Guests that don't leave on time

[Tess46]

I had a group of 14 (yes 14) stay in my 4 bedroom home and they were only there for 6 hours. I had to ask them via text/email to be out by 11am (check out) but every time I sent them a reply to " we need to stay later" I would reply back that I had other guests coming in at 3pm and needed that 4 hour window to get all the laundry and cleaning comleted so that I did not disrupt the next guests plans.  They would reply about the same "ok we will be out at 11:30. By 11:50 they were still in the driveway just sitting in the car.  When I approached them, they said "we would have been out earlier but we only got here at 5am".  That is not my fault. Then he replied " also your water is funny" and I replied that it was well water and clearly stated online. (I provide gallons of water for every guest group). When they finally left I discovered a horrible mess, moved furniture, missing rolls of toilet paper, and a missing brand new roll of garbage bags that had been there the night before when I cleaned before there arrival.  Their review: " I have rats, bad water, and bad toilets"  What the heck? and I can not remove this. I left a response to that but I am afraid it will now affect my SuperHost rating and travelers looking at my listing.  First of all - how to get rid of people that stay way beyond the checkout, second - what to do if people take dumb items from the house (didn't notice this until after I wrote my review) and third - when a review is so off kilter (and I think it is because I wouldn't let them stay longer) what can I do?

[Emiel1]

Hello @Tess46 ,

Their review is : "Water was not good and there are rats found in the house". That's all. As a guest i would not take it that serious, compared to other reviews. Your (BTW too long) comment shows also your suprise.

Maybe contact Airbnb and ask for removal of "review". I noticed in your review you reccommend them as guests !

[Elizabeth429]

@Tess46,

Did you know about the number of guests coming to stay at your home? The larger the group the bigger the problem.

I always make sure I know when my guests are checking in. If you knew they were arriving at that time, you should have reminded them the check out time by writing way before their arrival.

Anyway, I can just imagine that trying to manage a large group of strangers is a difficult situation. Good luck next time!

[Tess46]

I have never left anyone a terrible review or rrsponse and unfortunately I rated them a three which I thought was kind of bad. I never noticed the missing rolls of toilet paper or garbage bags until after I had written the review next time I will know not to recommend a guest and wait until I see everything in the house that has been done before I write one. Thanks for the comment it is much appreciated!

[Sarah977]

@Tess46    Technically, when a guest overstays the check-out time without the host's agreement, they are trespassing. It seems harsh, and most hosts wouldn't do this, but at that point you could actually call the police to have them removed if you were so inclined. 

What I've seen suggested here by other hosts when guests just can't seem to get it together to leave on time is instead of getiing frustrated because they are cutting into your cleaning time if you have another guests arrival, is to do as you did- remind them of the check-out time, and if they aren't gone by then, you just go right in with your cleaning equipment and start cleaning- move their stuff onto the front porch, start vacuuming, etc. "If you want this stuff you left in the bathroom, please come get it or it's going in the garbage" kind of thing. As you found out, these kind of folks are probably going to leave a bad review anyway, so not much to lose there.

I have a one day prep window, as I don't want to have to rush to clean, but it seems to me that hosts who take back to back bookings might want to set a check-out time that's actually an hour earlier than they need to get in to clean. That way if the guests are pokey, it's not so frustrating and frantic.

[Tess46]

That's a great suggestion about moving the time back an hour and I think I will do that immediately. Thanks!

[Ute42]

@Tess46  , @Sarah977 , @Elizabeth429 , @Emiel1

Dear Tess,

unfortenalely I must tell You that I think You did not handle this situation real well.

A party of 14 people for one night only, the guest who booked had not uploaded a government id, no selfie and zero reviews. That smells like trouble right from the start. And they checked in at 5am, was that agreed upon?

Your guests review says:

Water was not good and there are rats found in the house.

Your answer:

…..........This family needs to be aware that this is the country and that there are noises on the roof from squirrels, birds, cats, etc. as well as other noise they may not be used to. There are bees and other wildlife that make noise around the house such as a discovered bunny nest outside the master bedroom window.

You come up with a list of animals they haven't even mentioned. Some potential guests reading this may think it sounds as if some of these animals could make it into the house. Also many people are afraid of bees, why mention them. You are hurting Yourself with Your reply, adding insult to injury.

Your guests have only one review, it is Your review.

Your review:

„This family had a quick overnight stop“

That's all? No mention of 5am check in and late check out?

And these guests have one recommondation and that is Your recommondation. So You are recommending these people to other hosts. Thank You.

Dear Tess, I really don't want to hurt Your feelings and I'm sure You are a nice person, but this went wrong.

[Tess46]

No hurt feelings. I've been doing this for several years(not all on Air BandB) and have not ever run into this. I am only trying  to better myself as a host which is why I asked for feedback. I have already put in place a 2 night minimum a few weeks before this. and plan to lengthen the time between check-out and check-in so that should help as well. Thanks for the feedback.

[Ute42]

Hi @Tess46 ,

good reaction an good decisions. One night stays are for hotels with a reception, for us they are nothing but trouble.

Try to have Your reply to the guest review removed by airbnb, it will hurt Your business.

New reply: "There are no rats. We have well water for the shower and drink water supplied seperately."

That's enough. All the best for You.