My first bad guest... how to review?

[Aimee80]

Hi there,

I am relatively new as a host and I had my first bad guest. It was a little scary and Airbnb was not a lot of help. Called it a difference in personality. I am posting here the review I want to leave, but am asking for your feedback. I think other hosts should be warned, but I am afraid of negative retaliation. What do you think? Thank you!

"Unfortunately, this is a review I was hoping to not have to write, as I have had such wonderful guests so far. Things did not go well with this guest. He did not communicate at all about his stay, or arrival time. He began sending texts that didn't make sense immediately upon arrival. He claimed I had a cat (I don't) and that things in my house were left by the previous guests. (they were not) I got the sense he was unhappy so I offered him a full refund if he wanted to cancel his stay. After receiving this offer, he stopped texting. The second evening of his two night stay I was woken up in the middle of the night to a loud pounding on the front door, and loud yelling, loud enough to wake me up. This was on a Monday night in a sleepy town of 500 people, and I received a complaint from a neighbor the next morning. After getting dressed and going around the front of the house (I use a completely separate entrance, and don't enter the guests space uninvited at all during their stay) Justin yelled at me "You locked us out of the house!" I asked him where the keys I provided him were. He yelled "Well someone locked us out." (He had forgotten his keys and locked himself out). I did not feel safe being yelled at in this way. A simple text to inform me he had forgotten the keys was all that was necessary. This was my first negative experience with an Airbnb guest. I was surprised at this behavior from a current Airbnb host, and one with so many positive reviews. He is definitely not welcome back into my home, and I cannot recommend him as a guest."

[Linda108 · Accepted solution]

@Aimee80   General rule of thumb with host reviews is the shorter the better.  No need to go into detail as to all that made you uncomfortable.  This can ignite unwanted communication that you really don't want to deal with.  Simply give a thumbs down and he will not be able to Instant Book.  You could add a couple of sentences such as, "This guest is better suited to a hotel environment due to difficulty with communication and respect for the shared home environment."  Hosts are warned and you will not be bothered by him again.  

[Aimee80]

Thank you! Great advice. It's so upsetting to offer your home to someone who makes you feel afraid, it's hard to not want to respond in detail.

[Gordon0]

That may be, @Aimee80, but it's invariably the long-reviewer who looks a little unhinged in these circumstances. Short, not sweet. 

[Victoria789]

Thank you LInda!  I really appreciate this example of a review to input.  And I agree with you to not go into specifics! Since we last communicated, things did get worse. I can deal with the sarcasm; however, the filthiness was over the top...to say the least.  Right before I went on my two day trip, he asked for the vacuum. So I left him a handwritten note as to the location of the vacuum (not knowing what he was really saying was "I want you to vacuum my room.") Though I had initially given a tour of the area he could access in my home, and where everything was located, he still asked where the bathroom tissue was although there was a sign on the wall stating such. Nevertheless, as aforementioned, he never like to read "the directions or rules" whatever I had posted regarding the house. 

Fast forward: about 6 days before checkout, June 11, he decides to send me a message through Airbnb regarding the price for two additional weeks. Now, It is obvious that he still does not know how to navigate through the Airbnb site as he asked me to extend his reservation for him (the first time) and so I did. However, what really surprised me about his message was he had just complained to me May 26 how he dislike Airbnb and did not like that "they" had his credit card" and how he did thought that what he was charged for was not what I was paid as there are fees involved and that I no knowledge of his credit card number. I also told him that perhaps Airbnb was not a good fit for him and perhaps a hotel environment would be more to his liking. 

Well anyway, after getting this message from him to extend for two additional weeks (after June 11) I KNEW this wasn't about to happen AGAIN! So instead of my blatently outright denying his request, I just decided to send him an EARLY CHECKOUT REMINDER.  It was not my intention to send it so early but I wanted him to know, in a nice subtle manner, that in no way was I going to extend him knowing how he disrepects my home as it is....Oh trust me, he was definitely set on staying as he had just gone out and purchased SIX tomato plants! So, I made sure I included in the reminder to not forget his tomato plants. He replied, "No Problem"

Shortly thereafter, I started to receive texts of Bible verses from him and his wife on my personal phone. I blocked them both as I was not about to sway my decision. My mind was made up. Four days had past, and I sent a FINAL CHECKOUT REMINDER and this time I asked for confirmation to ensure delivery and that he had read and understood it.  With sarcasm, he states "My departure is scheduled for Tuesday morning 9am is what I am paid up to check your Airbnb."  Am I missing something? I went through the thread, checked the reservation, and even went back to my calendar to see if I had actually MISSED something? Um, I know that checkout is anytime before 11am as I had already indicated. But this is besides the point... I did not know if he was going to leave for work at 3am and then return to my home at 9am just to deliver me the keys. I really think it was just a POWER thing with him...so I just let it go and expect the unexpected. 

Monday evening,  when he arrived home from work, I asked him did he get the message I had sent him though Airbnb? I just kept walking....so  typical of him...he doesn't like to be asked questions....so I asked him, "Excuse, me? Did you hear my question?" And finally, he said, "Yes, I got your message." And my reply was, "Well, when you leave in the morning, just leave the keys in the bedroom doorknob ..." Then he replies, "I am leaving tonight and i will give them to you when I leave." Like I said, it was all a POWER thing to him to hold on to my keys at the very end.....whatever!  

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED: Finally...he is gone! Hallelujah! It took me about four hours to clean up the bathroom and bedroom. There was filth everywhere! It looked like a gas station restroom! Urine droplets stained the floor. Fecal matter all over the commode...oh and did I say that it (fecal matter)   includes the tissue holder!  Disgustingly gross! I was so tired but pleasingly gratified!! Oh, Thank you!!

Yes, he even tossed the Memorial Day bouquet I had given him to show appreciation for his service as a veteran all over the bedrom dresser. This appreciation also included a complete dinner from KFC. 

It's all good!  No hard feelings! I am just soooo glad that this slob is finally out of my house! Thanks to you for your support and others as well. My only question now is when do I review this person? Is it an immediate reply or do i wait for Airbnb to remind me to do so?

[Lisa723]

I agree with previous advice except for the "better suited to a hotel" part. I dislike that phrase because it could pretty much mean anything. As a host, I just want the facts. Also, I would report him to Airbnb and block him:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/HOW-TO-BLOCK/m-p/976977

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Aimee80 

I personally think reviews should mention briefly and in summary WHY you don't recommend a guest. I agree with @Lisa723 that a generic "better suited for hotels" comment without any details is not very helpful.

Regarding your review draft here is how I'd amend it:  Things did not go well with this guest. He did not communicate at all about his stay, or arrival time and after arrival sent texts complaining of things that made no sense. The last night of his stay, I was woken up in the middle of the night to a loud pounding on the front door. The guest was yelling at me because he forgot his keys and locked himself out. I did not feel safe being yelled at in this way and a neighbor complained about it the next day. This was my first negative experience with an Airbnb guest. He is definitely not welcome back into my home, and I cannot recommend him as a guest. 

[Mandy81]

@Aimee80 I am sorry you had to deal with such a difficult guest it's horrible when you open up your home and people repay you so negatively. I agree with previous posters that your review should be more brief however I think as a fellow host I would like to know if someone displayed aggressive behaviour if they communicated badly and were disrespectful most of all if you would not recommend them I would want to know that too in your review it's just helping other hosts to make an informed decision.