Guest Leaving Negative Review

[Paul75]

Hi

So my last guest was rather two-faced and never mentioned any kind of problems.  However, bang she has left a really nasty review. 

She was complaining about my house rules even though she agreed to them.

She was complaining about me waking her up at 6 am when I go to the gym ( she has a valid point). But most people would just go back to bed she chooses to get up and go to the toilet after me.

She complained my webcam was facing into the kitchen (which it does not) 

She complained that she could not eat or drink in the bedroom even though she agreed to my house rules.

Rather oddly only yesterday she asked if she could stay next week for a few days!

She was also complaining that my towel touched hers on the towel rail..

I replied to her review say her review was ridiculous and that the part apart the webcam was a lie.   I also stated she had agreed to my house rules and saw my photos before booking so it was bit strange now she was complaining.  I said as it was her first time using AirBNB she had unrealistic expectations.  I suspect she has been watching to much TV and saw something bad about AirBNB and wants to take it out on me.

[Sarah977]

@Paul75  Yes, many reports of these types of guests. I agree that her complaints are out-of-line, except for the part about waking her at 6AM. As you say, she has a valid point. You say she could just go back to bed- maybe you can do that, but many people, once woken up, can't just fall back asleep, especially if it's only a couple hours before they'd normally get up. And I don't think it's at all reasonable for you to say she "chose" to get up and use the bathroom- you woke her up, and most people have to pee as soon as they wake up.

[Paul75]

Yes, valid points I have told my next guest that I am training for a half Marathon and that I will be waking up at 6 am, so will be more mindful in future. I didn't think I was making much noise, to be honest, but must have been. 

[Julie143]

Well, just looking at the photos, I can see that the living room does not offer comfortable seating for two people who don’t know each other well. That’s really her fault, since it’s so obvious from the pictures.

Is there anyway you could put a TV in the guest room? 

The good thing about the review is that anyone who reads it will know that you have certain rules and that there is not a lot of guest seating. Hopefully anyone who has an issue with those facts will refrain from booking.

The response you wrote sounds a bit defensive. Perhaps next time wait and day or two before replying. You should really be thinking of future guests when you respond.

something like, “this is why it is so important for all Airbnb guests to carefully read and understand the listing and rules before booking. Nothing that X mentions should have been a surprise to her..”

[Paul75]

I do plan to replace the sofa at some point just haven't got around to it but agree with you that she saw the photos. I will consider putting a TV in the guest room I am just cornered that they will start watching TV late into the night but yes I can try it. 

I shall post on here next time then I can get a 3rd party host feedback Thankyou.  

[Helen3]

Sorry you had such a negative experience with this guest.

One thing if you are saying guests can share your living space and watch TV there, I would really invest in another sofa or chair sooner rather than later. You can't expect them to be comfortable/able to share such a small sofa with a relative stranger.

You can pick them up very cheaply secondhand on FB or places like IKEA do them very cheaply.

[Sarah977]

@Paul75  If you have to get up that early and your morning routine sounds can be heard in the guest room, it might be nice to buy a bag of earplugs for your guests if they're light sleepers. Also something that they could use for "white noise"- a small fan or something of that nature. And of course, you could try to be quieter at such an early hour, but I know that even if you're quiet as possible, in some houses, sound just travels. I had an old house in Canada and you could hear everything from upstairs to downstairs.

Another tip when writing a response to a guest review which you think is unfair, aside from waiting a few days until you can formulate a dispassionate, factual response, is to try to put in an apology for any valid point the guest made. In this case, "Sorry you were woken by my early rising.  Will try to be more mindful of how sounds travel with future guests." This makes you look to future guests like a fair person- taking exception to unreasonable guest comments in their review, but also acknowledging responsibilty where warranted. 

[Sherelle1]

The service we provide can be the best but it’s the guests that can take a situation and not fairly represent . Do also agree that some spaces are not properly defined. This just occurred for me after over 100 guest I get the one. I replied with positive responses while also indicating the house rules and description summary.  Learn from these experiences and move on.

[Susan151]

@Sherelle1 I don't see a second egress in your listing's photos. Unless there is a window in the bedroom that a fireperson can climb in to rescue the occupants, I would have to agree with your guest about safety issues.

But what is up with the bacon? Your house rules clearly indicate that pork and shellfish are off limits in your home. What did this person smell which they found objectionable?

No matter, Your other reviews are positively glowing, so you must be doing many, many, many things right.

[Sherelle1]

Not sure why the turkey bacon was an issue. We never started our breakfast before 7 a.m. there was never a mention about  vegetarianism.  

[Kate775]

I would like to mention a recent guest at my house, who left a negative review after thanking me for a comfortable stay. First of all, I'm on my own in my house and I'm wary of male guests as I've had one in the past who would not dress properly when walking round the house. This recent guest is a big person and I was shy around him and didn't talk a lot. I have on my profile that I leave guests to their own devices but I'm there to answer questions. I was shocked when I read the review which was in German so I got it translated into English via a Google app. He said I was very distant, that the bed was in poor condition, and the house was messy. I had explained to the guest that I had sold the house and I was packing to move out, so would he please excuse me having boxes sitting around the place. He said that was ok. Before he arrived I tidied up the best I could, vacuumed the carpets in all the rooms, and the guest bedroom was immaculately clean and tidy, as it always is. 

I have had several guests, and a flatmate sleeping in the bed and everfyone else has said it's very comfortable. This review has upset me and although I am going to delete my ad when I move out of the house I would like some feedback from other hosts as to what I can do in the future, if I should decide to do Airbnb again.

[Cindi0]

I just had my first negative review - even though she did leave 4 *. I've been a Super Host for years, and go the extra mile to make my guests feel comfortable. In this case, the mother and daughter-in-law were coming for a day long workshp, and I had a commitment that meant I couldn't be here when they wanted to check in. I felt bad, so I agreed to a check-in of 9am, since I didn't have guests the night before! This was their first Airbnb experience. I freshly laundered the sheets, and made the bed up the night before. She said the pillows were old and lumpy (they were bought new when I started hosting, and NO ONE has ever complained about them!), and the bedding all smelled of BO! She put that in writing! How am I going to attract guests with a review like that? She also said there was cat smell. I do have 2 cats. They do not pee or spray in the house. Again, no one has ever made this comment. My reviews are all positive. In her private message to me she said she didn't have the heart to tell me how disappointed she was because I was "so sweet". I am rattling!

[Sue280]

I had a similar experience. A guest has asked me if she could use the shower after she leaves the house 'just to freshen up' before her flight back home. I said she is welcome to but there is an extra charge. She then decided that she was not going to use the bathroom becasue the charge was too much for her. I do however have evidence on cctv that she used the bathroom. I found a wet floor and wet towels too. She insisted that she did not use the bathroom. I put this forward to airbnb and they agreed to settle payment immediately.

She however left a negative comment and reported that I was unkind and unprofessional.

Is there anything I can do to revert the publication of this review? I obviously did not want to write a negative review about her because in my mind that is not how things are done. Airbnb team have actually supported me on this. They have always informed me to get back to them immediately when there is an issue and not try to argue it out with the guest. And that is what I did. 

I hope this situation can be rectified.