Review

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Andy1
Level 2
United Kingdom

Review

We recived a really bad review from a couple who stayed in our property for only one night!  They left the house in a complete mess and then went on to leave a very long and damaging review - which we didn't see as we were away and had no internet so it was too late to reply .  This is upseting because all the rest of the reviews for the summer were really good and this is now the last one and so the first one people will see when clicking onto them!   We would like to be able to either respond, or remove as it has affected bookings and we feel it is totaly unfair and also totally untrue.  The people who were in the week before left the review i have pasted below but didn't get it on the site on time!!   Any help would be greatly appreciated ?

 

Hi Andy, I am so sorry, but I appear to have missed the 'review' period. I had no idea it was time limited. We only got home yesterday and have not been with internet on our holiday. Had I known, I would have gone to a cyber café. We loved your house. We found it to be welcoming and well set up for visitors. It had everything that we could possibly need, was comfortable, well located and like a home from home. We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay at your house and hope that your next visitors like it as much as we did. Thank you.

 

1 Best Answer
Annette33
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

So sorry this happened... it's always an opportunity to figure out what one can do to not have a repeat of this kind of demanding guest. First, the review is in French, so that already cuts down on the number of people who can and will read it. The review speaks for itself, with complaining about the church bells, only having dvds to watch, etc... Don't sweat it!! Your other reviews are consistently positive, future guests will be smart enough to figure it out.

But here is what I what consider for the future if I were you:

Make sure that somehow you will be able to be close to internet reception when you have guests and reviews are most likely to come in, so you're able to respond or post reviews yourself.

As you are not near your place most of the time, as it is in France and you are in then UK, make extra sure you have a good cleaner and caRetaker there. It sounds like a large part of the complaint was about cleanliness. If there is some truth to it, you need to be on top of it and have better cleaning service.

You could also take this as an opportunity to define your description with more details, maybe you need to state that internet reception may be spotty, that the TV is not cable (even though you don't promise that in your amenities, people may not look at that and then act surprised).Links to other websites get blocked out by Airbnb, check your listing, i would take them out. And maybe you'd want to post less pictures of the area but more of the place itself, with better lighting and better pictures.

Good luck!

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37 Replies 37
Annette33
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

So sorry this happened... it's always an opportunity to figure out what one can do to not have a repeat of this kind of demanding guest. First, the review is in French, so that already cuts down on the number of people who can and will read it. The review speaks for itself, with complaining about the church bells, only having dvds to watch, etc... Don't sweat it!! Your other reviews are consistently positive, future guests will be smart enough to figure it out.

But here is what I what consider for the future if I were you:

Make sure that somehow you will be able to be close to internet reception when you have guests and reviews are most likely to come in, so you're able to respond or post reviews yourself.

As you are not near your place most of the time, as it is in France and you are in then UK, make extra sure you have a good cleaner and caRetaker there. It sounds like a large part of the complaint was about cleanliness. If there is some truth to it, you need to be on top of it and have better cleaning service.

You could also take this as an opportunity to define your description with more details, maybe you need to state that internet reception may be spotty, that the TV is not cable (even though you don't promise that in your amenities, people may not look at that and then act surprised).Links to other websites get blocked out by Airbnb, check your listing, i would take them out. And maybe you'd want to post less pictures of the area but more of the place itself, with better lighting and better pictures.

Good luck!

Thanks very much and I will take on board your great advice - just annoying especially as they only stayed one night it 40 euros a night not the Ritz!  Good idea re- photos they are a bit dark and we will adjust the intro - thak sagain - Andy 

Haha they want games and entertainment for bad weather? 

Lilian20
Level 10
Argelès-sur-Mer, France

Excellent advice from @Annette33 and @Andy1 - completely agree. 

@Andy1   Hi there,  good idea from @Annette33  .  I looked at your property and the negative review is number 4 or 5 with good reviews above. For the one that got away you can ask Airbnb if they will add it, no harm in trying. I doubt they will remove the long, rambling review and if it were mine I would either not respond or  just respond with any updates to the property that addressed any 'valid' complaints, super short and sweet because combative hosts, however much in the right they may be, are less appealing to prospective guests. If too late to respond  I would add anything to the description that they had highlighted as a problem and any updates you make to the property that might address their complaints if 'valid'.  The sound of ringing bells is a pleasant sound to many.

Dorothy15
Level 2
Spring Hill, Australia

I have recently had a similar experience. I have been really lucky with my guests but this one was particularly troublesome and even broke my shower pulling the knob instead of pushing!! Now I have to suffer and lose my superhost rating because she claims the hot water didn't work. She told my plumber how strange it was "hot water comes out of the cold tap". Doh! And she was an English speaker looking at H and C. 

@Dorothy15 , what a nuisance.....! sorry that happened to you.

 I looked at your listing, looks to me like you got stellar reviews, even a nice one from the problem person and all your stars a filled out. So did she  do something not so nice behind the scenes that would make you think you will lose your superhost  status because  of her?  Would be good to know, thanks.

In any case, sounds like the problem person wasn't the person that booked with you, but a friend of hers that stayed..did both of them stay, or just the friend? .just a reminder to all of us that that can easily lead to trouble.

Reassuring to read all these responses.  I am new to airbnb and all my reviews have been really positive except from one guest who booked on the arrival day and arrived before noon even though I had messaged him explaining the room would not be ready until 5pm! His review accused me of being racist, mean, nasty, unhelpful, and spoiling his day in Melbourne - statements quite out of step with my other reviews. I have had no bookings since his review so it is very upsetting that there is no mechanism in Airbnb to deal with inaccurate or malicious reviews.  

hello @Christine367 , sorry you had such a bad experience, I imagine it feels quite awful when you try hard to accomodate a guest who arrives early. Best is always to remember that as hosts, we are running a business, and that we need to remain professional at all times, especially under trying circumstances. 

You are not helping your case by writing such a long statement under that guest's review - that is what draws attention to it, and nobody else is interested in the details of such bickering. It actually puts you at risk to be seen as petty by future guests who are checking out your place. I also don't find the words racist, mean, nasty, etc. in that guest's review.Best would be something short and "elegant", such as, "this guest would be better served with in a hotel type accomodation", that gives  any reader the whole picture......

Hopefully this is a one time experience, but should something like this ever happen again, take a deep breath and consider how you will come across in your answer to a review. You have one review after that one, a nice review, but when you say in response, "I apologize that you did not find the kitchen clean enough", you apologize for a guest's opinion - which he/ she has not even expressed in the review ! you only draw attention to something any future guest knows nothing about. Not a good move. Much better would be to simply thank the guest for chosing your place to stay at - and leave it at that. You can always leave detailed response in the private feedback to guests.

Good luck next time around!

Annette

Review written by one of our recent Guest does not appear in Mobile App

It is seen on the Website.

I have refreshed the app., still no luck.

 

How do I contact Airbnb support for this.

 

Thanks

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

I'm afraid there is no pleasing some people! I just received a review from a young American lady who stayed for a couple of days over Christmas. What I find odd is her statement "I was a little surprised at how different the house looked in person. The images suggest the house is much bigger."

 

Sorry? These are verified photos from the Airbnb photographer and don't even show all the rooms here. Now I know houses in Texas are probably bigger, but at 2,100 square feet, mine is 2.5 times the size of the average UK house and who knows how many times bigger than the average London home. What was she expecting, a palace?

 

Anyway, she has marked me down in accuracy for this, as well as because (as she explained in her private comments) the tube station was too far to walk and a struggle. I am a middle aged woman of average height and am not at all sporty, but it takes me no more than five minutes at a comfortable pace to walk there. It's hardly my fault if a tall, 22 year old can't manage a five minute walk! I think this says more about her lack of fitness than anything else.

 

She complains about a couple of other things like the number of stairs (clearly mentioned in the listing) and the smell of smoke. Again, it's specified in the description that we smoke and it's misleading to say the whole house smells of it. No other guests have complained about this. The guest rooms are non-smoking, far from the smoking areas, and other guests have even mentioned that they smell lovely (which they do).

 

What she fails to mention is how far I went out of my way for her, from letting her check in out of the normal hours, to researching all her travel options to help her save money, to being late for my own family Christmas dinner because she was late (and didn't bother to tell me even though she knew I needed to leave at a certain time). The only thing I didn't do was carry her suitcase upstairs but only because she had made me so late and I had to run!!

 

I know none of this is serious, but it annoys me when you go out of your way to look after a guest and they leave a review full of unfair/petty criticisms and low star ratings.

 

I don't think I will respond to her review, even though I'm sorely tempted to do so!

 

Lisa367
Level 10
Catania, Italy

Hi @Andy1, I went to your page and read her review, and honestly it was just her being a complete idiot.  If I read that review, I would still book your apartment.  She sounded SUPER high maintenance and she literally complained about things that normal travelers would find charming, like the church bells (WTF who complains about that?!).   It's obvious the issue wasn't your apartment, but rather her, and I think any sane-minded intelligent person would completely overlook that bad review and still book your place.  There are some people who just don't belong on Airbnb and she is one of them.  We've had them as well.  Especially in the summer, people complaining that it's way too hot and I'm always like "it's SICILY and it's AUGUST, what do you expect??"  Hahaha!

Jeffrey59
Level 1
Houston, TX

Really having problems with website. I am trying to find out why a review that has been posted for my property is not visible when i look at my property entry as a prospective guest. I can see it when i login but when i look as a guest i don't see the review. Any suggestions?

Hi, @Jeffrey59. Is it the review from Daniel? If so, I see it as a guest would. Are you using a computer or a phone?