A Narrow Escape

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

A Narrow Escape

Every now and then, you get a guest who seems impossible to please and you wished you had never accepted the booking. Most often these guests have really not read the listing properly and come with some very random expectations which have nothing to do with how you have described it. How do you avoid these guests as they often come with a polite and friendly introduction and a bunch of great reviews?

 

Having been stung by a particularly rude, unpleasant and incredibly demanding couple a few months back, I'm trying to spot the red flags whenever I can and put more time into doing the research, especially reading the reviews the guest has left for others.

 

Yesterday I got a polite enquiry from a lady with four very positive reviews. However, the fifth one said, "She respected my house rules, was easy to communicate with, but she was not so friendly and a bit intolerant." So, of course I looked for the review she had left for this host, only to find an essay of complaints. She even got cut off mid sentence because she had gone over the word count!

 

To summarise only a few of the points made:

  • There were a lot of steep steps from the road to the beach villa, the beach was busy when it was sunny, it was expensive to hire beach chairs etc. etc.
  • It was quiet at night but there was some noise during the day (three hours on one day from a local boat shop and on another day noise from a nearby church being renovated).
  • The villa is small. Thought it was overpriced.
  • Could have used more towels because they were there for 3-4 days. There were wine glasses in the kitchenette, but they had to buy their own wine.

Next, I checked out the host, who is a superhost with lots of excellent reviews, and a very clear listing that describes a small villa. Plus, I think it's probably obvious that if you book somewhere in one of the most expensive parts of Italy in high season, it's going to be "pricey" and busy. I have visited this area and you have to climb steep steps wherever you stay. That's just the geography of the place. The only mistake the host made in terms of accuracy was including a bottle of wine in the photos!

 

The next reviews were a bit more positive but also very detailed and even when she liked a place, she seemed to need to find fault:

 

- There’s no lift to the apartment, but three flights of stairs, bathroom is small, shower in the bath but no separate shower, it was busy/noisy, but okay, that’s Naples.

- There is a elevator but the location is still noisy. Couldn't use the fireplace so it was a bit chilly (really, you need heating in Southern Italy in the Summer?), there was a very small problem with the hot tub (she declined the host’s offer to fix it the same day), and on and on until she gets cut off by the word count again!

 

I even went as far as to look at the listings on the guest's London Wishlist. They were all fancy, in very central, expensive areas of London. I knew that this guest was not going to like my 'small' bedroom, up three flights of stairs, facing a busy road, in a well connected, but less central and not posh part of the city. So, I sent her a polite response explaining that I didn't think my listing was a good fit for her based on the above.

 

Today she responded with a long lecture and told me "I'm not sure its appropriate to assume someone is not suitable based on one review." She went into further complaints about the listing in Capri, saying they had booked a private beach and got a public one. Well, the listing doesn't say anything about a private beach. It says the villa has private access from the beach (which is clearly shown as busy in the photos). She had obviously seen the words "private" and "beach" in the same sentence and jumped to her own conclusions.

 

Now this seems like a lot of research for me to go through for one enquiry, but I feel so grateful that I did. I feel like I have dodged a bullet with this one!

 

It would be interesting to hear from others as to what level of research you go into before accepting a guest.

94 Replies 94
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

I'm also starting to think that the reviews a guest leaves for other hosts are much more telling than the reviews the hosts have left for them, which are often short, polite and diplomatic even when there has been an issue.

 

Then there are plenty of guests who tell the host everyting is fine during the stay, but then bring up lots of problems in their reviews and ratings, totally taking the host by surprise after he/she has left them a glowing review and all five stars.

 

If you take the time to compare the guest's review to the listing, often the 'problems' they are complaining about are clearly mentioned or shown in the listing. In this case, the lady also complained that there were steps leading up to the villa (clearly shown in the photo), the place was small (obvious from the photos, mentioned in the description, even says it was formerly a fisherman's cottage) and most ridiculous of all, she thought she was getting her own private beach, when the listing says no such thing and the photos are of an obviously public beach. It even mentions the cafes etc. on the beach. Did she think those were private for her and her partner as well?!

 

I feel sorry for the host who had to deal with the fall out of this stupidity.

WRT: "the reviews a guest leaves for other hosts are much more telling than the reviews the hosts have left for them"

Current guest instant booked before AirReview was updated.

Eight reviews,  if I'd looked closer,  only 4 different hosts.    All one-liner positives.

His replies never say anything explicitly negative,  but they are all 1-2 long paragraphs.

Current guest seems to be a problem.

+100 Huma's insight,  above.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kenneth12

 

Out of interest, does the guest imply negative stuff in his 1-2 paragraph reviews, or is it all postive, or is it more kind of factual?

Pete28
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Huma0

 

It hurts my mind to have to go over all of this for $80-100.

 

What you are really saying is that we just need a review system (maybe like we had about a year back) where you just needed 80% 5* so you could put up with hosting these people without risk...

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Pete28

 

Yes, it's painful.

 

Actually, what would be great would be a tab/link where you could immediately see all the reviews the guest had left for others. @Paul1255 mentions the Chrome extension, so I'm going to check that out, but I would think that something as basic as that should just be there on the Airbnb system anyway.

 

Yes, changing the rating system/Superhost criteria would help but, being a host in my own home, I don't want to host these kinds of guests in the first place because that is even more painful than doing the research or receiving the bad review. The horrible couple I mentioned were here for eight days. No amount of money would have been worth the stress of hosting them. If I had read the reviews they had left for other hosts (not just the reviews they had received), I might have spotted some red flags. 

Is AirReview working again?   

Currently moderately stressed with guest who won't tell me if furnance is working or not and won't check breakers which he may have flipped ...  would be highly stressed if not for jetlag!

UPDATE:  AirReview recenty updated,  working.

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Great post @Huma0 you were absolutely right to decline this guest they had red flags hanging all over them 🙂

 

I too always research my guest reviews before accepting them and have questions linked to my IB that if the guests don't answer I can use to cancel the booking.

 

I live in an inner city area and know it doesn't work for everyone. I make this crystal clear but still have about one in four bookings mark me down for location on my review.

 

OMG it drives me crazy 🙂

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Helen3

 

Thank you! Yes, I also have questions in my IB welcome message but so many guests do not answer them when they book. I will ask them again, and again. However, like you, I will cancel if they don't get back to me or refuse to answer the questions.

 

Location is an issue for so many hosts. It is certainly the category I most often get marked down on and, even if a guest says they are happy with everything else, they can often mark down the overall rating because of this. I don't think I live in a bad area. In fact, you'd struggle to buy a one bedroom flat for less than £500,000 around here and a nice house on a nice street will set you back millions. Joanna Lumley even lives around the corner!

 

Still, guests often come to the UK with unrealistic expectations. If it's not Downton Abbey, they're going to be disappointed. I knew this particular lady was going to be problematic. If she had dreamt up her own private beach (clearly a figment of her imagination if you read the listing), she was going to be disappointed. Who knows what she would have made of my urban, multi-cultural location?

There is no rhyme or reason to the location rating! I live over an hour from the ocean. In the summer time I get tons of bookings from guests visiting the coast. I always explain how far it is but that a day trip is doable. I have gotten 5 stars for location from every single one of them (probably 100 bookings.) The University is 1 mile down the road. I have the closest Airbnb to the university yet these people will still knock me on location. It never makes any sense!

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Emilia42

 

The location rating is such a big issue for hosts, as evidenced by the numerous posts on this forum. However, Airbnb insist they will not remove it because they think it's important for guests to get an idea of the location from other guests. Instead, they have offered a compromise by saying the location rating will not be counted towards the Superhost rating.

 

Ok, fine, except...The stars for location still show up on our profiles. More importantly, in my opinion anyway (and this doesn't sound like a problem for you if all your guests still give you an overall 5 star rating), is that guests who like everything else, but don't like the location, will often give a 4 star overall. To their minds, everything else was great, but the location means the overall experience was not 'perfect'. 

 

We can try our best to explain to guests about our location. I never claim to be in Central London (although Central London is a bit of a vague term that doesn't mean much anyway), and, in my listing, have provided a breakdown of journey times to key 'central' locations/tourist attractions, yet I still get the comments in the reviews like "It was not in the centre."

@Huma, last spring I stole this little blurb from Rebecca (I hope she doesn't mind 🙂 ) and put it in my welcome binder. It is the only thing I can think of that has deterred guests from reviewing me on things that I cannot control.

 

Regarding your review following your stay in our apartment:

Please note that the 5 star rating system is NOT like a ‘hotel’ rating system:

As Airbnb ‘Super Hosts’ we do all we can to ensure that our property meets your expectations, as based on our listing description, photos, and reviews. A 5 star (super) host is one who consistently gives their guests what they promise. Guests who rate their hosts with 5 stars for the ‘Overall Experience’ category are saying they were happy with their stay and want future guests to know it. Reading the reviews of previous guests will help potential future guests feel confident in their stay. Therefore, please let us know if you are disappointed or dissatisfied with the apartment or any aspect of your stay while you are still here so we have a chance to address the issue and ensure that your stay is a ‘5 Star’ experience, and all you hoped it would be. *When rating us on your ‘Overall Experience’, we only ask that you remember that we cannot control our location or the weather!

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Emilia42

 

Yes I saw Rebecca's posts about that and thought it was a good idea. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't have any kind of welcome folder or printed out guidelines/guidebook in my home. I meet all guests in person and give them a detailed tour. Still, I think it's a good idea to do it. It's a bit awkard to bring up reviews in person in general, let alone during the welcome tour!

 

This is something I am going to work on. Thank you for reminding me to do so!

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

I know your area well (I'm a Londoner) and it is quite similar to mine.

 

I love it.

 

I think location should be about is it as described in the listing in terms of local amenities, transport etc. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Helen3Thank you. I like my area too. It's not glam, but it has great transport links, plenty of little supermarkets and coffee shops within a stone's throw and is in walking distance from areas like Clapham and Brixton that offer a huge choice of restaurants and bars, without having to stay right in the middle of all that bustle.

 

Yet, so much of this is down to guest expectations/perceptions. I recently hosted a very lovely lady from Singapore (same age as me), who had briefly lived in a smart part of London about 20 years ago. She loved everything about my house but clearly HATED my location. This is what she said in her review:

 

"Stockwell as a neighborhood is a bit rough round the edges and I did come across daytime drunks, people randomly yelling and shifty sorts. But the house is on a main road, only 5-7 min walk in a straight line from the tube. As a solo female traveler, when returning post 10pm I took the precaution of putting my phone away, head down and walking briskly at night, with keys ready, no fumbling at the door. I didn’t feel too unsafe (though my London friends worried for me!). In any case there’s no way you’d get this sort of space in a posher neighborhood, so there! Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my stay - and would definitely come back to Huma’s when I’m next in London."

 

Really? That is a lot of detail to go into if you didn't feel "too unsafe" and you would come to stay again. As a single woman, this would put me right off staying at that location.

 

Yet, I have lived as a (mostly) single woman in Stockwell for over nine years. I have never had any problems walking down the street (unlike some 'posher' places in London were I have been harrassed and even assaulted) even late at night, never had a break in or attempted break in. Furthermore, out of over 250 stays (many of which were young, solo, female travellers), never had a single guest experience a safety problem in my neighbourhood. No phones stolen, nothing. I would say that's pretty impressive for an urban, fairly central area of London.

 

As for daytime drunks and people randomly shouting, that is really not something I commonly encounter here, although like anywhere in London, it may happen from time to time (a friend of mine got mugged in Shoreditch recently for his avocado toast!). Maybe this lady just got unlucky. I'm not sure as she never mentioned any concerns about this during her stay.

 

I think so much of this is down to perception rather than any real risk or danger. I'm afraid to say that a lot of people (especially if they are coming from somewhere where it is not common) will see certain ethnicities, or people in lower income groups, as dangerous, criminal and 'shifty'.

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Interesting I describe my location as a little scruffy around the edges (do have a look at my listing and see what you think).

 

We do get people wandering around late at night (multi-cultural area with late night shops) and like any city we have our share of drinkers.

 

I've now taken to asking people to confirm they have understand the nature of my area, but still doesn't stop me from being marked down 🙂

 

Personally I have seen street drinkers in Streatham and street homeless too, but this is part and parcel of city life in the UK today unfortunately for those whose life has spiralled out of control and I rarely find it intimidating.