Reviews for guests... what do other hosts want to know

[Emma-and-Mark0]

Hi,

We had a guest stay recently who was a bit of a nightmare. We're in the UK and we've been through an unprecedented heatwave. Our guest arrived and told us how much she loved the apartment. A couple of days later she got in touch to say that she was too hot in the apartment and wanted to leave. She asked for a full refund for the nights she wouldn't be staying. We said this wouldn't be possible but that we would refund 50% of the remaining nights of her stay if she wanted to leave. We also offered to hire an aircon unit at no extra cost to her. She was not happy as she said the aircon unit was inconvenient, however, she accepted it and stayed. She also complained about the lack of airflow in the apartment, that when she cooks the smell would also be in the bed and living area (it's a studio flat), that she would have to use two pillows to get the required thickness of pillow she likes etc etc.... When she left we found that she had broken a wine glass and a glass saucer (we think she hid that as we couldn't find the saucer... just a couple of pieces of glass). She has left us a review but we are yet to leave her one so we don't know what it says (We are expecting it to be bad as she said someone should warn people of how hot the flat gets!). My question is... (I'm getting to it at last!) is how do you leave a review for a guest without sounding petty. Most of the things she did were small on their own (and usually not worth mentioning) but altogether made her a bit of a nightmare. And what do you as hosts want to know from other hosts... do I list the things that went wrong or just give an example? Thanks in advance  : )

[Helen427]

@Emma-and-Mark0Be mindful of what future potential guests booking into your home will be thinking should they read other Guests reviews.

Best to maybe make a comment re warmer weather & remember you do have the option of Public Feedback to respond to her review to balance things out.

All the Best

[Cathie19]

Hi @Emma-and-Mark0 ,    @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Sarah977 @Helen427 @Yadira22 

I’m in agreeance with other hosts here, on being factual and balanced.

She was obviously good at communication - just not what a host wants to hear....

As Sarah says, mention the positives. 

If you are wanting to offer her a future discount, do it in Airbnb messages or private feedback. DON’T mention it in a review, or you may start a snowballing run of guests wanting to complain for a return discount option. Don’t feed the negativity. Feed the solutions.....

Our listing states this is a studio apartment, therefore it is disappointing the guest was not aware of this. However, the extreme heat wave across Europe did initially impact our studio apartment, but to assist with our guest’s  comfort, we brought in a portable air conditioner that improved the situation. May we hope the rest of our English summer remains truly wonderful and not extreme. But if it does, we are here to assist! 

( Add iceblocks. Ice cream etc)

Remember, a review is about how the future guests think you operate as a host......