wasp nest and refund

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Kate867
Level 10
Canterbury, United Kingdom

wasp nest and refund

Ok, so we are new at the hosting process and we do appreciate that it can be a bit of a learning curve.  We recently renovated our 400 year old cottage and fitted it out to what I would consider a superior standard.  We went live at the end of June 2019 and our seventh set of guests are currently staying there.  The first six sets of guests left excellent reviews and rated five stars on everything.  One even left a hand written note behind thanking us.

 

All has been well to date with the exception of the occasional message asking about local walks etc and other routine things and I have always responded to any calls or messages immediately and I would hope satisfactorily, even updating our house manual accordingly.

 

The thing is, I am feeling a little uncomfortable about our current guests and am not sure if I am just being a little paranoid?  The guest has been a member of Airbnb since 2014  and there is only one review which is basically just a neutral one line.  Our check in times are from 2:00pm and check out by 10:00am.  Their booking was initially for two nights which he then amended to three nights a couple of weeks ago.   Three days before check in he messaged stating that they may need to amend back to two nights and would that be ok, I said it would be fine.  Then, the following day he confirmed that they would stay the three nights,  but due to the current heat wave they would prefer to leave London and check in a little earlier if at all possible?  I said that would be fine as well, he then confirmed that they would arrive at 10:00 on their due day (which is more than a little early I thought, but doable as no other guests the day before)

 

The day before they arrived, our gardener noticed a small wasps nest in the lawn when mowing.  I immediately messaged the guest stating the problem and advising him that it would be dealt with that evening when cooler and the nest non active, but I would mark the location with a brick so he could avoid it. He messaged back saying that they planned to spend the day in the garden, they had a child and could I confirm when done.  Which I did that evening.

 

They arrived early the following day and immediately messaged saying that the nest was still active with a few wasps.  I messaged right back stating that the wasp killer took 24 hours to be completely effective but the gardener would treat again that night.  If that did not work then to let me know and I would get a professional company out on the Following day.

 

The following day I messaged asking about the nest and asking if the gardener could access the garden to inspect.  Had no response.   Several hours later I rang to ask again and call was ignored.

 

Today, they messaged saying hot water was not working.  I called right away and was able to quickly talk him through resetting the immersion heater which had tripped out.  I asked how everything was and he said fine, but his response seemed a little cool.  I immediately informed him that I was going to refund him £20 for this minor inconvenience (charge is £100 per night, five guests and no additional fees) Total time from his message to refund was 12 mins.

 

The thing is, I have this really uneasy feeling, like he is going to claim his kid was stung by a wasp or exaggerate the hot water issue or something else... just a gut feeling, and am now wondering if I did the right thing by giving him a small refund in the first place?  I feel as though I have been as helpful as possible but suspect he is going to leave a stinking review and demand full refund.

 

Help?  What can I do and has anyone had a similar problem?

 

 

 

 

1 Best Answer
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Kate867 

I would ask the guest via Airbnb message system if everything is OK, because then it is recorded.

Refund is not "small" but substantial seen the rather minor inconvenience, so do not try to please your guests too much driven by "gut feelings" or anxiety for bad reviews. Hosting is a business, so give it a business approach and let the "gut feelings" not be the main source for rational decisions.

 

Best regards,

Emiel

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21 Replies 21
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Kate867 

I would ask the guest via Airbnb message system if everything is OK, because then it is recorded.

Refund is not "small" but substantial seen the rather minor inconvenience, so do not try to please your guests too much driven by "gut feelings" or anxiety for bad reviews. Hosting is a business, so give it a business approach and let the "gut feelings" not be the main source for rational decisions.

 

Best regards,

Emiel

Rachel0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kate867 I don't think you have done any harm by providing a refund on this occasion although do be aware that some guests will go to any lengths to get money back.  Your listing is lovely, but please don't have your address as part of the title.  When guests book they will be provided with the address so having it at the top of your page is unnecessary and could be a security risk.  Petham is in a beautiful part of Kent - one of my closest friends lives there so I have visited a lot!

Kate867
Level 10
Canterbury, United Kingdom

Thanks for the advice!  I have removed address as suggested, and am now waiting with baited breath for guests to check out to see what happens next!

Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Kate867 

 

And so what if his kids are stung by a bee, that's what bees do when their threaten and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it, other then remove the hive, is a bee hive a protect structure?  now I wonder with the huge decline in the bee population.

 

Relax and do what you can to rectify your guest issues, but you did open the Pandora's box by previously informing them about the beehive.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Cormac0 

 

Bees are protected here, but wasps are not. This was a wasps' nest, so it is fine to remove it.

Kate867
Level 10
Canterbury, United Kingdom

Ok, so guests have now checked out, over an hour late despite me saying that although they could check in four hours early, they needed to check out promptly so we could prepare for other guests.  They left the house a mess, dirty crockery, sopping wet floors in bathroom, wet towels everywhere and had helped themselves to the extra towels for next guests as well.  Despite instructions to turn off hot water, lights and power points before leaving all these were left on !   The most bizarre thing they left was a dead woodpecker stuck somehow to the tree next to where they park??  It certainly  did not die there ..(pictures taken) . just not sure what to do now, I think they will leave a bad review and am really tempted to leave one for them... can they see my review before they write one for me?  Any advice most welcome!

Kate this would be my review ( actually you said it all!)

 

Despite this families repeated requests for changes to dates and check in time etc. & reaching out to let them know a wasp nest was found in the garden area & that we were dealing with, I was happy to accommodate them, I only asked that they respected the check out time.

Sadly when I arrived to prepare our cottage for incoming guests they had not departed, additionally I was disheartened to see the condition our cottage was left in.

Regrettably, I cannot recommend this family for future stays.

 

(no they cannot see your review)

Hi Kate, if you don't review these guests I don't think their review (if they leave one) will go public. Reviews seem to be a mutual thing! But check with Airbnb support-they will help. I'd let the red mist die down a little before you write a review. Good reviews are important to you but bad reviews as guests dont really seem very relevant.  Guests can always book under another name! I'm in my second year of hosting and if I'm unhappy with a guest I don't leave a review. I find this is a less stressful way of handling the situation. I can let it go and move on. Good luck with your future guests! Jane

@Jane903   All reviews go public in 14 days whether both guest and host review or not.  If both guest and host post sooner than 14 days, then both are published at once.  Neither guest or host can see the review of the other until published.

 

Perhaps @Kate867 , you have new host jitters with this guest because all didn't go as smoothly as you have had. According to your post, you handled all issues with consideration and professionalism.  The guest was not very organized in his plans and not respectful of your space/rules and somewhat poor in responding to you.  The primary reason for a host review is to communicate the guest's suitability for the listing and whether you would recommend the guest to other hosts.   At best your review would be probably be lukewarm, right?

 

 

Kate867
Level 10
Canterbury, United Kingdom

Yes, the red mist is slowly turning pink.  I will review this guest, but keep it fairly neutral.  After all, dirt and mess does clean up and towels can all be washed... the dead bird thing is another issue though... scared the living daylights out of my cleaner, who has an aversion toward birds anyway.  If he leaves me a bad review, I will simply respond to it accordingly and hope that people viewing my property online read all the previous five star reviews and treat that one with the contempt that it deserves.  Just sent grateful for the help and support of this forum 

@Kate867 

If I were you  I would wait until nearly the 14th day to write a review. 

However I would be more than neutral. Don't let them think it's ok to behave they way they did. These guests were disrespectful and treated you poorly. I would not want them as guests.   I  think you need to be neutral in TONE but factual. Asked to arrive 4 hours early, Did not check out on time, did not follow house rules,  left the house very dirty, I would not welcome these guests again, ( would you?) thumbs down. I can't agree with Jane - I always check what reviews my  potential guests have received. Yes, soem guests can create new accounts or book under the name of someone else in the group, but not SO likely with a small family group.

I would also suggest posting what you plan to say on these boards first to get some advice from other experienced hosts who can help you tweak. similarly with your reply to their potentially poor review of you.

Regards

 

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

I'm afraid @Jane903 is absolutely wrong about reviews not showing if you don't leave one, @Kate867 . They most certainly do. Likewise, not leaving a review for bad guests is effectively throwing your fellow hosts under a bus.

As for your (gorgeous) cottage, it's in the country (where country stuff happens). I recently stayed in a similar cottage (Braybourne) where you could hear noisy cows mooing, (even nosier) birds singing, and Land Rovers hacking through the lanes. It was also very dark and the wifi signal was rubbish. But I loved every bit of it.

Thank your lucky stars this lot have moved on. Your next guests will love their experience, I'm sure.  

@Jane903  vous avez tors de ne pas laisser d'évaluation, vous ne rendez pas service a la communauté. si nous devons recevoir "des sangliers" sans être prévenus ce n'est pas correcte.

 

@Kate867  laisser un avis factuel

 

communication

propreté

respect du reglement .....

recommanderiez l'invité à d'autres hôtes oui / non 

 

 

 

 

 

Kate867
Level 10
Canterbury, United Kingdom

I agree that honest reviews are extremely important for hosts when evaluating if a guest is going to be an appropriate fit for your property.  This particular guest only had one review from 2014, which was quite neutral and in hindsight this should have been a warning to me.  Having re-read that particular hosts review I think it loosely translates into thanks for your money ... but don’t rush to come back.  As said before, mess cleans up.  It just irritates me that people cannot respect somebody else’s home as you would assume they would their own.  Added to that, leave them a bad review, and they just create a different Airbnb account when booking elsewhere!  So on this occasion I will try to leave a review that is not offensive to the guest but hopefully transparent enough that prospective hosts can read between the lines.