Help with Review

[Lenore22]

I'm having trouble finding the balance between being honest and not nit-picking.

- Guest requested a reservation for 8 guests, which is our max.

- Guest responded to initial request for more info (who's coming & the purpose of their trip & if there are pets), so request was approved along with a message about keeping it down for the neighbors.  After that, no response to pre-check-in message a few days before arrival confirming #s, & giving check-in details. No response to any  message, including one I  sent the day after check-in on app and as a text to the phone# she provided, informing them of a wildfire that was reported overnight just a few miles from the house and that I would keep them informed in case of an evacuation. (not a big deal, but I was a little surprised it wasn't even acknowledged)

- Disclosed cameras at entrances observed lots of people coming & leaving, but not staying (probably a few family groups meeting up at our house for their daily outing and then going to their accommodation to sleep. This is within our rules). They also returned one evening with several pillows from our couch and several blankets from our beds in a large hamper from our house. (Our guess is they took them for a day at the lake) 

- Our 1 request upon checkout is that they take out their kitchen garbage (so as to not attract insects/mice). Not only was the garbage left full, but several full bags of garbage were left in the laundry room.

- Guests did not speak English with one another, which I mention only because it might explain the lack of communication and failure to follow checkout instructions.

- When I asked my cleaner how the house was left, she said "very dirty. Things thrown all over. Makes sense if there were a lot of people with kids." She mentioned terrible smells from the dishwasher. In 2 years of stays, she's only ever said, "looks good." 

- Nothing was damaged/broken. They weren't loud or disturbing the neighbors and generally seemed like nice people, enjoying time with family.

These guests aren't "bad" guests, but they aren't a good fit for every host/house.  What would be a fair review that gives hosts a heads up and still recognizes that for some places, they're totally reasonable guests?

Thanks in advance,

Lenore

[Gillian166]

up to you about the private note, seems like they won't even read the review anyway. 

 did you look to see what reviews they usually leave?

[Lenore22]

Only 1  stay- didn't leave a review. I figure they probably won't read it, but if they do, maybe it will help. 🤷‍♀️

[Lenore22]

@Gillian166 correction!

It turns out she did leave a review at her previous stay...

This host has 77 reviews -- all raving about the place, with the exception of 2 reviews during this 1 month period when it looks like the dry sauna was broken. There's no way to tell what people rated, but it looks like those 2 reviews brought the host down to a 4.75 rating. 😬 (Unless, of course some of those "Amazing!!! Best place ever! 10 out of 10!" Reviewers left 4 stars...)

 

[Helen744]

@Lenore 22 Within the guidlines of reviews I would say 'guests did not seem to be aware of our house rules,and mark them down there and 'extra housekeeping and cleaning was involved ' so down a bit on cleanliness . Otherwise, also add communication was limited by language barriers. and guests exceeded number of people, and had visitors that were not mentioned to the host and used house goods outside the house It is as well to let other hosts have a bit of an idea what to expect because these guests would not be suitable for everyone H

[Kristina46]

Recommend NOT saying anything about "language barriers" -- that could get your review removed for discrimination. Recommend whenever leaving a bad review to review the Air guidelines carefully so that you don't end up getting your review removed.

[Helen744]

@Kristina46 how exactly is saying 'language barriers ' discriminatory rather than descriptive or in fact an out for guests who 'did not communicate'? This is  a real thing as I have experienced often . Or do you think this is  signalling to other hosts ? not something I had thought of . H

[Kristina46]

I don't personally have any problem with stating this but Airbnb might consider it a put down of someone who doesn't speak English and remove your review. I've been involved in lots and lots of host forums over many years and have seen cases where they removed reviews for this very thing.

You just have to be careful about the way you word things. Unless you don't care about getting reviews removed. Maybe you don't. In that case, use whatever potentially inflammatory descriptions you might fancy. 

But why not skip the personal judgment about 'language barriers' and just say they didn't communicate well? 

[Helen744]

@Kristina9 now there you go . I thought I was being polite unlike someone who just assumed that I was" theroretically " discriminating against 'unknown persons' I know that actually naming a particular ' country ' as a persons origin country and or attaching this to 'bad or unusual behaviour ' can be assumed to be discriminatory but, to deny that language can be a 'no fault '   in fact a 'double indemnity 'for both host and guests . I did have a group of persons , five, stay at one point and when meeting the guests I realised that no one spoke my language or me theirs, although someone had communicated with me although minimally via text.I left them to it and managed to offend someone by asking them to put the bins out at the end of their stay. They marked me down heavily  especially on communication , although all messages were as per my usual habit,which is why I mentioned the possibility of this being an explanation , although I will never know. Communication in all its forms is very important to me .I think if you think I am 'Virtue signalling" to others , I will take your warning and as I have never used this term , I certainly never will  . Possibly the warning you have chosen to issue to me would be better issued to the person who began this thread. H

[Helen744]

also possibly Kristina ,  'language barrier' as a noun and a description is valid , the actual issue that you feel you are addressing is 'language discrimination , a different thing H

[Richard531]

@Lenore22 @Huma0 @Helen744 @Gillian166 @Anonymous 

We've left ~8 bad reviews in 2,000 bookings. They all have one thing in common.  The very first thing we say is "We would not host XYZ again."  This is the part that helps future hosts.  I implore other hosts to do the same thing.

As I started reading your review, it's just all nice, nice, nice.  These were BAD guests!

And as others have said, they will likely read exactly nothing you private feedback so it's nice of you to take the time, but it probably won't go anywhere.  At least with the public review, other hosts can be warned.  

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Richard531 @Lenore22 @Huma0 @Helen744 @Gillian166 

I would not use the term "bad" to describe these guests. It is a judgement that I would not be able to make, as their host. I would carefully state that their expectations and ours vastly differed. I'd say that I'd not welcome them back, and rate them appropriately on the categories we are given. In this review I would  be strictly factual and keep emotions out of it. So, they were not a terrific match for you. Not for me either. 

They took items to the beach? This is common and in many places I've stayed, it was expected and literally everyone did it. We provide a set of towels labeled as what can be taken to the woods, the lake, the beach. Pillows - we have porch and deck/outdoor pillows that are appropriate. Cleanup and trash - again, expectations of on board service people were obviously in their mind, if not in reality.

Remote hosting has these caveats built in. This is a no fault situation imho. IB is another built in risk here, for a remote host. Any booking that is not a repeat guest is an unknown, which carries  built in risk.  One prevention measure might be to find one person - ideally the reservation maker - who we communicate with and make to be the responsible adult. Potential language barrier issues were mentioned - even more important to find that one person to communicate with.

I'd have to make the effort to step into their shoes, and adopt their perspective. If I use the word "chair" in conversation, the one you see in your mind is likely vastly different from mine. Neither of us wrong or incorrect. We may even disagree on function - someone who prefers to sit on the floor may use a chair as a table, for example. I just saw someone do that yesterday. 

[Suzanne302]

@Richard531 

I love when hosts make it clear in the review that they would or would not host a guest again. That is more helpful than seeing the star ratings!

I have only had a handful of guests I wouldn't invite back, but for the others, I always make sure to use a line similar to, "I would welcome XY back anytime and 100% recommend to other hosts."

[Richard531]

"I would not use the term "bad" to describe these guests"  Wait, what the heck are you talking about? Why are we doing this again?  The OP said their crew specifically said it was the worst guest they'd ever worked for in 2 years.  That's bad.  The OP also indicated that their communication sucked and they were disrespectful to the home outright by dragging interior items off-site.  That's bad.  

What is the motivation for giving bad guests a pass?  It's not a "vastly differed" expectation that someone be respectful to your home. 

[Kelly149]

And this is why many hosts with large ish spaces will say “no additional guests” bc more than 8 people can clearly make more mess than 8 people & you were only paid for 8 people. Maybe sometimes it works out fine. But when it doesn’t well, it doesn’t. 

[Stephanie365]

I evaluate my guests as follows:
95% of my guests leave my home clean, follow my (simple) check out instructions and meet basic communication requirements.  These are guests who deserve 5*. If 95% of my guests can do this, there is no reason the other 5% can't.

Those 5% have received everything from 1* to 4* overall. 

The 4* crowd are the ones who left the place basically in good condition but either didn't follow my *simple* check out instructions, left my home unlocked or left dirty dishes in the sink (Ants and fruit fly-type insects can be a big problem here when food or dirty dishes are left out, and this is clearly explained in the check out instructions). 

I've heard of hosts who say giving less than 5* for these behaviors is being picky.  No,  it's not. Why should someone who couldn't be arsed to rinse their dishes and lock my door be given the same great review as the person who left my home in perfect condition?

For the 3* and under crowd, I start my review with something to the effect of, "Unfortunately Jane and James were not the ideal guests."  

With AirBNB's policy of allowing guests 72 hours to bitch, and with 90% of my guests being 1-nighters, I don't review until at least 4 days have passed.  

In the beginning I reviewed everyone, but I found that about 20% of my guests won't review me. I've adopted the policy of not rewarding a guest with a great review if they don't want to participate in the review process. So I wait for the guest to review me before reciprocating. The exception to this is if a guest earned less than 5*. They will always get reviewed. I just wait until day 14 to do it.