Short Open letter to guests!!!!!!

[Alexandra224]

Hello everyone!, i wanted to write an open letter for guests in general, since a while ago, sorry if i have bad spelling eventually, this is not my main language.. haha.

As a host (And talking just by my experience as a host), I love meeting you all the time, and getting ready the place for you.. my place, and special space, even tho, in my location, i don't live at it, i just share it on airbnb, it's my house, and i'm sharing it with you all.

I know that you are paying for a service, and most of us, don't even charge a lot, because, we enjoy meeting new people, and all that jazz.. and because also it's about community, and having a price that its good for people to travel, and affordable compared to an hotel.

But it's not fair, when you come, and critizice my house, and don't even take time to reply my messages, to when i'm asking how everything is going, or if you need anything.. and then, when you leave a review, distroy my place with your words, when i've been messaging you, asking if you need anything.

It's also not cool, when you come to my house, and DON'T read my listing. and then you complain about things, that are ACTUALLY, written on my property profile..

I had one guest, and he left me a bad review, because he said he thought it was an entire house.. EVEN tho, my listing exactly, says someone is living there for this month. And even talks about how she is working all day and probably you won't see her.. etc.

So it's NO, cool, that you don't take the time for reading my listing, and end up giving me bad reviews.

It's also not cool, when you expect everything to be super perfect, and every corner of the house neatty and clean. Because i'm sorry, it won't be,i might miss a spot, because i'm cleaning the house myself, to avoid charging for cleaning fees and make it affordable for you.

You are coming to a house, not an hotel, so be comprehensive about that, my house it's a nice lux place, but at the end, its a house, and it's normal to have some flaws..  

You sleep with nice sheets, cleaned, with towells, shampoo, and everything.. and even leave you a coke in the fridge.. and still you are cruel with me with those reviews.

Its not fair for us the hosts, that are doing the best that we can.. sure, there are some hosts out there who don't care about, complain about them, but if you are looking at someone who is making an effort, who is checking on you to see how are you while your stay,  don't be a jerk. Go and pay thousands into a hotel, where there probably will be impecable.

Guests, seriously, you also need to put something on your side, and be more comprehensive about. It's really really hurtful, when you don't obey the rules, when you leave AC or lights on.. i know you are paying for something, but lets be honest, you are paying a low price compared to those big hotel companies, we are normal humans, that might share a room, or a place, we also need to pay bills.

I'm sorry to be crying all this over here.. but  it's not cool at all.

If you are going to leave a bad review, it must be because you spoke up and your host didn't care, or something like that.. but don't be bitchy, about something you never said out loud..

Please, we are community, we are opening our homes or our spaces, to create a new way of traveling, be respectful about that!, and be a good guest 🙂

love.

[Alexandra224]

It happened to me also!, i went out there and left a really positive review, (Before reading his), because i thought everything went well, since they never mentioned anything even after i kept asking!, and then boom!, which it makes me sad and mad, because we are not mind readers, how we are supossed to.. and we only drop in rank because of their bad reviews.

you are not alone my friend!!

[Barbara542]

Several people mentioned "Instant booking - On or Off". We chose "Off". And I do not feel it has affected our bookings at all. All bookings have to be approved by me, which means I look at the guest's reviews first. They are vital in our decision to book them. And, is this their first Airbnb experience? I have turned down a couple of requests becaue they did not feel right. And Airbnb does not penalize me for that. All of our guests have been fantastic. And our reviews wonderful, even tho we have only been hosting for 9 months and have gained SuperHost status. If it means we lose a booking due to the extra step a guest needs to take to book our place, then it was a booking we did not want anyway. Just my 2 cents. - Barbara Greensboro NC

[Loretta2]

I absolutely agree with you, Barbara, but, as I have written previously, we definitely ARE penalised for not doing Instant Book- we appear much lower down in the searches.

[Barbara542]

Thank you Loretta. So far, I haven't been aware of a problem, and it may also depend on the Airbnb "competition" in any area. Mostly we have had families book and they seem to take their time to choose a place, and Value takes precedence over Instant. We are booked quite solidly (Thank You!!) and our location is good. What made a HUGE difference last month was when I changed our cancellation policy to 5-day notice instead of 24 hrs. I had just had 2 bookings for 2-weeks cancel and that irritated me to lose those blocks of time. Bookings stopped, although our Views were still very good. As soon as I changed it back we started booking immediately. Airbnb also put a note on our listing that "we were quite a find, since we are usually booked". So I'll take that and stay in charge of the guest list. We have only been in the program for 9 months so still learning, and I just found this community resource. I truly appreciate everyone's input.

[Alexandra224]

Thats really smart Barbara!, the last quote "if a guest had to go an extra step, then it is maybe because of something", yes, i have thought about turning off IB, i'm testing out, having IB on, but with just people who have 1)good reviews 2) ID check.. lets see whats up, definitely i don't want to have someone over who does not even take the time to request or check my listing description! 🙂

[Ridge0]

We recently had a review that pointed out three imperfections in the room.  The guest had interacted with us quite a bit so I was both surprised and a little stung by reading this in the public part of the review, especially in light of the fact that the review was otherwise favorable.  

We dealt with the three little issues and then let go of it.  Don't let an unfavorable review impact your experience AND add a $25 cleaning fee and get someone to clean.  The $25 is charged once during a stay so your place will still be very affordable.  You can then either keep the extra money or hire someone to clean. 

[Tim198]

I prefer instant bookings, but I also have restrictions attached to it. I am toward the end of completing my remodel but work many hours has prevented me from finishing. I put this all in my listing so the guest knows before they book the room. My listing is for a no frills cheap room. I provide clean sheets, towels etc.. Thats all so I am on a diiferent level than many, but for about one forth the hotel room what can one expect. I always remind the guest that I work and may not be able to respond right away but will always try my best reconcile any problems and and answer any questions. Keep trying to do your best and you won't fail.

[Kate157]

I have used Instant Book very successfully for several years. Several guests early on thanked me for having it, as it was so much easier for them. I have had good luck with my guests, but I also do my part. Cleaning, of course, is number one. I also try to put several nice touches in the space, so they guests will understand I was thinking f their comfort. However, I don't put things like a toaster, which would require additional cleaning. I also make sure I interact with the guests at some point, usually when they arrive. I let them know to text or holler up he stairs if they need something. That's all, no follow up texts or anything.  I do feel that the personal interaction, no matter how brief, really aids with good reviews.