Hi everyone,
I have been having a stressful time because of bad guest's reviews past few months.
Today my listing is eventually paused by Airbnb due to low rating. I have been hosting my house for more than five years, and it has been a rewarding experience. However, I recently hosted unusual and uncommon guests several times.
My house is 4 km away from Brisbane City, and the bedroom includes two king single beds, a built-in-wardrobe, small two-seat couch, one study desk and chair. I charge $45 one guest per night and $55 two guests per night.
The first bad review had left from the guests who tripped to Brisbane for business. He booked for one guest and arrived at almost midnight with two guests. I asked him to pay $10 surcharge for an extra guest, but, he initially refused to pay it. However, he eventually paid $10 because I only made one bed, and he needed one more bed for his colleague. He only stayed one night, and he gave me two stars with " This place is so so."
The second unpleasant review had left the guys who stayed one night to watch Rugby near my place. They were ok and didn't say anything to me. However, they gave me 3-stars with "Close to the city. Quiet location. Room large with comfortable beds. Overall stay was average". They also had left the private message to me like "Hi we are also super hosts and put a lot into a presentation at our property and what we offer our guests. The boys were disappointed in your overall presentation of your property. There was no milk for coffee. No TV."
On my listing, I mentioned that I don't provide coffee and tea, and there is no TV.
The very recent bad review had left the guests who booked for two people and turned up four people. Due to my absence, I met them the next morning, and I found I had more guests than I expected. I enquired it to the guests, and the guests replied my mum and sister slept the bedroom, and he, the person who booked my place, and his partner slept in the caravan which parked in my backyard. I explained to them they never mentioned about this before arrival and it wasn't fair to my other guests who supposed to assume a maximum of six people stayed at my house. They seemed not to understand and complained I wasn't kind and I was fussy compare than other hosts. Unlikely they explained, four guests spent time in the bedroom together and had a meal together at my house.
I called the help centre regarding this issue, and the staff recommended me not to talk to the guests anymore because the guests were upset and unhappy. In addition, the staff explained Airbnb would not consider this guest's review, and it will not affect my review because this was third party booking. However, it wasn't true. Today my listing is paused. I talked to the help centre and case manager for a few days, and finally, the case manager warned me not to mention or confront this issue any further.
I seriously think to remove all my listings from Airbnb and find the flatmates rather than hosting the guests and sacrificing all my efforts. I think hosting the valued guest was a rewarding job in the past, but, not anymore because they want to pay less and demand 5-star hotel facilities and service.
Is this only my typical experiences or opinions? Or do every host feel about the changes in the Airbnb community?
