Reply to review after 14 days

[Bob39]

Tomorrow is the last day of the 14-day review period. I have not written a review of the guest because I really don't know what to say. (They were polite, clean and nice, but they filmed a movie inside and outside my house without my permission or knowledge.) 

The guest has written a review of me, but I haven't seen it because the 14-day period is not over yet. When it ends, the guest's review of me will go online. Will I still be able to write a reply to their review even though the 14-day period has ended?

[David-and-Fiona0]

Why wouldn't you write a review? This is what makes the system work. Be brief and honest. 

[Bob39]

Because I don't know what to say.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Bob39 what kind of mouvie? Was it porn or something else? Proffesional for commercial use or just some amateur thing for Youtube ? With proffesional equipment or with iphone or photo camera? 

Many people today are making private videos about their trip or their daily activities and just share them on youtube with their friends and followers. If that's the case I wouldn't be upset and wouldn't mention it at all.

But in case of filming for a commercial use or porn then it is unexceptable without your permission, contract and at much higher price of course. 

[Bob39]

I don't know what kind of movie. I only found out about it after the fact, because I was out of town. My friend who cleaned the house for me said they had moved a large artificial plant from the dining room out to the front porch and left it there. When I got there I noticed they had moved a couple pieces of furniture to different positions. And my neighbor across the street told me they had a camera and lights and were filming out front. She also said they were noisy outside at 4 a.m.

I sent a message to the guest that said, "Did you do filming at my house?"

The guest replied the next day with this:
"Hello Bob.
Yes! We took advantage of Nevada and took millions of pictures and even filmed a bit.
We all are artists (students, amateurs and I am a music composer myself).
We decided to visit your city mostly because of the proximity of the Car Cemetery and Bonnie Claire (both places where we shot amazing pictures and footage). We also took advantage of the very scenic highway between Goldfield and Tonopah.
We only shot for NON COMMERCIAL projects. Basically our personal projects, art projects or free contest submissions.
Since we loved your house, we’ve also done some camera/lens testing for 2 hours (at sunrise) right before leaving (because we like to improvise and try new things) but once again this was for personal/artistic purpose and NON COMMERCIAL. I insist, this wasn’t a paid job or a command job at all.
I was traveling all day yesterday and today, but I’ll take a moment tomorrow to leave you a 5 star review since your place was comfy and perfectly located for scenic landscapes lovers like us :)"

(Bonnie Claire is a couple of old buildings about an hour's drive away. They rented my house for 2 nights but when they arrived at 2 a.m. the first night the power was out to the whole town so I refunded them the first night. His profile states that he is from New York.)

[Linda108]

@Bob39  How did you know this activity occurred?  What did the guest respond when you asked about the filming?  If you did not message them about your concerns, you could still include a private message when you review.  Your review could be honest about how they conducted themselves as guest and also state you are seeking clarification regarding filming activity.  That is honest, right?

[David126]

Do you require permission to film on your premises?

[Bob39]

No. It has never come up before so I have no policy in place about that in my house rules.

[Susan10]

This is naive question.  I would urge to you look up photographers rights.  Private property is excluded - the owner has to give express permission for photos while actually on their property.

Bob I would advise you to take legal action as what those guests did was wrong.  There have been many stories of these young selfie generation taking pictures and facing legal reprecussions later. 

The selfie generation needs to be educated that they are not free to film anything they want whether it is harmless or not.  Harmlessly sharing it of media outlets does not make it ok.

[Bob39]

What I am asking in this thread is: if the guest's review goes online at the end of the 14-day period, can I still reply to their review, even though it has been more than 14 days since they checked out?

[Linda108]

@Bob39  There is a period of time in which when you view the review you can provide a reply which will show up on your reviews.

[Jess21]

@Bob39 I think you only have the 14 day period to reply. I would actually leave a review saying exactly, word for word, what you said - nice folks but they filmed without your permission. That's 100% factual and accurate. 

[Rachael26]

@Bob39

I agree with the others - you should definitely leave a review.

But to answer YOUR question - yes, you will be able to repsond to whatever review they leave on your listing.... but I have to ask is that the whole point? All that will achieve is that prospective renters of your lovely home will know that some art students filmed at your place. 

It will not alert future hosts to the possibility that these guests may take liberties, filmed without permission, worked all hours, moved furniture (none of that is a crime of course - unless the noise at night bothered neighbors - which in this case it did!) - so if you choose not to leave a review - future hosts will not know any of this.

I think a short brief review - with a few private comments to both the guest AND Airbnb will be the best solution. AND if you would not want to have them back - then leave a THUMBS DOWN.

But you must do this before time runs out!

Best Wishes.

[Bob39]

OK, I will say, "They were polite and clean, but they moved furniture and filmed some kind of movie inside and outside my house, without my knowledge or permission, and my neighbor complained to me about the noise."

[Rachael26]

@Bob39

Well done, I do think you left a pretty spot on review. You were polite and appreciative, but included the few things that were a bother. Your guest Pascal can handle it, and he certainly was appreciative of you and your place. But I was surprised to see he was also an experienced host - he should have been a little more respectful, especially with your neighbors and the night-time noise.

Best Wishes.