Should I not review this guest at all?

[Inna22]

This guest had a truly awful review from a previous host (thank you, that host for the warning!). 
I had a conversation with him about my rules and was a nervous wreck the whole stay. 
The guest clearly tried very hard to follow my rules. He fell just a little short. I don’t think it is five stars. Rather solid four. However I hate to leave a less than perfect review because he clearly tried so hard and I don’t want to discourage him. He did not do anything that would warrant a warning to others: a little rough communication, just a little late checking out, house just a little messier. 
Should I leave 4 stars, five with a private message or nothing?

[Leiloni0]

Leave the review you think the guest deserves. Make it clear the guest tried to abide by the rules and what he could’ve done better. The next host will have to make a decision on whether or not to host. 

[Nina75]

LEave a review but start off with the good points instead of starting off with the bad.

[Helen427]

@Inna22 
Leave a review, and send him a Private message about the other issues.

Some Guests are like that and usually grow out of those stages in life.

I've had a few like that and just brushed it over as they kept their mess in their room and left it clean when they left.

[Emilia42]

@Inna22 

I would leave a review and say basically just what you said here:

"I spoke with XX before booking about his previous poor review and felt okay with his reservation. XX put forth the effort to clean up and was responsive to my requests and house rules but he was a little late checking out and communication fell a little short. Future hosts should be clear with expectations. Overall a good stay with no damage."

3-4 stars all around.  Then give him specific private feedback and hope he's slowly improving. 

[Brian2036]

@Emilia42 :

Ditto.

Keep in mind that for some people “prompt” means +/- 12 hours. Or if they hail from mañana-land, a day or two. (Unless of course it inconveniences them personally.)

As a military academy graduate I have no sympathy for this but I frequently have to try to deal with it.

That said, I think we would all appreciate it if you gave a reduced rating and noted that future hosts should be prepared to deal with someone who has little respect for their time.

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  I think Emilia's suggested review would be perfect. As he obviously tried to be a good guest and wasn't particularly problematic, even though that review isn't 100% positive, it does him a service by counteracting that bad review, which would make it more likely for him to be accepted in the future. I'd feel like I kind of owed it to him, as he made a noticeable effort.

[Kelly149]

@Inna22 Its ok. No one thinks a 4 is a bad review. & hotel/property manager types won’t even check. Write some version of @Emilia42 ‘s suggestion. The guest will never know what the stars are anyway. And plus, if he went from really terrible to mostly ok, then that’s at least an upward trajectory 

[Helen427]

@Inna22  Maybe think as a parent how you would feel if you read what you write if he was your child, both now and in years to come.

From time to time I think about some of the things I saw when I had an in home role in others homes and the stories I could tell, but won't.

Whilst some things need to be said, there's also some things that are best left private.

[Anonymous]

@Inna22  I see that you've just been advised to treat reviewing a guest as though the person came directly from your womb. I'm certainly not going to second that advice, but I had to make a mental note that this is a great idea for a comedy sketch. Imagine what Key & Peele would've done with that. 

I don't have anything to add to Emilia's suggestion, since it was pretty much perfect - it directs ample attention to past mistakes while also suggesting a continuum in which progress may or may not have been made, so future hosts can have the context to make the right decision. 

If you're unsure about what to write, just ask yourself what you wish you'd known before deciding whether to accept this guest, and what info could have better prepared you for how it turned out. That would be pretty straightforward and professional. Imagining yourself as the guest's mom? Yeah, no. 

[Sarah977]

 "Such a nice boy. A bit messy perhaps, pizza on the couch cushions and such, but then those youngins need some time to learn how to clean up after themselves, you really can't expect anything like that from boys under 40, and by that time they're usually married and their wives do that, so it's not really something they ever need to concern themselves with.

And then they have such an active social life, what with the texting, Whatsapping and all, it's just hard for them to find the time to respond to hosts' messages.

And you know how spontaneous the youth are- it's a bit much to expect them to be able to give an accurate arrival time. He did say please and thank you, so I know his mama raised him right, and that's good enough for me to highly recommend him".

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 :

LMAO. Perfect.