How to write a negative guest review

[Bob39]

I'm a little uncertain, as I am a new host and this was only my third booking. The first two bookings both went beautifully, and the guests left glowing reviews of me and I did the same for them. But this last booking was strange and I'm not sure what to say and how to say it properly.

The contact person for the group was polite, sweet and appreciative in all her messages with me. And in person at check-in and check-out. But some weird things happened including the disappearance of a small piece of my property.

The group arrived 6 hours earlier than they had said they would, which was not a problem, since the house was completely ready, except for the fact that the house was hot inside from the afternoon su and I had not turned on the air conditioning yet. I had to run through the house, shut all the windows and turn the air conditioning, while they were unloading stuff from the car and walking around from room to room. Not a big deal, but if they had told me earlier they were arriving sooner, I would have done this before they got there. 

They also had trouble finding the house, even though I had sent a message asking them to call or text me when they arrived in town, and I would guide them to the house - they did not do this. A neighbor alerted me to the fact they were driving around looking for the house.

They had more people in the group than I expected - the house sleeps 5 and I thought 5 were coming, but there were 6 including an elderly couple. The contact had asked me earlier in the day if I had an air mattress, so I brought one over to the house. Again not a big deal except for the fact that they weren't honest with me about how many people were coming.

One piece of decoration in my house is a tiny bottle of gold flakes, real gold but a tiny amount. It sits on the windowsill above the kitchen sink. After they checked out, I noticed it was missing, and I have searched the entire house and it's gone. A replacement could be bought for $12 at the local gift shop, so it's not a huge financial loss. But it disturbs me that they apparently decided to just take it with them. It makes me feel they are untrustworthy.

I went all out for this family - bought a few Chinese food items for them to cook with, and green tea which they never opened, gave them ample information on the local sights they asked about, baked cookies and brownies and left a plate of them out, got the air mattress and bedding for it, and even bought them drink tokens for the local tavern. I feel like they took advantage of my generosity and kindness and decided to make off with a decoration in my house. It's just the principle of it more than the monetary value.

Another oddity was that one of the two rugs on the kitchen floor was soaking wet. I have no idea how it got that way and I don't think I want to know. No permanent damage from it; it just creeps me out. They also decided to completely rearrange my spice jars and other seasonings into a new scheme - ok, not a big deal either, whatever makes you happy, folks.

I haven't contacted them at all since they left and I haven't written a review of them yet. I don't really know what to say about them, but I'm certain that I would not allow that group to enter my house again, mainly due to the missing item. I could not trust them. Any suggestion any of you have for me on what to write will be appreciated. Thanks!

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

The first thing is that not all guests will leave you with the urge to write a glowing review. Some guests are just so-so, want to do their own thing, are not particularly friendly perhaps - but at the end of the day abide by your rules, do everything that is necessary and so they are, in my opinion good guests.

In this instance what seems to bug you most is the missing item - as you say it's low value, not really a big deal, but it's the principle. I would probably drop the a line just to say, did they by any chance see a small bottle, etc... Could be that it got broken and someone was afraid to mention it, etc... If they say no, then you have two options either you say they stole it or you don't mention it. That's really what it comes down to.

The other  items are not particularly an issue - the extra people, they did in fact ask if they could bring a blow up bed so that should have been a indicator of extra people and you could have charged for or challenged that. Sometimes people just don't see the max numbers for the property, or believe they can bring a few extra as they are renting the entire property. I would suggest on this point that in future you ask your guests to confirm how many people will be staying as part of your email exchange.

Wet rug, rearrange spices and seasoning - not really something to give a bad review about in my opinion.

If it was me, I would probably just give a fairly bland review, but wouldn't try and suggest that they had stolen an item, etc. For me the bigger issue would be extra guests who did not pay.

Here's a suggestion.....: Good communication up front but arrived with additional people, which was not a problem as I was able to accommodate their needs at short notice.

And then depending on what they say re the bottle...means you add another line: damaged item paid for/missing item returned to me after their stay.

That will flag to other hosts to double check numbers in the party. 

[Bob39]

Thank you for your reply. I will save this and take your advice on it.

Bob

[Amaris0]

I'm very sorry to hear your experience, you definitely did go all out but unfortunately not everyone appreciates over and above gestures as such.

There are a few points here not just concerning the review aspect I would like to touch on - 

1) Don't worry about the air conditioner, I wouldn't even mention it. Like you said they arrived 6 hours earlier than agreed, there was no reason for the air-conditioner to be on so many hours in advance if it was not being used at the time; also if they arrived earlier than you check-in window then you were actually doing them a favour permitting them to check-in early.

2) Difficulty locating property - they had you address and you clearly told them to contact you in order to assist with direction, it was their choice not to do so. The only suggestion I could add to this is perhaps in future sent a link with directions from a known place near you home to your home or a map which they can print off or take pictures before setting out on their journey. Some people do not have data or phone access immediately in arrival in a different country.

3) More guests than originally booked - your property is listed as max 5 guests, If you allowed additional guests over the permitted amount on your listing access to stay in your property then you put yourself in a risky position unless of course you altered the reservation to reflect the change and the guest accepted. If there were any issues down the line with these guests and you required the support of Airbnb, how can they back you if you changed failed to observed the booking term by permitting more people than approved to stay.

4)Missing items - this is more tricky.  If you are going to make reference to this then you need to approach the guest about this first and give them a chance to response. You might be sure they took it but if they deny it and you don’t  have evidence that they took it then it would be risky to indicate so as they might turn around and complaint about this to Airbnb.

I can totally understanding you decision never host these guests again and that is one question you will have when you are leaving a review 'Would you recommend this guest to other hosts?', I guess your answer to that will be no.

You could mention that although the guests were pleasant, you found them a bit challenging particularly in keeping to arrangements and following some of your house rules. They seemed to have a nice time whilst in Goldfield and you wish them all the best for the future. If they mention any if the issues you have stated in their review, you will have an opportunity to respond publicly and it will indicate the challenges you already mentioned you faced in your initial review.

Here’s to better experienced going forward….

Ama

[Bob39]

THank you for your reply and your useful suggestions. I have sent a message to the guest asking if they or any of their group found the bottle of gold flakes among their belongings.

[Sandra126]

I agree with @Gerry-And-Rashid0 that the biggest issue is the bringing of extra people. I have had a soaking wet rug too, think a spilt waterbottle maybe? It dried. I have also had missing items which seem to show up in really unexpected places weeks or months later on. Not always missing at all! The extra people would have made me reject them at check in. You were very nice throughout, and unexpected things happen all the time when you have accommodation.

Best to cool your heels for a couple of days before writing a review so that it is professionally worded, it is there forever!

[Bob39]

Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure what to do about extra people that show up for future bookings.

In this booking, before they arrived, they sent me a message asking if an air mattress was available because two of the group did not want to sleep together. I happen to have an air mattress so I brought it over. At that point I still thought there were only 5 people coming. The house has 2 queen beds and a twin bed, so 5 can sleep if they are sleeping together. I though it just meant that 2 of them did not want to share a bed, so I provided the air mattress and a blanket and pillow.

As it turned out there were 6 people, and they used the air mattress, but I don't know who used it. They moved my living room furniture to make space on the floor for the air mattress.

I don't know how to handle it in future cases. They already paid to Airbnb, and if they show up with more people they said were coming. What do you do? Do you not allow them in, because of the extra person? Then what happens? Or do you charge them extra? If so, how do you do that? I guess Inhave a lot to learn about that aspect of it.

[Bob39]

Update...

I sent a message to the guest saying, "Did you or any of your family members happen to find a small bottle, containing gold flakes floating in water, within your luggage or belongings? Thanks, Bob"

She replied, "I have no idea? Let me ask them."

Then an hour later she replied, "The girl (my stylist) said she did saw a bottle with gold pieces on the kitchen's window deck, but she had put it back after she watched it a while."

I thanked her for the info and said no more. But this opens up a new mystery... who was this "girl?" The only other female in the group when they checked in was an elderly woman, who I think she introduced to me as her mother. When did this "stylist" appear? I recall that when they left, they were all dressed lavishly as if on their way to a wedding, even though they were facing a 3.5 hour drive in the desert heat to their next stop, which they stated was Las Vegas.

It seems now they may have had even more people come in the house during the night than I knew about. Or in the morning. I'll never know for sure what they did.

I think in this case I'm better off saying nothing, and not leaving a review on them. If I say anything negative, I run the risk of making myself look bad - coming across as overly picky or even accusatory. Since I have only 3 reviews so far, all of them positive with 5 stars on everything, I don't want to tarnish that record with anything negative, even if it's from what I say.

[Sandra126]

@Bob39, stylist? Yes, a group most definitely. I would not allow more people than my max, which is 4. If they were to protest (nobody has) I will simply say ''my insurance only covers 4 adults, I am not able to accommodate you.''

Clear enough.

[Sandra126]

@Bob39, should tell you too that if you are writing with someone in mind for a question or a reply, type @ and their name, they will get an alert.

cheers

[Jennifer73]

I had an asian guest that left the bathroom rug absolutely soaking wet as well? It was really strange.

They also had more guests than they paid for. I am thinking that I will install a camera in the back of the house so I can keep track of how many people come and go for security reasons. It is your home and you want to keep it safe. I have had really good luck so far with a few head shaking experiences but overall just wonderful folks traveling through here!