Advice needed on a guest situation

Natasha-And-Dale0
Level 6
Athabasca, Canada

Advice needed on a guest situation

1. New this year...almost all five star reviews save one 4 star for the rooms in my house which are listed at a much higher price than the outdoor tent space.

2. Guests who rent the tent space for a significantly lower price seem to be the most demanding and leave the most private feedback

3. Tent space states bring all your own amenities yet they always want something, towels...food...power cords

My most recent guests are from the other side of the country and are considering canceling the last few days of their reservation because 1. There is spotty cell service...we are in the mountains of Vancouver Island and that is normal 2. They are too far from their desired locations...which Google maps would have told them had they looked

I have already given them a week discount and every day they ask me for something that is not included in the booking...going so far as to want to give my personal home number to their friends and family to contact them...which I was uncomfortable with as I didn't want to be running my phone to them whenever it rings. I have said I will refund them if they choose to cancel but I am fearing a bad review...which seems to be the norm for re tenters. It like they all want champagne on a beer budget. I have decided not to rent to renters any more after they leave....except maybe on busy festival weekends.  How do I write a review for this last group that seems to want a lot but is still I'm Happy with things I can't control. One more point...every day they complain to me how little money they have and it makes me uncomfortable to talk about that.

 

8 Replies 8
Lilian20
Level 10
Argelès-sur-Mer, France

Tell them to get a second job, that works really well

Lawrene0
Level 10
Florence, Canada

Write good things first - communication was good? cleanliness? - and then an ending something like "We were able to provide only some of the unlisted extras for which these guests asked."

Would that do the trick? 

Kirsten41
Level 2
College Park, MD

I had guest do this before they arrived and ultimately cancelled 5 days before arrival. I got all of $10 for their cancellation which was just wonderful since it was a 1000 10day rental. yeah! 

 

I've had such good experiences that it worries me to have my first bad one (I can't even bring myself to read her review after that incident, I feel violated and taken advantage of by them) and then to read the host community and see that other hosts are also having some bad experiences too.

Natasha-And-Dale0
Level 6
Athabasca, Canada

Hehe Job advice...thay would have been good...thank you and yes...i will mention their cleanliness and friendliness towards our pets which is always huge on my list. I lost 125 bucks because of their poor research. I am also going to put "**bleep**ty cell service in the mountains" as my title...hahaha I am actually glad they left as I don't have to provide any more of my personal things to them. I was going to wait and see if the write a review...im at 84% review rate so I can stomach a no review for now but after reading so much from other hosts on how we should be more digest to review I think I will be proactive and use your advice.

 

Dee33
Level 10
Reston, VA

The spotty cell service should definitely be mentioned in your listing. Turn it into a benefit "get away from it all" feature. ( I would not let the guest use my house phone except for emergency. ) Can they access your wi-fi in the backyard? If so, let them figure out how to use Internet calling like Skype.  I imagine they needed the extension cord to plug in chargers? That seems reasonable.

 

Otherwise, just brand this listing as "unplugged."

 

If towels are frequently requested, it seems reasonable to provide those automatically. 

Thank you and I have just updated my other listings to include poor cell service. I have decided not to rent to tenters any more even when all of our local campsites are filled as I have enough work and laundry with my beautiful rooms in the house. I do not feel that the appropriate price is valuable to me for the stress involved. This is not negative just a great learning experience this first year. I can concentrate more on my higher paying guests and spoil them better. This is a great forum.

agree with @Natasha-And-Dale0 this is a great forum - thank you all - you often make my day

Philip121
Level 2
Olympia, WA

Wow. I don't know where to begin. I recieved a less-than-positive review from my SECOND GUESTS. A little background: 1)  On my listing, I indicate that their is no cable tv. 2) As you said; the site of the location is listed on the listing via Google Maps. 3) My site says "not suitable for pets". 4) I do a walk-through/deep clean after every guest has left. They showed up with a small, agressive, snoopy dog claiming it is their "service dog". Anyone familiar with service dogs knows that this is not how they behave. They lied to me. Secondly, as it is my hosting style to periodically check in with my guests, I made sure that everything was satisfactory during their 5 days here. They repeatedly said that it was. When they left, there was food and garbage everywhere and the bathroom was left filthy. In their review, they complained that they thought there was a TV and a couch (neither of which I claimed that I have), the location was "out of the way" (5 minute drive to town or college as we are exactly between the two), and that the bathroom was dirty. As I was a newbie, I didn't want to start my bnb with a conflict, so I bit the bullet and gave them a good review. Other than being a pain, they didn't damage or steal anything and it was stuff I could live with, so I did. Although the review system is in place to protect everyone and create an environment of transparency, I am beginning to see a pattern of non-confrontation in the review process that prevents us all from helping each other avoid booking to sociopaths. Example: When I see a host complaining about a bad guest on the hosts blog (this), I can find the guests review, but the host declines to leave one. Sorry to go on about myself, but I saw some commonalities in our stories. Maybe this helps. p.s; as a professional musician I have noticed that the more the client pays you, the more invested they are in you, ergo; the better they treat you. This seems counter-intuitive, since one would think that they would appreciate the great deal they are getting and show that to you in some way. IMHO, what is more likely in your case is that your guests are self-absorbed cheapskates, and it takes a lot of b.s. for me to write someone off in this way. I think that they earned it.