Fear of leaving a bad review

[Ellie-and-Scott1]

We just had guests check out and we’re afraid of getting a bad review. She booked for one person and in my initial questions let slip that there may be three people. Our place has one bed and a sofabed but I don’t leave bedding out for the sofabed unless there are more than two people. I told her (and it says in the listing) that there is a $25 fee for each person over two, per night. She then said there would probably be only two. They checked in late but clearly three people were staying there, we saw them coming and going. I sent her a note asking if there were three people and she wouldn’t respond. They stayed two nights and the morning they were to check out I received a message from her that they were disgusted, had video and were leaving. We went back to our guest house immediately as we keep it impeccable and couldn’t figure out what could possibly be the problem. She said the place was crawling with ants. We went inside and there were about ten sugar ants where they had left a bunch of food and donuts out on the counter. She was going on and on that she was disgusted and wanted to be compensated. We have only been doing Airbnb for ten months and have a 4.93 rating. We were terrified that she was going to give us a bad review so we refunded them a nights stay. No extra charge for the extra person staying there and to add insult to injury they left our place filthy. The toilet was backed up, there were grease smears on the furniture, dings in the wall from their luggage and bits of marijuana and ashes in the living area. I would love to be able to warn other hosts about these people as they are clearly scamming the system and horrible guests. But, I don’t want to leave any review because then they will be prompted to leave one and I’m worried they are going to give us a low rating. We spray the perimeter of the guest house regularly for any bugs and we clean it to the baseboards every time someone checks out. It’s immaculate. I could leave a warning review for other hosts that they break house rules (not paying for extra guest) and left our place filthy at the two week cut off time but they had some people come over during their stay that looked pretty rough (drug dealers?)  We don’t want retaliation on our house either.  It’s just frustrating that we were taken advantage of and clearly scammed via bullying... they know a bad review can cost us thousands in lost bookings. What if there was an Airbnb bad guest database that we could search before accepting bookings that is separate from the Airbnb guest profile? The review system isn’t working if we are being held hostage by these awful “guests”.  Do any of you still leave bad reviews or do you just not leave one if you don’t have anything nice to say and hope that the guest doesn’t  either? 

[Sarah977]

@Pat347  The reviews you as a host leave for guests don't come back to hurt us all. They assist other hosts. It's the unwarranted bad reviews guests leave that hurt hosts. 

And the star ratings you give a guest are not visible to the guest, only to other hosts. Guests can only see the written review you have left for them.

[Pat347]

@Sarah977star is not visible to guests? I have read that it was, maybe I wasn't read carefully. Thank you for your comment. I just started Airbnb and I'm scare to leave bad review too. 

[Sarah977]

@Pat347  What you should be more scared of is past reviews for guests who want to book with you that aren't honest and make you think the guest will be okay when in fact they were terrible guests and the hosts were scared to say that.

No, guests can't see the stars you leave them. And they can't read your review of them until both reviews are submitted, or, if the guest doesn't leave a review, your review of them will be posted 14 days after check-out. And then it is too late for the guest to leave a review at all. So they can't write a bad review of you just because you left a bad one for them- they can't see it until it is publicly posted.

Reviews don't have to be either completely good or completely bad. There is usually something positive you can find to say about a guest (unless they were just awful people all around) while mentioning the things that made them less than desirable. "XX was a good communicator during the booking process and pre-arrival, and quite friendly. However, his failure to thoroughly read the listing description and understand what he was booking and  to follow house rules made hosting him quite a challenge. More attention on this guest's part in the future as to the type of listing he is booking, as well as showing respect for house rules, would lead to a better host/guest experience."

Writing a review along those lines lets other hosts know the downsides, lets the guest know what areas he needs to improve in to be a welcome guest, and hopefully tells the guest that you are being fair, in that you also recognized his good qualities. 

If a guest is just really bad, though, don't try to sugar-coat it- no one wants a guest who has uncaringly made another host's life miserable.

And if a guest has been truly awful, wait a few days or a week to write a review if you're feeling mad or upset about it. That gives you time to get over it a bit and not be tempted to leave an emotional review- instead you can compose your thoughts and just write something brief and factual.

[Suzanne129]

I have had experiences where twice as many guests come as were reported.  Worst case, I have a maximum of six guests and 12 young men showed up for a bachelor party.  I have had so many experiences like this recently that I am ready to stop using Airbnb. Too many disrespectful people.

[Sandra856]

Dear @Suzanne129 🙂

When I started hosting I didn't have any houserules as I assumed people would be nice, respectful etc. I realized some aren't and some simply don't understand how to be an airbnb guest and what is expected. Make sure to write as a houserule, that only registret guests are allowed on the premises. Be nice but firm. Ask the guest when they book how many people will stay. I have made a direction guide were I repeat the houserules in the end : I write : As this is my home kindly respect bla bla bla.

Search this community for houserules and make sure to only communicate through airbnb message board as if you need help from Airbnb they can read your communication - that is very important. No communication outside airbnb message board. What I have learned is to be firm and make rules - set bounderies :-). 

[Denise691]

I make it very clear that there can be no parties, functions or people who aren't registered guests. When a booking comes in I reiterate this. No point in not doing this. It's better for you and better for the guests if they were intending on partying....let them go elsewhere. 

In that regard, the house next door to us was used as a huge party house for a year and Airbnb seemed to do nothing to stop it. 

In my opinion, anything more than 6 guests is going to be a problem.  

[Sarah977]

@Sandra856  I agree with you about keeping communications with guests on Airbnb messaging, but there are a few situations where it's not a problem to phone or text with a guest. In my case, the vast majority of my guests arrive by bus. I pick them up at the bus station, which is a 5 minute drive from my house, as it's much easier than them trying to find my hidden-away place on their own (although I do send them a map and directions as back-up). When they arrive at the bus station, they call me. Messaging wouldn't work for that as I have metered, cell-based internet and it's not just always "on". So the phone call works great for that, and there's nothing that could prove contentious down the line if I didn't have a record of the exchange. Also, as it's a 20 minute walk to town from my place, I suggest to single women that they text or phone me when they are heading back out to my place during their stay, so I'm aware of when to expect them and in case they wouldn't appear within half an hour, I'd go look for them. It's a safety measure that they've all been appreciative of.

[Sandra856]

@Sarah977 You are right - there are of course exceptions from that rule with keeping all communication via the message feed :-). I use my guests phone numbers to text if they don't react on my messages for instance. The reason why I wrote those things to @Suzanne129 is because she has an almost naked new listing with no rules etc. so I just thought I would mention what I have learned is important. And keeping communication on the message feed has helped me several times. 2 times lately to get airbnb to cancel reservations on my behalf because I heard alarm bells ringing very, very loud :-). 

[Sarah977]

@Sandra856  Yes, it was solid advice you gave. I could see a new host being all nervous about having to communicate by phone or text, though, even when it's appropriate, if they thought that it was a huge no-no to ever do.

I'm always surprised when a read a post from a host who's had a serious issue with a guest and they say all the communication apart from the original booking has taken place over Whatsapp or texting. Hard enough trying to have Airbnb help with problematic guests without also having no record for Airbnb to look at.

[Anonymous]

@Ellie-and-Scott1   You caught the guest lying to you and sneaking a third person in without payment or permission. And instead of facing this head-on, you sent them a meek note asking a question that you already knew the answer to. Everything that happened after that is largely a result of this huge mistake.

If you're going to work with the public, you need a better strategy for dealing with liars, cheaters, and scammers. The minute they perceive that you're afraid to confront them or enforce your rules out of fear of one bad review, they know that you're a doormat. You're basically giving them carte blanche to break all your rules, trash your property, demand ludicrous refunds...and if you go and throw money at them, they're still going to give you a bad review!

You mustn't forget, you aren't working for Airbnb - they're just the listing service you happen to be using. You're the boss of your business, and sometimes you've got to (wo)man up and act like a boss, rather than hold yourself hostage to anxiety over one stupid review that hasn't even been written yet. If someone considering your listing is too lazy to recognize 1 revenge review amidst dozens of positive ones for what it is, they're probably not someone you'd want having keys to your home.

There's nothing we can do about the fact that there are a lot of dodgy, amoral, and dumb narcissists out there - and obviously, people like this are having quite a big moment on the political and cultural scale. You can save yourself a lot of stress by screening them out in the booking process as best you can, and keeping a strong spine when they slip through.

[Sean433]

@Ellie-and-Scott1 

There is a good chance they've done this before and the previous host was also scared to leave a review and there is a good chance they will do it again. Unless, you wait until the very last second to leave a review and they won't have time to leave one back.

[Linda108]

Excellent feedback from the other hosts, @Ellie-and-Scott1 .  If you haven't had much contact with the general population as a business owner and you have an initial experience of great guests, it is easy to get lulled into believing that all your guests will be as kind, courteous and respectful as you are.  As suggested, having a strong clear response to guest misbehavior or breaking rules can be done in a respectful and kind  way but also must be firm.

While I am delighted with positive reviews I am not scared of negative ones.  I love holding on to the SH status but when a disgruntled guest gave me a poor review and rating causing me to lose the SH status I learned that it did not really affect my business and I did not lose thousands of dollars.

Just take a breath, reward yourself for all the good hosting you do and contemplate if there are any lessons learned that will serve you in your future. 

[Sarah977]

We all have different personality types. Some of us tend to be worrywarts, always anticipating the "what ifs" and on some level fearing the worst. Some are the type who just deal with things as they come up and don't waste their energy imagining scenarios that might never happen.

When it comes to reviews, those of us who are the worrywart types would do well to try to keep in mind that the reviews we submit are just an aspect of our hosting business, and should be thought of as business. It's not about worrying that leaving an honest review for a bad guest will make you look like a "not nice" person, or that "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." That adage is suited to things like not mentioning to your aunt that the dress she just bought actually doesn't do her any favors, not a customer review. We aren't reviewing guests as to who they are as people (we can't even really judge that, as they don't stay long enough to know that fully), we are reviewing them as to their suitability as guests. I hosted a couple who were lovely people, warm and friendly, always cleaned up after themselves in the shared kitchen, but left their bedroom /bath a disaster zone. 

As to whether a guest will leave a bad review, I think it's probably fair to say a host would have a sense of that, but I've also read posts here where a host was surprised to receive a good review from a guest who they anticipated would leave a complaining one. So it's not worth getting one's knickers in knot worrying about beforehand.

[Lauris-and-Gene0]

I've never had to leave a bad review for a guest, but find it really frustrating that I could potentially accept a request to host someone who had just trashed someone else's home because the previous host had not reviewed them - or had reviewed them but the review had not been posted yet because the occurence was less than 14 days earlier!