Does the guest have to read the description before booking?

Reginald0
Level 2
Pompano Beach, FL

Does the guest have to read the description before booking?

My description said no Wi-Fi. 2 people didn’t read the description booked the room and gave me a 3 star rating and a 4 star rating. In their review they only said there was no Wi-Fi so read the description. That was there only complaint. I did everything correctly. Why are they allowed to do that?   It makes new potential guests think something is wrong. Not fair, so now I have to explain how to correctly leave a review on my listing.

17 Replies 17
Reginald0
Level 2
Pompano Beach, FL

i have added wifi since then, but it still looks bad for me.

@Reginald0 I'm not sure what your overall rating is for that property and it is comes up and unlisted for me. They were old reviews so I doubt many people would read them. That said, unfortunatelly lots of people do not read listing details, not even House Rules. Wifi/internet is something most people would automatically expect (such as warm water, TV, etc.) unless you are in a very remote area. The rating cannot be changed (even though it was their fault not to read the listing) but your potential guests would see you have wifi now and the bad star rating would get better with each 5 star you get, it'll disapear soon.

thanks for your response. i have several yearly rentals. some of them dont want to pay for wifi because they have it on there phones.  to save money. fyi

at that property they didnt want it. and i dont get many bookings on airbnb. so it wasnt worth it. i would have to jack up the price to adjust and it would be a gamble to have added wifi. since then 1 person got internet so it has it now. 

i had to put free WIFI in the title due to those reviews. smh

they should be punished for doing such a stupid thing instead of learning from there own mistake they retaliate against me. airbnb shouldnt allow it. just because airbnb dont want to loose them as customers, $$$ over morals. 

the sad part is the guests stay ignorant and keep doing the same habbits, no one teaches them thats wrong, and disrespectful. 

@Reginald0 I understand why you are upset but the fact is that many people don't read the listings. I said it many times over there on the CC that there are so many "non-readers" out there. My listing starts with the request in capital letters to READ the listing. People still ask me over and over again about information that is in the 2nd line of the listing. Don't let me started on the House rules! They have to sign off on that they've read the house rules before they book. I guarantee there are so many of them not even looking at it for a split second 😞

 

I just over-communicate and repeate info over and over again. It's not the best option but it helps sometimes.

Hi again Reginald - one more thing in my volley of responses to your sensitive issue. 

Being an Airbnb host is, for me, a calling, a vocation, in addition to my primary source of income, and whatever else one may think it is. It is filled with emotion and feelings, and this is very, very fragile on the internet where we cannot hear voice tones or 'get' who a person is other than a small photo and a few words. Works both ways, of course.  Consequently, it has been a learning in terms of my own inner state and self-control. Only once early in the game did I communicate to 'disrespectful guests' while I was still in an emotional state. Never again! I over-reacted and could not take it back. Gave them only three stars on house-rules before contacting them in person. I did not understand that most disrespect is ignorance, and that I am in a position to educate with feel-good instead of the sorry results of acting too quickly as I did. Although there was only somewhat of a repair through emails, I am very grateful to them for a vital lesson.  Not having a long-term partner or children, being an Airbnb host is my path to maturity through all kinds of human guests. 

Wishing you happy hosting through all of the challenges. 

Constance

 

Constance24
Level 2
Joshua Tree, CA

Hi Reginald - It soon became clear that people tend to look at three things: photos, pricing, and reviews. Sometimes nothing else. I put most important things (WIFI yes; running water No) right there in the opening description on the first page. I would have loved to use this space for other things, but reality wins. Then, in my welcoming response to instant booking, I ask my dear guests to "...be sure to read ALL the info on the Chuko site so any surprises will be good ones." So far, these two things have kept me out of trouble. 

Sounds like you're doing well, and good luck with this issue!

Constance

 

 

@Constance24, I love "so any surprises will be good ones". Nicely put. 

 

Thanks, Laurene! greetings fro one (exiled) Canadian to another. Now I want to ask you what the hey Level 10 is, as I doubt I'd be able to find this info on the site (not that it isn't there...)

Also, and I have to laugh at myself, just now reading Reginald's other posts - like one of these people who don't read...

I didn't see your question until now, @Constance24. If you wish someone's attention in the Community Centre, use the @ before their name in a thread in which they post. My name is spelled with a (ridiculous) "w" also. 

Why on earth did you leave Canada? Oh, I see! For California! Very cool listing, by the way!

Level 10 means very little. It is number of posts, and there is no sort of accuracy score of which I'm aware. You can get to Level 10 by maybe first getting hooked on the fascinating stories of mayhem here, then finding you can answer certain questions because of, say, your computer background. It's nothing to worry about. No stars attached. 🙂

 

@Lawrene0 - hey, it worked!! thanks for the tip, and for the levels info.  I've never driven to the East coast in these four decades (I'm from Quebec) and when I do will go to your tree house, vertigo be-danged. What wonderful reviews.  Is it appropriate to write this here?  Anyway, I'm very glad to meet you. Just starting to explore other parts of the Airbnb site... 

East Coast, @Constance24? I'm in Ontario, well west of Quebec. Are you making a clever point about reading a listing or has my map been horribly skewed? Now that I am worried, when I check my listing it says "Florence, ON, Canada". Are you seeing "Florence, NS, Canada" on the page? If so, I will have to look into it.

It is very wise to get to know all parts of the site, well worth your time. All the best with hosting, and do come "home" to see us sometime!

@Lawrene0 - Believe it or not Ontario easily qualifies as "east coast" from here. The heading did say "Florence, Canada" (as it does for you here) which is a bit ambiguous! I will explore the site and hope "Experiences" comes to the desert at some point. Wishing you a good and sunny summer, Lawrene.

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks for looking, @Constance24. It must be that when I look at the .ca site, the province (ON) shows up, but when you look at the .com site from the US it is just Canada. An Irish guest once told me I was advertising as Italy. Turns out I was not, but it was good to check. That's a tip - keep checking your listing, because some strangeness does creep in sometimes with the programming changes from on high. The amenities section often gets hit, for instance. Oh, and also your calendar. Keep right up on that!

All the best!

 

Susie5
Level 10
Boston, MA

Guests definitely don't read the description carefully... I have "STEEP stairs and a NARROW SPIRAL Staircase" in my description.  One set of guests said the "steep stairs and narrow spiral staircase came as a complete surprise!!"  and gave me a negative review.  Then Airbnb dinged me for the "accuracy of my description" (probably a robot....)

It felt SO UNFAIR and I chewed on it for a long while before finally "letting it go"... 

 

Now I have it in CAPS, and in my response to their request to book (no Instant book for me!!) I ask them to confirm they have read the description about the steep stairs and narrow spiral staircase. If there is any hint that they have mobility issues (one was coming to my town for double knee replacement surgery....!) I suggest they book elsewhere. So far so good... 

Susie