How to reply to review with guest complaint about noise after 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? I should note my listing says it's near the airport (seen by many as a plus).

[Fred13]

@Renee291 I think you understand to treat this with caution which is smart of you, for you certainly do not want to say the wrong thing and to let the premise that guest made to stand.

I would take this vein because you have 97 reviews and none have mentioned such noise before? IF so then I would treat (meaning dismiss) this as a fluke, and above all make very light of it. Not too many apologies and like zero drama. As in..

"How odd that the noise from flights from an airport quite a few miles away (6 miles) caused the sound to feel so high. We have not encountered this before, perhaps is due to an unusual weather pattern. 

  We are glad you found the place cozy and to your liking and ....etc etc." 

I never park on a complaint nor give it much public script, BUT behind the scene immediately I would learn all about the issue and make any & all necessary changes, if I could. In this case I would find out all about DB noise level and even add a meter to my place for personal use and track noise level, just to be in the know. Also see if there is a correlation between wind direction, weather pattern and DB noise level, etc. There is also acoustic insulation foam/panels that are used in boat engines, acoustic music rooms, etc. to kill noise. Nothing to loose, could be fun, but one thing for sure - knowledge on any subject that influences your economic welfare is important.

Good luck.

[Pat271]

@Huma0  @Renee291 

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject, as we experienced a significant amount of massive hotel and shopping center construction all around our unit in Maui from 2018 to 2021. Constant jackhammering, vehicle beeping, and even full-out dynamite blasting so strong the floors and windows shook, often prevailed during this time.

We have a general paragraph in our listing stating that the area is booming with growth, and that guests may very well hear more than gentle breezes and birds chirping, especially when sitting outside. That statement is still present even though the construction has finished. Our condo does not match the normal expectation of a completely silent and peaceful Hawaii vacation, so it’s important for our guests to know that.

Back to the construction…additionally, we got notified by the county when periods of significant blasting were scheduled. I think I got 3 of those over the time period. When I got those, I notified upcoming guests, and offered a full refund if they desired. I got 0 refund requests. I also occasionally ran “Construction Specials” with anywhere between a 10 and 25% discount, add added temporary paragraphs to the listing description detailing when, where and how the construction noise is likely to affect potential guests.  I played it by ear on when to offer these discounts, i.e. it varied based on the severity of the expected disturbance.

There were a couple of times towards the end of this period that I didn’t pre-announce these kinds of events, but only if they were scheduled to be brief and not overly disruptive. It took a bit of tap-dancing and finesse to present scheduled events in a way that was honest and yet not inappropriately alarming.

In retrospect, it turned out fine. I didn’t get any cancellations. I did get some guests that contacted me wanting further details. If they seemed overly sensitive and concerned, I encouraged them to cancel with a full refund. Happy guests are my top priority; much more important than $$.

In your case, Renee, I would put a little more info in your listing description, stating what you have told us, i.e. that you are 6 miles from an airport and some plane activity overhead is to be expected. Although this is the first guest you’ve had that has expressed being disturbed by the planes, you’ll likely have more guests like this in the future. Expectations are everything in this business. People who care a lot won’t book. People who book anyway will anticipate that there might be some disturbance, and will be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t occur during their stay.

[Huma0]

@Pat271 

Thanks for your very sage advice. Mine is a pretty bustling neighbourhood and I live on a busy road which two of my guest rooms face. So, I make a real point on this on the listings and also remind guests before they book to make sure they understand this and are okay with it. The most recent one asked me a few questions about it, which I answered, but he didn't cancel. He decided he would be okay with it, so let's see.

The construction has been something that I wasn't really prepared for. While we have had no blasting, the demolition work in the beginning (started in October 2020) was deafening and my house was shaking with glassware clinking and everything. My garden paving cracked all over. Although this is going on very close to my house (three doors down and the construction workers can see straight onto my garden and my roof terrace as will the residents when it's finally finished), I got no notification of it whatsoever. I didn't think I was that sensitive to noise, but it really rattled my nerves, yet my guests were totally unperturbed! They could see that I had no prior knowledge of this happening and never complained about me not mentioning it.

Then everything went silent for months with no work going on (due to COVID, lack of funds, planning permission issues, I have no idea). In May 2021, the construction started, which for a long time was digging, also extremely noisy but not as bad as the demolition. The fact that the builders can't seem to have a conversation unless it's standing on the roof shouting at full volume really irked me too. I'm a Londoner and I do swear, but they are really potty mouthed and loud with it. On one occasion, they seemed to spend the whole morning having a party on the roof, which I mistook to mean they had just finished the job. Nope. They were just in a good mood. 

Anyway, there was a notice on the front of the site saying it would be completed in October (I informed upcoming guests). They took this down many months ago. The building (which is just a small, two-storey house), looks almost complete. Through the windows you can see the kitchen is fully fitted and has been for weeks, and yet it still goes on and on. I have no idea what they are doing now, but it's loud, especially first thing in the morning.

Of course, I should have known the project would probably run over and therefore have added something to the listings, but I had no idea it would still be going at this point. It's just a small, plain box of a house. I agree with you that expectations are everything. I think I have been lucky so far that the guests are so cool about it. They actually seem really impressed that I message them in advance to tell them about it and appreciate that. When they arrive they don't seem to mind the noise at all and are pleasantly surprised. I don't know why. I find the noise infuriating, but then I guess I have been living with it for a long time...

[Pat271]

@Huma0  I agree on all counts, and thanks for mentioning the part about the guest appreciating the honesty. Guests realize with this type of disclosure that you are risking a loss of income by being completely honest, and that goes a long way towards relationship-building and trust between guest and host.

I feel like we are in a contest on who has the most dramatic disturbance! Cracked sidewalks? Good grief! You win! 😊

[Huma0]

@Pat271 

It's not the sidewalk, but my back garden, which is mostly paved with skinny flowerbeds at the sides. I could have made an almighty fuss about it and tried to get some sort of compensation (checked with my next door neighbours and they also had issues with their garden paving and the bricks on their driveway starting to sink in sections around the same time) but I didn't.

The paving is so ugly (in my opinion) that I don't care. One day, when I have the funds, I hope to replace it anyway. What worried me more was, if it's doing this to this pretty solid concrete paving that I reckon has been there intact since the 1980s at least, what else is it doing to my house? What is it doing underneath, to the foundations? I do have some issue on the ground floor which is causing damage to my oak parquet, but I've been unable to identify the cause. My builder said that an underground pipe might have cracked. Oh joy. Now I need to find a specialist to investigate. 

Anyway, I am not sure I win. The blasting sounds pretty horrendous to me and your nearby construction went on for even longer. Well, that's if these builders finish the little house some time in the near future, but they certainly seem to be taking their time.

[Renee291]

Thank you.  I have added this both in the "potential noise" section and in "other notes" under description. I often feel guests just skim the info, but it's there now.

I try to be very open and descriptive and have @70 pics of my 3 room house and patio and porch so there should be no surprises. But I'm sure someone will hit me with another surprise soon enough to keep me on my toes.

I try to respond to guest requests and suggestions. It's a 3 room house so one would think one 📺 would be enough but a couple guests asked about a TV in the bedroom so I added that. I also have a cabinet just for guest groceries, especially those staying longer.

It does suck for those dealing with issues outside of their control, like construction. Continual learning experience.

[Denisse63]

Your question peaked my interest as I recently had a guest stay at our farm and complain about dogs barking. Our place is for animal lovers, and I have added the disclaimer for noise throughout my listing.

This person's review says they were looking for peace and quiet. They'll fine peace for sure, but it's not very quiet. The dogs are usually quiet unless there's a large predator on the premise. The night they stayed a mountain lion AND bobcat came through. 

Still trying to figure out how to reply. Other guests have acknowledged the noise, but wrote they knew about it before they booked. 

Recommendations welcomed. This is the review. We are newbies-ish but the 4 start dinged our superhost status and just bummed us out:

I've got some pros and cons with this property. First, the pros...
It's absolutely beautiful, inside and out. The home offers lots of cozy cabin charm while still inviting lots of natural light. The furnishings were fun with lots of unique chairs and places to rest, including outside. Speaking of outside, the deck is massive and incredible with a stunning view. The home was very clean and well-maintained. The furnishings and bedding all felt new or close to new. The creek is beautiful and left us feeling rejuvenated after a visit. The kitchen was well-equipped and had everything we needed.
Now, the cons...
Mainly, the noise. We booked a home out in the middle of the country in order to enjoy some peace and quiet, but the roosters, chickens, sheep, and dogs made noise almost non-stop. During the day, this didn't bother us too much, but the dog barking throughout the night (likely at deer or bobcats passing by) made sleep difficult."

BTW your reply to your guest was excellent. 

Denisse