Something strange is happening lately with airbnb's guests

[Sean433]

Superhost here currently managing multiple listings. When I started a few years ago, I had no experience and made very common mistakes yet still received great reviews from guests. Fast forward 2 years and with the experience of managing several listings, I have made a lot of improvements and I can definitely say hands down that our listings are much better then most hotel or lodging you can stay at. 

At the same time, lately guests have become very unreasonable with their requests or expectations and I am not sure why.

I have several examples but the two most current ones are with my newest listing which is my best one to date. This listing has every feature you can think of that I have not seen in any hotel or any airbnb's I have stayed at. Yet my last two guests have had interesting perspectives which is a major surprise.

One of them gave us a 3/5 for cleaniness only because we did not have a vacuum cleaner for her to use. We have one that is locked up and we could have easily given it to her had she asked.  Yet the place is spotless and very clean when occupied. She also gave us an overall 4/5 even after having told me she really liked the place and was comfortable.

Another guest told me the home was very nice and clean but there is a 4-5 inch step between the hallway and kitchen which maybe a safety hazard. He did not say it, but is the suggestion for me to remove the step which would probably cost me at least $10,000 since I would have to remove all of the tiles, hardwood and plumbing located under the floor? Is the 3-4 inch step when you walk into the front door a hazard too? Or are the stairs that are in my home also a safety hazard? Am I supposed to remove all the stairs in the home?

It just seems that guests lately provide the most unreasonable feedback not thinking that it may cost several thousands of dollars to fix a problem that isn't really a problem. And now I am scared to leave MR staircase guy a review even though he loved the home for fear he will write my home is unsafe because it has a small drop in the kitchen.

What has other peoples experience been with guests in 2019? Are they becoming unreasonable?

[Jeff158]

@Sean433 

The more you give, the more they want

The more you offer, the more they expect

and it will never be enough.

My latest private feedback " The blackout blinds are to effective as when I awoke in the night I was unable to find the light switch" 

[Jennifer1421]

@Sean433 

Your listings all look like lovely places!

To be honest, though, if I were a guest, I would be put off by your pricing method. EG: your listing "Toronto Mansion", advertised at $219 per night, ends up being $1286 for a minimum 2 night stay, as the price goes up to 420 a night and your cleaning fee is $299; your "Toronto Newly Renovated Suite", advertised at $68/night ends up being $325 for a minimum 2 night stay, as the price pops up to $99/night with a $90 cleaning fee.

I'm not criticizing your pricing, as I understand that many hosts do this and, further, the actual per night pricing is fair for Toronto and for these offerings. Also, I recognize that guests shouldn't book if they're not happy with the price. But, it could explain why guests seem so difficult to please. They may feel like they've been "baited and switched" already, so they're not inclined to be generous with their reviews. Did you use this pricing method when you first started hosting?

Just a thought...maybe there's a correlation?

[Sean433]

Hi Jennifer, thanks for the suggestion. We use smart pricing and the reason you see a higher price later on is because the price shown initially is shown low because they are for the dates that are nearest to today and prices tend to drop for last minute bookings.

Usually hosts charge a higher price 1 month or more ahead of todays date and lower the prices closer to todays date.

The cost to clean a size of a house like "Toronto Mansion" is about $299. Wouldn't a reasonable guest understand that a 5,000 square foot home requires a lot of cleaning?

The poor feedback I actually received was for the home titled "5 * luxury home" where the cleaning fee is only $60. And the price is very reasonable for a two bedroom in toronto of this level of luxury and offering breakfast.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sean433 

in fact, I have to admit our guests give less "improvement advice" and have less complains now than they had 3 years ago,  /knock-knock on the wood 🙂 /

We didn't change a thing since then, same prices, same furniture, same treatment...

[Sean433]

You are lucky. One thing I noticed with Europe is that guests who travel there tend to be more reasonable. When I was in Italy, I can tell you the standards there were much inferior to the standards of airbnb's in Toronto and yet we receive more critical feedback here (primarily from American and U.K guests).

In Italy and Europe, people seemed to be more laid back.