Leaving a negative guest review

[Marie6848]

I had my third guest just check out early this morning.  The communication with this guest leading up to the reservation was pretty okay.  They left me a message early this morning that they followed all my checkout rules and had a great time!!  However, when my cleaner arrived at noon, she found the door wide open to the condo!  This means anyone had free access for about 6 hours.  She thinks everything is intact but I'm still waiting for her to completely clean the condo and check everything.  It was most likely a mistake.  But I need to leave this in the review, right, because another host would want to know?  But I'm new to this and this is where I'm feeling bad about having to do this.  My advice from a fellow host friend is leave the incident in the review.  Any other advice for a newbie?

[Sarah977]

@Marie6848  Yes, you should mention it in the review, there's no reason to feel bad about doing so. It seems that otherwise the guest was fine, so speak to the positive as well as this inattention.

That doesn't constitute a negative review. That's just an honest review, as all reviews should be.

[Laura2592]

@Marie6848 wow. I have had guests who leave doors open. Once early in our hosting career, a stray cat got in and peed in a closet. We are in a rural location with a population of feral and semi-feral cats from nearby farms. This guy was not a pet but a young male who helped himself to the chicken carcass they left in the trash and then marked up the closet. It took lots of vinegar and cleaning/airing out for the next guest. So though we didn't have anything stolen an unsecured space is a big no no. 

There isn't anything a guest can do to remedy this after the fact so I don't see any value in alerting this person to the possibility that this might figure into their review. You are sure to get a retaliatory negative if you do. I would just say:

"So and so was pleasant and seemed to enjoy our condo. Communication and cleanliness were also good. We did have a concern that the house rules were not followed with regard to locking doors, resulting in our space being left unsecured for several hours. We would advise future hosts to be sure that so and so understands fully how to secure their space."

I would probably rate him/her low on house rules and whatever you feel is fair in the other categories. Guests don't see the star ratings. If you prefer to handle this privately, instead of the above review drop them a note in the private feedback. Up to you whether or not you want to host again, but this is DEFINITELY something future hosts and the guest need to be aware of.

[Marie6848]

I love that response.  I was thinking of definitely doing something along those lines.  I can't believe what happened to you!!  

[Laura2592]

@Marie6848 cat lover that I am, I was amused that we had a kitty in our space until I had to clean pee. LOL. The worst part were that the guests were acquaintances who should have known better....

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  My across the street neighbor just had a booking from three young girls. My neighbor told them she would be out of town (she lives in another dwelling on the property) but that her 20 year old son was there to help out if need be.

This is an open-air cabin with a thatched roof that has sleeping loft that does have walls and a trap door into the downstairs.

The girls heard noise downstairs in the middle of the night and totally freaked out, sure there was someone down there. This was all at 4 AM. 

They didn't yell for help, which would have woken her son, who would have checked things out.

Instead, first they phoned the taxi driver who had originally brought them there but was asleep at home, a half hour away, to ask him to come get them. Then he phoned my neighbor, the host, waking her up (she was at a retreat 5 hours away) who then phoned the guests, who were still terrified. So she then phoned our other neighbor, right across from that cabin, also waking him up to see if he could call my dog over and go see if there was an intruder.

There wasn't anyone in evidence- the girls had left a pizza box with half-eaten pizza out on the table in the open air kitchen and a dog was in there scarfing it up.

[Lorna170]

@Marie6848   I would further add " with regard to CLOSING and locking doors".   Just to clarify that they left the door to the house WIDE open.

[Bob297]

@Marie6848

The guest made a mistake. We all do sometimes 🙂

I would send him a private message

[Christine615]

@Marie6848 

Ditto. I think some people just aren't thinking. I had a guest from Los Angeles where you'd think he'd understand safety. My rules ask that guests keep the front door locked at all times for safety reasons. I also make it clear that my daughter lives in the downstairs apartment.

They invited a friend over and the three of them went out for food. My daughter came home, found the door unlocked and locked it. Then I get a phone call asking how they can get in. I told them to use their key. But they'd left their key upstairs in the apartment.

They'd been gone for a couple of hours. Not sure but often I get some younger people who still - in the 20's - live with parents who do everything for them.

I left a private message and explained why that was dangerous and how they would be liable for any theft.

I put in the public review "Unfortunately they didn't follow house rules about locking the door when leaving  but otherwise a polite guest who left the apartment in good condition."  Then the next host can remind them (but I think they'll remember).

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

before I began hosting I had no idea how many grown-up people are incapable of closing the front door. I always thought only pre-school kids, idiots, and totally drunk people could forget something so basic. Hosting made me feel so super intelligent like never before

This is serious, you have to mention they left the door WIDE OPEN in your review @Marie6848 . It is not just a mistake, it's a total lack of responsibility and common sense.

[Sarah977]

@Bob297   That doesn't count as a "mistake" in my book. It's completely self-absorbed irresponsible inattention. With serious possible consequences.

A mistake is putting something in the wrong recycling box or writing down an address or phone number wrong.

[Karol22]

You can mention it in the review so that she avoids doing this in the future. But I don't know if I would leave a really bad/scathing review over it. If she was clean and respectful of your property, and she communicated well, please mention that in the review as well so that future hosts can get the full story.

[Holly142]

I recently had a guest leave my cabin door wide open as well. I don't understand how a grown person can't do a basic thing like close the door behind you when you leave. Luckily I went to clean immediately after they left. This is a very remote cabin and it's bear season. Smells from the kitchen can attract bears who can do a lot of damage inside. Is it too much to expect a guest to close the door behind them?

[Suzanne302]

@Marie6848  That's a big one that would really tick me off but I try to think if there's an "innocent" reason for a mistake, and, if so, I try not to be so hard on a guest, especially if everything else about their stay was good. In this case if there were two people perhaps there was miscommunication and each one thought the other had shut the door? I wouldn't want to ruin a guest's rating for one mistake. I might ding them a star and mention it in the private feedback, but I wouldn't trash them in the review.

Not saying this is your case at all, but for an example of someone making an innocent mistake, my front door will swing back open if you don't make sure the latch is tight. I've had countless visitors (repair personnel) walk out the front door and it swings back open after they are halfway down the walkway. It drives me crazy, but I can't really blame them because they "thought" the door was shut.

[Marie6848]

Thank you all for your input!!  It's been so helpful.