Hi,
I'm new to hosting (having hosted approx 10+ bookings) and have had excellent guests. However, I have experienced a guest with lower standards than expected and am cautious upon writing a negative review, despite her positive communication with regards to our hosting and her compliments on our house (via our air bnb message correspondence). In most I believe her to be young, with different expectations and inexperienced with air bnb properties. But I would love an expert to advise what they would do with the below scenario. Any questions or elaboration please do not hesitate to ask.
Hi, I'm wanting some advice on how and whether to write a negative review on my last guest.
Cleaner has advised that the house was left in a 'pigsty' with extra cleaning required. Guests did not comply with general house rules (dishes, BBQ not cleaned, rubbish not removed from yard and some type of party had taken place with party poppers streamed over the house). All of which are against our house rules. In addition all cupboards, benches, furniture needed additional cleaning. Unfortunately our cleaner did not take photos so i am not applying for any security bond to be taken (on this occasion). I have advised our cleaner to document evidence if this ever occurred again.
In fairness the guest did ask if they needed to vacuum and unknowing the current condition of the house I advised the house just needs to be left tidy and house rules (listed in manual, fridge and website) adhered to - BBQ clean, dishes, rubbish etc.
Aside from the cleaning issues I found the guest to have prompt communication and handled an emergency electricity problem we had with the house very well. Which we attended to promptly and immediately with local authorities to rectify the problem.
I have left a simple message for the guest to call me (none of the above details) but the guest has not, as yet, returned my call.
I have prepared the below review but I am wanting feedback before publishing
Public review
Maya and her group had great communication and acted responsibly in the event of an emergency.
Maya advised us of an unexpected power outage immediately and handled the situation calmly while we organized the local electrical company to resolve the issue.
I would suggest to any host to be very clear in your house rules and your expectations. Unfortunately our house was left in an untidy state and additional cleaning/fees were required. I believe clear communication with host expectations might avoid this situation from occurring again.
Private Review
Hi Maya,
Honest feedback is beneficial to hosts and guests and I'm sorry if our expectations were unclear.
Our cleaner has advised that the house was left in a disrespectful state and house rules were not adhered to
- BBQ was not cleaned
- dishes were not cleaned and additional dishes with food were left in the fridge
- all cupboard doors, fridges, microwave, some furniture, required additional cleaning
- rubbish was littered over our yard
- party celebrations resulted in additional cleaning (we do have a no party rule however we are flexible with celebrations provided you clean up after yourselves)
Our cleaner advised that additional cleaning was required and extra fees are applicable.
As a general expectation I would expect guests to leave the house in a tidy and respectful manner as it was presented to them and at a minimum, adhere to house rules.
I'm sorry if there was miscommunication with the need to vacuum however I was unaware with the state of the house with which you were leaving.
I am very pleased with the level of communication you have provided throughout your booking process and through the electricity emergency, however I would recommend allowing yourself extra time in the future to return the house to the tidy state you were presented with.
Thanks
Karen
In summary I think the guest was young and perhaps unaware of hosting expectations
