Guest Review - guidance please!

Greg37
Level 2
Flat River, Canada

Guest Review - guidance please!

Good day fellow hosts.  Looking for some guidance here...

 

I have only recently started hosting in a semi private fashion.  I have had great experiences overall.  This past weekend I had two young couples reserve my rural property, an odd time of year for a booking to come through where I live.  They were college kids from the local town who clearly wanted a weekend away.  My home was treated much like a hotel room, which I am not at all used to.  Some sex was had (no judgement!) much food was cooked, many programs watched on my TV etc.  Ultimately my issues are with things like:

 

  1. snow and mud left at multiple entrances that were NOT the front door from outdoor smoking excursions
  2. sitting innappropriately on the backs of the furniture, and 'mounting' the couches from the rear side.  
  3. the entirety of their left over food and beverages were left in my fridge
  4. My kitchen was not left anywhere near as tidy as they found it

I have not had an experience like this before and I really want to be fair in my review both to them, (I believe it may have been their first time using the service as the booker doesn't seem to have any prior reviews) as well as to the future perspective hosts.  

 

Thanks for any input.

 

G

20 Replies 20
Rebecca160
Level 10
Albuquerque, NM

@Greg37 I feel it is only fair to warn potential hosts that these guests are less than stellar. Would you give them 4 stars overall? If so, than say that they were typical sloppy college students or some such. Other hosts will be able to figure it out. If you would give them 3 stars or less, you can say they are better suited a hotel and leave it at that or get a little more descriptive, but do not mention sex. We can all figure out that they were doing that!

Fair points all Rebecca.  Thanks for your input here.  

Rebecca really great points! I echo them all!

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@Greg37 I definitely think it would be fair to give them less than full stars for cleanliness. I always feel annoyed when I have these type of guets who don't respect property. It's hard to capture in a review: they haven't broken the rules  nescessarily by doing things like treating the furnuture badly, but it's just irksome.

Don't just give them lower stars, because hosts who don't have instant booking enabled won't be able to see that: they have to rely on what you say in the written portion of your review.

I might say something like:

"Although communication with (blank) was good, cleanliness and general respect for the property could have been better. These guests would be more suited to a hotel."

 

thanks for your comments here Alexandra. I really appreciate the opinion!  

Good answer, I would leave out the last sentence.

Krystal16
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Greg37 did you explain to them this is not a typical hotel, the expectation is that you leave the home in the state you found it?  I always try with first time airbnb guests especially the younger ones to remind them it is a different experience then a hotel.  Perhaps, (which I need to do for my own listing) a check out check list, something that can be left in the house manual with bullet points and a message 24 hours before they check out to review the house manual check out instructions
I find your comment on the guests using the furniture inappropriately interesting, how do you know this?  Is their cameras inside the home?
I would certainly say in your review that it was apparent they wore shoes in the home, perhaps a softer way to give them a poor review is to mention you believe they were first time users of Airbnb and perhaps they are unaware it is not like a hotel, and caution future hosts to check with them to ensure they understand the rules before accepting them as a guest.


@Krystal16 wrote:

I find your comment on the guests using the furniture inappropriately interesting, how do you know this?  Is their cameras inside the home?

 

This was not an 'entire home' booking Krystal.  I was home while the guests were here, and they used the furniture in the undesirable manner right in front of me!  Really appreciate your feedback here.  

@Greg37 your post doesn't mention what guidance and house rules you have for guests. If you spell out food and kitchen clean up and shoes/muddy feet or how guests should handle clean ups then you should mention in your review that the house rules were not adhered to and offer specifics. I would definitely rate cleanliness lower than 5 stars as it is less. If however you do not make these specific call outside in the rules I would chalk it up to experience breeds change, in other words I would make adjustments for future guests to try to alleviate these problems. In scenario 2 I'd still score less than 5 for cleanliness.

Steven and Paige, thanks for your input here.  To your points, I haven't spelled out in explicit detail any expectation I have.  That said, there is no cleaning fee associated with these semi private bookings I offer and I suppose the previous 9 or 10 experiences set my bar.  I think you've suggested a balanced approach here which is helpful.  Thanks again.

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Greg37, this sounds like typical behaviour from many (but certainly not all) young people - they probably weren't even aware of the mess they made or how to treat the furniture! Also, I believe many young people don't actually understand that Airbnb is not like a hotel because they didn't grow up in the pre-Airbnb era! So, just a few points:

- Many hosts are very wary of accepting locals - I'd be asking a lot of questions as to exactly why they want to book something local

- Update your house rules to include removing outdoor shoes before entering the house, clean up after themselves in the kitchen, take away any leftover food, treat the home and belongings with respect, etc.

- Leave a short, honest, professional review and mark them down on cleanliness to warn other hosts. This will be a learning experience for the guests too!

@Greg37

Better suited to a motel. <-- I think this is the PERFECT review for those guests.

Also, thumbs down (not recommend) and 3 stars or less for cleanliness.

Susan1028
Level 10
Oregon, US

@Greg0  I understand your position and its great you posted here before doing a review.

 

I'm not sure I would have kept silent during their stay.  I always screen my guests, and confirm they've read and agree to my house rules, which are very specific, mention "mutual respect," and have been updated based on my desire to keep things positive and...experience.

 

We've all been there and this is a great learning opportunity to hone your house rules and hosting style with future guests, decide if there a types of guests you want to attract/focus on...and consider a nominal cleaning fee as a form of "self care" lol...

 

You have good choices with this bunch and the advantage that they're "newbies." 

 

Choice #1- Don't write a review:

Cross it off as a learning experience and move on. You're not forced to do a review and ABB policy has been that neither review becomes public unless you both post one.  You can still choose to message the booking guest and educate them as a form of  "community service" about how ABB works so they know how to behave if they book another ABB (We'd all thank you for this : ) , and everything stays private.  Do you really want their review of you public?  

 

# 2- Do write a review:

If you do, my advice is to choose your words carefully, set a positive tone, limit details, keep it brief and offer diplomatic hints ained at other hosts without being disparaging. If you didn't set standards before arrival or during thier stay, after the fact is not the fairest time to address it.

 

I had one early booking that left my place a mess.  They were old enough to be the parents of your guests, and were friends of friends.  My house rules were clearly stated in the listing and in writing on the premesis, and I checked in daily to seee how things were going.  I was really disappointed, didn't want to offend anyone, but felt responsible to alert other hosts. 

 

The advice of ABB veterans was much like what I'm sharing here.  I waited a week before creating a draft in MS Word, and rewrote it several times to be tactful and truthful for the benefit of other hosts without being disparaging.  In the meantime, I messaged them thanking them for their business, and offered carefully worded suggestions based on the house rules and ABB tradition.  There was no reply. In the meantime ABB notified me they'd submitted thier review and asked me for mine so they would both be public.  I wrote the final draft of my review for them and was pleased.  I thought about not posting it, knowing I might be faced with a negative review and if I were, that I'd have the opportunity to reply publicly.

In the end I did copy and paste it to ABB, and was very pleasantly surprised by the articulate positive review they wrote about me and my place and my level of communication.  I felt good about my own review because of the positive tone about thier friendliness and "making full use of the amenities" etc.  It was the only review I've written that did not mention wanting to welcome a guest back.

 

Your guests may or may not write a review.  If they do, it's your choice whether you want this booking's history to go public.

 

If it were me, I'd let it go and move on.  There will be other guests you will enjoy with mutually positive reviews : )

 

 

 

 

 

@Susan1028 Just a clarification: if a guest and host write reviews, both are published immediately after the last review was submitted. If only the guest or the host writes a review, then that review becomes public after 13 days, no matter if the other wrote a review or not.