Millennials

[Inna22]

Now that Millennials are 22-40 years old, they make up the bulk of my guests and I am yet to master how adjust my hosting style to their needs.

Messaging style

You cannot just answer the question asked, no matter how simple. It cannot be “where do I park?” Answer “in the garage, instructions are in the welcome message, please look through”. That would be rude. I first must start by appreciating them, followed by appreciating them reaching out. I then must apologize for not making it clear enough that parking is in the garage. If it did not make sense to them, it must have been a very poor architectural decision or I did not do enough to make it clear. I also need to explain how I will make things better in the future so others do not have to go through the same ordeal. I should technically also offer to park the car for them but this is just a gesture and they would of course say no and I must remember how generous they were in doing that.

Reuse and recycle

They would take the time to rip out the plastic window from an envelope to properly recycle it but they would throw a towel in the trash after a smudge of makeup gets on it. It would not even cross their mind that I may try to salvage it.

Communication

It is all about them. If something is not how they expect it or to their liking, they will read every word of what I wrote, advocate for themselves and demand what they feel is right. Otherwise, it is my job to make sure they have what they need. They need a door code and it is my job to make sure they have it. They will not read a message I sent them, particularly if it is more than one paragraph.  If I did not make sure they got it, it is on me to be available when they do decide they are ready for it- by phone, in person or whatever other way is convenient for them

Technology

I now rarely have to deal with guests who cannot log on to Wi-Fi, cannot figure out the TV or automated door lock. Plunge the toilet? No can do. Manual labor. Hard no.

I hope I did not offend any millennials here with this post. If I did, please get in line behind my millennial guests for your apology. You can use the garage to park while you wait. If you need to use the bathroom, plunger is behind the toilet and please put all used towels on the floor even if you think they are trash.

[Debra300]

@Jessica-and-Henry0,

Yes, the point I was trying to make is that people are losing/choosing not use their ability to use different communication styles in for a variety of situations.  I blame it on the lax attitude associated with social media posting.  Since businesses now are communicating via Twitter and Facebook, people think that the casual slang that they use in their personal interactions is appropriate, because it's the same platform. 

I often leave out or misspell words in my posts here, because I usually am doing two things concurrently, and fail to be my own editor.  Which makes it hard enough for people to understand me.  So, I don't need to make it worse by including slang and run on sentences.

@Mark116, the deposit did go through.  I just don't know if the reservation can be fulfilled, because I've still not heard from the guest.Since we do get guests who come from backgrounds with lower education standards or English is not a primary language, I often will try to speak with a person before making a final decision. 

[Lawrene0]

"Oh, I'm so sorry! We do discourage whistling, as it upsets the squirrels."

[Fred13]

Social Media = a gift & and curse. Call me 'old school', but I always perceived slang (and using foul language for that matter) as being just plain lazy.

[J-Renato0]

@Debra300 

I gave up using B...  com. I used to receive booking requests followed by many cancellations.
Many B... users did not want to pay a deposit when booking, even though It was stated in the listing that it was necessary.
I think that B.... com is more appropriate for those who manage hotels.

As for this bad grammar, I think it must be someone whose native language is not english and have not learned enough english to writte properly. In London there are many immigrants and temporary workers.

If I were you, I would see it from the business point of view. 

Tell her that you can not book. If she shows up and there is vacancy, she can stay and pay when arriving and checkin in.
Reinforce that you can not guarantee any reservation withou a deposit.

[Debra300]

@J-Renato0,

I understand what you mean about the number of cancellations with Booking, and people not understanding that they have to make deposits.  However, my experience has been that the majority of people in the Caribbean do not have Airbnb accounts, because many residents don't have government IDs, and debit/credit cards and PayPal accounts are not as prevalent as in other regions. 

As a result, they flock to Booking, because it's marketing slogan states that a credit card isn't required to make a reservation.  That's true, but unfortunately in today's age of only looking at pictures, guests do not read that a deposit may be required to hold the reservation.  There many who do read, but don't have or are uncomfortable sharing their debit/credit card, they are plan to pay when they arrive (similar to my potential guest), or may have a relative/friend on island who can make a cash deposit on their behalf.

I am sensitive to the fact that people have various levels of commanding English grammar.  However, in the sample that I shared, the guest repeatedly used the letter "u" instead of the word "you", and "i" instead of "I".   I personally know of no English course that teaches this is the proper way to address someone or themselves.  That practice comes directly from texting and social media posting.  Which is fine when you're not trying to conduct business, are familiar with your audience, and an informal tone has been established by all participants.  As @Jessica-and-Henry0 previously mentioned, people are failing to recognize the time, place and occasion (TPO), and adjust their communication style appropriately.  The lack of reading the listing details is so prevalent and spans across multiple ages, levels of education and languages that it cannot assigned solely to poorly educated, non-native language speakers, or Millennials.

[Inna22]

@Debra300 @J-Renato0 А I have not had a booking.com reservation that did not turn into a problem. Mainly guests not wanting to pay the deposit but also problems with expectations as I can not list my house rules the way I do another sites. Their interface is terrible. Customer service nonexistent.

[Debra300]

@Inna22,

I hear what you're saying, and we all have our preferences.  Ironically, I have had more bad experiences with Airbnb guests, because having the Booking guest's credit card details helps them to behave more appropriately.  These guests don't "oversleep" or "forget the checkout time", and less dishware gets broken/goes missing, because they know there is a possible cost.  Also, someone else isn't empowered to arbitrarily decide if a guest gets a refund.

I have problems dashboard problems with every platform that I use, including my own website (e.g., Lodgify doesn't provide a maximum stay option or the ability to display a non-refundable rate).  For example, none of them offer any time frames other than daily or one time cleaning fee options.  

[Inna22]

@Debra300 I agree with you that the quality of the actual guests once they get here is better on average with booking.com. Pre-planning is a nightmare

[J-Renato0]

@Debra300 

I c what u mean ! 🙂

However this type of language does not get to my nerves.

I am not a millenial, but I have been using internet since a long time.

Many people does not know levels of formality and sometimes use this original ICQ or MIRC language... It is too old a form of language. I saw it firstly in the 1990`s.

The name of the old and famous messangers ICQ standed for "I seek you" 🙂 It was one of the first (easy to use) messanger to provide online conversation in real time. The name "I seek you" it was because depending on the settings, the ICQ users was able to see his relatives or friends when they were on line. However, MIRC existed long before.

The only thing that bothers me a lot about communication is when someone instead of asking, think they can give orders or put pressure.
This is what gets on my nerves. And this type of person can get get nothing from me.

It also bothers me when the person is ironic or does not respect others, etc.  This really bothers me and to this type of person I give my despise.

Better to read an email from someone simple and even naive than from an annoying person posing as an educated person.

[Cathie19]

@Debra300, all I can say from these red flags are:

“WARNING, warning Will Robinson..”

           and possibly

“No rooms are available”

           or 

“Run Forrest Run......”

[Esther700]

oy...this hurt me but I'm gen z so not much better, but I hope people reading the reviews look over the listing more clearly instead of complaining where they park, or how to get in etc. I have one time gotten locked into an airbnb that had a weird lock on it, and just to recall that is very embarrassing. 

Also, people in different countries or cities might have different setups than where you are. In NY there probably will be no parking, so its almost self-understood, that you need to park in the street, or some people are unaware about how parking works in the city. and Yeah I have seen people throw out towels that are dirty, but personally I try to leave the place as I left it (that one time better than we came to it)