Cowardly guests who hide behind their review

Brian68
Level 9
Surat Thani, Thailand

Cowardly guests who hide behind their review

I'm pretty much done with guests, who if they have a problem during their stay decide to say nothing and then moan about it in the review after.

 

Why is that?

It's very simple actually, the guest thinks if they request or complain about something during their stay that it will influence your review of them.

As a host,  I rarely hear from my guests and I do check in on them very occasionally to make sure they have arrived safe.

No news is good news they say, absolutely not!

For all intents and purposes you have been led to believe that there were no problems, issues or complaints?

Basically I feel like I am flying blind and 99% of the time give the guest 5 stars only to find out and to be fair, mostly private feedback that there have been issues.

I just feel that that reviews should be subject to more scrutinisation and changeable by Airbnb if the guest has failed at any time during their stay to message you about it on the app or via email and then gone on to make it public in a review.

I'm happy to listen to guests concerns or if there are issues and would not discriminate ( I already had to change a water heater out for someone who had no hot water for 24 hrs, no problem at all).

But DON'T keep quiet and then blub about it afterwards, because you are the worst kind of guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

86 Replies 86

As in computer warriors.

Brian68
Level 9
Surat Thani, Thailand

Hi Sarah,

Yes wise words, thank you.

In fact with all guests I send out a .pdf welcome guide before their arrival and do indeed mention these things as well as emergency numbers places to visit, what to do if etc...

Now on the other hand if Aribnb introduced it as one of the acceptance steps before a booking, that woould be really good.

Example: Do you agree to inform the guest of any problem be it noise or other during the stay?

It's a bit like when being arrested and read your rights haha

You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your review if you do not mention during your stay something which you later complain about in said review.

Now that would make guests think twice and give us hosts a more formed opinion of who we are dealing with if we are not there.

 

Ann306
Level 2
Peterborough, Canada

I have a teacher here. He was here 4 days last week..'everything's great, Review complained about distance, and said not informed needed to download Google Home.  I msg him , ask why he say that when I offered help...He said he felt others should know. It's on my pic of tv and pic of home app in manual too. He say he will help ME figure it out. Well teacher........   OH, did I mention he boojed 3 more weeks?? I wish him a good day and stay away from him now. Hes in kitchen from about 4-11 p.m nightly which IS desk area but long loud phone calls in kitchen..blah blah ugh.  Anyone want a roomie for 3 weeks?? Lol

Brian68
Level 9
Surat Thani, Thailand

@Bruna0,

Oh yes thats their favourite gripe. location and complaining about the hill.

The view is amazing but the hill is so steep!

Ermmmm well yes, that's the trade off.

I did however once have a review taken down within 3 hours after being accused of using someone else's photography for my apartment.

If he had looked closer they are watermarked lol and I had allowed the mangement company permission to use on their site. Plus I produced an invoice and cc'd in the photographer. Can you believe Airbnb asked me to go in and video the apartment as proof!! They then cancelled that once I had sent overwhelming evidence to discredit him and he was sent a warning that I'd he said libellous things again he would chucked off the site.. 1-0 to the host 🙂

Stephanie365
Level 10
Fredericksburg, VA

I feel you on many levels.

My most frequent 4* rating comes for location. You can see on the map that I am not in a city. My description says, "I am off the beaten path". In the "Things to Know" section, I even say, "If driving an extra 5-10 minutes to amenities is an issue and will result in less than 5* rating, please book closer to town". And still I get 4*s for location. I cannot change the fact that I'm in a rural area. The guests can see this and still they choose to come here. And they mark me down.

I also have had complaints about the temperature. I have a note ON THE THERMOSTAT BOX (and in my Welcome Manual) that says, "As every guest has different temperature preferences, please allow us to adjust the temperature if it's not to your liking."  And then I get complaints about it being too hot or too cold. 


Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

Happy people leave great reviews. Happiness is inside them, not arround them.

People who are unhappy with their lifes write bad reviews. They would be unhappy in a castle and on the camp site. 

 

 

 

 

Well said. Maybe that is why I never get a bad review; they must already be 'happy' they can afford it, but also do go away very happy they came.  Once in a while I get a worrisome person, but never one that is already mad at the world.

Well stated!!!

Thank you Branka & Silvia!

@Branka-and-Silvia0   So true and eloquently stated. I have a friend who is actually difficult to hang out with because she is always complaining and never satisfied. It does seem that a lot of bad things happen to her, like two house sales in a row falling through just before closing, but that is because she sets such high expectations and is always "sure" that things will work out the way she wants them to, instead of being realistic. Then she ends up disappointed and upset. If anyone points out that maybe she should not "count her chickens before they're hatched", she accuses them of being negative.

Annette193
Level 2
Coffs Harbour, Australia

Totally agree with Brian, then the host is penalised by complaining guests leaving bad reviews, without any consult to the host about what happened or even if we knew about it to be able to fix the issue. Why do they stay if its so bad. Annoying 

Jean84
Level 2
Inverness, United Kingdom

has anyone else noticed they seem to have removed the section to tell Air b&b about any issues with a guest privately , I didn't have to use it very often but on occassion felt it useful to alert Air b&b and other hosts to certain problems with a guest 

Yes, it seems to be gone.  I always used that to document damages that guests made or rules they broke, so there was a record somewhere, when no claim was being made or the issue wasn't significant enough to include in a review.

A pity, that was a great way for Airbnb to get an honest history on a guest.

Ann306
Level 2
Peterborough, Canada

That would be great. Warn them of guests who hide behind feedback. I always try leave best review for guests understanding everyone different .. but sometimes wish I was more honest maybe

Paul154
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Brian68

Have you ever been an Airbnb guest?

I know as a guest, I never want to rock the boat. I do not want to upset my stay by upsetting the host. Sure, if it is a little fixable thing like missing toilet paper, I will ask. 

But what about big issues that show disrepect?

Like a host giving you  stained or unclean linens?  Or a host thats says the door woke her up at 7:00 am? or  pubic hairs? or yick on the toilet seat?

Some guests are like me, they grin and bear it.

Because it was late, I actually paid to wash those unclean sheets. 

BUT, I do get to complain in my review.

You could call me passive/aggresive, but the review system works for me too.

I could never say to my host "There's poop on the rim. Clean it"