Why don't guest tell you they are unhappy

Michelle1851
Level 10
Littleton, CO

Why don't guest tell you they are unhappy

I received my first negative review,  feeling so deflated, but my question is really, why don't guest mention anything and then suddenly surprise you in the review.  This reviewer didn't  care for the location even though it is clearly mentioned in the description and map, doesn't care for the odor outside, even though it is the smell of the mountain, doesn't care for the dark sky, even though we are a dark sky community, and then gave 3 stars for check in, when I asked why, she said because it took a couple tries for her to unlock.  She never mentioned anything, I have a lock box right next to the door, if only I had known. Honestly, I had no idea she was so unhappy until the review, her emails were polite up until then. My question is, why do they even bother staying if its obvious they are not going to like it from the beginning?  I would gladly give a refund instead of having someone in my property that is not going to like it.   I put so much heart and soul in my condo, I am really taking this so personally.

14 Replies 14
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Michelle1851  If you are talking about that review from Sarah Jane, it isn't a negative review, aside from the mention of the musty odor. They gave many nice compliments on your hosting and how clean it was. It doesn't sound like they were unhappy at all. What they said about the distance to the village, the darkness in the parking lot, and maybe not a great place for noisy kids isn't negative, and don't come across as complaints- they are just comments for future guests to be aware of, and is actually a good warning for noisy people not to book, and to bring a flashlight. If you can't handle anything but purely glowing reviews, you need to toughen up.

 

You really shoudn't let strangers' illogical behavior affect you personally. There are a lot of people who are just unhappy and nothing is ever acceptable to them (but I don't read this review as such). They will find things to complain about no matter what. It has nothing to do with you and you aren't responsible for their outlook on life.

 

There could be a storm where the whole area's power goes out. One set of guests will take it in stride, and play board games by candlelight, tell ghost stories, decide that dinner will consist of eating up all the ice cream in the freezer before it melts, have a great time, and it will be a fun and unexpected part of their holiday. Another set of guests will tell you it "ruined" their vacation. 

 

Let it go, it's their baggage, not yours.

@Michelle1851 I couldn’t agree more with Sarah’s comments. Give yourself a gift and let this go. Keep your perspective. 

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Michelle1851 @Sarah977 

 

Someone wiser than I once said:  “Don’t take criticism from anyone from whom you would not accept advice.”

 

Some guests will come to you planning to be dissatisfied. They never fail to realize their ambition, which is to find fault with everything they encounter.

 

These people don’t want to give you a chance to fix whatever ridiculous problem they have invented because then they will have to think up something else.

 

A pox on them. (A really itchy one.) Then they will really have something to whine about.

 

Move on and don’t ever entertain those people again.

Katja202
Level 10
Ruinen, Netherlands

@Michelle1851 oh dear put it aside. Your place looks really stunning. People will look through that one review. I recognise the feeling, but always think to myself …. Heej not everybody likes peanut buter …. Which my mum allways said … and then i smile and leave it behind. 

 

@Brian2036 Your saying  I keep in mind. Is a really good one 🙂

Groetjes Katja
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

I'd say there are 3 different types of guest reviews. One is reviews where the guest only speaks about their own experience and perceptions, very subjective. It could be purely positive, "Best Airbnb I've ever stayed at! Host was terrífic, answered all our questions, left us home-baked goodies. Our kids were thrilled to find there were toys and kid movies provided. Would definitely book here again", purely negative if the place was indeed a filthy dump, or the guest is a natural complainer, or it can contain some pros and cons.

 

The second is the dreaded revenge review, where the guest got their knickers in a knot about being called out for something during their stay, or booted out, or was told no to some demand or request for you to bend your rules for them. Those are usually full of lies and exaggerations and are designed to try to ruin your business.

 

The third is the type that this guest left- more objective. They write it more as an informative travel guide for future guests, mentioning the positives and things that they might have not been prepared for, like letting other guests know that it's a dark walk from the parking area to the house. It's not a complaint, it's just information. Seasoned Airbnb guests will often leave these sorts of informative to future guests reviews, because they are the type of reviews they themselves would like to read. 

 

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Sarah977 

 

Well explained about the 3 tupes of reviewers.

 

Thank you.

@M199  Those more objective informational reviews I've had and seen from long time Airbnb guests are probably because they've had experiences of booking places that had good reviews, only to find they didn't have the same opinion. So they prefer reading and giving reviews which just give straight up information- reading that someone found the nearest store "too far" or "very close to the shopping area" isn't helpful- they want to know exactly how many miles it is so they can decide for themselves if it will work for them. 

@Michelle1851 Totally understand your feelings. I think they didn’t  tell you while they were stay is because all their cause of their unhappiness (such as dark, smell,…) is not your fault and you can do nothing about it. They know that and keep quiet, but they still unhappy and just want to show it and give 3 stars. I recently get a 3 stars for that too. I have nothing against his public review, but do feel bad when I got 3 stars from him. Like your guest, he didn’t mention the things he write in the review at all while he was there and didn’t show his unhappiness. 

@Michelle1851 Your condo looks great and beautiful!. Just ignore the negative comments.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Z-2  Michelle didn't say what star ratings the guest left, but I suspect they didn't leave less than 4*s, because her ratings are actually quite high, and with only 29 reviews, a 3* would have brought it farther down. I got the impression she was upset about the written review, but as I said, it doesn't seem negative to me, nor do I  think it will to prospective guests- they had lots of complimentary things to say, and the rest just seems informational, not as if the guests were unhappy.

 

But if a host is accustomed to getting very personable, glowing reviews from all their past guests, I could understand that they would be taken aback by one that doesn't fit that pattern.

@Sarah977  Sorry, my mistake, @Michelle1851  mentioned check in 3 stars, I mistakenly thought about 3 star for general. My mistake. Sorry 

No problem, I didn't even notice she had said anything about the star ratings. 

 

I think you're right about guests not mentioning the things that may have seemed negative to the host during the stay. The things they mentioned in the review aren't things that the host could do anything about, except maybe the perceived "musty odor". 

 

The lack of street lights is a positive for the host and the majority of her guests, she isn't going to change the "quiet" rules, and there isn't anything she can do about the distance to the village. And if there was some check-in issue for them they marked down for, well, check-in was already a done deal. So there was really no point in mentioning any of that during the stay. And if they had, a lot of hosts would have gone on alert, thinking they were trying to scam a refund, which they weren't.

Michelle1851
Level 10
Littleton, CO

@Z-2 yes @Sarah977  was correct, I got a 4 overall and a 3 for check in, I had to question her on that because I was wondering what could have gone wrong, because I gave her an early check in and she messaged me right after saying, "made it in Thank you"  .  Its like trying  to read into a message I obviously missed the fact  that she had difficulty.  The only think different about her message was that it was factual, no emotion, where  as most guest say "its lovely, thank you"   So now I know, its just a hard lesson to learn:(

“…where  as most guest say "its lovely, thank you" “

 

@Michelle1851 At least most of your guests are warm and personable, so much so that this one felt extremely cold by comparison. Now, go back and read a few of your other reviews, and that will set your smile straight 🙂