Guests with a crush...

[Laura2592]

I don't see the private feedback guests leave except in the email after the review is published. (Is this just me?) TBH I don't spend time looking at every score or message after a guest leaves a review and may not notice private feedback for some time. So I glossed over this message until today. 

Booking was by a couple. They left a private message about the "hot guy" next door and that they wanted to come back to "spend more time talking to him and maybe get a phone number." I believe they are referring to our next-door neighbors who are in the 30s-- a nice young family with a toddler. They sometimes chat with guests over the fence if they are out in the yard and it would be awkward not to. This guy has never said or done anything to indicate he is available to our knowledge (and we know them pretty well). While I wouldn't call him totally unattractive he's certainly not out there with a shirt off and a six-pack flirting with my guests. 

You hear a lot of things about male guests being inappropriate with female hosts, so this just struck me as really bad judgment on the guests' part. Maybe it was supposed to be funny? Or they are poly and thought I could put in a word for a new partner? IDK.  Its a little too late for me to say anything to them. Harmless? Creepy? What do you think?

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592  Without being privy to the interaction between the guests and your neighbor, I can't make any assumptions about what they might have discussed or what signals had been passed around.  

It wouldn't be appropriate to pass on Hot Neighbor's phone number without his permission, but I see no harm in bringing it up to him and asking if he'd like to respond. The one thing I'd take care to avoid is making any insinuation that Hot Neighbor had been flirting - no need to throw an apple of discord into his marriage over nothing.

If this was several stays ago, I can imagine Hot Neighbor won't even know which guests you're talking about. But if he takes you by surprise and enthusiastically offers to share his number...sure, pass it on!

Otherwise, I'd suggest blocking these guests from future bookings for the sake of good neighborly relations.

[Laura2592]

@Anonymous LOL now I am going to start thinking of him as "hot neighbor" (and I really don't want to!)

Yes I would never pass on anyone's phone number. Its more just a question about norms and acceptable behavior. I re-read my guest emails and messages and they were very typical. I was surprised to see this private feedback. It is ballsy. 

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592    I wouldn't consider asking for someone's number to be universally unacceptable. If the other person was underage, or they'd been in a workplace situation, I'd find it problematic. But a crush on the Hot Neighbor across the fence sounds pretty innocent - it's just awkward when they're "ballsy" enough to involve you in it but too shy to just ask his number directly. 

I was uncomfortably in the reverse situation once. Staying in an Entire Home property with husband for a long weekend in an exciting city we'd been dreaming of visiting for years. At check-in, the hosts (a gay couple) explained the rules and reiterated that "you can't bring anyone else here, unless it's us!" I didn't think much of it until the next day, when they sent a nice message asking how everything was and if we wanted to join them for a drink. We thought they were inviting us to go out to a fun local bar, but eventually they clarified "wouldn't it be more fun to do it at your place?"

The interest wasn't unflattering, but I did find it a bit odd that Entire Home hosts would invite themselves over to their own apartment for Sexy Times. Unfortunately we didn't reciprocate the interest, as we wanted to get the most out of our holiday and not feel obliged to entertain the hosts who we were paying for the Airbnb. But perhaps for some other guests, a spontaneous orgy in a 17th century loft would have been the highlight of their trip - so I politely declined and made no mention in the review.

[Laura2592]

@Anonymous sometimes when I read your responses, I feel as though I have not lived nearly enough 🙂

As a woman, I probably see any advance through the lens of "oh, not another creeper" and that really colored my initial reaction to this feedback by the guests. But hey, maybe it would really put some pep in the neighbor's step to know he had inspired such admiration. 

[Sarah977]

Sounds like a pretty weird thing to message a host to me. You'd think if they and the neighbor were all into that sort of swinger thing, and the neighbor had made it obvious that he was, they'd have exchanged phone numbers while they were there. And if the neighbor gave no indication that he was, and they read simple friendliness for something else, that's a bit creepy. 

Or like you say, maybe they thought it was a funny message to send. No accounting for what folks consider to be humor.

@Laura2592 

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 indeed. 

I have no idea what they discussed but would be very surprised if it was anything other than the usual pleasantries and greetings. 

[Emilia42]

@Laura2592 Has anyone ever told you, you have the weirdest guests 😀

[Laura2592]

@Emilia42 ain't it the truth! 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 I'll pass on making a judgement as to whether it's creepy or harmless or anything else and just say that I'd ignore it and move on. I certainly wouldn't be interested in getting in the middle of whatever 'it' is. My business is providing great accomodations and catering only to such that relates to the guests experience with those accomodations, nothing else.