Reviewing a Less than Perfect First time AirBNBer

[Stephanie365]

I just had a couple stay for two nights. They were first time AirBNBers, so I made sure to review the obvious points with them. They didn't get it quite right. How much leeway would you give them since they were first time guests?

The communication for booking was great, except they didn't inform me they were driving separately. They're both from the same town 4 hours away so I didn't think to specifically mention it during booking. I DO mention it in my listing and in my photos that I have room for one car. Street parking isn't an option either. Made for fun times in a shared driveway, but we survived.

After they left, when I came in to clean, the kitchen was... unacceptable. They used every dish, glass, pot and pan and didn't wash any of them. Just piled them in the sink and when the sink got full, the overflow went on the counters.  I schedule-message my guests the morning of check out, thanking them for staying and asking them to review my check out instructions in my welcome manual. Guest acknowledged my message. My check out instructions ask guests to wash their dishes off to deter critters (insects) and not leave food remains lying around.  The rest of the house was neat.

There was a beverage spill on my sofa. I ask guests not to eat or drink colored beverages in my living room (clear liquids are OK). This is in my house rules and posted on the refrigerator for this very reason. I messaged the guest asking in a non-confrontational way if they could tell me what was spilled so I would know what cleaning products to use. I was told they drank coffee on the sofa. (face palm)  She claimed she wasn't aware they spilled anything, but I verified with my "before" photos that the stain absolutely was not there 2 hours before they checked in.

I'm thinking 3* for cleanliness (kitchen mess and spill) and 4* for House Rules (coffee in the living room, 2 cars, not cleaning dishes per check out instructions) and 4* for communication (not telling me about the 2nd car).

"J--- and M--- were first time AirBNBers and while they were good guests, they didn't quite get it right. I was disappointed to find a kitchen full of dirty dishes, pots and pans and a coffee spill on my sofa. They were otherwise quiet and the rest of my home was well cared for."

In private communication, I'm thinking they should know that leaving dirty dishes everywhere is rude, and that when a couple books a guest suite in a shared home, hosts won't expect two cars and they should communicate this with their hosts going forward.

Thoughts?  Am I too hard in the review? Too generous?

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie365  I would review them exactly as you would review any guest. I wouldn't give them a pass for any of what you mention just because they are newbies- everything you mention was clearly explained to them in the listing info, personally by you, and in the house manual. They just chose to ignore it.

[Laura2592]

@Stephanie365 How about:

"I am pleased that so and so chose my space for their first time on Airbnb. They were pleasant to communicate with but extra clean up was needed after check out. House rules needed some additional attention. I wish them well."

Then give your private feedback on the specifics. I would probably do a 2 on cleanliness based on what you described. The 2 cars and living in the same town screams "affairBnB" to me lol. 

[Pat271]

I give some leeway to first-time guests who don’t quite get everything right.

The purpose of reviewing guests is two-fold: 1) to help other hosts with expectations, and 2) to educate guests on proper guest etiquette. First-time guests sometimes need to be educated on the difference between a short-term, individually-owned rental and a hotel. They sometimes truly haven’t thought about the importance of not leaving food messes, checking out on time, etc.  They behave as if they have rented a hotel room.

Hotels are often fairly forgiving of minor infractions. After all, in a hotel there isn’t typically a kitchen, dishwasher, washer/dryer, etc. to help keep things neat, and the maid can “come back later” after she does the room next door if the guest is a little late. There isn’s usually this kind of latitude in a short-term rental.

For these reasons, if a first-time guest wasn’t perfect but also wasn’t horrendous, I tend to leave a short, positive review mentioning the things I liked about the guest (there’s usually something!). I see no reason to punish the guest in public when, even though they may know they are skirting the House Rules a bit, they may not be fully-educated about why the rules are important.

I also try not to be vague in what I write. I have had to contact hosts before to try to understand their vaguely worded reviews that are slightly insinuating. Multiple hosts having to do this shouldn’t be necessary.

However, in the private review, I am much more detailed about the shortcomings I find. I don’t chastise the guest, but rather explain to them why the rules are there, and that I’m trying to help them avoid a less charitable review by another host. I find most guests take this well, and may actually improve their habits for subsequent hosts.

Helping guests to evolve trumps making them angry and defensive to the point where they may not want to use the platform again. Improving guests are better than no guests.👍🏼

[Laura2592]

@Pat271 I will play devil's advocate.

If house rules and expectations are clear, and the host seasoned, why should a first time guest get more of a pass than other guests? Presumably they can read. 

Hotels can afford to be more generous. They don't review guests. 

What if a guest is not "new" and has stayed at a lot of Airbnbs, but always booked under a different profile and does not have any reviews of their own? I thought my last guest was a newbie, but in her review, she states that she loves Airbnb and uses them everywhere. She has zero reviews, mine was the first. So maybe no one ever reviewed her or she stayed when someone else booked. I almost wrote in my review what a great first time guest she was-- she wasn't a first timer. 

I agree with @Sarah977 . All guests are new to your space unless they are regulars who have been back over and again. They all get the same info. They should be reviewed the same way. No free passes for mess makers, rule breakers and coffee spillers.  No need to blast them-- specific feedback that might help them can be private-- but other hosts may want to know if their turnover will take extra time or if the rules are ignored. 

I personally don't see it as part of my job to help a guest "evolve." I provide a space with a number of amenities for a published cost. The guest agrees to pay that cost, have access to that space and amenities, and abide by any terms of use during that time. If all my rules are clear, that should make it easy for the guest to get a good review. Just like if I provide what I say I will, it should be easy for me to get a good review from the guest. Because the rules are different in each listing, what is acceptable in mine may not apply to others and vice versa. Therefore any guidance I give the guest applies only to when they stay with me. How they behave elsewhere really is apples and oranges. 

We can rate on 3 categories. New or an old pro to Airbnb, all guests get the same evaluation from me on those categories. The bar isn't that high for 5 stars. 

[Sarah977]

@Pat271  I have forgiven some transgressions by newbie guests if I clearly perceive that they were simply clueless about something. My second guest ever arrived alone (I only host one guest at a time), went off to town that evening, I never heard her come in that night, and emerged from her room in the morning with a guy. 

She very openly, innocently, and happily right away said "Good morning, Sarah, I'd like to introduce you to my friend XX". When I was obviously taken aback and said but I only host one guest at a time and you booked for one, the expression on their faces and demeanor made it quite obvious that she hadn't been trying to pull a fast one, she just didn't realize that she couldn't choose to share a room with someone unless it was booked like that.

They were very sweet young folks, and I ended up letting him stay and didn't regret it. I did not mention it in the review, but explained to her that guest counts can't exceed the max listed, that one has to book for the number of people who will be staying, and that she could receive a really bad review, or have her booking immediately cancelled if she did this again.

But in this case, leaving every pot and pan and dish you have used during the stay dirty is extremely disrespectful to start with, even if one is not instructed to wash the dishes, which in fact was a check-out requirement stated in the house manual. Which they ignored. I don't see that as a newbie misunderstanding.

That guest and her boyfriend did not need to be told to clean up after themselves in the kitchen after preparing a meal, expecting me to wash their dishes, just because they were newbies. They did it without being asked to, because that's how respectful people behave.

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977  right? I feel like leaving a load of dirty dishes behind is something you mom told you not to do at age 10. Hosts should not have to put up with that. We do have a specific rule in our check out instructions that no dishes are to be left in the sink, and that if you don't want to run the dishwasher before you go, fine, but put any dirty dishes there. 

I think most hosts are pretty patient with first time guests who may be clueless about how this all works. I would never say "Guest emailed me 10 times before check in with questions because they were new to the platform and it was too much" in a review even if it was a lot to deal with. But leaving a mess and totally disregarding rules that are clearly stated are grounds for an honest review no matter how many places they have stayed. As I say, you never know if they really are "new" and this sounds like lack of consideration more than ignorance. 

[Mark116]

@Stephanie365  I might forgive the car issue, lots of people who come from 'you can park anywhere' areas have a tough time understanding parking limitations.  We've had many guests roll in at 11pm thinking they will find a giant space in our dense urban neighborhood that they can get into with their zero parallel parking skills.

Leaving every dish and pan in the house filthy and in the sink is another matter.  That is rude, period.  A reasonable person at the very least, if they weren't sure it was okay, would ask 'hey, we did a lot of cooking and weren't sure what is your process on the dishes..'

I might suggest though that instead of referring guests to the house manual for check out procedure, you list it out in the email, it eliminates one more step for the guest to take.

[Kelly149]

@Mark116 we had guests arrive once with more vehicles than people... how is that even possible? Well, they were headed to a car show, with project cars in trailers. Those folks and the ones who thought they'd arrive via giant U-Haul are why I very specifically ask what is being driven over.

[Kelly149]

@Stephanie365 yes, not great, and for me these things would be closer to a 3* than a 4* BUT everything that could be missed I specifically communicate: at booking, at arrival, at pre-departure, etc. And by communicate, I don't mean it's in the listing (it is) or that it's in the house manual (it is), but that it also needs to go in direct communication in the thread that they have to see... way too many things, just get buried by abb...

"Dear Guest, we have you down for arrival at 4pm on Friday, 12/10. 2 Guests, 1 Vehicle. Your parking space is marked by xxxxx. We expect you to treat the space with care by..... and ....... Please reach out if you need me during your staty at xxxxxxx. Your departure is no later than 10am sharp on Sunday, 12/12. Please plan for xxx and xxxx and xxxx. We're looking forward to hosting you!"

With ABB guests, assumptions of appropriate social norms are simply disasters waiting to happen.

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149 no one cam remember that there are norms or manners these days. Micromanagement seems the only way to go. 

[Kelly149]

True... and every single space is different, that's part of the charm, right?, so we have to remember that what seems a given to us is never that clear to guests (unless we explicitly make it so). And ABB hides some pretty darn important stuff, so for what needs to be known, then that's on us, not the listing and not the guest's prior house training. IMO, a guest clearly disrespecting info they've directly been told is a way more egregious offense than a guest missing the fine print or what we expected them to do. And I agree with you, @Laura2592 , new guest/old guest matters none in the equation. Everyone old enough to travel independently knows that your cabin, or my barn or @Stephanie365 's guest suite isn't the Marriott. And frankly the difference btwn a 3* or 4* review on a guest profile probably matters very, very little. ABB gave us the review system, and we shouldn't be afraid to use it. It's morally neutral to say someone didn't do a good job & guests do it to hosts day after day for much less than this.

[Stephanie365]

Thanks everyone.

Definitely getting 3* in the cleaning department. 

Going to keep it short and sweet.

"J&M were polite, quiet and communicated well, but the kitchen was left in an unacceptable state requiring additional cleaning efforts. The rest of the house was left in good shape. I was happy to hear they enjoyed their weekend getaway."