How to reply to guest review with complaint about noise after her stay

[Renee291]

I received the following review (1 star ratings for location and value, 5 star for all else; my listing had a 5 star overall rating prior to this) from a guest with no complaints during her 2 night stay:

"This was a charming, cozy house and the host was proactive with communications. The only problem was that it is very close to a major airport runway and Amazon Air cargo hub (CVG). I was awoken very early each morning and even ear plugs didn’t help with the nonstop low flying full throttle jet traffic lifting off overhead. Still have the dark circles under eyes from this sleep deprived stay. If you normally wake up at 5 am or earlier- maybe you wont mind… its otherwise a pleasant, interesting neighborhood."

She checked out a week ago so the dark circles comment seems a little dramatic.  Do I reply?  If so, is this reply okay?:

Sharon did not communicate this issue to me prior to this review.  Acceptable noise level is subjective to each person. Usually, guests find our place very peaceful and quiet so this is unexpected and clearly out of my control however I do sympathize with Sharon.  Our home is about 6 miles as the crow flies from the Greater Cincinnati Airport so naturally the area can occasionally be affected by flight patterns. Temporary variations to flight paths may occur due to wind, weather, or operational conditions to ensure flight safety. There can also be variation in the altitude of the airplanes for various reasons.  Fortunately, this is infrequent and no issues have been reported by guests previously.

Any other action I should take?  I try to be very accurate in my listing - do I need to add anything about this?

[Anonymous]

@Renee291   This review doesn't merit a response; posting one will only make it more conspicuous and draw more attention.

I agree that the guest was being a bit of a drama queen, but it doesn't really make sense to fault her for not reporting this issue to you. It's not like an Airbnb host can call up the airplanes and tell them to be quiet so the guest can sleep. If that one outlier review discourages some very noise-sensitive guests from booking, that's actually to your advantage.

There is a space in the listing editor, right next to the "must climb stairs" tickbox, where you can disclose "Potential for noise." I know, it seems really silly to have to disclose this, because there's always going to be some kind of noise wherever you are. But each location has a unique soundscape, so if you can convey in a few words which particular noises might occur, guests who have specific triggers can consider themselves forewarned. (After one negative review complaining about the sounds of children playing outside on a sunny afternoon, I begrudgingly used this space to "warn" guests that they might be exposed to secondhand joy).

[Huma0]

@Renee291 

I'm nowhere near an airport but I guess I'm not that far from a flight path because you do get some planes going by, although not directly over the house. Occasionally, there are police helicopters, but that's the case in any part of London or other big cities. 

I've only had one guest complain about the noise from planes but she was sensitive to noise in general and mentioned other noises that are barely noticeable to me or to my other guests. I didn't bother responding to that part of her review. I agree with @Anonymous that it's not worth bringing further attention to it and if her review puts off a potential guest with similar sensitivities, then that's a good thing. 

I haven't bothered mentioning this on the listing. My listings already mention potential for noise because they located on a busy road. I'm in an urban, fairly central area of London anyway (again, mentioned on the listing), so guests who are sensitive to external noise just shouldn't book with me in the first place. However, if you think the noise from planes is likely to be an issue in future, then maybe mention it to be on the safe side.