our first bad guest review

[Gigi67]

Our last review from our guest was very deeming and not true, in fact it is retaliation for my attempt to address a cleaning issue: they were unhygienic when using the shared bathroom, (i had complaints from my lodger) they used up all the laundry tablets and didn't replace them, they seem to expect the household to empty the kitchen bin after they filled it up. We are not a hotel, we are airbnb shared flat.

They even lied about my daughter living in the property (or assumed Alma was)

I have been trying to contact airbnb for the last 4 days and they not only have not responded but now every message I sent says "case closed" I am so upset with their lack of response that I have unlisted both of my listings, I had another in progress and I am totally thinking to just give up and finf another company to list.... so community...

here are my questions:

-how do I respond to this review?

-how long do i have if i continue in airbnb?

-this is what it was said.... and is not true, I think they thought i would leave them a bad review, which i did not..

this is the review:

Gigi's daughter was nice and the location is excellent, but we were disappointed in the cleanliness and orderliness of the larger apartment. Everywhere you look is another storage bin and crammed corner. The common room felt smaller than pictured and more cluttered. We never wanted to hang out there or cook and eat meals there. In our experience, this fell short of a super host listing (as it was when we booked). The usual attention to detail was missing. There was not even a box of tissue or a trash bin in the bedroom or bathroom and the main trash in the kitchen was full when we arrived and never taken out over the week. Perhaps it used to be a better place to stay?

[Victoria567]

Hi @Gigi67,

Perhaps it may encourage you as a host to pen a more accurate review if your guests in the first place as it’s not a case of ....I’ll leave the guest a good review so hopefully I get a good review in return.

Regretfully the system does not function this way.

Suggested review or reply to their comment if you did not write a review for your guest.

Thanks for reaching out and sharing your point of view about my accommodation.

I love feedback whether it is positive or negative.

I especially like feedback like this so others can see the entitled guests I sometimes have to deal with.

There is a large element of trust in being an air bnb host but I feel that trust has been eroded by a guest who finds fault in the accommodation provided and dies not make their concerns noted on arrival so that any oversights may be fixed promptly.

Regretfully I can’t do anything about the size of my rooms, my photos are listed and my home is not a hotel with extra facilities and extra prices to match.

[Gigi67]

Thank you Victoria for sharing your thoughts.  I guess I need to answer their review and your comments are a valid way... I didn't share a full disclosure of what happened in my review because I felt it had been handled face to face. Regrectfully they got upset.

Airbnb is totally silent still.  Thank you for all!

[Lisa723]

@Gigi67 keep your response brief and unemotional. It is a chance for you to demonstrate professionalism to future prospective guests. I personally would not respond as suggested above, as that response would put me off as a prospective guest.

[Victoria567]

Hi @Gigi67

You don’t have to justify your to anyone.

Just write your review once you feel up to it, sooner rather than later

The only time I brought up guest behaviour during the stay was a “ charming “ group who thought it was acceptable to use my shower continually to wash a large amount of laundry on an industrial scale.

Then dry it all using the hairdrier.

When I asked them to stop....” me no speak Eeenglish” and merrily continued until my entire hot water tank and 2 huge cold water reservoir tanks were drained dry and a cost of £200 from a plumber.

In the wee small hours she said ‘no water, no water’ after a marathon 4 hour washing spree.

My reply, ‘ yes I too have observed there is NO water’

[Victoria567]

Hi @Lisa0

This was a similar response that I posted regarding an entitled guest who stayed with me earlier this month.

It was factual, it was unemotional...in fact it has not broken any air bnb rules that’s why my review of my entitled guests is up there for everyone to see.

If someone does not book with me due to my honest unemotional review then I’m glad not to welcome such a delicate entitled character into my home.

Perhaps after reading my review they could take off a mental health day.

Differences in culture between us straight talking Scots and our cousins from across the pond, despite sharing a common language.

[Rachel0]

@Gigi67 If you can see the review that the guest wrote about you, you have either written a review already or the 14 day time period for writing a review has passed.  

[Gigi67]

Hi Rachel, yes both our reviews  are public... is the public response to it that I don’t know how long I have to respond... and what’s best to say...

[Martin27]

@Gigi67

Which review is the bad one? Seems I cant find it ...

By the way: Stars are not shown to potential guests and comments in each category are not shown too.

[Gigi67]

boveHi Martin, I had copy the bad review in the message above 😉

[Victoria567]

Hi @Gigi67

Respond as quickly as possible.

and in this case please reconsider using something along the lines of what Ive previously suggested.

otherwise it’s a case of putting up and shutting up regarding your guests comments in their review, that have obviously annoyed you.

You either justify your response or you just let it go without responding at all.

Why should you have a guilt trip about a guests poor behaviour and feel obliged to put up with this behaviour......if you feel the guest review is unjustified please rely to the guest explaining why.

[Letti0]

@Gigi67  You have 14 days to respond to the review after it is published publically, after that you cannot respond. As @Lisa723  stated I would not respond as @Victoria567  suggested. The response is not for the guest that wrote the review, but for future guests to read. A calm, short and a professional response is what you need. Something like: "The guests seemed to be under the impression they were at a 5* hotel, not a shared home environment with rules and took exception to being informed of that fact." 

[Gigi67]

Thank you Letti

A week of calming makes wonders! The guests were defenetely not a good fit for a shared environment, too high expectations! 

[Gigi67]

Finally this is what i wrote as a comment to the review:

'Sadly the guests seemed to be under the impression that a super-host listing means they were at a 5* hotel, not a shared home environment with a cleaner once a week rather than everyday. As a super-host I attempted to contact Jen many times, to check if she and her partner were comfortable in the flat and everything was ok. I would have happily bought her a box of tissues if she had taken the time to replay….the size of our home is as shown in photos with Alma, Flore and Sylvain sometimes in the background always happy to make you feel at home."

thank you everyone for the support.... xx