Complaining guests

[Linh12]

Hi 

I was hoping to get some advice on how to deal with my current complaining guests.

I have a party of 4 staying at my airbnb, they are staying for 5 nights.

Yesterday was the first night. I wasn't there to meet and greet but got message from guest they were extremely disappointed.

I offered a refund for any unstayed nights, if they were happy to find alternative accomodation.

She refused the offer.

I got another message this morning complaining how alwful the property is and how it is unclean it is.

How disappointed she is. She wanted compensation. 

I again offered her to seek other accomodation - refunding her any unstayed nights.

Some people you just can't please.  

She again does not want to leave saying it is too hard, she will stay put but wants to be compensated for one night's accomodation. Otherwise she is threatening to leave a bad feedback.

How would you respond?

Would you provide her a refund?

Thanks very much in advance

[Tim-and-Holly0]

Hopefully your conversations with the guest has been through the messaging system so you can prove the allegations. At this point you need to call Airbnb and inform them of the situation and let them know that you are being blackmailed. Airbnb does not allow that type of behavior, but the first thing they will look at is your messages.

On your end, however, take the criticism constructively and make changes if they are needed. As you say, some guests cannot be pleased, but there may also be some validity too.

Good luck.

[Linh12]

Thank you for your response.

Will take criticism on board and work on these..

My gut tells me this guest is just fishing.

If I do offer her one night off .. It won't stop.

I do believe if I am in the same position as the guest and feel its such an awful place to stay, I would rather find somewhere else and take the offer of a refund then stay and keep complaining and be disappointed.

Wouldn't you?

[Emma94]

In the future make sure you are there to greet your guest and go over the general things. This way they cannot pull this sort of scam on you. Most people make the mistake of letting guests checking in on their own and when problem like this arises then it's a matter of 'she said, he said' kind of deal. I am always at our property to make sure guests know what is expected of them and also check up on them the next day. I make sure to include everything there is to know about the home in the listing. Whenever someone books my home they are reminded to go over the House Rules and general description of the home. If they bring up anything that shows they have neglected my advice to read my listing, I will gently remind them of their idiocity. Sometimes you have to be blunt and direct to those who deserve it. I got no time nor patience for those who complain and whine about the obvious things. So far I have managed to keep the trouble makers away and those who booked with my place know what to expect and they are treated with royalty. You cannot please everyone so focus on the ones that deserve the most of your attention. Those are you customer base. Have not failed me one bit.

[Huma0]

I do think that @Emma94 is right. I also give my guests plenty of information and ask them to read the full listing/house rules before booking. I know many don't want to read everything so I ask them to confirm they are okay with three key points, otherwise I won't accept the booking. I always meet them on arrival and give them a thorough tour. This seems to work overall.

However, some guests will still ignore the information they were given, including the guests that just left this morning. It was obvious they had not listened to anything as they complained about things clearly stated in the listing. They then broke lots of my house rules and caused damage to my property. They got very angry when I mentioned just a couple of these things and I am sure they will leave me a bad review, but if someone is harrassing me with messages in the early hours of the morning, damaging my property and causing inconvenience to other guests, I am going to say something about it!

[Christine2855]

I’ve been hosting for about a year, and I’ve had mostly good experiences and all my ratings are 5 stars. Keeping your guests informed and telling them what to expect works, but no host is without some trouble guests, even if you treat them like royalty. People come from different backgrounds and even kids that grow up in the same family have completely different expectations. Always always keep it professional and be positive. Use the comments and messages, and flip them around to appreciate their feedback. 

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

I don't like being held hostage in my own home, so I'd be inclined to tell her to take a long walk on a short pier.

Not the most diplomatic response, but if you say it with your wonderful Aussie accent, it sounds pretty good.

😉

[Mike216]

No Way! Being undiplomatic to people staying at your house is NOT the way to go! (Aussie or not)

[Tom36]

I have to tell you that about one out of every 21 guest will complain. It took me awhile to figure out why they do this and then I realized that they are professional complainers. The item they will complain about will not make sense since guest were there previously and afterwards and did not have similiarcomplaints. So what gives? Some guest come in knowing they are going to compalin and ask for a refund. You will notice that they stay the first day before they start to complain. It is simply to get airbnb to try and gove them 50% or more back as a refund which I automatically do. 

[Lin24]

I h ad a similar situation . A guest text me at 2am in the morning saying they loved their stay but both beds smelled musty. She said she didnt want to give me a bad review but the King size bed and queen smelled.  She leaves tomorrow after being here a week.  She also didnt care for my washer and dryer.  I offered her a partial refund. She told me I needed to get new pillows and mattresses. The mattresses are only 2 years old and I recently replaced the pillows.  I have 3 sets of sheets, one still in the new wrapper. She went on to say her and her mother were sleep deprieved.  I apologized even though this isn't true. I had just left there the week before. Otherwise I might had thought my cohost hadn't cleaned.  I offered them a partial refund, and apopogized to her.  As I thought about it I didn;t understand why she never said a thing until the night before she leaves.  Also the washer and dryer are full size appliances.  Is it possible She does this everywhere they stay?? This is the first complaint of this manner.  What would others do?

[Susie5]

Have to vent!!!!   I currently have some big complainers too - I can't wait to see them gone. The first request, before arrival, was whether I had a fireplace!  (I put on a video of a fireplace for them when they arrived!)

Then it was the heat - we are in a VERY VERY cold snap here in the Northeast US and my own part of the house is stuck at 55 degrees. I have managed to get theirs up to 64 with a space heater and they want to wear T-shirts - I managed to get them to put on sweaters (very lightweight ones) but they want more heat than I can provide under the circumstances. 

Then it was the laundry... they didn't want to go to the laundromat 3 blocks away.

They blocked the sink with greasy  food residue which I just removed with a spoon and voila - problem solved!  Why they couldn't figure that out I'm not sure.

Smoke detectors have gone off 3 times...

Now they want me to go in to clean - I said that cleaning comes after they leave and there was a pouting face - they wanted DAILY cleaning "like in China" (the guests are two young Chinese men) - I wonder if it's true that daily cleaning is provided.  I took out their trash.... seems they couldn't manage that on their own.

Honestly, I know the review will be bad (based on the bad review one of them left for a place in China which looks spotless) - I think they will get the standard "Best suited to a luxury hotel (for $60 a night) with concierge services" rating.  Grrr!!

Thanks for listening!!  

[Paul154]

People who are willing to stay, but demand a discount are the worst.

There is only one solution. 

"I'm sorry, my place does not fit your needs. Please leave tomorrow"

Call Airbnb and kick them out. You don't need this stress or manipulation.

Your guest has forced your hand.

[Tasha22]

Thank you Paul. Great advice.

[Sara5683]

Best advice!! I think we are all here because we are this exact situation.  I have this lady 50% refund already. And she already got it cheap.  (The cheapest hotel in this area 400 a night for 1 bed.. montecito 

Paid 220 a night)

I offered her full refund if she leaves ... made her angry.  I don’t get it! If you are unhappy leave.. I would 

I called Airbnb and they will contact her today.  I feel like I was taken for a ride 

[Alamira0]

Hi, I was hoping to get some advice as well. 

I have a party of four staying at my place. The first night they arrived, they complained that the bedsheets were used and that the garbage bin was full. 

I’m on travel at the moment but my assistant took care of it as usual. All my previous guests have praised her for how she keeps my unit clean. I knew this was impossible. I assured my guest that the sheets were freshly laundered but they but they may be a little wrinkled because it’s costly to have them ironed as well. 

She also wanted more towels and an extra key, so I had them sent over the next day, as well as a box of cupcakes by way of apology just to appease her.

The next day, she sent me more messages about my AC leaking and how miserable they all were in my unit. No thanks or acknowledgement for the cupcakes I sent over. I tried to have an AC technician have it repaired that same day, but he was refused entry by building management because they don’t allow any repairs/renovations on a Sunday.

So I said he would come back on Monday, and I refunded her one night’s stay for the inconvenience of the leaking AC. I also sent them extra bedsheets.

Today, she complained that she was having guests over in the unit and that she was so embarrassed about how dirty and messy the unit is. She also said the previous refund I gave her wasn’t enough. I about lost it by this time. I asked her why would she insist on entertaining her guests in the unit if she knows we have AC repairs scheduled for today? (It’s a one bedroom condo unit, so it really is small.) I told her I would give her until 2pm to find another unit, cancel her reservation and I would even refund her one more night but now she refuses to leave. I’m apprehensive she’ll ruin my superhost rating by leaving a really bad review.