Need advice on leaving my first bad review

[Daeja0]

Hi all, 

Im fairly new to hosting and since my property is in a forest in a tiny town I’ve been blessed with decent respectful adult guests…until the 4th of July. 

I’ve been attempting to write a review about the party group of at least 6 super young guys that did some damage, and I’m not sure if this review I keep editing is too long or ok as is. 

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated. Here it is: 

A** booked my (4 max guests) cabin for 2 people over the holiday weekend. He had at least 6 people in his party. A** was flexible with checking in an hour later than normal to allow the cleaning crew enough time to clean between bookings. Late one night, a neighbor called & her exact words were, “your fire pit just exploded sky high & a bunch of kids are running around with floodlights”. She stayed up & kept an eye on the massive fire until it eventually went out to ensure it didn’t spread to the forest. My cleaning crew charged me an additional $100 on top of their regular fee because of the amount of time it took to clean the cabin, dry out/properly clean the soaked wood floor in bathroom and time spent attempting to salvage the fire pit. They reported to me that a few heavy wooden stump benches surrounding the fire pit were missing & the few that remained were partially burnt & charred. Since I am a fairly new remote host, I decided NOT to reach out to guest to request additional payment for the damages, extra cleaning expenses or extra guests. While I appreciate his flexibility & communication prior to stay, I do not recommend this guest to other hosts that have unchaperoned properties.

[Anonymous]

@Daeja0  Waaaay too long, too much information. Most of it just isn't useful to a host who's just trying to decide whether to accept a request.

What I glean from it that is relevant is that the group didn't use the fire pit responsibly, left you with an excessive amount of cleaning, and included unpaid and unapproved extra guests. That's it. You can delete the rest.

There's no need to compliment the guest's "flexibility" on the check-in time or enumerate the losses you absorbed due to the lack of local support. All that does is announce that you're easy to take advantage of. But once this review is out of the way, I hope you put some though into how you'll prevent these situations in the future - why  not have a local co-host to keep an eye on the place? If your poor neighbors report something dangerous happening at your place, how are you prepared to deal with it?

[Daeja0]

Thank you. This is what I needed to hear. It’s hard to detach yourself from a situation and turn it into simple bullet points. I have 2 friends close by who would be there in an emergency no problem. The neighbor that called to tell me what was happening was going to watch whatever was going on regardless of the situation. It’s her entertainment. I do have exterior cams & also watched the fire myself. That’s how I know the number of guests as well. The guest had multiple 5* reviews but later I rechecked those reviews & noticed all 5 are from the same host. Amateur mistake on my part. Thanks for all of your advice! 

[Anonymous]

@Daeja0   Please note that Airbnb requires you to disclose the cams in your listing: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3061/use-of-cameras-and-recording-devices

This can work in your favor, if knowing that you're monitoring the house deters guests from sneaking in extra people. But it can immediately get you banned from Airbnb if a guest reports cams that weren't disclosed. Don't wait another second to update your listing.

[Daeja0]

I’ve honestly been trying to add it to the listing for weeks now. When I click save after confirming that none are in private areas, I get a notification that pops up at bottom of page that says “Sorry, we can’t add that amenity right now. Please try again later.” I just tried again & the same thing happened. 

[Gillian166]

@Daeja0  make sure you take screenshots of this error message. 

[Richard531]

When I saw the length of your review, I couldn't bare to even begin reading it.  Resist the temptation to use this as a manifesto for speaking to the bad guest and making yourself feel better.  Take @Anonymous's advice and keep it brief and to the point. 

I would also add the first sentence "We would not host XYZ again."  This way future hosts know right out of the gate that they were bad guests.  

And don't be shy on docking the stars.  HIT THEM HARD IF THEY WERE TERRIBLE.  

[Kate867]

@Daeja0   I agree with @Anonymous that the review is far too long.  However, I also understand your rage and frustration.  On one occasion I wanted to leave a similar long review for some guests that broke just about every house rule we had.  I wrote my draft review first with what I actually wanted to say, then waited a few days to calm down before severely editing and posting.  A cool, calm, honest and professional review is essential for future hosts.   I do think you should be making a claim against this guest for any damages.  To not make a claim will let him know that this damage and behaviour is acceptable and will simply enable him to continue to do it with a different host.

[Daeja0]

Problem is I don’t have receipts for the bench things and I was nervous about making an extra payment request since the guest has yet to leave a review. I pay the girls that clean through Venmo usually and I don’t describe what the payments are for. I usually just use a random emoji, so also not helpful as far as cleaning bill proof. I think from that day 1 payment had a broom emoji & the second had a tp roll emoji. It’s all an experience & im quickly learning. 

[Christine615]

Stop worrying about a bad review. That’s a rookie mistake. Get estimates for replacing the stolen and damaged items and bill them in the resolution center. 

Then demand any bad review be removed as retaliation. 

“Guest held an unannounced party and with more then the max number of people indicated on the reservation.  During the event guest caused a major fire which damaged several items. Other items are missing. Unfortunately I can not recommend this guest.”

[Rhonda301]

I had a bad situation with a guest who flooded my house and AirCover  refused to pay. It’s a joke since they don’t pay you can try to get the guest to pay but know ABB may or may not back you up. I my case ABb wanted relocated them offered them a hotel stay but they declined. But they still denied the damages which to us was high. I’d ask for the extra cleaning see if you get it. Get the cleaners to give you a receipt. 

[Helen744]

@Daeja0 .the point is to make the person who stayed responsible for their actions and warn other hosts.The chance of getting any replacements are low but do try.H 

[Helen744]

Daejo , the point is not to charge them 'if they turn up with more' but to limit them to the actual booking . Talk to them and communicate before they arrive or you are in danger of attracting any thing that moves and having your house continually out of control. Maybe only advertise the accomodation and not the ten acres.H

[Helen744]

@Daeja0 I would say ' these are not people I could ever host again . Damage was caused to my home " and then give them low stars all round and add 'will not host again'      Attempt to contact them for the theft of your benches or the burning of them either through Airbnb or through the police and ask for replacement value from the guest. then in the future make sure you know exactly who is in your house via asking for all ids and rejecting under twenty fives. Ans as Andrew0 remarked enlist the neighbours and possibly cameras. H

[Daeja0]

I have exterior cams but it’s a 10 acre property so only have main structures covered. Town doesn’t have police. The closest station is an hour away. After this kids stay I made a few changes to my listing to cover myself so I am able to charge now if they show up with more than 4, added fire pit rules & a few other things.