Got a bogus bad review

[Mike1919]

Had a lady stay for really cheap as it’s my second guest. Everything was great. I gave her the code before she got there and she checked in 2 hours late which I said was fine. She stayed and it was good. Cleaning crew said they left it clean. I left her a 5 star review. 

She sent me thanks for the stay! In private. 

She gave a 3 star review complaining about every thing. Said I made her check in with me every hour. There was dust everywhere. Said the cleaning fee was a lot but it’s cheaper then any others near us. Said the price was higher and had less than other places but it was 69$ a night. Cheaper than any other around cause this is my 2nd guest and I need reviews. I gave her the code to check it on the plane before she got there but she complained that I didn’t give it to her upfront. Said she was afraid I’d be asleep when she got there at 12. Check in ends at 10. She had a code so I don’t know I needed to be awake. Said the floor creaked a lot but never told me until the review. 

is there anything I can do? This is my second review and it hurts that some one would do this to me. I may not get any more guests because of her. 

[Luana130]

Hi, it seems as if she is trying to get a refund. I had a similar situation with my second airbnb guest as well, I had given the discounts airbnb suggests, at the time I gave 20% for the first 3 guests and 50% for montly stays (didn't know airbnb would join both discounts) guest ended up getting a 70% discount for the month. Huge mistake on my part... Had a lot of complaints during their stay, said that it was unberable to stay here (I've only had 5 star reviews before and after him) and after about two weeks said he wanted to leave and wanted me to refund him. Kept insisting and complaining. Told him he could leave but there was no refund. He aplied for it, but he had no base so it was refused. He ended up staying until the end, and funny enough gave a 5 star review. I was dreading his review... Some people will do and say a lot to get a refund, they want a free Holiday. 

Since she already left you a review what I suggest is very polite and professional (no emotions) answer to all her complaints in your reply. Go point by point... Start with an apology, so that future guests can see... something like ...

" Hi X, I'm so sorry you had problems during your stay, we strive to give guests the best experience. The cleaners had assured me that they had cleaned everything, but I will ask them to be more careful so that they don't leave any dusty spot. As for the cleaning fee we try and charge as little as possible, we do have one of the cheapest rates around here. Since you were arriving at midnight, two hours after our check-in time, we though that sending you the entrance code before your arrival here would be enough but we will think about sending it a few days before from now on."

I'd say something o  those lines. Future guests will read her review, but also your reply.

Don't be too afraid of negative reviews, you will eventually get them. It is how you respond to them that matters.

[Mike1919]

Thank you so much. We’ll get right on it. Good to know my air bnb time isn’t up. 

[Anonymous]

@Mike1919 You might consider at least temporarily revising your fee structure.

What would help you most now is taking a rapid succession of short bookings and getting more reviews/ratings to dilute the negative one. The problem with having a $130 cleaning fee is that it basically punishes shorter bookings, as it averages out to a much higher nightly rate. Remember, the cleaning fee doesn't have to have anything to do with the actual cost of a cleaner; you can also build that into your nightly rate just as hotels do. 

Another thing:  looking at forums like these, you'll quickly notice that virtually every host posting about a negative or mediocre review describes it as "bogus," "fake," or "unfair." In the case of the particularly negative ones (1* and so forth) the complaints are indeed often faked or exaggerated. However, even if you feel the feedback was undeserved, it's important to take it on board and thoroughly check the property for anything you can improve - especially if you're outsourcing the cleaning. It's unreasonable to expect a new host to get everything perfect from the beginning; it's always a work in progress, and you have to be able to take the good and the bad feedback to find your groove.