Newbie here. Bad review for smell

[Bertha62]

I’m new to hosting, and got a bad review for smell of marijuana (no smoking allowed at the house), so I don’t really know what to do.

Here are the specifics:

When guest num.1 checked out, I went to the place to clean it. Felt a slight smell, couldn’t say of what... asked my husband, he disregarded it, so Didn’t think of it again. Cleaned the place and left it ready for guest 2. Gave guest 1 a 5-star rate, they gave me 5-stars back. Everything was fine.

When guest number 2 checked out, I cleaned the place, gave a 5-star rating and was surprised to receive a 3-star back, along with a review stating that the smell of marijuana was unbearable, and even gave a 1-star for value because of that. (This guest is also a host, according to Airbnb).

I’m literally 5 days old in this business, so I don’t know what to do. I know this 3-star rating is going to hurt, and if guest num 1 really did smoke in the house it goes against my house rules but I’ve already given 5stars... 

Please advise me.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bertha62 A few thoughts

1) You must respond to the poor review carefully as this is what people looking to book will see. If you post the review text that you got people will suggest how to reply. Key is to be honest and not come across as being in denial of an issue.

2) A few 5 star reviews will get your average up to a reasonable level fairly quickly

[Bertha62]

I kind of panicked and answered already.

Here is the text, for feedback anyway, that way I can learn from my mistakes:

Their review:

Cute property with fruit trees and a trampoline. Plenty of space to play and roam outside. The creek is especially cute.

Unfortunately the smell of marijuana made it nearly unbearable to be in the house.

My answer:

I am very sorry and apologize for the bad experience with smell at the house.

Smoking of any kind is not, and has never been allowed in the property, as this is not only a place where we welcome guests, but also a place where we as a family with a toddler like to spend our time. 

We are new to hosting and don’t know how to enforce those house rules other than trusting the people that we welcome in our house *this paragraph was meant to be left out, but it got to the final answer, another mistake*

A professional cleaning service will be hired and  rest assured that I will be more careful with the enforcement of house rules and cleanliness.

Thank you for your feedback.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bertha62 I think your response should demonstrate to guests that you care about cleanliness. Lets hope future guests leave good reviews your first guests did.

[Jim472]

If you care about being a superhost, start over. If not, roll with it. The fairly quickly  mentioned before is actually 18 consecutive 5 star reviews to get you to the 4.8 superhost minimum. 

[Ute42]

.

Actually, she needs only nine 5* reviews to get to required 4.8 superhost-criteria to make up for the one 3* review.

[Bertha62]

Yes, I was looking forward to become a superhost... fortunately the place is pretty booked, I hope I can get those 5* reviews to lever for this.

[Jim472]

Tok true, my bad for not reading through. I saw one star and did the tl;dr. Your math is correct, she needs only 8 consecutive 5* reviews. That might get done in a reporting period. Sorry I didn't read through to the end. 

[Anonymous]

@Bertha62 It will drive you crazy to dwell on star ratings, I don't recommend putting too much attention on that. But the guest's comment is going to loom in people's minds as they consider booking your place, so you should probably post a response addressing it. Unfortunately, if weed is illegal in your country, you'll have to be very careful about how you address the topic. 

[Bertha62]

That’s the issue. This property is in Washington state, so perfectly legal here.

To make matters worse, there is a big shop that guests pass by only three minutes before arriving to the house, so I’m afraid this might happen again.

I’ve included in the check-in directions a “friendly reminder that smoking of any type is not allowed” in the section where they will be passing close to the CBD store. Not sure it will be effective, though.

[Sarah977]

@Bertha62  What seems off to me is that you say you detected a "slight smell" when you went in to clean, but couldn't really identify it. Unless you have a poor sense of smell, if it was really that strong, you probably wouldn't have just not given  it more thought- I imagine you know what marijuana smells like. Yet the guest characterized the smell as "unbearable"? That seems a bit over-dramatic.

If you live a 3 minute walk from a CBD store, the smell could possibly just be wafting over. And since you live where it's legal, anyone can stand outside and smoke a joint or vape and the smell could waft in- your previous guest may not have smoked in the unit at all.

I'd suggest you put a disclaimer to that effect in your listing, that it is legal where you live, that there is a CBD store 3 minutes away where a slight odor may travel from, and you can't be held responsible if  guest should catch a whiff.

And BTW, if you don't want anyone vaping inside, you should state that specifically in your ad- no smoking or vaping. Because vaping isn't smoking at all- there is no smoke involved, only water vapor and the smell of whatever they may be vaping.