Guests suggested my Central London room is too expensive for the night!

[Ben253]

I've been lucky, truly I have, to have mostly wonderful guests. Although every now and then something comes along that really annoys you...

Allow me to set the scene; I had two guests arrive on Wednesday. They seemed nice enough; communication was good; they did neglect to tell me they were running 5 hours late and when I asked where they were they only then informed me that they had stopped for coffee and would be a further hour and a half. I spent all morning indoors waiting for them when I could have been having quality time with my son and after learning that they would not be arriving until after 1700 left the keys in my local safe place. Their original arrival time was 0830; they apparently collected the keys after 1700, but no sweat - that's why I have a safe space, even though I prefer to check guests in myself! 

The guests and I only met on their check out two days later - they more or less had the apartment entirely to themselves during their stay, which for two nights in central London cost them £91 including all cleaning fees. 

So now to the reason I am irritated; they left a glowing review, but in the private feedback has told me that it is 'expensive for a room in an apartment'.. I am truly, truly miffed. This area does NOT have cheap hotels (an average of around £100 a night) They had an apartment to themselves, with heating on constantly, a seamless check in and complained it is too expensive? I feel like I am missing something! Especially as they are from Canada, and I have noticed that their Airbnb accomodation is all EXCRUCIATINGLY expensive; I actually booked a hotel for my trip as it is worked out considerably cheaper.

Thankfully I am in the midst of hosting two absolutely lovely guests but this is still niggling at me. I almost feel like my home ihas been cheapened! I take pride in offering a wonderful place to stay, I keep it super clean and homely and guest ready at all times and so to be told that it is 'too expensive' is a little disheartening.  Perhaps I should raise the price so as to avoid these kind of cheap customers, but then I fear I will attract customers who will expect the Ritz and lower my good reputation. 

Anyway, I just wanted to vent, and see if any other hosts have felt more than a little betrayed at the feedback after what you perceived to be a great stay? 

[Paul1255]

@Ben253 you have a wonderful listing and your location in London is great! We aren't that far from eachother, I go for runs on Primrose Hill.

You certainly should/could be charging more than you are, so I would say that you're underselling but that's something else to talk about 🙂

They left you a great public review which is great. They didn't feel strongly enough about the price to mention it in public, so I would not worry about it at all.

Everything our guests say is subjective, and differs from guest to guest. Unless every guest is mentioning the same (negative or constructive) comments at review time you don't need to give it any thought.

I certainly have seen the quality/fit of my guests improve since I have adjusted my pricing uowards.

I have had all 5* reviews for my stays, but sometimes guests leave private feedback that irks me for several days, and then I forget about it, because I don't allow these throw-away comments to become my reality.

[Ben253]

Hey 'neighbour'! 

Amazing - I absolutely adore Primrose Hill and its surrounds, I am forever telling my guests that they simply must visit during their stay. Looking at your listing I think you may be the other side of the hill to me. 

Yeah I know you are right - I mean they left 4 stars which I will live with, some people just never dish out 5 star reviews willy nilly. But it left me feeling a touch jaded. I am so glad to have wonderful guests in right now, they're currently on a late checkout (no other guests arriving so they may as well use the space - lord knows I'm not!) But these little bits of pointless feedback sometimes really do have a tendency to just wind me up, and I know I should not even worry about it! 

The highs and lows of hosting... I guess I wouldn't change it for the world. And they weren't bad guests (based on the 5 minute chat we had during their stay!) so I should at least take that into consideration and just be grateful! 🙂 

[Paul1255]

Hey @Ben253 indeed, I send all my guests there! It's the place I go to that really makes me feel like I live in London for some reason 🙂 that view is something else!

It's exactly those pointless bits of feedback that you can't really do anything with that are the most annoying! Much like in life generally I suppose 🙂

[Ben253]

This is very true. I remember having a guest who complained about the exterior of the building, which is totally out of my control! Some people will always find something to nitpick about.

It's the place that makes you feel like you live in London? The opposite for me (obviously apart from the somewhat dramatic skyline) - It makes me feel like I am far from the city despite being so close! 

[Kristy43]

Hi @Ben253.....  its so annoying to get comments like these and hard not to take it heart.  Roll your eyes and move on... there's always a next guest that will restore your faith in hosting!!

[Ben253]

This is very true! Thankfully I have already had some wonderful guests who have now been and gone, although I still periodically blurt out 'Bad value my eye!' in social situations. My friends have become used to my Airbnb based rambling at this point! 

[Robin4]

@Ben253

Ben everyone has a different peception of 'Value' ! There are those that would still compalin if you gave it to them at no charge! They would say the location wasn't right, the taxi there was too expensive.....the corner shop charged 5 quid for that coffee instead of 3! You know what I am getting at don't you Ben!

You have to take a deep breath and let it roll off and away from you. You have done nothing but be a great host, the sort that made this platform great, seriously mate!

In my time I have had 3 guests give me a 4 star for value and one gave me 3. Apart from the basics which include the best electric bed you would ever sleep on, toiletries, air conditioned, Hepa ironised filtration ducted throughout, this is the condiment package that every guest gets.......even overnighters

And I charge 55 quid a night.....seriously $100 AU and they still tell me I am not providing value.

This honestly says more about the guest than it says about you!

Ben, you are too good to lose a seconds sleep over those guests....just get on with being a good host.....next please!

Cheers.....Rob

[Ben253]

Thanks Rob,

Yeah sometimes it is hard not to take it to heart. Especially when they more or less had the whole place to themselves for the duration of their stay (I am not a homebody - If I dont need to be indoors I will be out doing something!) 

It certainly looks like you go above and beyond... I guess it is the catch 22; some of them want 5* luxury on backpacker budgets. 

The only think that this has made me think is that perhaps another ceremonial 'raising of the prices' in order so as to stop attracting 'low value' guests, which is a flying shame for those that are on a budget but also appreciative! 

[Sarah977]

@Ben253  Ridiculous. If I got a private comment like this, I think I'd be inclined to message the guest back, listing all your hosting expenses- utilities, toilet paper, soap, cleaning, laundry, time spent communicating with them, airbnb's 3% fee, etc. as a deduction from their 2 nights payment, showing how little you personally end up with. Not to mention all the time you wasted waiting around for them all day without them having the consideration to advise you of the delay. I'm sure guests like this never even consider what it costs to host. 

[Ben253]

I think that is what annoyed me the most; the waiting around, the lack of communication regarding their delay and then to slate the value. I was on the verge of sending a message, but decided against it. They have left, I will likely never see them again and I thought it was not worth expelling the energy on it! You do make a good point though; The cost of hosting is not zero. The extras I have in for guests, the constant cleaning and sheets all cost time and money although I guess people don't always see that. I think a few too many compare us to a full on hotel... ! 

[John1080]

@Ben253 @Sarah977, I have found those who communicate least also tend to leave the larger messes and give less quality feedback. I've had all 5-star overall reviews, but have had a few 4-stars for value. 

As it is, it costs me about $2000 a month just to keep my place up. Cleaning staff costs alone eats up almost one night of each stay, then when the mortgage, utilities, supplies, etc are added in, we just about break even on our space. 

I find it very annoying that people book a space, with an obviously clear description, photos, etc and then complain (I take 4-stars as a complaint) about the price. 

[Ben253]

4 stars I can live with. My most recent gave me THREE stars for value, and at £35 a night in Central London that is pretty low (the nearest hotels to me are all at LEAST £80-100 a night). I genuinely failed to see where the complaint was, particularly as I was out of town meaning they had the apartment to themselves the entire time anyway! 

I have dramatically slashed my days now, I used to Airbnb all the time but now I just do it to cover running costs; as soon as I have enough bookings to cover my outgoings I close the rest of my calendar now - it's not worth the stress full time! 

[John1080]

@Ben253, I certainly wouldn’t like 3! Four feels bad enough and bothers me, although the overall is still 4.9 for value. It does seem like your place is very inexpensive for the space and area! 

Seems like closing the calendar after you’re caught up is the way to do it. My space is an entire cabin, 3.5 hours away from our primary residence, so we need to keep it constantly rented, which can be stressful, but at least it’s paying for itself. 

[Ben253]

If it's paying for itself then it's a means to an end my friend but I imagine it must be even more stressful! I am leaving for the month in January and currently debating on renting my whole place or just the room - I don't think I want to rent the whole place out as it sets up a whole new load of problems to deal with while I am away... Much easier to deal with one room as opposed to a whole apartment, particularly when I will be on the other side of the planet! 

I open the calendar more in the summer months for example, but the novelty of having constant guests has worn off somewhat. I quite enjoy having the house to myself more these days.