The curse of the grumpy guest.

[David969]

Sometimes you get a guest and you know you are doing a lot of things right but everything is about to go wrong.

I have an email that is sent out automatically that details how to check-in.  Out of over 300 guests, less than 10 have been unable to follow the instructions for getting in the front door.  This isn't 300 out of 300, but I haven't figured out how to get that number higher.  Some people don't even read the email so that makes it harder to do.  This guest didn't check the email, but we did the 'self' check-in for them.

Then my co-host got that bad vibe from the guest, not so much his spouse.  They asked about restaurants and the wi-fi and she told them all she knew.  They kept asking my co-host where I was but never explained why.  I am reluctant to introduce race as a factor, but she is black and I am white, she is the one who told me she got a certain feeling about the motives and demeanor of the guest.  I am inclined to trust her intuition on these matters.  I don't know if I should report this to AirBnB, but that is off the main topic.

The guest checks out without any further requests and nothing in the chat.  I make a big mistake and ask the guest in the chat how was their stay, that is when I get criticism of the bed, the privacy, and the cohosts restaurant recommendations.  The criticism of a matter of personal taste that the guest solicited to me really is the straw that broke the camel's back and led to this post being written.  He said her recommendations for restaurants were 0 out 5.  That is mean and rude, didn't say they had different tastes and a good fit.  The constructive criticism the guest gave me after the bad review was "The Airbnb is not ready for prime time. . . Start from scratch.  Read reviews of successful Airbnbs."

My community conversation points are:

1) How can you feel out a grumpy guest in advance and not host them;

2) How can you avoid getting a review from a grumpy guest (if they review you are getting a bad one);

3) What are the appropriate steps to protect the AirBnB community from these people?

4) How and when should you report to AirBnB concerns about racial discrimination by guests?  I don't want to unfairly blacklist people but if more than one host has a similar experience we should start the process of keeping such unacceptable behavior out of our community.

[Pete69]

How can you feel out a grumpy guest in advance and not host them?

Word your listing so as to, as they say, let the buyer beware. I list every nit picky little thing that might upset a guest. My listing says "Please read this entire listing before booking" right at the top. After people book, in my first email response to them I once again ask for them to be sure to read my entire listing to be sure that my stay fits their needs. Sometimes they cancel shortly thereafter, so that tells me that not everyone is reading my entire listing before they book. I'm not afraid to SCARE OFF guests because my weekends are in high demand. If I lose one or two guests then there's always someone (who is fine with the shortcomings of my stay) to take their place.

Once they check in I have a glass desktop with all kinds of helpful information about their stay, including the house rules.

The higher your rate I think you're a little more likely to scare off problematic guests.

Don't accept same day bookings and I think you're a little more likely to scare off problematic guests. 

How can you avoid getting a review from a grumpy guest? There's always someone out there who is going to be grumpy. If they write a bad review then don't stress it. 1 bad review isn't going to break the camel's back. There's an Extended Stay America hotel not far from me that has tons of 1 star reviews. People STILL just keep booking stays there.

[Anonymous]

@David969   You've got a lot of reviews and obviously much experience, so as I'm sure you know, your initial communication with guests is the best indicator you have of their character and attitude. The ones who make it clear that they have thoroughly read your listing and express genuine enthusiasm about it are far less likely to be grumpy than ones who booked carelessly. If you're on the fence, you have 24 hours from when the request comes in to converse and make sure they're a good fit. If not, you can decline. And of course, if you have any concerns about what kind of guest you're getting Instant Book is not for you.

From the guest perspective, I see one big problem with your listing: it's billed as a private room in a shared home, but I see no indication of what degree of interaction you offer as a host. I find that if you give people more of a feel for what the life of the household is like and display more of your and your co-host's personality as a part of the experience, your listing attracts more people with similar values and scares off ones you're less likely to get along with.

Once the date of check-in has begun, there's nothing you can do to avoid getting a review from the guest, but of course you already know that. Some hosts think they have a nifty trick when they wait until Day 14 to submit their review - more often than not, they either get reviewed first anyway or wind up missing the deadline and losing the chance to say their piece. So you won't find any hacks for that here.

On the racism thing - generally the anti-discrimination policy only goes one direction. Just as in any other business, the racist customers can discriminate against service providers all they want, but it's not supposed to go the other way around. I think you handled it very well in your review of the guest - you stuck to the facts and made it clear that it was an uncomfortable experience. But the guest's review of you is jarring enough to merit a response that clarifies to future guests what your hospitality style is. Is your co-host actually your spouse or a co-resident? If so, perhaps showing both of you in the account profile would help weed out people who can't deal with the restaurant suggestions given by a black woman under duress.