Mediocre Reviews

[Shari7]

I've hosted five parties at this point, one left no review, two left reviews raving about how much they loved our place and two left mediocre reviews. The two mediocre reviews were complaining about outdated furniture, smells old, no wifi and nothing to do.  I'm so confused! I listed my property as a "camp" even though it is a fairly nice house with all the modern conviences of life.  Including dishwasher, washer and dryer.   It is an old house with outdated furniture, it sits in a remote tiny mountain town surrounded by thousands of acres of State Forest Land, three State Parks and great fishing streams and river.  It is a remote area, cell phones don't work there much.  Heck its hard to get a radio station there.  I've been very clear about this in my information and photos but yet people come expecting something else and then leave less than positive reviews.  I kind of thought when I decided to do this that people who were into kayaking, fishing, hunting ect., ect. would be who I was hosting.  Yet I have gotten people who seem to be looking for Broadway and got lost.  I don't want to be rude in my description but it seems like I need to say something to discourage these people from coming.  I even put in my info all the dangerous animals that could be encountered and still they're looking for the lights of Broadway. 

[C-C0]

Go on and be rude. People always think they can "walk" anywhere in town from my house, even though we're in a major metro area! So I finally spelled it out for them! They don't read anyway.

[Helen3]

Do you spend some time getting to know your guests before they book. I think it's a really important part of the BnB process.

Unfortunately too many don't read the descriptions. Find out about your guests and their plans for their stay. 

Remind them that the beauty of your place is it's position, with stunning scenery and being away from it all in a tiny mountain town. That you have a historic home with furniture to suit (equipped with all conveniences.

Say if a guest is looking to be connected to the outside world 24/7 through their phone/computer and a modern state of the art accommodation,  than this isn't the place for them.

Ask them to confirm whether they are happy with this, before they book.

[Shari7]

I try very hard to get a dialogue going.  I send them a message spelling out everything we do and do not provide and then I give them a video to watch.  Its a beautiful fly over done by friends of mine in conjuntion with out local choir called "follow the river renovo".  It is very clear in that video how remote renovo Pa actually is.  The video starts in a town about an hours drive away called Lock Haven, it is the closest civilization.  I explain all of this very, very well and also do a disclaimer that we are not responsible for injury or death.  I don't think I could get much more clear than that, that you are going into deep woods. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me with this.

[Shari7]

The video is on you tube if anyone wants to watch it.  Put in search Follow The River Renovo it is the one done by Rich Wycoff.

[Sandra126 · Accepted solution]

I looked at the listing and it is really clear what kind of house it is. So in order to attract the kind of people who would love to go away from WIFI and Broadway I would add photos of people using the great PA wilds! Pic of people hiking, boating, kayaking or whatever Then for every pic of a dated room I would add an ace of a pic featuring the happiest looking hikers in a stunning spot nearby you can find. Musty curtains? Sure, but look at this glorious outdoors.

[Sandra126]

Bears! And your guests complained there's nothing to do... Let me say it again: Bears!

[Shari7]

🙂

[Kip0]

I read the reviews and I don't read them as saying your place is mediocre.  Seems like they are just confirming what you said about it being more rustic.  Your overall star rating is still very high.

I actually think the reviews all help reinforce what you were saying and help give color and character to your listing.

So, don't worry, be happy!  🙂

[Debi1]

I looked at your listing and at your reviews.  I agree mostly with what the others have said, but I have a couple of suggestions for you.

You list the home as "Camp" but you don't say why.  Make your first sentence in the description about camping out at the home and declare it a rustic, rural experience, not fancy but comfortable.  It's more like vacation rentals in the old days and your prices are amazing for the amount of space you offer.  Heck, you even offer to let people sleep on the floors which is something rarely done these days!

Your reviews can be your teacher.  Experiment with the following:

Use bullets.  You have a lot of paragraphs in your description.  Pull out high points and low points and line the down the page because people will scan and read more accurately.

What you will love about staying here:

*morning coffe on the porch watching the mist on the river

*incredible wildlife (relate the experience about the baby bear)

*birdsong uninterrupted by traffic noise

*full kitchen (but rustic)

*sleeps 10

* 3 bathrooms, one with tub/shower

What you will hate about staying here

*rustic, camplike experience (do not expect fancy)

*intermittent cell reception

*no wifi

*basic cable

*100+ year old home that will take you back into time

See what I mean?  You can hit both the readers and the non-readers this way and still wax eloquently somewhere else.

Have fun with it!  Hosting can be loads of fun and let your own excitement be a part of the guests' reading enjoyment.

 You can also have a separate list of bulleted items that you send to the guest once they have booked.  If they have not read your entire description, they might at least read a separate note hitting the high points.

[Nancy-and-Scott0]

I find that no matter how much information we put in our ad, - People just don't read it, or don't read the whole ad, or don't read it thoroughly. It's very frustrating. I understand your issue.

[Gene8]

Agree with everyone here. Additionally, use the public response to clarify any perceived misunderstanding. State your position. Link to do this can be found underneath all reviews.

[Sandra126]

Retro home seeks adventurous guests! Do you like the great outdoors? Not fussed about mod cons and cell reception? Come and stay in my family vacation house set by excellent fishing waters in the deep hilly forests of Pennsylvania. Here you will be surrounded by all the wildlife you want and more, plenty of space to run around and there's even a cubby house for the children. Follow the tradition of my own family, welcome to my place!

You could say something like that.

[Ciern0]

oh dear! This can be really frustrating. 

You can always reply to their reviews as I believe this could help a little for your next guests 🙂

Yes, sometimes we can have unreasonable guests who don't read description or even they do, they go on expecting different things.

Just accept it and move on. You will definitely get better reviews from genuine guests next time! 🙂 happy hosting!

[C-C0]

I like that idea about the bullet points. I went to that after this old curmudgeon complained about my description being too long to bother with!!