Which comments most surprised you in guests' reviews?

[Huma0]

The good, the bad, the ugly... What took you by surprise and why?

[Kelly149]

This is cc at its highest and best use. @Huma0  has just solved one of @Robin4 ‘s most long-standing hosting mysteries. 

he is not his own grandpa and the portrait is a perfect answer. Good job Huma!

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 

See, don't ask Google Translate. Ask me!

🙂 🙂

[Kelly149]

You @Huma0 are a woman of many talents!

[Robin4]

@Huma0 

Yeah I know that Huma and that is no doubt what they meant but, it just came across as funny in the translation. 

The Chinese do regard elderly tall women with blonde hair as very beautiful. When we were in Beijing many of them wanted a photo taken of themselves with Ade in her wheelchair.....

Cheers........Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

Well, you are no doubt lucky then to have both a beautiful mum and a beautiful wife!

As much as some of the compliments get lost in translation, I guess we should just take them in our stride. I'm very glad to have 'cute seals'. If only I could find them and confirm their existence so that I could add them to my amenities...

[Robin4]

@Huma0 

That seal does look so cute, animals just get to you, I could not survive without an animal in my life.

Beauty is only skin deep and it requires far more to make a beautiful person but Huma, I have been so blessed to have beautiful women in my life, and it hasn't stopped there!

Have a look at how the grandies are shooting up! It seems no time at all ago that I held them as babies........

I am lucky to have been a part of this, I don't take that for granted.

Cheers........Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

Those are definitely little cherubs. Look at those eyes! Almost as cute as a seal's 🙂

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@Robin4 wrote:

@Huma0 

That seal does look so cute, animals just get to you, I could not survive without an animal in my life.

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I only got my cats a year or two after I moved to this house, but now I can't imagine living without them. They make me happy even when they are driving me crazy. Kind of like@Kate867 's obnoxious parrot!

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

And yes, I get it. How time flies...

 Check out the dude on the left.

Once upon a time I was changing this one's nappies (and his older brother's before that) and now he is travelling the world. I am definitely feeling my age!

[Kate867]

@Huma0  Love this post!  Seal pic is the best, eyes like my spaniels!  I can also brag that our cottage does have a waste disposal unit!  Don’t think it has ever been used though.

There are guests that leave what they think are fabulous reviews, and in complete ignorance of the damage they can cause … ie, ‘Had a wonderful stay etc, Kate gave us a free night because the water was out for a while.. (next guests try for a refund for whole stay because no WiFi for their last 24 hours)..  ‘Kate was wonderful at providing information and tips for the area (Next guests message constantly and are very needy)

My pet peeve and the most irritating thing though is our heating… clearly mentioned in our listing.. It is solid fuel (coal and log fire with back boiler linked into the radiators) Very detailed idiot proof lighting and maintenance instructions in the check in instructions, sent by message and also a hard copy in the cottage.  I have to call the plumber out frequently when a guest complains that the system pump must be broken as radiators not warming up.. they insist that yes the fire is lit, yes it is hot, yes they have followed the instructions.  Plumber drops everything, arrives and finds that yes the fire is indeed lit and made up to the size of about four tea light candles… ie not hot enough. … And you don’t want to get me started on the guest that arrived and could not find the fire in order to light it.  Me ‘In the living room’  ‘Guest’ I thought that was for decoration’.. Kudos to my Housekeeper who cleans so thoroughly that guests can’t believe it is actually supposed to be used!

My best guests ever were recent ones.  New to the platform it was their first Airbnb reservation, they asked questions if unsure about anything at all, left the place immaculate and left a tip for our Housekeeper … who was unsure if anyone had actually stayed.

[Huma0]

@Kate867 

Ah, well, I might have exaggerated when I said no one in the UK has waste disposal units, but I have never seen a home with one. Was it already there when you moved in or did you have it installed? My local council has a food waste collection/composting scheme so I don't see the need for one at all.

As for heating, yep I'm pretty sure that its the bane of many British hosts' lives. I specifically tell my guests not to touch the heating controls, but then I'm a live in host, so I can adjust as necessary. I hope your plumber is sympathetic because call out fees are not cheap!

It's also funny what guests think is for decoration. I have given up leaving fruit bowls for them as many guests assume they are for display. I've even had guests think the carafe of water and glasses I leave in their room are for 'decoration' rather than drinking from! Honestly, it's not a stage set.

One guest wrote that he felt like he was staying in a museum, which is not exactly the vibe I am going for, but he meant it in a positive way, i.e. that my house is full of old and interesting things.

[Kate867]

@Huma0  When we carried out extensive renovations we had a new kitchen and the waste disposal unit put in the small round sink in the utility area. The idea being to rinse plates off prior to going in the dishwasher …. Don’t think anyone has used it 🤣

[Huma0]

@Kate867 

Of the hundreds of guests I've hosted, those were the only ones that ever mentioned a waste disposal unit. I assumed that maybe it was a common thing in the USA, where these guests were from, but when I have asked other American guests about it, they told me it's not common there now either.

It's not something I've worried about as that particular couple were the most difficult and demanding guests I have ever hosted and by a long stretch. They even told me that the switches for the hallway lights should be in their bedroom, not the hallway, and the lady would literally scream at me if the lights upstairs were off when they got home, rather than turning on the switch that she is standing right next to.

She wrote the most ridiculous things in her review and feedback (review was actually cut off mid sentence because she exceeded the word count). It would take forever to list them, but a couple of examples are:

- The house was a building site and unsafe. Why? Because in my office area (which is not for guest use anyway but is in an alcove off the hallway, so is visible to them), I had my crafting tools, such as chalk paints and brushes and wallpaper samples, which I use for creating sets for my photoshoots. The house was already renovated, as you can see from the photos taken by an Airbnb photographer, and therefore verified, BEFORE these guests stayed. What business is it of theirs what I keep in my work space?

- The dining chairs were dirty because of the cats. The cats do not normally sit on those chairs. They are not dirty. They are vintage with a distressed paint finish.

Anyway, this lady was clearly on some kind of medication and consumed an insane amount of black coffee and sugar to boot. Who knows what she was seeing versus reality...

[Huma0]

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@Kate867 wrote:

There are guests that leave what they think are fabulous reviews, and in complete ignorance of the damage they can cause … ie, ‘Had a wonderful stay etc, Kate gave us a free night because the water was out for a while.. (next guests try for a refund for whole stay because no WiFi for their last 24 hours)..  ‘Kate was wonderful at providing information and tips for the area (Next guests message constantly and are very needy)

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Oh, and yes, this is another problematic one. I'd rather guests don't mention that I let them check in early or leave their bags etc. because I don't want to set that expectation. I think @Robin4 has also said in the past that he doesn't like it when guests mention 'extras' in the reviews as the point is it's supposed to be a nice surprise for the guests (undersell, overdeliver), not a promised amenity.

[Robin4]

@Huma0 

We have had our current guest, (a professor from Helsinki in Finland)  in to join us for a meal tonight.

We have had a lovely night, I have made a nice meal of Chicken, mushroom and leek pies cooked in white wine with potato and thyme, topped with puff pastry!

I love doing this dish because it does have a spectacular taste and I serve it with Parmesan smashed peas topped with a sprig of mint.

I often do a meal for guests and both Ade and I love it because we get to learn lots about our guests lives. I don't mind pulling a bottle or two of wine out because at the end of the night we each feel like we have found new friends for ourselves.

I don't put a cost on our hosting Huma, I put an experience on it but, I specifically tell guests not to make any mention of meals in the review process! I don't want any hint for future guests that there might be a meal on offer or a wine or two! 

To be honest there are some guests that I would not dream of preparing a meal for and the last thing I need is that 3 star review because the hospitality they expected did not eventuate.

I don't intrude on guests privacy and I play each hosting by ear, but if a guest is worth my time and effort I will give them an experience they won't forget in this lifetime!

Cheers........Rob    

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

Mmm, sound delicious!

Yes, exactly. There are some guests that I will cook or bake for, spend whole evenings chatting with, take as my +1 to some nice event etc, but none of these things are mentioned on my listing. 

Even though I socialise with most of my guests (they are here for long stays after all), for 'interaction with guests', I have chosen 'I give my guests space but am available when needed,' rather than 'I plan to socialise with my guests.' I don't want to set up the expectation that it's part of my job to entertain guests because every now and then, one comes along that expects too much in this regard.

There was one guest who would seek me out the minute she got home. Even if I was in the middle of cleaning, she would tell me to stop so that I could hang out with  her instead. She would even follow me to the toilet and wait outside so that I couldn't escape! It was suffocating.