They came, they stayed, they left.

[Kia272]

We exchanged pleasantries the evening of their arrival. I made clear that I was available to them if they needed anything or had any issues. 

Not a peep out of them during their stay. 

They left the cabin neat and clean, however they did use EVERY towel in the house. This was two adults who arrived late Friday and left Sunday morning. I don't really care, because laundry is laundry, but 8 full size towels, the same number of hand towels, and about 6 washcloths. I thought it was a bit weird. 

Rating: Overall 4

Private feedback: 

We did enjoy our stay, mostly due to the environment. It was way more than we expected. The house was nice, not the peaceful quiet, "cabin in the woods" we were anticipating. The neighbors were loud, dogs barking and fireworks at 11 at night just took us right back to being at home in Pittsburgh, but that is nothing that you can control. The living room windows do not appear to be able to be locked. Not sure if that is something to be concerned with up there, but again we are city folks and we feel safer if our doors and windows can be locked. Thank you!

Every tiny instance of noise possibility is detailed in my listing. Seriously: roosters, dogs barking, road noise, neighbors shooting guns, neighbors close by. (not fireworks, but whatever...)

I also do not pretend to be a "cabin in the woods." I am very detailed about how close the cabin is to the road, and illustrate that in pictures and words. 

My living room windows DO lock, and also have those security clicker things so the window won't go up more than about 4 inches. No other guest has had a problem with the windows. 

The it gets better:

Accuracy-3

Cleanliness-3

Communication-4

Location-3

Value-3

Check-in-5

I have been hit a couple times with 4 in value, but nothing else below 5 in any other category. Guests frequently comment on how clean the cabin is. I do the cleaning myself, so I know what's been done and how it's been done. Nothing different for this stay than any other stay. 

I left them a good review, because they were "good" guests. 

I'm just not feeling good today, so this hit me harder than it should. Oh well....live and learn. You can't please all of the people all of the time. 

Happy hosting, people. 

[Sarah977]

@Kia272  Ugh. Sorry for you. Did you private message them back, pointing out that everything they complained about is clearly decribed in the listing info, which they obviously didn't bother to read? I sure would. 

Guests like this need to slapped upside the head or they're going to do this to more hosts.

[Kia272]

@Sarah977 Thanks, I did. Calmly and pleasantly, I hope. I made clear that everything she mentioned in private feedback was detailed in the listing. At that time I hadn't seen the category details. 

As I said, no contact from them at all. I feel that she was really unfair. Oh well.....

[Colleen253]

Well no surprise they couldn’t figure out the windows locked..zero ability to pay close attention to anything obviously, as also demonstrated by their complete inability to read, comprehend, and make note of anything on your listing.Just be glad you have it way more together than folks like that, @Kia272 

[Kia272]

@Colleen253  thanks so much. 

[Laura2592]

@Kia272 sounds like you ran into my guests. Sorry you had this experience. 

The only thing I would really take umbrage at was the cleanliness. Did they give any feedback on that? When we have been dinged I really do try and look out for whatever the guest says was lacking. Sometimes its just an OCD guest but every now and again there is something to be learned. 

As far as accuracy, I would chalk that up to a guest having a mental image that didn't match reality, not your lack of information. I have the same problem when people want my space to be really isolated-- it isn't. It definitely has the feel of "another world" at times but there are visible neighbors. For an "off the grid" expectation, we will fail. And many of our guests are "city folks" who honestly just want to live out some reality TV fantasy for a weekend where they pretend to commune with nature (as long as there are no insects). Camping would be a better idea but they need Netflix!

I am trying a new approach with this and have started creating infographics for my listing. People don't read but they do like pretty pictures. I just did one on capacity and am working on some for house rules and a property map showing how close neighbors are. Maybe its something to think about.

As for windows not locking, eh, they are the anxious type. Perhaps a hotel is a better fit-- they can know exactly what to expect: windows sealed to cut down on liability. A front desk you can call about noise. A poorly paid housekeeper to pick up after you and re-clean whatever doesn't meet your standard. 

[Kia272]

@Laura2592 Yes- I do take umbrage at the cleanliness. No mention of that during their stay, or details in the feedback. 

I'm well aware that it's an old cabin with years of "patina" in many places. There are old finishes that can't be removed, as well as dark corners, floors that need to be refinished, etc. That's why I go above and beyond to make it as clean as it can possibly be. I have NEVER had a complaint or less than 5 stars (except for my one crazy person with 1s across the board.)

I do think it's a case of a mental image that didn't match reality, but I feel that I've painted a very good picture of reality in my listing, so that's on her. 

Oh well, not much to do at this point. 

**And I actually  DID have one of your guests two weekends ago. I saw that when checking her reviews. Lovely people. 

[Laura2592]

@Kia272 yes! I just saw that when I looked at your reviews.  They were very sweet. One of the first few we had I think....back when I was far less jaded lol.

[Mei-and-John0]

Hello @Kia272  - I’m new to Airbnb and am reading your post with fascination. Why won’t Airbnb allow a host to remove that one aberration as it’s clearly wrong?  The other question is how do you see the review score by a guest, and especially the detailed one?  Thank you. 

[Kia272]

Hi @Mei-and-John0  Well.....AirBnB's take on things like this is that guests are entitled to their opinions. There are very few things that can be used to get a review removed, and actually, even though this was difficult to take, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. They could have given me a 1 overall, with 1s in every category, because that might have been their opinion. 

I understand that AirBnB can't really censor based on how "fair" a host feels a review may or may not be. 

Only profanity, and a few other things are grounds for having a review removed, and it's very tough even then. You have to be prepared for a fight. 

When you go to your Performance dashboard and click on Quality, there are sub-categories. If you click on Overall Quality, you'll see your recent reviews. If you click on Read More, a pane comes up on the right side of the screen. It will show you the review, private feedback (if any), and how a guest rated you in the sub-categories. 

That's how you look at all that stuff. Overall, the host dashboard is not very intuitive, but if you just keep clicking on stuff, you'll get it figured out. 

Good luck with your hosting venture! 

[Michelle53]

@Kia272  I recently had a guest give me a 4 overall and 3 for accuracy, which I was a bit concerned about. Mostly this guest's issues appeared to be around the number of beds and maximum occupancy.

I have a regular double bed, a double futon, and a single daybed with trundle that pulls out to make a regular bed, with a regular mattress (albeit a bit low to the ground).     My photos clearly show all that. 

My guest insisted in his review that "technically" there are 3 beds and the place sleeps 5.    Well, "technically", the place sleeps 6 - two couples, two singles.  City regulations determine maximum occupancy by square footage, so my maximum occupancy is 4. 

Although the futon is in the "living area",  I started leaving it made up all the time after putting a mattress topper on it, which is very hard to take off and store. So, "technically" the guest is correct - there is actually no "living area" if one was looking for a sofa and a couple of recliners - but my photos are (I thought) self evident. 

Guest's other issue seemed to be that the space isn't suitable for "large parties" (no, definitely not, by design) and best suited to folks being out most of the time (yes, also by design).     

The living area issue appeared to stem from the two unregistered guests that came over one night to visit.  He had originally booked for two people, and one was a no-show, that I refunded him on, so he should have been staying alone. 

I did, however, go and make a few adjustments to my wording to try and make things as clear as possible.

Now and then, there just is one like that.

The guest right after that apparently couldn't write a review independently, and took language from this guest.    Also a 4, mainly because it rained while they were here, and things were dark and damp.

Unfortunately, things will be dark and damp when it's raining, but my space is most definitely not damp.  When it's dark and rainy out, most people would just switch lights on. 

[Kia272]

@Michelle53  I guess we all get them, but this was my first. I think people see what they want- location, price, etc.- and make up the rest to suit their ideal. 

I would happily tweak my listing details if I thought I could do any better, but so far, the people who actually pay attention seem to get it. 

I'm also open to criticism. We're all human and we make mistakes. If she had pointed to something and it WAS dirty, I would have apologized profusely and promptly cleaned it. It's a lose-lose situation because you can't fix it if you don't know it's broke. 

I do know that about a month ago, I realized that I care just a little bit less. Not about having a nice property, but about how I get rated. People will be people and I'll never be able to fix that, so acceptance is the only way to move forward. Venting helps though....

Here's to future great guests! 

[Laura2592]

@Kia272 

I do know that about a month ago, I realized that I care just a little bit less. Not about having a nice property, but about how I get rated. 

It happens and I think its healthy. I don't check every one of my reviews anymore. I read the forward facing and look to see if my overall score went down on my listing. But I don't dig into categories or check behind each guest. 

I am burnt out on people with absurd expectations. I just don't have the energy. 

[Kia272]

@Laura2592  I know, right?? Maybe now I'll be a little less judge-y about other hosts with less than perfect ratings, lol. 

I'll calculated that I'll be going from a 4.97 to 4.96. Big whoop. 

Good thing that check-in to the "cabin from hell" was highly rated, lol. 

[Michelle53]

@Kia272  I had a lovely, very appreciative guest right after that, here to run the Marathon, and she had a really great time. So those things, annoying as they are, do fade into obscurity.