A guest without reviews- funny anecdote

[Andrea433]

I have hosted over 40 lovely guests. This is one of the few times that I felt a bit off about a guest. He came only with verification and no reviews. I don't want to leave a negative public review - this guest left the room in good condition and the interaction was not negative and he respected the most important house rules. However, there were a number of things that made me feel uncomfortable- A young male around 30, he said that he is coming to the city to explore and exercise- he was in the room most of the time for 9 days and not to judge, but since he is carrying few extra pounds around his waist, I could see why he would take an exercising vacation. One other thing was, he was never quite making eye contact. 

Before booking, he asked if he could sing for an hour or so per day because he has a channel and a following. I responded that because of the close proximity to the neighbors, I needed to hear his music before I approve it, not to give my neighbors any reason to complain. Instead of showing me his music, he decided to do what he wanted to do at 8 am every day, while I was sleeping.  And he would wake me up. Since he wasn't loud, I decided not to address it although I went through 9 days of awakening a bit earlier than I normally do.

I felt that he had more curiosity towards me and the way I live than the city and physical activity he allegedly came for. 

I have shown him the guest towels in the closet in his room, but he used mine- I saw that he used my towel, I told him that the towel was clean and he is welcome to continue using it although I intended it for myself, and I reminded him that he has towels in his room. I got a new towel and found it wet. I got another towel, and he used that one again. I felt that he is a bit odd, but decided not to say anything because I didn't want to make a guest feel uncomfortable and kept my towel in my room.

He never asked for assistance or permission, but just went through my cabinets. I am happy to offer coffee, tea, and fruit and I leave those items out for the guests. I also leave out toiletries that are for guest use. I have found that he went through my cabinets and completely emptied a whole box of tea and my box of teeth bleaching strips. Not a big deal, but it made me think that since I leave my bedroom door open, he might have been through my things while I was out. He left without thanking me and saying goodbye.

[Elizabeth212]

Very odd! We don't share the bathroom with our guests but I did have one guest help himself to our master bath which has a Private sign on it. I read him the riot act....this was a married man and father traveling with his wife who should have known better. One suggestion: deadbolt locks on your bedroom door. My husband installed these on our bedroom door and on both guest room doors. My guests get a key to 

[Andrea433]

Yes, thank you for the suggestion- I was just thinking about that. 

[Annette33]

uhhhhh, this is actually creepy, not funny.... seems to me that he disrespected your place/space and your privacy.  To go through your personal things is a big deal, not to be dismissed so easily. If you don't want to write a review on him, I would at least flag him and let Airbnb know that his behavior was somewhat "unusual" and could lead to problems....

[Andrea433]

I just flagged this guest and directed Airbnb to read my story.

Thank you!

[Karen77]

@Andrea433  Not funny.  Creepy.  Please write a review so prospective guests understand how this man operates.  

[Victoria106]

Yes that is creepy, becareful as a female I wouldn't rent out shared space if I were alone?  I would try to nicely write a review stating that he made you feel uncomfortable so others will know it would be a terrible thing if you didn't and he assulted somebody or something... good luck!

[Paul229]

Hi Andrea,

If someone is waking you up..simply say, please no singing until after 9:00 am. Be firm!

Then when it comes to the review you can say honestly that he's room was in good condition but does not follow your rules. I would not call him odd in a review; only give the facts.
This is your home; don't  allow someone to disrespect you. Have firm boundries and be very clear even if you need to repeat yourself.

Best to you,

Paul

[Cat20]

Dear Andrea!

Please write a review about him so you can save other hosts from potentially being uncomfortable.

There's a few reviews that have saved me from taking in odd guests and everytime in my heart I have thanked the hosts for writing it.

I'm sad that your guest was not raised better by his parents!

Kind regards

[Stan-and-Jan0]

Hi Andrea - That is pretty creepy. Very important to publish your house rules on the listing. Make it very clear what your rules are and that if the house rules are violated the guest may be asked to leave. They agree to your house rules when they make the reservation so make it very clear in advance. I probably would have asked this particular guest to leave immediately.

If the guest has no reviews, they are likely new to Airbnb. In any case, if they don't have any reviews, we always have a conversation in advance of accepting a reservation.  This is the template we use. Feel free to use it if you like.

"Hi ________. Thanks for the reservation request for our ___________. We choose to use Airbnb exclusively for all of our bookings and one very helpful aspect of Airbnb (among others) is the user reviews. We realize there are more and more new users using Airbnb to find accommodations and not everyone has reviews so we like to have a short conversation before we accept your reservation request.

Is this your first time using Airbnb?
(If there is more than one guest) Who are the other people in your group? Names please.
Have you looked over all the details in the listing including the house rules and do you have any questions about our home?

Thanks for taking a few minutes to communicate with us. We really appreciate it. We maintain a 100% response rate so we promise to get back to you shortly after hearing back from you.  Thanks - Stan and Jan"

Having a conversation takes a little bit of extra time but it's a good way to pre-screen a guest so you feel more confortable with them. I agree lockouts are a good idea if this is a room in your home.

Hope this helps.

Stan

[Andrea433]

Thank you for your input!

[Chonette0]

I always have conversations with new guest that have not got reviews to find out more about the person and the reasons they are visiting my town, it works well and one can make a judgement of who the guest is

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Andrea433

I think you are to tolerant. 

He is creepy