Guest Issue - What would you do?

[Brooke24]

Hi all! I have been hosting for two years (2 properties) and I encountered something last night that I’ve never had happen before. 

I had a Guest check into our house yesterday evening. She then left to go to a wedding and returned at 12:30AM. I thought she had already removed the key from the lock box when she came in initially, but she hadn’t. The door had been unlocked (the Airbnb is in our home and we were home). She told me she HAD used the lockbox. So I had no concern about whether she had the key.

When she got back from the wedding, she managed to open the lock box but the key must have tumbled out when she did this. This has never happened before and we’ve hosted a couple hundred folks in our house. So she was locked out at 12:30 AM. We don’t have a doorbell so she started banging on the door and spent an hour banging on the door during which time she broke the glass in the window next to our front door. When we finally woke up from the banging, she had been out there for an hour. She was not happy, understandably, and did not understand how the lockbox worked. She thought that the lock box just opened our door (like a remote keypad - does that even exist?) and did not understand that there was supposed to be a key inside and that the key must have fallen when she opened the lockbox. In my messages to her before her stay, I had explained all of the following: how the lockbox worked; that it contained a key; what lock the key was to be used for, etc.

This morning, the guest admitted that she felt bad that she hadn’t read the information about the lock box before trying to access it. Once the sun rose, I found the key next to our steps down in the dirt where it had fallen. And the glass breakage was a disaster and cost me more than $100 to repair today. Further, I was up for hours last night trying to clean up the property damage, and to try to determine how to safely go to bed with the glass next to our deadbolt gone. 

Despite the property damage, I gave the guest a full refund, because I felt awful that she was outside for an hour banging on the door (yes, I’ve ordered a wireless doorbell so this never happens again). I also did not ask for any compensation for the property damage and she offered none.

She left me a review which I’m sure is terrible even though I gave her a 100% refund and asked for no remuneration for the damage she caused. I’m trying to figure out what to do in terms of whether to leave her a review, and if so, what exactly to say. I really never leave super-negative reviews and I feel bad, because this was partially my issue due to not having a doorbell. Any thoughts on what you might do in this situation? 

Also, how would you respond to her negative review? I am a super host, and hosting allows me to make ends meet. Thus I cannot afford to lose that status. I want my response to her review to be measured and calm, so what do I say?

thanks all!

[Lisa723]

I would leave a brief and factual review, to the effect of the guest ignored access instructions and therefore found herself locked out in the middle of the night... regarding responding to her review, this seems easy as you are taking concrete steps to prevent it happening again... "This guest did not read access instructions, and was unused to a standard lockbox, so found herself locked out in the middle of the night. We are very sorry we did not hear her knocking right away, and are installing a doorbell to ensure this does not happen to another guest." You might also consider targeted lighting for the lockbox. I have had that experience of the key tumbling out in the dark and it is extremely frustrating.

[Letti0]

@Brooke24  You should not have refunded a dime. It was her own fault she failed to read instructions, my guess is she was a little inebriated to say the least. I would charge her for the broken glass also. You are being way to forgiving for something that was her fault only not yours. You are a business not a charity for guests to feed off of by doing stupid things you forgive. Give her 1* and a thumbs down in a review. Seriously don't do this agian. 

[Laura1355]

I agree ith Letti completely. Guests are responsible for reading the instructions and rules in order to comply with them.   I use a lock box with a key as well and its really  not that hard.

[Gary363]

I might detail what occurred in the private message portion of the review if in every other respect this person was a good guest. Otherwise the above reply is good. I might even say what the repair cost was in this section too and leave it to them to be the good soul knowing it was their fault and hopefully offer to make amends.

In the public review I would gracefully indicate there was an issue with the guests usage/understanding of how to use the lockbox but it was resolved. In every other respect this person was a great guest and I would recommend this person to other hosts. 

Hopefully, since you did not ask for remuneration and she recognized her mistake, your review feedback will be positive! 

[Emilia42]

@Brooke

It is important that you leave a review; if not to combat her review of you. A neutral, factual review is always best. No emotion.

 “XX stayed for xx nights. Unfortunately, when she arrived back at our home very late in the evening she was not able to retrieve the key from the lockbox despite the instructions given. This resulted in some property damage to the front door. XX was apologetic and did accept the refund that I offered to her.”

[LisaAndRick0]

Of course you will have to see how this guest reviews the situation before you can respond appropriately. And you may need some time to step back from the emotional charge of this "guest nightmare" so you can gain some perspective. But I agree with Letti above. This shame is on her, not on you. Giving her a good review to save your status isn't likely to help.

I'm sure your guest was frustrated, furious, and blaming because you did not hear her banging. I get that. In the clear light of day however, this guest completely ignored your instructions, damaged your property and landed you both in a frustrating and potentially dangerous situation. Another kind of guest would have made sure she understood your instructions. She certainly did not deserve a refund, and she certainly should be responsible for your window repair.  You are suffering from doorbell guilt, lol. By refunding her payment, I fear you have handed her full entitlement, absolving her of all responsibility as a guest. In a sense you are saying " If you ignore me and damage my home, I will feel guilty and let you stay here for free". I don't think that's the message you want to send. If she has any moral compass, she's probably feeling like an ass by now.  Consider a new perspective before you respond to her. Maybe you can come to an arrangement so that she can assume at least part of her financial responsibility? And she can promise to read and respect her host's instructions if she's ever going to stay in someone's home again, and you can promise to buy a doorbell, lol. 

[Fred13]

" She left me a review which I’m sure is terrible even though I gave her a 100% refund and asked for no remuneration for the damage she caused."

    How can you be so sure? The bigger question is why would you be so sure? 1. She messed the entire procedure to retrieve the key, and admitted so the next (aka sober) day; 2. she broke the window, and 3 - she got a full refund.

   I would not asssume anything, just say 'thank you' or whatever you feel in Phase #1. Taking into consideration what she actually writes, IF negative, then I would mention the above three facts  in your response (phase 2 of the Airbnb review process) in a matter-of-fact tone. Let the reader (aka future potential guests) grasp the absurdity of the whole sequence of events. If she dares to write something negative, she does herself no favors.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Brooke24

One thing I would NOT do is refund the guest.

She does not deserve a refund and she should actually be paying for damages.

Whatever review you decide to write (or not, but I hope you do leave one), don't think about what you THINK the guest will write in their review. You will have the opportunity to post a response to the guest review later. So for your review, either go with the "better suited to a hotel" version, or "GUEST stayed X nights", or  just state the short & simple version of the facts (you got a lot of great suggestions from other hosts!)

Once you write/submit your own review, then both reviews will become public. THEN you can see what the guest wrote about you and post a short and factual reply to counter or clarify any negative points made by the guest.

[Joe492]

For me, I will not refund the guest, clearly it was her fault, because she did not read all the information.

Just write her a brief and factual review, take a picture of the damage part, a receipt as proof and request money from her.

[Pete69]

Do you have a phone number for guests to contact you at if they have trouble getting in???

As a backup plan, consider hiding a key (in a different place for each guest) and letting guests know where to find it if they can't get in using the lockbox.

I've had guests who had never heard of a lock box before. I've had guests who had never heard of Uber before! You have to be prepared for the most out-of-the-loop guests. Be prepared for the fact that lock boxes can fail, or for guests who lose the code and can't log on to the internet to retrieve it when they arrive, etc, etc.

[Ana1136]

@Brooke24 I would never give them a refund, they should be grateful if I don't charge them for the damages. We once has a guest trying to open our door with their home key and not with ours ( I guess they really felt at home 😄 ) and naturally broke the lock and that is a couple of hundred euros in damages. Some people are so lost I just cant fugure out how they manage to get such basic things wrong. Couldn't she just call you instead of knocking for an hour? The damage is done but next time try to be more firm when dealing with guests, I know reviews are important but not at any price.

[John1080]

@Brooke24, a full refund?!  You're much more experienced than me with your number of hosted guests, but I would not have refunded her anything in this case! I'm sorry she left you a terrible review, which is really unfair in this case, as it was obviously her fault that she didn't understand how a lockbox works. Luckily, since you have so many reviews, it won't count against you too much in the long run. 

[Linda108]

@Brooke24  Your situation highlights that even when you have as much experience as you have, a guest will still be able to find a weakness in your set up and something will go wrong.  In your case, your lock box set up did not work for this guest because you depended on the guest reading instructions on how to work it and there wasn't a dependable way for the guest to reach you in the middle of the night.

I understand your reaction to refund and to not charge the guest for damages.  Unlike many of the other hosts who believe the guest is solely responsible, I agree with your reaction.  I think your assessment that you contributed to the negative outcome is warranted.  That being said, you more than made up for the negative impact on the guest.  I would think the guest will leave a positive review as she accepted that she contributed to the problem.

[Fred13]

@Linda108 You reiterated an important point in hosting; the less hosts ask (or expect) of guests, the better. If there is a simpler way to make something work, best to do so. Of course, it is more than fair for hosts to expect the guest to follow some instructions, but many will not, heck many can't nor are willing to even to read. Nor remember anything. Albeit a bit infuriating, but that is the reality.

   I also thought @Brooke's position was more than fair and accomodating, and her attitude of now working on even a better fool-proof system was very smart. There is always a better way.

   Classic example: My island is on solar power, certain 'power-hug items' (aka hair drier, microwave, toaster and AC) are no-no items, unless I upgrade to a very expensive and complicated solar system. At first we eliminated such items entirely from the place, but now want to add such items for the guests. Hmmm, dilemma, how to add such items,  but not have the guests run them from the solar system (regular wall-plugs throughout the place),  without puttting on the generator (trumps solar power).

   Got it! We added all four items, but removed all factory plugs from the items so the guests can't plug them just anywhere, by running a dedicated power line from the generator to just those four items, so in order for them to even run, the guest has to turn on the generator ( just press a button).

   No more - "Oops I forgot to turn the generator on and drain the batteries running my industrial-sized hair drier for 1 an hour straight!"

   Live & learn.