What to do about the Review?

[Terri38]

I had 2 guests check in for 3 nights. The booking was several days earlier (not an instant book). They seemed pleasant enough but there was something 'off' about them. They returned to their car 10 minutes later, came back and said there was a family emergency and they would have to leave but would not cancel.

I assumed we would both take the logical approach and not leave a review.  Nope.  The day after supposed check out, she leaves a review (obviously not visible yet). 

How should I respond?
"X and Y were booked for 3 nights but 10 minutes after arrival, they left citing a family emergency." is all I can think of.  But what about the star ratings?
At least by posting that bland review, I have the opportunity to respond to theirs - and if I think  it necessary, to copy and paste mine into that reply.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Lawrene0]

I like it, @Terri38 . I think that wording does the trick. As to stars, they didn't mess the place up, is that right? Communicated okay. Followed the house rules for 10 minutes. So I would say 5 stars. 

[Colleen253]

@Terri38  That's odd for sure. Did they not come back at all?  Have you received your payout? 

[Linda108]

I would hold off for a few days to see if they decide to ask for a refund or just let it ride.  If they did just have a family emergency, it is possible they will qualify for EC policy.  Any honest review would include their change of mind.  

[Helen350]

@Terri38 I suspect that their odd behaviour stemmed from not reading the listing description carefully enough, & then checking in & finding your place other than what they had expected. Hence the 'odd'.

- I reckon if it was genuinely a family emergency, they wouldn't have checked in at all, but phoned or messaged to cancel, or you'd have heard the phone ring & them answer appropriately.......

I'd give them 5* for cleanliness & house rules, cos they weren't around long enough to transgress, but I'd mark them down on communication for the way in which they presented & then left... (If I'd been summoned to a sick or dying relative, or the house on fire at home, I'd say so, to let the host know I wasn't spurning them or their home...)

I've only experienced anything like that once... I welcomed a couple in, we had 15 mins chat over tea, all cordial, then I showed them their room upstairs. At once I could hear the wife wailing, they then came downstairs & the husband said "It's not you, she's got a problem." The wife said she didn't know I had stairs & she struggled. But I think there was more to it than that.... Maybe my place was too ramshackle & lived in? Their reviews on the rest of their trip showed satisfaction with new, white, boxy, entire places..... 

[Ute42]

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@Terri38 

As @Helen350  I do not believe that there was a family emergency.

How often do family emergencies occur that are severe enough to abort a holiday? Maybe once in 5 years, depending on the size of the family?

A year has 365 days. 5 years = 1825 days = 43800 hrs = 2628000 minutes. How likely is it that a family emergency occures within a 10 minute timeframe around check-in time? Well, the chance is 0.000380517503805175 %. I don't buy that – there was something else.

You have 14 days to leave a review, wait if they play the extenuating circumstances cancellation card.

If they do, leave them my post as a review.