GUESTS ARE MORE THAN EVER DEMANDING ...

[Nuno60]

i have been hosting for nearly 2 years now and things have changed so much now . guests are more and more demanding my last guest send me over 30 messages before check in most of them things they could have just search online themselfs but i allmost feel at the mercy of guests do to the simple fact that we are at the mercy of reviews ... how do other hosts feel ? have you guys have told anyone there is a thing cold internet ????

[Marzena4]

@Nuno60 We are facing now the digital-age generation joining the market. Their demands are sky-rocketing, their cooperativeness - plummeting. What can you expect? I get excited when a common-sense guest arrives. 😉 What should be normal is becoming a rarity.

[Alexandre205]

Totally agree!

Bookings settled within minutes, easy check-in for both parties, courtesy ...

Some youngsters are so uneducated and all the more arrogant. Never wrong.

[Huma0]

@Marzena4 @Alexandre205 

I don't necessarily agree. I have had great guests and awful guests both old and young, but I would say that, in general, the younger ones are less demanding and less picky.

My most demanding, entitled guests were a couple I'm guessing in their late 50s. Loads of great reviews and a nice introductory message, so I didn't see any red flags and accepted the booking. Those came later with the endless questions:

- Which side of London is best to pick up our Avis rental car after we leave? (They couldn't tell me where they were going next, so how am I supposed to know?)

- I'm having a package sent to your house before we arrive. Will you be in to receive it? (Erm, no, my house rules clearly state not to have mail and packages sent here).

- Where can we buy such and such specialist craft magazine?

- Which meals do you provide, as we can't see that on the listing? (Erm, you can't see it because I don't provide meals).

And on and on. I have no idea what I could have done at this stage. If I cancelled, I would be penalised. They wouldn't want to cancel even if offered a full refund, as they would have lost their fees. I wish I had found some solution but I still didn't realise what A COMPLETE NIGHTMARE these guests would turn out to be, rude, miserable, complaining about any and every ridiculous thing, no matter how much I bent over backwards for them, expecting me to run around for them like a servant, helping themselves to as much of the amenities as they possibly could as well as my personal stuff, bad mouthing me to other guests, breaking house rules, etc. etc. I could do nothing right, even though they got everything mentioned in the listing and more. Of course they left me a horrible review anyway.

I really learnt my lesson with that experience. Now I would never put up with that kind of nonsense. I don't care if they give me 1 star.

[Paul154]

30 messages. Really?

Sorry I have zero sympathy for you.

You have IB, so most reservations should be effortless.

Message 1, answer soon

Message 2, answer an hour or two later.

Message 3, Wait 3 days. Answer with a very polite "So sorry. Family stay at a monastery. No phone access. I hope you got the info you needed from my listing or the internet"

Message 4, "So many questions. I'm concerned you are uncomfortable with this reservation. If you cancel timely, I will give you back your money"

Why stress?

[Marie21]

I had similar guests just after booking she starts asking none stop Q

i answered few in the row and stop answering any others as she was coming more than month later

She contacted ABB staff and the staff contacted me i told the staff i have others things to do that spend my all day answering the same on none sense info she could simply seach online and when i specially told her that a week prior to her arrival i will be answered all her Q after sending all info

she never contacted me again till a week away from her trip

when i start hosting i used to answer all Q but i stop with experience and tell them i will send all info a week before and from that time i will answer Q and on their side to make some effort to search info

It is one of the reason i prefer business traveller fast and easy communication 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Nuno60 well... we had a few groups of guests who asked more than average amount of questions before their arrival . All of them were very  organized women who planned their trip very thoroughly. They were great guests ,left the apartment spotless and I would be very happy to host them again 🙂

For us hosting is not just renting a flat, furniture and sheets. We really like to help our guests to explore our town, visit the best places ,have fun and to have the most of their short stay . 

[Alexandre205]

I share this opinion also.

There's a difference between asking stupid lazy questions (how many rooms, discount ...) without any courtesy, and asking more details about things that they've already read in your listing, in a friendly way.

In the 2nd case, they are likely to be interesting, open-minded, caring people who will give you a good time and whom you'll remember.

Hosting bad guests is so unpleasant that I will always prefer giving a lot of my time to guests with many useful questions.

[Nicolas344]

I think that's mostly the habits that AirBnB gives to people to attract them to the platform. Good for them, somehow good for hosts (because it means more business) but in the end, will it? They put that all over the place in the product even on the Host side. Trying to push hosts to rent cheaper and cheaper over time under cover of "tips: reduce by 30% to get a lot more rentals". 

So... It's just the maturing effect of things I suppose.

[Lynn151]

I agree. AirBNB pushes you to offer deluxe service at a price that undercuts bargain motels. It is not realistic. Hosts need to push back. Price reasonably. At, say email #3, politely offer to cancel the booking.

[Gill24]

This season I have been criticised and marked down  by guests on the basis that-

The beach is too big and too hot, "why didn't you leave me a parasol?"

The dining table should seat 6-8 (it's a little two person flat!)

There wasn't a range of herbs and spices for cooking

Twin beds are unsuitable for a young couple , I should provide a king size instead

Not enough gadgets in the kitchen

Turning up at my HOME demanding door keys and then trying to bill me for their fuel to do so

Demands that I change my critical feedback

The fact I have found chicken bones in the dishwasher (broke it) the toilet handle got yanked off, after one visitor toilet not even still attached to the floor! Oil and grease on bedlinen, one of my knives was left in the tracks of the French doors (having been used to hack at the shutter mechanism(?) I have had calls at midnight demanding the front door code with menace (it's on the info of course)

Airbnb totally unsupportive on any of above issues with guests. And the  price tips are an insult to  any host's intelligence

[Michelle627]

This is becoming more frustrating by the moment.  I have someone staying with me that is refusing to follow the rules and told me she will be eating breakfast in the kitchen because she quietly eats cereal.  She told me she was going to sit at my table and use her laptop when my listing clearly states guests do not have access....so to fear a negative review I pulled my neck out tonight carrying a heavy table for her to use.   I had someone stay innhwr same room three months and never needed a desk or a table and I had no complaints , they were booked via a different site.  I've no changed my rules again and my descriptions.  The guest no doubt will continue to be passive aggressive and do what she wants in my home . She also slams doors  like a child and makes remarks of how I have no coffee for her.  My limited kitchen use starts at 8am and all guests until this one have honored that. So now I've changed it to 10am for future guests and soon I won't allow kitchen use at all.  I have health issues and my bedroom is right off the kitchen so this is 

[Lynn151]

I would not fear a negative review. After all, we review guests, as well. We can also reply to their reviews. There is much talk of “pushing back.” I see negative reviews of hotels and restaurants on Trip Adviser all the time. If the aggregate of the reviews are positive, I doubt that it hurts their business. I think, too, that simply stating that the guest refused to follow house rules is fair enough.

[Alexandre205]

As I've already suggested a few times in other threads, you have to try testing your incoming guests against your rules as soon as they do their bookings.

Some say that rules are useless because people don't read them, and I strongly disagree.

Good guests don't need rules and review based on the value they see in your place. We show them ours and they sympathize, imagining those who pushed us to create new rules.

You can sniff bad/troublesome guests by communicating with them.

Have some compelling rules, ask doubtful guests if they accept all your rules.

If you feel any reluctance or protest, red flag. You most likely don't fit them.

We had such a case recently. The guy did an Instant Book without reading the rules or anything.

Then when we asked him asap to read and give his consent, he replied quite agressively [..]

End of the day, he asked Airbnb to cancel his reservation (Strict), free of charge, and they did it.

I don't go into details, that's not the point.

There was still time for us to get a new booking in the same dates, and we got one from a marvelous person a few days later.

Your listing has to target the people you want to stay in your place, and must somehow discourage bad guests from booking.

If you're stuck with an horrible guest who makes your life a hell, you can think about kicking him/her out, after explaining Airbnb about the rules broken.

[Kate66]

I have been hosting for a number of years and like you have noticed a change in guest expectations.  When I began most guests were aware they were staying someone elses home and the main driver was briefly experiencing another culture.  Although I do still get guests like this the majority are now people looking for quailty hotel accomodation and facilities at ever decreasing prices.  I am considering giving up as this is not the market I wish to be in.