Quick phrases for guest reviews - Cleanliness

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Fellow hosts - I struggle with writing an effective phrase for guest reviews that indicate that they were dirtier than normal.  

You know, the guest who leaves soap and shampoo all over the bathtub, huge globs of toothpaste in the sink or makeup smears on the counter, hair everywhere, extra garbage to pick up, the hair dryer, iron and ironing board left for the host to put away, sheets or towels that had stains to be treated but weren't ruined (a skidmark or makeup), and maybe missed the toilet a little or left you some extra cleaning to do in the bowl.  Stuff that can be taken care of but will cost you an extra half hour or hour of cleaning to get it all sorted.  

Do you have a short, effective sentence that you use in a guest's review that indicates that they were a little dirtier than normal?  

[Allison307]

@Frank-And-Monique0 - I’ve been cleaning our place for the past two months while we change cleaners and it has been eye opening. We would come up once a month for personal stays and that’s when we would discover damage - stains, broken and missing items etc. I’m hopeful for our new cleaning company but was surprised in my recent experience; either guests are super respectful and take the upmost care or they are slovenly.

Perhaps they treat their own things at a lower standard and don’t notice? I’ve had plenty of former roommates and family members who may not exercise the same sense of common courtesy or cleanliness as I (and I truly do recognize that I am the particular and borderline OCD tidy sort). It takes all sorts to make the world go round for sure. 

Cheers to those amazing guests and hope that honest feedback on reviews will, at minimum, let hosts know what to expect of future guests. 

[Gabriele217]

I  usually wait a couple of days before writing a review . I clean the Place first and then I can think about what I want to write and not let emotions run my thinking.  I still think we should be honest and not be too concerned about our super host status or it will hold us hostage. 

[Allison307]

I just had two situations in a row that I had to deal with this, one guest was so-so and the other was just bad. 

As a host, I utilize others reviews of guests and find having to read between the lines challenging. It would be great if our discourse could be factual, respectful and not veiled. 

I just stated, "The house was mostly left in the condition that it was found in. However, extra cleaning was required."

For the terrible guest, sadly I am going to decline to review them until my resolution request is resolved as they broke and damaged multiple things in the house beyond my (or anyone for that matter) ability to repair. Their timeline is about up to respond and I have more time to review, so playing the waiting game now. 

[Cheryl477]

Hi,

I just started hosting a private room with a private BA in our house a week ago. The first guest was amazing, left the room and the BA spotless clean!!! He even made the bed!! And the second guest ate take-out in the room (my fault tho, didn't mention in house rule.), left red spot(ketchup or blood idk),  black oil-like and some light yellow color stain on the brand new bed linens. I had to wash it twice and double the bleach, still left a light black stain on. What freakin me out the most is I found a dried booger on the shower mat!! Now I know what the light yellow color stain is on the bed sheet!!  This is not normal, right? or I have a high standard of cleanness? How should I write the review?! Frustrating right now. Kind of makes me down a little since he is only the second guest. 

[Frank-And-Monique0]

@Cheryl477 Normal for a 6 year old.  This is a very unusual beast.   This hosting.  Hang in there.  I'm trying over here.  We're in a different state trying to manage ours.  It is difficult not knowing how the guests are leaving our home.   So far, our cleaning crew has not told us of anything we have had to worry about or report.  Once we are there managing ourselves I'm sure my standards and expectations will be different.  That will be the true test to see if this is for us.  

Good luck.  And be as honest as you can in your review.  However, I'm told if guests get bad reviews they just "ghost" themselves.  Which is a very upsetting thought.  

[Nicole2065 · Accepted solution]

I saw a guest's review a while back, but I always kept it in my mind in case I have to use it.   And my last guest I am going to use it.    "L and her guest may be better suited for a hotel."   

[Sarah977]

@Nicole2065  Yes, that line gets used a lot to indicate that the guest wouldn't be welcomed back, but many hosts, myself included, dislike it. It doesn't really tell me anything on which to judge whether I would be okay with accepting a guest. Better suited to hotel in what way? Were they demanding, did they leave the place a pig-sty, did they just show up outside of check-in times, expecting to have someone waiting there for them?

What may be deal breakers as far as guest behavior for one host, may not be an issue for another. A home share host without a self-check-in option who uses that line may mean that the guest failed to communicate their arrival time and the host was left waiting until midnight. But that might not be an issue for an entire place host with self-check-in. If the guest is quite young and a fairly new Airbnb user, who only has one review which say "Better suited to a hotel", only because they didn't bother to clean up after themselves, they may be fine guests if the host mentions some reticence about accepting based on their previous review and the guest says they just didn't realize what was expected as far as clean-up and promises that they've learned their lesson. Many hosts have reported that guests like this did indeed behave well and left the place clean and tidy.

I feel it's better to be a little more specific in reviews.

[Nicole2065]

That line worked for me, and I didn't host that particular guest.   I really didn't need to know the details.   Thanks for your response.

[Emily140]

Thanks @Nicole2065 .  Smart approach.  @Sarah977 Remember, if you get specific, they just ghost out.  I'd say any host uses that language, we KNOW to stay away.  It means they were disrespectful.  I don't care what specific form the disrespect takes, I don't want to experience it!  If the guest were open to feedback and improvement, it would never come to that.

[Vaa0]

guest left the house in overal good order but our cleaning crew took a lot longer then normal to get the house back in shape for the next guest

[Lee386]

@Alice-and-Jeff0 I've now put it in the house rules that all trash must be removed from the apartment to the bins, dishes washed and stacked. €25 charge if you want me to remove trash or wash dishes. I have found this works especially with a reminder sent 24 hours before departure. the charge is enforceable via airbnb as it is clearly stated in the house rules. 

It may sound negative to do this but I expect a level of cleanliness especially with Covid.(airbnb expect the commitment from us and so do the guests) ........on one clean we had to pick up 25 used face masks....That was the turning point!