Quality of Airbnb guests

Brenda-And-Jim0
Level 2
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Quality of Airbnb guests

Is it just us, or has the quality of Airbnb guests gone way down hill this summer?  Anyone else feeling this way?

 

3 years and 2,000 stays ago when we got into the business, the mentality among guests (as it should be) was that it was a privilege for guests to be staying in someone else's property.  That trend lately has seemed to reverse to where guests think that it is a privilege for us as hosts to be hosting these privileged guests.

 

Over the past couple of months, our inadvertent party count has shot up sky high.  Our review performance went from about 4.9 to 4.8 with some guests leaving comments about never coming back because the sheets were too clean (no joke, first time sheets were used and "smelled like febreeze and were not wrinkled so they must not have been washed, disgusting") or that time when the pool needed to be filtered/skimmed when there was a category 5 hurricane 100 miles away.

 

We had big plans with Airbnb and now sadly are considering distancing ourselves completely and would love some feedback on the direction the platform is going.

28 Replies 28
Sean433
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Brenda-And-Jim0 

 

I read two of the latest poor reviews guests left you and I was angry for you. just wow especially regardling the linens being too straight.

 

I wonder why you didn't leave Brenda a bad review- she seemed horrrible?

 

This is why it is ultra important to read the reviews your guests leave their previous hosts. You obviously have more experience then I do judging by how many reviews you have. But this is a great way to help avoid problem guests.

 

2 days ago, I had an inquiry by a guest that left the stupidiest review for one of her previous hosts. Almost as stupid as the review your guest, Brenda left you I am happy I declined her because she was so angry I declined her and proved that she was problematic.

 

There are unfortunately people out there that are triggered easily and do not understand that unlike hotels which are faceless and don't take poor reviews personally, we do! So what you have to do is manage the types of guests you receive. My above suggestion is we should screen our guests before accepting them to help manage the type of people we get.

 

TO EVERY HOST- START CROSS REFERENCING REVIEWS!

 

 

Daniel1516
Level 2
Manchester, United Kingdom

I have started cross referencing too after 2 years, the guests this year are a lot more problematic and have new tactics revolving around the review system. There should be an option to block guests automatically who leave below average reviews for hosts who have above average reviews. Obviously that will never happen as guests can leave the most ridiculous reviews as long as it is what they think happened. Must be Airbnb trying to accommodate for the guests with mental illnesses.

One of the problems I'm running into is prior Host are afraid to leave bad reviews out of fear the guest might return and do something stupid.  This past 6 months I've had the guest from hell.  The quality of integrity has changed over the past 3 years we have been operating.  I'm hearing from other Host the same thing.  What is going on????

Sean433
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Brenda-And-Jim0 

Also I have noticed that the guests who have used airbnb extensively and have 5 or more reviews under their belt can be the most problematic and difficult. Actually, the last two poor reviews you received were from guests who had several reviews as guests.

 

The first and second time airbnb users are usually more considerate because this is their first time not using a hotel and understand there is a difference. Whereas the experienced guests sort of have a sense of entitlement because airbnb is their new norm for accommodations where as hotels used to be their norm. Hence why they are rude in reviews since we have become their "hotel".

 

I have declined a guest with 5 perfect reviews only because she was nasty in a review of one of her previous hosts. When you chase the money, you get bit for it because you let certain red flags go.

 

 

 

That's a good point Sean, didn't think about reasons why the snobby 20 review guests could be that way, makes total sense although I think for the most part we have had overall pretty good experiences with them, but there is the exception here and there.  We did not review Brenda simply because we did not have much to say about her.  There was nothing wrong with her stay per se, but we were thrown off guard when we found paper towels lining a perfectly clean table when we got to the unit the next day.  We do try to look up what guests have written before and did catch Brenda's prior bizarre review, but wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.  We were wrong.  Good advice though for sure.

@Brenda-And-Jim0 

 

It is my policy now to NEVER accept a guest that has written a stream of negative reviews. Even if they wrote 4 good reviews and then wrote a 5 sentence horrible review for another host, I won't accept them. I don't want overly emotional guests in any of our listings. Besides the bad review, such people can cause severe harm such as reporting false issues with our homes to get us in trouble or submit a claim for a discount for frivolous things.

 

If every airbnb host did this, there would be a much higher caliber of guests on the platform.

can you maintain the superhost title with refusing guests  or is that solely your stance that you take knowing you might never achieve the title, if not id like to learn more about this 

You can refuse/decline guests on the instant book 3 times a year without getting dinged for it.

@Petar16 You can see the exact requirements for becoming/staying a superhost on your dashboard/profile under the progress page - press the superhost box for superhost requirements and the basic host requirement box for basic hosting requirements. 

Have you been Stolen from???   The past 4 guest I've had have also had sticky fingers.  I've had several phone charging cables stolen, Pot's and pans, rolls of toilet paper and paper towels, candy etc.  Some of the items are from our basement unsecure storage area.  You would think this wouldn't happen.  We have a no smoking on the entire property but that happens.  I've got many stories but not wanting to put to much out there.  We've had neighbors complaining about all the foot and vehicle traffic coming and going.  I can only suspect drugs>  Makes sense to me.  No one knows them or what they are doing.  Time to raise prices and hopefully get rid of the bad apples.

@Sean433 I definitely agree with that. While I have had great guests who have had a few reviews, I have also had people I don't want to host again who have dozen of reviews! 

 

I have been thinking about this lately ... I want the guests that try Airbnb because the hotels are full. I know that back in the day people booked an Airbnb for that 'local' experience. But I don't think it is like that anymore. I feel like people are booking airbnbs because they are oftentimes a lot cheaper than a hotel. I don't want the people who are too cheap for hotels. I want guests who try the Airbnb experience and realize that it's just as awesome as a hotel and that the price discount is an added plus.

@Emilia42 

 

Agreed. An airbnb should offer a unique experience that a hotel cannot. That is one of the competitive advantages of airbnb. The price is another one. Having private common areas, a kitchen, maybe a backyard (in some listings), multiple bedrooms under one roof for your family to stay together are other advantages

 

I am surprised people still use hotels to the level they do this day and age with so many wonderful airbnb listings out there. I never had a memorable stay in a hotel but I did in  airbnb's. I think you will start to see a lot of hotel customers using airbnb more and more when their friends keep telling them what they are missing out on.

Fiona243
Level 10
Birkenhead, United Kingdom

Wow, I just used AirReview to read Brenda's reviews of other places she's stayed, and she uses the same complaint about bed linens and towels not being clean on multiple of her reviews.

 

Either lots of hosts don't bother to provide clean linens and towels, or Brenda is unlucky enough to have stayed with those few hosts who don't provide clean linens, or maybe, just maybe, Brenda is making this up and likes to give bad reviews about linens.

 

Unfortunately we all occasionally get guests like Brenda, who complain about non-existant faults. We just have to hope that their bad reviews are outweighed by all the good reviews we get from other guests.

I just had a guest complain that I had only one bathroom. She did it privately but good grief. We show a photo of every room in the apartment and make it clear in the listing there are 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. One potential guest asked "is there a half bath?" NO! One bathroom.

Having said that, I was having lunch with a good friend who works for a major hotel chain. The stories of rude, dirty, inconsiderate guests had me laughing. Stealing the towels, the linens, the iron, etc. She said that some guests would steal the beds if it were possible.

It give me perspective. People think we're all rich. I remind guests they are living in my home. So far, almost all of my guests have been wonderful.