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. 🙂

[Sarah977]

@M199  There was a guest named Heidi, who wrote a long post here once about how she behaves as a guest (she uses Airbnb a lot) which was wonderful. She had been posting here about an issue she was having, and also mentioned some things about what she expects as a guest, and what she feels is reasonably expected of her. I and another poster or two encouraged her to expand on that and post a Good Guest Guide, which she did. 

I'll see if I can find it again and post the link.

[M199]

@Sarah977 

Thank you!  I would be grateful to have that link as a starting point.

Much appreciated. M199

[Sarah977]

@M199  Found it. It's more like an essay than a short tutorial, so it's long and covers pretty much everything, but could certainly be condensed to the most important points.

And if a Good Guest Handbook were to be put together, I think the way she's written it, from the point of view of "what I do as a guest" would be much better received psychologically, by other guests, than presenting it as what hosts expect from guests.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/How-to-be-a-guest-that-hosts-want-to-host-and-also-have-sel...

If all guests were like Heidi, this forum would only consist of trading decor and laundry tips 🙂

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 unfortunately that guest posted in another thread that when she books a place, she immediately moves furniture, takes everything off of walls and puts things in different places to better suit her preferences. She also got angry when I suggested that she should not take on "repairs" in a host's space without their express permission. So despite this rather lengthy post of hers, I think perhaps there is a learning curve here, too.

And that is just the issue. Guests may think they are being FANTASTIC but its really the host who defines what they want in the space. It's not up to the guest. The relationship parameters get defined by the person who owns the accommodation. Each one of us has different levels of tolerance for certain behaviors, different insurance, local rules and regulations, different neighbors. Because we all strive to create an atmosphere of comfort guests may sail through their blissfully unaware that modifying the layout of the furnishings may cause the host injury or damage to their home when they try to move things back. Sometimes guests get a little too comfortable and the illusion that the space belongs to them is created.

So while I am all in favor to a guide to being a great guest, I think its up to each host to create their own.

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  I do remember her saying that she moves furniture, I can't recall if she said she asks the host if that's okay or not. 

She was booking places long term, though. Months at a time. I would probably do the same if I was staying somewhere for months and found the set-up inconvenient. I would also take care of minor repairs. I wouldn't call the host if the screws on a cupboard door needed tightening, or the toilet float needed adjusting.  That would seem ridiculous to me.

Obviously hosts don't want guests attempting things if they don't know what they're doing, or scraping up floors and dinging walls moving furniture, but if the guest is a capable, responsible person and everything is put back the way it was when they leave, I wouldn't have any objection to a guest doing those things myself.

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592   That contributor's Airbnb member account appears to have been terminated since her short stint as a CC regular. Too bad, now we can't see whether her hosts agreed with with that epic feat of self-congratulation.

Personally, I don't believe in coaching a paying customer on how to please me after I've collected their bill.  I like to get that whole discussion on expectations out of the way before I hit that Confirm button, and from then on I try to make it so easy to be a satisfactory guest that they'd have to go truly out of their way to screw it up.

I don't regret declining 25-30% of requests for being a poor fit, and when hosts complain that they keep getting lousy guests, I really don't want to see that they're using Instant Book.

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977  here is the thread. She got very huffy/buzzword psychoanalytical very quickly. As I recall her reviews reflected some difficulty with her stays (multiple hosts) as I looked at her profile at the time. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Why-do-guests-rearrange-furniture/td-p/1353892/page/4#

I think it drives home the point that no matter what a guest thinks of their own stay, they may not be fully aware of how the host views it. I have certainly had guests who were upset that they got a neutral review because they broke rules or left the space a mess. In their eyes they were perfect. 

[Kendra114]

I agree. I had one guest leave the toilet looking like he stood up while having a blow out. I imagine who he thought would clean that up and why that would be okay anywhere at anytime. 

[Holly142]

I agree that guests have complained more. For example, my cabin is labeled as secluded cabin in the Ozark mountains and I had so many complaints in the last year because it's 1.5 miles down a dirt road. Did they think secluded means it's on the main highway? I went for years without anyone complaining about that to a dozen or so within a short period of time. 

[Sarah977]

@Holly142  City folks only know that "secluded" sounds romantic and private. They don't think past that.

Like fireplaces they think are romantic, but have no idea how to build a fire and don't bother reading the house manual instructions re opening the flue. 

Or like people who book a vacation in the tropics and then freak out because there are multitudes of insects and it's super humid. They thought it was all going to be like the movies, sipping margueritas on the beach, palm trees rustling in the breeze, with none of the actors dripping in sweat or swatting the mosquitoes away.

[Fiza1]

LOL people who complain about humidity are my favorite. Umm....okay then? Maybe you should have turned on the AC?

This guest suggested a dehumidifier for my non-tropical listing * eye roll *

[Kendra114]

I can relate to you so much @Sarah977

[Tania606]

Same here.  They complain about the curvy roads with inclines.  Just sheer ignorance.  

[Brian2036]

@Holly142 

Exactly the same here.

Secluded, remote mountain chalet in the forest at the end of an unpaved private road.

Vehicles with high ground clearance necessary, 4WD preferred.

Will my Prius be OK? (NO!)

Why don’t you pave that road? (Why don’t you rent a house in town?)

Why are there so many trees? (Because forests have trees.)

Are there any wild animals out there? (Well, there’s a deer standing there staring at you right now, and it’s not wearing a collar.)

 Why does it get so dark at night? (Maybe because the sun has set?)

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Katrina-and-Jamie0 Touch wood we have not seen a reduction in the quality of our guests. I do wonder if it is either a USA thing or if it is a function of us a) living on-site and b) being away from city centres.