Guests leave a bad review but still booked the same villa twice!

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Guests leave a bad review but still booked the same villa twice!

In a world where we just see people and not color, class, creed, background... you find just that odd person who makes you go hmmm... really?! I'll cut to the chase.

 

After having over 40 5 star reviews on Airbnb, VRBO and other website, you get that one guest that really makes you go hmmm ... smh...really?...

We always aim to go above and beyond and we do not discriminate. We had our 2nd guests stay at one of our recent homes who just from day one you couldn't please. From begging for discounts on their stay, to begging to use an outside chef and housekeeper and having extra guests over...it just started going downhill. We try to be flexible where possible and will decide what we will allow and won't allow.

The only issue that occurred during their stay was 1 AC unit cable stopped working (no fault of ours and the developers and AC techs were around the clock trying to fix the issue). It was fixed and the guests were comped grocery vouchers, comped 2 beach club facilities, provided a portable AC unit. 2 of the guests were even offered to be put up in another villa which they refused 3x!.. 

 

It gets better. They complained so much about everything that they asked to extend their stay and didn't want to go to another villa because they love our, the service and amenities provided. Btw they also begged for a discount on their second booking. Instead of extending, they booked 2x so essentially they got a day free. This guest has never had a review. Remember that housekeeper? She called and indicated she was no longer working for them. And turns out the chef wasn't an actual chef. They called my phone all sorts of hours so they can have people over. In addition, we received noise complaints and smoking in a prohibited area.

 

All in all, we were left with damages to the home, a dirty place and items that are prohibited. In addition, they indicated they weren't leaving the villa at the check-out time as per policy; the same check-out time to which they agreed to. To top it off the indecent slurs from guests who call themselves "lawyers and doctors having stayed at prestigious places" were witnessed by the team, security and personnel who shared the same color skin.

 

Note to Superhosts/hosts: Always watch the red flags of not so nice guests; asking for discounts, no reviews or bad reviews, complain about everything yet wanting to book again or extend their stay, having extra guests over, failing to comply with rules and policies. Maybe we made the mistake of allowing them to extend their stay...

 

What good can we take away from this? Airbnb or not, we will continue to provide 5 star service, products and experiences. PERIOD!

1 Best Answer
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Danielle681   "Maybe we made the mistake of allowing them to extend their stay..."

 

I'd say the mistake you made was accepting their booking in the first place when they started out by asking for a discount (this right away shows disrespect) and didn't even have any reviews. Then you continued to allow them to make more demands and even comped them stuff.

 

These entitled types are never happy, and the more you bend over backwards to accommodate them, the more they want and they appreciate none of it- it's just all about them. And in the end, no matter what you did to try to help them out, they leave a bad review.

 

It's great that you pride yourself on providing a 5* experience and amenities, but when you see right off the bat that they are demanding and entitled, practice politely saying NO.

 

Save the extra special service for guests who are nice and appreciative.

View Best Answer in original post

26 Replies 26
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Danielle681   "Maybe we made the mistake of allowing them to extend their stay..."

 

I'd say the mistake you made was accepting their booking in the first place when they started out by asking for a discount (this right away shows disrespect) and didn't even have any reviews. Then you continued to allow them to make more demands and even comped them stuff.

 

These entitled types are never happy, and the more you bend over backwards to accommodate them, the more they want and they appreciate none of it- it's just all about them. And in the end, no matter what you did to try to help them out, they leave a bad review.

 

It's great that you pride yourself on providing a 5* experience and amenities, but when you see right off the bat that they are demanding and entitled, practice politely saying NO.

 

Save the extra special service for guests who are nice and appreciative.

Thank you for the positive feedback Sarah. Lesson learnt. That was the first and it definitely the last for us. Will definitely save the extra special for guests who are appreciative, respectful of the home and its' amenities and genuinely nice. 

 

Meehyun0
Level 3
Lucas Valley-Marinwood, CA

Can hosts read reviews left by the guest who wishes to book your place?  Usually reading what they say about others speaks thousand words.

MeehyunK

Yes, if you download the Air Review extension, it will show you all the reviews that have been left and given in one place.

 

You can also see reviews guests have left for hosts by just clicking on the hosts' who reviewed the guests profile pics, which will take you to the host's profile page. Then scroll down their reviews to see what sort of review that guest left for the host.

 

@Meehyun0

Meehyun0
Level 3
Lucas Valley-Marinwood, CA

Thank you!   What is Aireview extension? My apologies for my ignorance!

regards, Meehyun

MeehyunK
Meehyun0
Level 3
Lucas Valley-Marinwood, CA

Thank you for this app.  I will start using it!😎

regards, Meehyun

MeehyunK

Just so you know, my Air Review app isn't working properly- it says "the host didn't leave a review" under all the guests' reviews of the host, on the host's' review pages, when in fact the host did leave a review, which I could find by going to the guest's profile page. Another host mentioned this was happening with their Air Review as well. I've been meaning to uninstall and reinstall it to see if that fixes it, but keep forgetting. 

 

If it's working properly it should show all the reviews and responses between a host and guest in the same place.

@Meehyun0

Mine isn't working either, @Sarah977.  

Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Danielle681  They sound terrible.  When you say, "We try to be flexible where possible and will decide what we will allow and won't allow," I know what you mean by that.  But @Sarah977 is 100% right - when a guest gets the idea that you'll consider every request or demand, they'll keep coming up with more.  I had that guest last week - the blondest, most white-bread guest of all time - who just would not stop with the demands.  It started when I gave in to her first request, then snowballed from there.

 

It has nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with what my mother used to call "home training."

.

@Ann72  

 

It's always good to know how to say NO.

 

I'm just having a guest inhouse who booked in January. 4 weeks ago she started to ask if they could park a camping trailer on my premises.

 

  • Ute: NO

 

My place is up on a hill, the driveway is gravel, steep and narrow and there is absolutely no spot to park a trailer. Then she started to ask me if I could find her a „place in the area“ to park their trailer.

 

  • Ute: NO

 

Of course I could find her a place in the area but I don't feel like doing so. Because this would be the starting point of asking for more and more extra sausages. She has meanwhile asked me 5 times about the trailer: 2 emails, 2 phonecalls and 1 text message 2 days prior to check-in = NO.

 

I don't understand why they want to bring this trailer. My house sleeps 10 and they are 7 people. She knows that she can't sneek in more people bc I live on this lot and I told her so in a phonecall when she booked.

 

They checked in on Sunday and today is tuesday, I haven't heard a word from them ever since. I think that's the benefit of 5 consecutive NOs in a row.

 

Thank you for the wonderful feedback Ute42. Funny thing is, in the past, we have had some guests making alot of requests that goes against our policies and we nicely responded with a no. They still left us 5 star reviews because they eventually recognized and respected our standards and values. Not everyone is the same - we learned the hard way. Definitely will not drop our standards regardless. As the saying goes "sometimes all money aint good money"

@Danielle681  That's the weird psychological thing about the entitled, demanding types.  When you politely and professionally but firmly let them know that you can't accommodate their special requests, they tend to become more respectful.

 

It's like they're used to having people kowtow to them, therefore they don't have much respect for anyone, because they view everyone else as weak, but when they realize you're not intimidated by the methods they use to get their way, they view you as someone to respect.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ute42 

 

Huma: What time would you like to check in, bearing in mind that check in is from 3-9pm?

 

Guest: We will check in at 9am. Ha, ha.

 

Huma: Erm, no, that won't be possible. The previous guests don't have to check out until 11am and then the house needs to be cleaned. The earliest I can do is 3pm.

 

Guest: So, we will check in at 10am then. Ha, ha.

 

Huma: No. Sorry, you can check in at 3pm earliest. I cannot accept your booking until you confirm this.

 

Guest: Okay, we will respect your check in time and come at 3pm. Ha, ha. (confirms this twice).

 

Huma: Great. I will expect you at 3pm then.

 

Guest (at 9am on day of arrival): Guess where we are, ha, ha? We are buying breakfast at Sainsbury's.

 

Huma: No response.

 

Guest (at 9.15am): Guess what we are doing now, ha, ha? We are eating breakfast in your local park. Ha, ha.

 

Huma: No response.

 

Guest (at 9.30am): We are outside. Can we check in now?

 

Huma: NO. You can check in at the agreed time of 3pm. I would suggest you do not waste the next few hours of your time but go and do some sightseeing instead.

 

Guest: Ok.

 

3pm: guests arrive.

 

Guests (at 3.05pm): We need to do our laundry now.

 

Huma: Sorry, NO. Short term guests are not allowed to use my washing machine. It's stated on the listing. I can do it for you for a fee.

 

End of conversation. No more demands. No review received.

 

And yes, this guy did end almost every sentence with 'ha, ha!'.