Questions about reporting a guest....

[Anna1063]

First off, I have been hosting and traveling with AirBnB for 4 years now.  I feel like I have been really lucky and had some truely great experiences.  Then of course comes that one guest.  She booked the space for one night for herself.  At the last minute she messaged me and said she was bringing a friend.  The space is set up for two so that wasn't a problem (I just like to know who is coming before they arrive since this is my home).  When they arrived, I asked them to remove their shoes in the house (it is posted under the house rules).  I had to ask them several times during their very short stay to not walk in the house with shoes on.  They ordered in food and left spilled food on the kitchen and dining floor.  They left our patio door unlocked and ajar during the night.  They left the windows open in their room with the central air running (over 90 degrees outside).  Finally, when I went to change the room over in the morning, I found that they had spilled something liquid on the carpet in the bedroom.  

They were ok people in general but just so disrespectful of someone else's property.  I don't feel anything they did was malicious just thoughtless.  They live within a short distance of my home.  I am concered about leaving a negative review.  What happens when you report someone? Is it private? Is there a way to block this person from booking my property again?  I would love to be able to post my concerns to other hosts but I worry about retaliation.  At the least, I want to block her booking in the future.  Any advice is apprecitated!

[Ned-And-Laura0]

They cannot see your review until they create their own or until after the time has expried to write a review (14 days) so write whatever you like, just be fair and honest.  List what they did without emotion, mention how they seemed nice, but did a, b and c.  But are you worried about physical retaliation since they live close?  Like they will come back to the house and throw eggs or something?  Did they seem like the type of people that will do that?  I find the catch all phrase in writing a review like this is "This guest would be better suited in a hotel"  Other hosts know what that means.  I write that whenever I have a guest that leaves a mess or leaves the ac on high with windows open, etc.  Basically they treated your home like it was a hotel, not your home.

[Ava30]

Please an honest review so other hosts know. One star for House Rules, Cleanliness for sure. Thumbs down on 'Would you reccomend'. On the public part, the phrase "this guest is better suited to a hotel environment" lets hosts know they are probably not going to be a good fit. Especially hosts like myself that do not use Instant Book so they cannot see the stars you give the guests. Maybe a 3 star for overall experience. At this time as far as I know, the ONLY way to block a person is if they harass you then AirBnb customer service will block them for you. Giving them the thumbs down will prevent them from being able to Instant Book with anyone again. They won't see that part. I wouldn't go into much detail on the public part of the review. 

[Martin27]

Dear @Anna1063,

you say, that they are living short distance away. If they are close enough to your place that they can cause any trouble to you or your place by reporting to local authorities or similiar just keep smiling and do not leave any review at all. If thats the case you have nothing to win but much to lose and I would not do anything that might annoy these folks.

If they can not harm/disturb you in future feel free to do whatever you like - review, flag and give 3*(they will be blocked for instant booking).

Best,

Martin

[Lisa723]

@Anna1063 @Martin27 @Ava30 @Ned-And-Laura0

Airbnb does have a blocking feature:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2020/how-do-i-report-a-message-or-block-someone-on-airbnb

However it seems to be available only intermittently.

Also, I don't think one thumbs down prevents a guest from instant-booking, just from instant-booking with you.

[Ava30]

Thanks @Lisa723, I have not seen the blocking feature for months now. I was basing the thumb down keeping them from Instant Booking based on other hosts replies to similar posts. I will definitly double check that. 

[Lisa723]

@Ava30 in July I was simultaneously able to block one guest and not block another. Yesterday I filed a CS report about being unable to block someone. They sent me the same instructions as above, when I said the option wasn't there, they said they would do it for me.

[Letti0]

@Lisa723  It has been screwy for a while now. In June and July I could block some one no problem. In August I had isssues and couldn't. Then suddenly two weeks ago I could again, yet last week I could not again. Today all my flags disappeared and have been replaced with little boxes next to the statement Report this User, it a computer programming issue and they are apparently still playing with it. I find this extermely annoying. Fix it already. Also it's 3 thumbs down to get a person kicked off of AirBnB because at that point they are costing AirBnB money per a supervisor I talked with a while back. @Martin27  is right 1 thumbs down with 3*'s or less average does stop instant bookings for guests, this is also per this same person and 1 other CS rep I talked to. Blocking a person stops them from being able to book you and basically makes you invisible to them on a search. 

[Steve143]

Hello @Anna1063,

Please leave an honest but dispassionate review of them.

They had no problem being disrespectful of your house and apparently don't give a hoot about what you think of them so don't let them influence you by making you concerned about reporting what they did. You had to ask them severaltimes to remove their shoes. Did they apologise for the food spills? Did they apologise for the carpet stain? Did they apologise for the security risk of leaving the patio door open at night? From your post I guess the answer to all those questions is a definite no.

The "would be better suited to a hotel" as suggested earlier is a good one in these situations if you don't wish to be specific, but I would mention that they left the door open.

You get to rate them on cleanliness, communition and house rules. From what you said make sure to deduct stars for the cleanliness and house rules ratings.

Steve.

[Anna1063]

Thanks everyone for responding.  The guy was very nice and polite, the woman seemed a little off.  I've worked in an emergency room for 23 years and I tend to trust my intincts when dealing people.  I just have a feeling she could create a problem for me.  

I am definately giving them a thumbs down.  I really like the phrase "better suited to a hotel."  I don't think they even noticed the mess they made because they never made a single comment about it.  And I noticed after they left, they even cleaned out the snack bowl I had on the counter!  I'm very glad 99% of my guests are not this way!

[Dawn33]

Another thing that you should consider is not renting to locals. I decline  every local request that I receive. What are they going to do in my house that they can’t do in theirs? 

[Ned-And-Laura0]

I dunno, I get a lot of locals just looking to have a romantic evening/ weekend away from the kids.  Although our space is more if a couples retreat so its perfect for a mini staycation.  But maybe their house is being painted or they are being fumigated or the neighbors are under construction.  I've had good luck with local guests.

[Dawn33]

Good points!

[Gregory87]

@Dawn33 I was wondering the same thing about @Anna1063's guest(s).  I tend to be more cautious with locals.  They will definitely be questioned and vetted a little more carefully.  My first guests when I started last year were looking for a place to stay over the holidays while their house was being renovated.

However, I have had others claim a staycation or need to be close to a work project.  They tended to be more critical in their reviews.  Another time I appeared to avoid some young people trying to host a party due to my asking a lot of questions and requiring a photo ID for check-in.  They cancelled in the end.

Your question is perfect:  "What do you need/wish to do in my listing that you can't do from yours?"  Hosts should add this to their arsenal for local inquiries!

[Victoria567]

HI @Anna1063

You give them 5 stars under the categories that compiled with as guests and 1 star for the categories they did not comply with.

You write an  honest factual review of you experience with them based on facts.

liquid spilled, walking in my home with shoes and so on, etc. etc 

They were OK guests?.....really!,,,,if you find anything whatsoever about them being OK guests then, by all means write it your host review.

The review should be factual at all times not an outpouring of your personal feelings.