Review for Guest with Unrealistic Expectations

[Megan158]

I had a recent guest stay in my house that had some unrealistic expectations and was very high maintenance - he would have been better served in a hotel-type accomodation.  I was hoping I would get by without a review from him, however he just completed his review three days before the window to do so ended. I am torn in how to review him, if I should review him at all. He was extremely clean, but he did have cats in the house (against my posted house rules). He did have some genuine complaints while he was there, which I quickly took care of - i.e., Wi-Fi was out so I had AT&T technicians out as soon as they were available (it was a neighborhood-wide issue that took a week to remedy as there were a shortage of technicians due to Hurrican Harvey); washing machine was leaking so I had appliance repairman out there the same day the guest reported the issue. 

I'm just not sure how to review him to avoid any negativity. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Megan

[Marzena4]

@Megan158 Do review him because otherwise other hosts will not know who he is.

Be calm and reserved in your words: "This guest would be better suited for a hotel to serve his [sky-high] expectations"

[Megan158]

Thanks @Marzena4, I thought of that too. Funny fact, I'm traveling to Poland tomorrow and will be in Krakow Tuesday!

[Marzena4]

Sad you will not be my guest, @Megan158. I am hosting a SG guest then.

[Lawrene0]

Keep it brief, factual and unemotional, @Megan158. "XXX was extremely clean. He did break our house rules regarding pets."

That would be enough really. And if he blasts you with a bad review, respond in a brief, factual, professional and unemotional way - and only to what is written, not to stars. For instance, if he writes about the wifi and the washer, respond with, "The wifi outage was due to the hurricane and was fixed as soon as technicians were able. The washer leak was repaired the same day XXX reported it."

That sort of thing. If he doesn't mention them publicly, don't bring them up, since prospective guests will only see you being defensive.  His bad review (if that's what it is) will be buried in time with your good reviews. Being accurate and truthful is much more helpful to the system, and ultimately to you, than worrying about perceived negativity. By all means, concentrate on the positive, but be honest. 

Hope this helps. I know where you are coming from: it is so easy to write a good review, and so hard to write a bad one. 

[Megan158]

Thank you, that is good advice! We shall see what happens. 🤞🏻

[Norma-Lee0]

I am in a similar predicament and unsure how I am going to review my current guest. He is the worst quest I have hosted in the 32 , that I have had so far. He was loud on the phone, would not stay in his room. ( he spent all is spare time in my living room with his feet up in my couch. One on my house rules is no feet in the couches. But to make matters worse, he would fall asleep, in my couch, which also prohibited any other guets from sitting in the living room. He is truly suited to a hotel enviroment, and not Airbnb. If my friends came to my home, he would still stay layed out on the couch.

[Zacharias0]

Such a shame we have to have rules to remind guests of how to be a guest ie no feet on the couch . I have a rule that states no shoes on the carpet. Its probably only one of 5 that I really get crazy about because my carpet is tan and gets dirty easily. Not sure who thought tan carpet was ever a good idea but I cant wait to get some wood floors.