Call me crazy but are guests being especially angsty since COVID?

[Katrina-and-Jamie0]

We've been hosting for over 2 years now and we've had more complaints in the last couple months than we have in the entire time we've hosted.

We take complaints VERY seriously and we always do whatever it takes to make it right. But the complaints we're getting seem like the guests have insanely high expectations and very little interest in being self-sufficient and finding a solution themselves. 

For example, the smoke detector was giving the low battery alert (very obviously not a fire-related alarm) and the guests messaged twice, called twice and left a voicemail within a minute. They were irate. we even have extra batteries available.

For the next guest, the cleaners forgot to unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher. In my opinion, a minor inconvenience but honestly not even worth mentioning. The dishes were CLEAN. They complained and asked for a refund on their cleaning fee because they had to hand wash their own dirty dishes (didn't even occur to them to put away the dishes).

It's really sucking the joy out of being a host.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Whew. Maybe I just needed to vent. I feel better just typing this. 🙂

[Linda108]

Looking at your pictures, @Katrina-and-Jamie0 , your home is so fun how could anyone complain about anything!  You don't include bedroom pictures probably because of the great being awake space. 😉  Anyway, I also wonder if there is a different wave of guests using Air BNB in addition to the usual wonderful folks.  The marketing of Air BNB has shifted a bit over the years from live like a local to get a great place for less!  More people with somewhat local travel given the uncertainly of longer, perhaps international trips.  Still, if you see a few of these picky people, looks like it has been a great run so far given your great reviews.

[Sarah977]

@Katrina-and-Jamie0  This forum is full of posts about how the guests have been really problematic since the pandemic. Hosts who have been in the business for years can't believe how clueless and demanding guests have been of late, not to mention making up issues in order to scam a refund.

There are a lot of brand new to Airbnb guests who don't seem to get what booking an Airbnb means in terms of respect for the property and the host. And Airbnb doesn't make any attempt to educate them. In fact, they keep making it easier and easier for guests to book.

It seems like people have been cooped up so long they've turned into savages, a la Lord of the Flies.

Plus they've had lots of time to read online blogs where guests advise others on how to get a free stay,l what to say to a host in order to get accepted, even though it entails misrepresenting yourself and your intentions.

[Tania606]

I agree, some people are looking for freebies!   

[Laura2592]

@Katrina-and-Jamie0 yes, we have had the same sorts of pickier-than-usual guests. I think the thing that stands out to me is that we have had more guests who believe that our cottage can be used as they would their own home or a hotel. We do our best to have good communication and fair rules but recently there are a whole contingent of guests who feel like they can do whatever they feel like for the nightly price. This is obviously a space we care a lot about, and we want to be able to keep offering it to guests. Therefore, no, you can't trash it, abuse it, cram it full of your extended friends and family, use it for a party, smoke in it,  etc. We don't make exceptions for your birthday, your graduation, your bad day. We offer the same thing we always have but suddenly guests think that means something completely different. 

There seems to be a growing backlash on social media about host rules on ABB. I think this is because 1) ABB is confused about what it wants to market (a corporate, hotel like stay? A home share? A unique experience?) and 2) guests are angry that they have been cooped up for a year in many places and are just bratty. Its up to everyone to make right the time they were forced to stay inside or not travel. And if they come into contact with a host, that host better give them exactly what they want AND MORE! We still have a majority of delightful to decent guests but there definitely seems to be a trend toward a lot more entitlement if you judge by some of the threads in this forum. Hopefully as things return to normal, the guests will calm down too. Hang in there. 

[Mark116]

@Katrina-and-Jamie0  We have had more complainers 'hey your mattress is too hard, can you do anything?' '? um, no, sorry, $95 a night won't get you new mattress to your personal specification'.  But , more of an issue has been people who simply refuse to follow the basic rules, guests who smoke, who bring their friends over.  

I've been considering adding some kind of 'here is how Airbnb works, this our house that we live in, everything in the Airbnb is something we own, have bought, or inherited' kind of message to try to make it clear, especially since the percentage of empty profile, no review guest is now the majority of those who book w/us.

We had recent guests, who raved about the house....and yet, they left wrappers, tissues, other trash all over the floors, as well as used dishes/glasses/plates in every room.  It really is not that hard to load the dishwasher.  So, you thought our house was beautiful, great, then why didn't you spend 5 minutes to follow the check out directions?  It is very dispiriting.

[Laura2592]

@Mark116 yes, I am on the same page with some kind of a message in our house guide. Would be interested in what you came up with if you are willing to share 🙂 

[Kendra114]

This is what I put in each of our units printed on letter size paper and laminated. Feel free to use…

 

“GUEST EXPECTATIONS

Guests are entrusted with & expected to treat each rental property with care & respect. This care & respect extends to other guests & neighbors. Bad behavior, missing items, damages, etc. will result in extra fees, fines &, in extreme cases, forfeiture & removal. Extra fee examples are additional cleaning, missing or damaged:

•  towels   $10 ea

•  sheets   $14 ea

•  flatware, dishes, etc.  $5 ea

•  art supplies, games    $10 ea

•  emergency kits           $50 ea

•  additional cleaning   $25/hr

Everything you see is for all guests to use on-site & nothing is to be removed. The only exception would be things that obviously cannot be shared (like a toothbrush).

If you wouldn’t do it at home because you would either have to clean it up, pay for it, or explain it — don’t do it here.”

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  It really wouldn't be a bad idea. Hosts could collaborate on putting together a small pamphlet- "Guide to being a 5* Airbnb guest". It could be left alongside the house manual.

[Kendra114]

 

This is what I put in each of our units printed on letter size paper and laminated. Feel free to use…

GUEST EXPECTATIONS

Guests are entrusted with & expected to treat each rental property with care & respect. This care & respect extends to other guests & neighbors. Bad behavior, missing items, damages, etc. will result in extra fees, fines &, in extreme cases, forfeiture & removal. Extra fee examples are additional cleaning, missing or damaged:

•  towels   $10 ea

•  sheets   $14 ea

•  flatware, dishes, etc.  $5 ea

•  art supplies, games    $10 ea

•  emergency kits           $50 ea

•  additional cleaning   $25/hr

Everything you see is for all guests to use on-site & nothing is to be removed. The only exception would be things that obviously cannot be shared (like a toothbrush).

If you wouldn’t do it at home because you would either have to clean it up, pay for it, or explain it — don’t do it here.

[Elaine701]

@Sarah977 

"Guide to being a 5* Airbnb guest".

Who cares? I don't think there's any penalty for being a 1* guest. So why bother? 

Of course, any host rated less than 4.7 is subject to delisting. That's fair, not? 🤨

[Sarah977]

@Elaine701  Well of course the house wreckers wouldn't care, but I was thinking more of the type of guests who aren't really horrid people, but don't realize that an Airbnb isn't like a hotel, that you can't just walk away leaving garbage strewn all over, mildewing wet towels on the floor, etc. A list of the cleaning chores hosts do to prepare the space, so they aren't under the false impression that washing their dishes and wiping down the counters and stovetop means they have "done all the host's cleaning for them".

And some info on the review process- that it isn't a 2* check-in experience just because the guest failed to read the check-in info the host sent. I.e. you are reviewing the property and the host, not your personal experience based on your failure to read the information provided.

I've read posts from guests like that- they got a bad review and were upset. They really didn't understand what they did wrong- they thought an Airbnb was just a cheaper alternative to a hotel. When it is explained to them by hosts here what the cleaning fee actually covers, they said they appreciated the explanation, and now understood.

So it certainly wouldn't make any difference with some guests, who simply don't care, but it might with some.

[Anonymous]

@Sarah977  I know I've gone on this tangent before, but having worked in hotels, it bothers me even more that the behavior you describe is commonly considered acceptable in hotels. Because we have to consider the reason that hotels give guests such broad latitude to leave their room looking like outtakes from torture-porn horror movies:  the very human person who has to clean up that mess is usually a low-income woman, likely a woman of color or person of migration background, and the idea that this behavior is OK is predicated on our society's deep-seated belief that these people are unworthy of the respect and consideration that people who are fortunate enough to be homeowners feel entitled to. The only reason it's OK to leave a disgusting mess in a hotel room is that we subconsciously accept that the cleaners belong to a lower caste and that we're superior animals.

Whenever a host is about to write "better suited to a hotel," I hope they consider the subtexts of classism, sexism, and racism baked into that and just change one little letter: "better suited to a hovel."

[Sarah977]

@Anonymous  Fully agree. I clean up after myself even when staying in a sketchy Motel 6. I've never left a wet towel on the floor or anything gross for a hotel maid to deal with. It's just rude and disrespectful to the cleaner. I always have this thought in the back of my mind that the maid will hopefully breathe a sigh of relief when she opens the door. Maybe she'll even get a few minutes for a short break she didn't plan on. But I know that many hotel customers don't think that way.

I also don't understand the "better suited to a hotel". If a guest causes damage, the hotel docks their credit card. If they cause a disturbance, security escorts them out. If they have 15 extra people trooping up their room, the hotel will investigate what's going on and boot out the freeloaders. There is very little, except leaving the room a pigsty, and being a bit demanding, that hotels are resigned to, that Airbnb hosts aren't. 

[M199]

@Sarah977 @Katrina-and-Jamie0 , @Anonymous , @Holly142 , @Elaine701 

@Sarah977,

I like your idea of a "Guide to Being a 5* Guest".  Having read through numerous postings to learn how to be a 5* Host, I was trying to figure out how to get out a 5* guest guide/ message/manual/guidebook (pick one) to add my listing.  I think considering all the new guests Airbnb is trying to attract, why not set up this resource for hosts and education for guests?  Just my opinion.

Maybe if we Hosts consolidate ideas for the benefit of all Hosts  and if 10-20 basic courtesies and expectations are listed, it would be a great start. It likely won't happen within a week to get basics started, but I would bet the CC contributions would be a great start.  Just my opinion.