Reviewing a guest

[Dale60]

I had a guest check out late today and took some things that luckily my housekeeper called me on immediately and after contacting them twice, was able to get them back. 

I don’t want to bash them but since I cannot see their review ahead of time, I can’t afford for them to bash me because of my review of them or from  their knowledge of what they did.

I don’t think it is fair on Airbnb’s part, to me as an owner not to let me see the review prior to posting but that is their policy.

i would appreciate any input anyone can offer. Thanks in advance!

Dale

[Sarah977]

@Dale60   Are you of the belief that these guests took the things on purpose or could they have been accidentally thrown in their luggage without realizing? If there is no doubt that it was purposeful theft, please do mention it in your review- other hosts certainly don't want thieves booking with them, and I'm sure you would want to be warned as well if someone had a history of theft.

As the guest cannot see the review you write for them either until both are written and posted, they will write whatever review they will write, and your review will not affect that. They may be mad when they see it and respond, but as long as you keep your review, and possible reponse to their review, professional and brief, it will be pretty obvious who is telling the truth.

[Dale60]

Sarah,

Thank you for the quick response!

They definitely, knowingly, took a couple of things from the condo and had I not known in time they would have kept them.   They did not trash the room or anything. 

They took a beach blanket and beach towel so they could lay on the beach for a while and we’re going to put them back before leaving. They had kept the parking pass, I think, so they could keep the car there while they were on the beach.   I got it back after calling them when I learned it was not in the room. They never mentioned they had  thee other stuff and their plans when I was talking to them the first time and just took the pass back. 

Dale

[Sarah977]

@Dale60   Now that you describe the situation in more detail, it could be argued that these guests were intending to return these things, even though you clearly feel they would not have had you not called them out, and chances are great that they wouldn't have. I've had experiences like this myself, not with guests, but whatever, I know the routine. They wanted to use those things, so they made off with them. Entitled.

In this case, I would not accuse them of theft, but say something like "After check-out the housekeeper notified me that some items were missing. When I contacted them about the missing parking pass, they said they were intending to return it, but since they had already checked out, and been instructed to leave it on the counter, I found that odd. Nor did they mention, when they returned the parking pass, that they also had taken the beach towels, which necesitated contacting them yet again.  If they had wanted to use the beach towels and parking pass after checking out and until they left town, I would have expected them to ask me if that was alright." 

BTW I ask my guests to please bring their own beach towels. Beach towels get trashed by being trodden all over by people and dogs, they get left hanging over the back of a chair at a beach restaurant and forgotten, nor do I want my guests taking the good bathroom towels to the beach. Even so, one of my guests took a nice bath towel on a booze cruise and when I asked her where it was, as I didn't see it when cleaning her bathroom, she showed me another ratty old towel she had mistakenly brought back instead. They just both happened to be green .-) I do have a couple not-so-nice beach towels to lend guests if they forgot to bring one.

[Barbara971]

I agree with Dale.  I refrained from leaving a review for a previous guest. He was was nothing but trouble and a complainer from the get go.  Most people are not.  But I don’t like to “trash” someone publicly.   Yet he left a horrible review for my place,  made untrue comments and now I’m stuck with that.   It’s unfair because I don’t have an opportunity now to comment on the things he said.  My current renter has written me numerous times to tell me how happy they are! 

[Sarah977]

@Barbara971   What is the point of the reviews if not to honestly let other hosts know what the guests were like?  Would you not be grateful to read that a guest was "nothing but trouble" before approving his booking? Of course we all want to experience good guests and write them nice reviews. But it's not about being nicey nicey nor is it about trashing someone. 

Now, you don't have to say a guest was "nothing but trouble" and go on a long rant about what an awful person they are. But you can say "I found XXX to be quite demanding and dissatisfied, which I have not encountered wiith any of my previous guests. It seemed as if nothing I did for him was appreciated, and he could never be pleased". You are then talking about your own experience and feelings, rather than outright trashing the guest, and other hosts will all get it that he's not a welcome guest.

[Louise0]

@Barbara971 It's not unfair at all, it's karma. You deserve everything you got. By not leaving a review of this guest, you failed in your duty of care to other hosts.  You put your own need to be seen as 'nice' above the need for other hosts to be warned about a potentially problematic guest.  Your spinelessness puts other hosts at risk.

It's lucky that most hosts do the responsible thing and write honest reviews of every guest, every time.  It's just a pity that hosts like you, who don't, get to benefit from our courage.  

[Letti0]

You can always just say: This guest would be better suited to a hotel. That is not getting into the issues publicly, but warns the other hosts that there were problems with this guest.