retaliatory review coming. Anyone could have accidentally lost the key, but I do not feel the communication after the event was correct or effective. As a host managing the property remotely I need accurate communication with all involved including the guest. They left the place in clean condition.

[Ann10]

How can I delete a post that is no longer relevant because I edited the previous post?

[Anonymous]

@Ann10 Here's an example of a review that gets the important points across without falling afoul of the rules or appearing vindictive: 

 "____ left the house in clean condition. However, the stay did not go as smoothly as we hoped because, due to some difficulties in communication, resolving an issue with a misplaced key became more costly and labor-intensive than necessary."

I try to stop short of laying all the blame for poor communication on the other person, because it's a two-way street:  if I'm not getting the answers I need, I have to acknowledge that I might not have asked all the right questions.

It's possible (though by no means certain) that you got an unfair retaliatory review from this guest. You will have an opportunity to post a graceful public response, and anyone who's worthy of staying in your lovely home can see that it's sour grapes - especially in light of your overwhelmingly positive 80+ reviews and your reciprocal review of this guest. This person doesn't seem clever enough to mask any bad intentions she might have. 

[Ann10]

@Anonymous Wow! Thank you! I was about to post the shorten review but yours is better. Many hands make easy work.

[Ann10]

@Anonymous-The time left to edit posts here is over. It's probably over in the review forum as well so I'm thinking I might wait until the last minute to post my review. Or can guest see your updated score before you leave your review?

This is my new review-Guest lost the keys and didn't offer to pay the cost of the locksmith. She told me that she thought she locked the key in the house and later offered to pay only the extra amount that was charged because the lock smith had to make a key from the pins in the lock because there was no key in the house as she stated. Communication was not good and there has been no future communication since I told her the key was not in the location indicated.  She is insisting that she left the key in the house by the coffee maker, but they were not found there.  She insists that it was an accident. Seems like she did not read check out instructions. Guest did not tell me before the cleaning lady got there that there wasn't a key in the lock box and locksmith's operation was botched because she told me there was a key in the house leading me to believe that I did not need to change the locks. We had to block the calendar for one night because I did not find out until it was too late that there was no key in the lock box. Now, I have to pay again because I didn't have the locks changed which I would have instructed had I known there was no key. It's been stressful and I feel a retaliatory review coming. Anyone could have accidentally lost the key, but I do not feel the communication after the event was correct or effective. As a host managing the property remotely, I need accurate communication with all involved including the guest. They left the place in clean condition.

My friend thinks this review is too long, but I think the other hosts deserve all of the facts. What do you think?

Thanks so much for helping me.

Ann

[Anonymous]

@Ann10   In my opinion, that review is way too detailed and contains too many elements that are either unprovable conjecture ("seems like she did not read instructions") or overly specific facts that just aren't relevant to future hosts. Either aspect would increase the risk of the review being removed.

Hosts are looking to have a general idea of what to expect, not a laundry list of personal grievances. But the fact that you're hosting remotely is useful context; onsite hosts might have an easier time with this guest.

[Ann10]

@Anonymous  What about this-____ left the house in clean condition. However, the stay did not go as smoothly as we hoped because, due to some difficulties in communication, resolving an issue with a misplaced key became more costly and labor-intensive than necessary. As a host managing the property remotely I need accurate communication with all involved.