Does anyone have any nice guests in?!

[Paul1255]

Having had a couple of “dud”’bookings/guests over the past few weeks I’m happy to report lots of wonderful charming guests in my listings at the moment:

-a fabulous Russian student here for a summer course at a University in central London, she loves the apartment as it’s her first time living outside of home!

-4 very charming French ladies here to explore London for a few days, keen to make the most of every single moment. 

-A great German guy, who’s in for a long stay. The washing machine broke down and had to be repalaced and he’s taken the whole thing in his stride and with very good humour.

-The coolest guest from Beijing, staying in my private room listing! She’s up and out early every morning after breakfast making the best of every moment even though the weather has been terrible here in London!

Anyone else got any good guests?

Paul 🙂 

[Sally221]

I really don't want to jinx myself so I burnt some sage before replying- after hosting 150 or so sets of guests we have only had a handful who ranged from meh to rotten & each problematic group taught me a valuable lesson- the Italians who taught me not to relax my boundaries prematurely, not to lower my prices too far andnot  factor in the multi-day discount and, that a week is too long a stay for my listing-

The crazy grandmother taught me I can pull the trigger for the "better suited to a hotel review" ( Ido pity her daughter in law)

The AXE man taught me some guys never outgrow the middle school that dousing themselves in scent is  anything but a terrible, horrible idea,  he was bemoaning the fact that, in late middle age the ladies didn't view him as prime husband material- he's never getting married, if the AXE doen't chase 'em off the stank of desparation will..

We have only ever gotten one mediocre/poor review and I learned that my spouse is right- someone who has a profile picture of themselves 20+ years ago is rather out of touch with reality & will feel gypped by our clearly listed suite of rooms not being a 4 bedroom & 3 full bathroom house in the Berkeley hills (without a cleaning deposit even?!)

We are close to an Islamic college and we have hosted some lovely parents of students but I just learned that if Ramadan falls during the long day side of the calender & a family group wants to book, I'm going to suggest they look for a listing that accomodates a dining room for into the wee hours eating, especially if they are fond of seafood &  I'm very glad I switch out duvet covers (bedding is not improved by crab feasts)

But the great guests,  the wonderful group of musicians who sang to us, the fabulous chef who gifted me a copy of her excellent book "How to Taste" The many adorable prospective Cal students, the proud families of graduates, the many sweet millenials from China ( our fellow Warriors fans!), the Aussies who have been such fab guests, all the Europeans, the folks from all over the States, the Swiss family who didn't review in time but sent us a box of treats at the holidays. The German mama who is such a kindred spirit- my fellow rock collector. our last set of guests with darling baby in tow, we have been really, really lucky.

Spencer, that wise little boy who told me to focus on what my fragile old cat Could do, I remember that advice everyday.

Please let me not have tempted fate, I do instant book & often my first messages from guests from China are pretty brief - that's probably the language barrier and by now we have lots of reviews written in Mandarin & so  people know it's a suite, not a whole house, we have friendly cats  and we are old school on site hosts-I hope that by hosting folks like this (I don't require previous reviews ) I'm educating them on how to be a good guest. I also don't do early check in, allow extra guests to stay or do discounts. I hope all of you get the guests you want & deserve & the haters & whiners go stay in a motel or hotel XO Sally (hoping my luck holds out)  

[Leslie416]

When I began hosting, which is very recently, I had a suspicion that life would be easier if I placed a second person in the profile photo. Knowing a bit about human nature, the appearance of two naturally inhibits some guests who would otherwise try to take advantage of one, especially if female. My ratio has been, like some others, 30/70 bad/good. The most unfortunately issue with the bad is their ability to damage your reputation as a host. I just hosted a woman (leaving tomorrow) who has been a handful breaking several house rules. I'm sure she will leave a bad review to spite me for gently and calmly speaking to her about it. So that does it, think I'll put up a picture of two and just say the other person isn't always around.

[Sandra126]

This is what yesterday's guests left for me! Super nice.

[Stephanie]

Hey @Sandra126 this art is exquisite too! Thanks for sharing!

[Sarah977]

@Sandra126  Awesome! They're also artists I see- that isn't the work of an amateur scribbler.

[Sandra126]

@Sarah977, I know. Really impressed. A young couple, guessing at least one of them does comics!

[Robin4]

@Paul1255 

Hi Paul. how are your dance moves going mate? :-))

I have only had one guest who wasn't nice and that was back in August last year and it wasn't her fault, she had mental issues.

Apart from that they have all been great.

The ones I love most are those you are not sure about, you have a bad feeling but they turn out to be wonderful and you don't want to see them go!

I might just be lucky but, the world is full of lovely guests.

Cheers......Rob

[Stephen-and-Adam0]

@Paul1255 

We have been incredibly lucky and have had a constant stream of super nice and interesting guests from all walks of life and all over the world. 

There have been lovely Brazilians who left us sweet gifts, senior corporate executives who keep returning, fun families who we would love to host forever and we have even had a candidate for president of another country 🙂  

[Jennifer1774]

We just launched and our first four guests have been spectacular!  A very nice couple from a small town close by up to "the big city" for a weekend of fun.  They loved our walkablility and proximity to all the things they wanted to do. A woman who moved from LA to start a new job here and stayed a week while her new place was completed.  She's coming over for a glass of wine next week.  Liked her a lot!  A couple in for a wedding from San Diego who left us a lovely note and a lot of empty champagne bottles :-).  And a very nice young man from Chicago just left after messaging me that he LOVED everything about our place.  I'm going to keep my attitude right and believe this is going to be our path.  So far, so very good!  

[Dawn162]

Bad news is I have the worse guest I have ever experienced.  Two young lady who were cousin.  Yelling, threatening, and damage to property.  They woke other guests and distroyed bedding.  I had to call the police when I was woke with the two fighting and one said she was going to push her in the face.....One of the cousins went back home.  The other one is still here and I have her on a short leash.  I gave the other guest a partial refund due to the nightmare.

GOOD NEWS

I have a long term gentleman who is as polite as can be.  He respects everyone and everything.  He says he will be coming back every week for the next couple of months. Last week, he had a bad experience with his first stay, so I am happy to show him what a quality hosting should be.. 

In addition, I have a recurring guest.  This time she brought her mother.  Mom goes over and above the call of duty.  She cooks, cleans, and does laundry.  This was very much appreciated since I was having to control the two girls that were disrupting my piece of paradise.  

I have another previous guest who will be coming back in a couple of weeks.  She was here when my repeat guest were here and we had 'girl power' evenings.

[Beata-and-Marek0]

I was renting at Airbnb for a few year, newer broke or damage anything, always left the place clean.

I recently moved to Costa Rica. We build two bedroom one bath cabin on our property, furnished and equipped with nice, new things.

I started to host in May this year. I had two groups so far, and to be honest I am a little bit down and disappointed. The first group broke night lamp switch in the bedroom. Not a very big deal, my husband repaired it.

The second group, three adults with two kids, very nice people,  left several surprises for us. The morning they were leaving, the lady mentioned that she spilled some coconut oil on the bed sheet. Actualy, quite a lot. She did not mentioned anything else. Later I discovered that they broke the coffee cup, which was from the 24 pcs dining set and a beer glas, also from the set. In addition, after their stay, for some unexplained reason, the kitchen sink is leaking and all the plumbing under the sink is broken. I have no idea how did they manage to do the damage. Also, they initially booked for one night, and then wanted to stay one night longer. They booked the place for 1 guest instead of 5, so they paid us $10 less.

Between booking, dish set and the bed sheet set, I have at least $70 damages. Not to mention the plumbing problem, which is impossible to proof they did it. I am afraid to say something in the reviews, or make a claim on Airbnb for damages, because I don’t know how it will influence my business in the future.

My question is: Should I let it go? Is it normal to have things broken all the time by guests? For me so far is two out of two.

[Cathie19]

Hi @Beata-and-Marek0 . It is not normal for items to be broken, so deep breath and it could have all been in the timing of the general wear and tear of the sink’s plumbing. Things happen, and can be a combination.

Cups, glasses and other crockery are considered consumables, unless we are talking Royal Doulton or Waterford Crystal. But leaving expensive items around, is at your own risk. I’ve had the odd glass broken, or small chips in floor tiles from dropped items. People don’t deliberately stand still and let go of a bottle or glass. Accidents happen. People on holiday can be more distracted as they are outside their routines, and are more relaxed.

I always think, how would I want someone to respond to me, if I was that guest? If it’s not a hole in the wall, breathe and think, well, it could have been worse.... 

💐

[Beata-and-Marek0]

Thank you for your kind words. Just to clarify, the cabin and everything in it is brand new. No wear and tear applies to it. When it comes to dinner set, it was not expensive, just matching pieces, a set. But if one piece is broken you have to replace the whole set. I always thought it is nice to have a coffee in the matching cups or have a meal on the matching plates. Silly me.

Whenever I rented from Airbnb I always thought about the owners, how much thought and work they put into their place to make my stay as pleasant as it was. I always treated their homes better than my own, and still have planty of fun. I guess it’s just me. Now, as a host I should be happy I don’t have holes in the walls. After all, they could have burned the place down to the ground.

[Sarah977]

@Beata-and-Marek0  It's really astounding how klutzy people can be and how many thing they can manage to break or ruin in a short period of time. I really don't understand it, myself. Luckily I haven't had guests like that, but I do have a few friends like that, and while I'm always happy to have them come visit, I dread all I'm going to have to repair or replace when they leave.

Yes, I think you should request those guests to pay for the damages. That's a lot of damage they should not be allowed to get away with, not to mention not paying for the extra guest. If you let guests get away with this kind of stuff, they just go on to do it to other hosts. (make sure to review them honestly, please). It should be obvious to anyone that dumping coconut oil on the bedding means it will have to be thrown away. A decent person would offer to pay for it as soon as they did the damage.

Don't worry about telling the truth about bad guests, whether it was damage, leaving a filthy mess behind them, or not following house rules. Leaving honest reviews warns other hosts about accepting such guests. And the guest can't see your review of them until they also submit a review, or 14 days has passed. As long as you keep the review brief, don't go into unnecessary detail, non-emotional and professional, there's no way it can "backfire". The people who read the reviews you leave are other hosts (and who cares whether a bad guest you reviewed honestly is upset). The people who read the reviews that guests leave are prospective guests. Keep that in mind if a guest writes you a bad review and you respond to it (which you should if they are misrepresenting your listing), same as above- brief, just correct the misrepresentation, don't speak directly to the guest who wrote the review- your responses are read by future guests.

So " It's unfortunate that XX arrived expecting amenities that weren't stated in the listing information. A thorough reading of the info provided would have resulted in a better experience for both guest and host." As opposed to "Well, if you had actually read our listing before booking, you would have been aware that we do not offer breakfast. You can't complain about things if you don't bother to inform yourself beforehand!"

[Beata-and-Marek0]

Thank you so much Sarah. Your advice is very valuable to me. I have learned a lot from your post. I think you are absolutely right. As a hosts we have an obligation towards each other to pass info about destructive guests. Thank you again for taking time and responding to my post, especially for giving me an example of a good and a bad response to a review.