Feeling bad because of ungrateful guest

Igor55
Level 4
San Francisco, CA

Feeling bad because of ungrateful guest

Hi there! I am new here in AirBnB as a host and I can say I am thrilled about it. I started hosting end of February here in San Francisco.

So far, it is great receiving 13 bookings and all of them except one gave me 5 stars. Just want to share the feeling. I really felt bad towards this one guest because she gave me 3-star after all the hospitality that I did: 1) drove her to downtown SF, which is 3-4 miles from my place; 2) allow her to do laundry for free; 3) upgraded her to a private room instead of shared room for free; and 4) shared some of my foods with her. She only paid around $90 for 3 nights in San Francisco, which is very cheap by the way for SF.

I rated her 5 stars coz she is nice other than I did not like how she gave me 3-star just because of the distance of my place to downtown and how she takes bus when in fact I was very clear about it in my description. If only she rated me first, I could have given her 3-star for being ungrateful.

I really hope I won't encounter such guest again. I am aiming to become a Superhost and everything is okay except the rate has lowered because of this one outlier.

(Deep breathe...)

21 Replies 21

I don't have.m a guestbook. I am always in touch with all my guests by texting and checking with them most of the time. 

John498
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Guestbooks are for them to sign on leaving if they wish. You might be think of a comments or feedback book which is not what I was referring to. If you view my listing you will see an extract of my own comments book.

Wendy-and-Frank0
Level 10
Stonington, CT

@Igor55,

 

If she was a good guest, you give her a good rating.

 

Her review of you does not need to play into your review of her.

 

The more you give, the more you signal that you do not value yourself.  Clinique, Estee Lauder, and Bobbie Brown never go on sale.  But Revlon and L'Oreal do.  Women get this.

 

Do for people because it makes you feel good.  Doing for people to make them like you never works.

 

One out of 13 ain't bad.

 

Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's ALL small stuff.

 

 

 

Joanna85
Level 10
Las Vegas, NV

There are always going to be guests who will rate low simply because they can rate.  Also, remember the more you give, the more you open yourself up for then to make an accouting of all you did for them, even if it was you being super nice and a good host.  Also, many people have ridiculous expectations and they cannot be pleased.  The more you host, then more people will give you five stars.  Don't dwell on the ratings or it will drive you nuts.  Just keep doing your best and in the end it will tally up great!

Barbra3
Level 2
Florida, United States

As a relatively newer host myself, I must agree with you on some level Igor. My only less-than-perfect score has come from the category of "Location." This doesn't make sense to me because there are maps provided on the site. Potential guests can SEE and calculate how far they are from the things they will be doing once in town. How is it MY fault they book my place when it is 15 miles away from where they want to be? Potential guests also have the ability to ASK questions before booking. Additionally, my listing mentions many of the areas top attractions, hospitals, recreations centers, entertainment areas, major roadways and the airport and how far they are from my place.  

 

Don't let this one unfortunate situation get you down and don't take it personally. You know you were a good host, this was just a high-maintenance guest. You can also change your settings to require some contact prior to booking your place. You might get a sense for what kind of person you have wanting to rent, and the ability to decline the listing. Although you may lose a few folks who want to use the instant book and get on with their day.  Good luck!

Annette33
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

@Igor55 ,  you offer a lot for a very low price, take pride in that and just move on.... sooner or later we all come across this one person that just doesn't value what we offer. To focus on the ratings given by a guest will inevitably lead to frustration at times. just do your best and know that that is appreciated and valued by most guests out there.
When something related to hosting slightly frustrates me, lets say sloppy communication, a bit of extra noise from the guest, or a general unawareness that my apartment isn't a hotel setting, I always tell myself that I am getting paid for it and that obviously the guest feels very comfortable, he/she is just in her own world- so all is well.
Here is a good perspective: in my days of owning a retail business, there were times I spent hours on helping  potential customers by focusing attention on them and offering quality advice, only to be told "I'll be back"...or "I'll have to think about it"... (not) - and I had absolutely nothing to show for!
In comparison with that every day experience in the retail business, as Airbnb hosts we got it all made: guests are so much more considerate, polite and curteous and they thank US for providing them with a great stay, for which they have actually paid us! Surely I can overlook a few idiosynchracies or a less than desired star rating. Good luck and happy hosting to you!

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Igor55, this is very frustrating. Since I started hosting, I have learnt that there are some guests you can't please no matter how hard you try.

 

I recently had a couple who I knew were going to be problematic before they even arrived. It's a shame I didn't pick up this vibe before accepting the booking. However, I treated them with the same kindness and consideration I would for all my guests. I was super friendly and tried to make sure they had everything they needed. I tried to check up on them during their stay to make sure everything was okay, but they didn't respond.

 

From the moment they arrived, I suspected they would find something to complain about in their review - I just didn't know what! It was very annoying as they broke some important house rules, e.g. they smoked drugs on my property, but then made untrue criticisms or complained about things I could have easily sorted for them if they had bothered to communicate with me. Anyway, I had a rant on the forums about it and tried to move on because I am confident there was nothing more I could have done for them.

 

I know it is even more upsetting when you think a guest has been totally happy and then leaves a bad review/ratings, but we both mostly get five star ratings, so must be getting it right most of the time!