I recently hosted a new Airbnb guest, with no reviews. She seemed confused about using the platform to communicate, and instead communicated strictly by personal text--not my preference, but not the end of the world. I didn't want to make a big deal of it as she was in town for a wedding, and probably busy/stressed/unclear. All went fine during her stay.
Overall she and her husband left the house tidy and pretty clean. However, something was spilled on my white sofa (arm and cushion) and the guests turned the cushion over (ostensibly to "hide" the stain from me).
I'm struggling with how to word my review.
She was communicative (albeit out of the Airbnb platform);
They seemed to follow our house rules;
They were clean enough (except the stain--which, I was able to remove, but the effort on their part to hide it left a bad taste).
I am currently thinking I should dock a star for cleanliness and write something like the following: "Using Airbnb for the first time, Jane and her husband followed our house rules, communicated well, and left a tidy house" and then explain in a private note that I was surprised she didn't point out the stains so I could remedy them, and that other hosts might be more strict about communicating through Airbnb. (and BTW, she has already left me a review, surprising since I thought she didn't understand how to use the platform well).
Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks for the help!