What should I review a challenging guest?

[Joanna583]

I'm a bit torn on this one so I'm really hoping more experienced hosts can help me out!

Just for context, we're relatively new to airbnb but we've had 10 people stay so far and they have been really lovely!  Some have been more work than others but it's been a good experience so far!

We had someone come and stay who hadn't used airbnb before and she had a lot of questions, one of the lights was flickering once she'd checked in (we have a lot of different lights though,  so we apologised and said to use the second set of lights) and she had problems with the heating (she checked in about 9pm on Fri and my family sorted that out tho she called me and I felt very guilty I wasn't on site to help out!)

She then called me at 9am on Saturday to say the room wasn't hot enough (it's part of our house so on our houses system so we dropped off 2 oil radiators to keep her warm). She then called again because  she couldn't stop the shower running (it has to be moved so the knob sits in the middle of two shower head options), and then she called a seperate time because she couldn't find sugar (we provide tea and coffee but we didn't put sugar, so I brought some from our house and gave it to her). She also said our shower should have a non splip mat in case of falls (we got her one).

She was worried about the heating being off when she came home so we said we could turn the portable radiators on before she came back to warm the space up and she sent us a reminder to do that two of the three nights she stayed.

I'm struggling a bit because some of these were our problems and hopefully problems we can avoid in future (I'll get the space a large electric heater with a timer so they can control their heat easily, and leave in one of the large heaters too maybe?). It's difficult with the central heating as it's connected to the mains and my parents do leave the heat down a bit (but it was also October in the UK!).

I'm not sure how to review her, and I don't know if I'm just being a bit precious but I feel like 3 calls and 3 seperate issues before 10am on a Saturday is a bit excessive? She was never rude but I felt like she was very dissatisfied with the place and the airbnb experience (she kind of commented to someone who visited in my earshot that she was impressed they found our house so easily, and she asked me if we were really new to this... this all sounds really small but it just felt like she was just always dissatisfied)

Some of this is stuff my family and I can work on and we will keep trying to improve the experience and get solutions that work for everyone, but I don't want to misrepresent her as a guest to other people? How would you leave a review,  and am I just being a bit over sensitive? We live on site so we could help very quickly but I can imagine for hosts further away that could be difficult!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Joanna583 I would be more worried about sorting out the heating. Putting electric heaters in will cost a small fortune in bills that could be better spent heating the whole property with gas or even oil. We find people want our apartments quite warm compared to our house but luckily we have separate systems for the different properties running off a central boiler. Perhaps add TRVs to the house side so it is only the rental being warmer.

[Sarah977]

@Joanna583   No, you're not being precious. What you had was what one would term a high maintenance guest- can't manage to figure anything out for herself, needs constant hand-holding and attention, expects the host to be the equivalent of her personal valet, as if you don't have a life aside from attending to her every need at any given moment.

Something to keep in mind about guests like this, is that running around trying to please them and constantly apologizing doesn't appease them nor do they really appreciate it. It just makes them feel entitled to continue with demands.

And catering to them doesn't lead them to leave a good review- they will almost always leave a complaint-filled review because they see the world as an imperfect place that never measures up to their standards.

So if it's really something that needs your attention and that you really are responsible for, of course you need to attend to it, but don't feel like you need to drop everything you're doing and rush to their aid if it isn't urgent. "Oh, thanks for letting me know. I'm right in the middle of cooking dinner, but I'll come by in the morning and check out what might be going on with that light. In the meantime, just use that light switch by the door."

And yes, you should certainly make her behavior known to other hosts in the review. You can say something like, "A couple of the difficulties during this guest's stay were legitimately things we needed to attend to, however there were an abundance of phone calls asking to explain how to work things and to complain about things that none of our other guests have seemed to have had any issues or required assistance with." 

Of course, also mention any positives, like if she left her space clean, and followed  house rules, or checked in and out on time. 

[Joanna583]

@Sarah977 

Thank you - that's really helpful I appreciate you taking the time to reply on all those points too!

I'll use that and add in the positives as you mentioned so other hosts can keep her demands in mind if they accept a reservation from them!

Also thank you for the wording on how to respond when guests act as though they require everything done asap, I hadn't really encountered that before and was a bit stumped! Thank you, that's really helpful and appreciated! 🙂

[Laura2592]

@Joanna583 I would definitely review this guest in the following way:

"So and so was pleasant in communication but had a lot of questions about our space and required more attention than the average guest. Left our home clean (if true.) We would recommend her to hosts who are on site and able to provide her with additional items to ensure her comfort. We thank her for staying with us."

I would use this as an opportunity to update your house guides and rules. When you have a guest like this, it points out all the places where a nitpicker may gain traction in their complaining. Use this experience to iron clad your descriptions, guides and processes. That way you are prepared for the next one. Because they are out there. And you are right on target-- when we started hosting it was about one out of 10 guests who was painful.  So you have officially reached the tipping point!

[Hal3292]

@Laura2592I agree with your advice. We've used every guest's complaint to either fix a problem, make an upgrade, or provide explanations and instructions with greater clarity. 

I really like your proposed review for that high-maintenance guest! I've always hesitated to point out any guest's shortcomings in a review. Can you explain why it's important to do that?

[Sarah977]

@Hal3292 "I've always hesitated to point out any guest's shortcomings in a review. Can you explain why it's important to do that?"

What an odd question. Would you choose to go to a restaurant that had terrible reviews? Bad food, bad service? What do you think the purpose of reviews is?

Your reviews of guests are what your fellow hosts use to determine whether or not to accept a booking. If the guest left the rental a mess, or was entitled and demanding, it's something other hosts need to know.

Many hosts wwill come to this forum saying, " I just had the worst guest I ever hosted. They had 10 glowing reviews! What's up with that?"

That's because of hosts who don't leave honest reviews.

[Laura2592]

@Hal3292 I think its important to let people on both sides of the equation know what to expect. 

We are all so different. Our ideals, our properties, our likes and dislikes. Some hosts may find a chatty guest charming. Others may want to crawl out of their skin. Some guests may love a space where they are entirely left in privacy and can "play house." Others may be anxious or more extroverted and need a lot of contact to feel comfortable. Some people tolerate noise well, or even like it. Others can't sleep without dead silence. 

The point of any review is to present an accurate picture of the experience so that others can make decisions. Something that says "great guest" has zero value to me. Why are they great-- and are they really or you just couldn't be bothered? Same thing when I am reading reviews of a place I would like to stay. Is it quiet? Big? Old? Comfy? Remote? Busy? Well cared for? I need information. So I don't see something that says "this guest needed more attention than most" as calling out someone's flaws. I see it as information that will allow others to decide if its a good fit for their style of hosting and space. 

The only way this whole shebang works is if people are honest. Personally, the guest described in this thread would not be a fit for me. I would appreciate accurate info so that I could help this person find a better fit. No one wants to spend time and money on an experience that will make them miserable. 

[Joanna583]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate the wording and that's so helpful to manage it! Thank you! I'll also review processes and guides to avoid this happening again!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Joanna583 We are in house hosts, and we always ask guests to please tell us immediately if anything needs attention or if they need us to bring them something they cannot locate in their space. It is this personal service that makes for outstanding guest experiences and we are on the premises at all times when a guest is here. That is not only good sense but it is in the local STR ordinance, here, in the interest of public safety. I see you sorting this out as part of the changing of seasons in a chilly part of the world. It is a great opportunity to refine your hosting and personally I would be very grateful and appreciative of the guest communicating her needs and assisting with this process. I suggest you install a quality gas wall heater in there that the guests can control with a thermostat. Portable oil heaters are costly to operate but good in a small space like a bathroom and nice for the feet under a desk but it does take more than one to heat a large space. If you have extra electricity and it is not expensive then this might be a solution for the short run. Hosting is a learning experience and hospitality is our product. When you do the welcome and walk through in person with the guest it is a good time to explain the fun light switches. We have them too. I always offer to turn on the heater for our guests or the A/C ahead of their arrival  if they are returning from a day out and about. May all your guests bring you good experiences. I never cease to learn from them!

[Ann72]

@Joanna583 @Mike-And-Jane0  I feel like this discussion of how warm a room should or should not be is a recurring theme of British private life.  For Americans, the battle is pitched over the air-conditioner.  

[Helen3]

I would suggest you have a separate heating on Hive or similar which you can set so guests can set the temperature within certain levels say 19 - 24C. @Joanna583 

I have mine on a time so that it comes on at 8 a.m. and off at 10.30 p.m. 

I wouldn't bring additional heaters into the space, they take up room, are expensive to run and can be a fire hazard for example if the guest leaves clothes on them. 

If you are going to supply tea and coffee then yes you should supply sugar and a pint of milk or so.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Joanna583uh, this guest would drive any off-site host crazy so please leave an honest review

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Not to be critical, but I would think that an off site host would have this all worked out before opening for business or shortly thereafter. 

[Joanna583]

Thank you so much for all the feedback - this has been so helpful - and has given me good ways to both manage guests and to improve our airbnb (it's early days so we're still learning lots, but we're trying to keep our rate lower to accommodate for all the things we're learning as we go!) 

It's also been really helpful for me to know how to review a guest in the right way, when it's a balance of good and bad (I've been really lucky so far to not have to deal with that so helpful to be able to say good and bad too!). It's also been so useful for me to know how to respond to queries in a helpful way but without feeling the pressure to rush over and fix everything asap!

Really appreciate the time and support on the thread!