Guest locked out our cat but appologized, write a bad review?

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

Our house rules clearly state: "please do not let the cat out" and "don't feed the cat". The rules are in our listing and also printed in the room. We also have signs on the main door and balcony. It should be clear to all the guests. However our recent guest locked out the cat in the balcony and gave him a can of food (I guess to bring him to the balcony). Luckily the cat didn't jump and escape but he was shocked and in panic until we arrived.

We asked our guest why she did that as the rules are clear written in multiple places and with signs. She appologized and say that she is afraid of cats, she was in panic and didn't know what to do. She could have closed the door of her room to avoid the cat getting in, or she could have locked the cat in the bathroom, the other room, etc. In addition, she never sent a message or called us, that could have been the easiest solution. 

We undestand that she was in panic and didn't know how to react. However: she never read the listing (she confirmed this) as she didn't know we had a cat (before booking they have to acknowledge that a cat lives in the property), she failed to communicate with us when there was a problem, and she clearly ignored the house rules. She appologized multiple times after, I think she really felt bad for what she did, probably didn't think carefully as a result of the panic situation.

As hosts, we are usually very understandable and we haven't writen a bad review yet (we didn't really have any problems with guests). This time I'm not sure what to do. Should I write a bad review and mark her as a non-recommended? This will really hurt her for instant bookings and future bookings. I kind of feel bad because if other hosts don't have pets, she might be ok as a guest. 

[David126]

I had a similar isse but with my dog, I came to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do to be certain that guests would not leave the door open. Final staw was at 1am, -10F outside and it took me 90 minutes to get him back.

So I have procedures now in place to make sure that can not happen again.

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

We have a scat mat by the main door so the cat doesn't escape if the door is open. We don't have anything in the balcony because none of the guest ever used the balcony. We tought a sign would be enough in case someone decided to go out. In this case, the guest deliverately locked the cat out, she even put a can of food to made him go out.

Altought guest appologized and I understand she did it as a result of a panic situation, I guess I should still write a bad review: she didn't read the listing description, she didn't read the house rules and she did not communicate with us when there was a problem.

[Sarah977]

@Bruna-and-Siana0  I looked at your listing and of course it clearly states that you have cats and that anyone who is allergic or afraid of cats (I've actually never run across that phobia before, and I'm over 60) should not book.

If it were me, since the guest apologized profusely, and, as you say, she wasn't thinking clearly because of her fear, I wouldn't mention it in a review. As well, she confirmed to you that she hadn't read your listing description. So I'd just hope that she has learned a couple lessons here and give her the opportunity to pay more attention next time (I bet she will, the fact that she acknowledged and felt bad for her errors is an indicator) without a negative review. If she'd been defensive or belligerent about it, that would be a different story.

[Kelly149]

@Bruna-and-Siana0 The apology doesn't negate the prior bad behavior. When I've had a guest make a mistake and then apologize then I recognize both in the review.

"the broken item was quickly reimbursed"

"the guest was polite while we were discussing some rules violations"

for this one, I'd say yes, Thumbs Down (what if there had been a bad result with the cat - she lured it outside!!!!). Communication 2*, House Rules 2*

The text might say something like "xxx did not realize that she was choosing a listing with a resident animal; however, tragedy was averted and she was apologetic. We are hopeful that she will read listing and House Rules much more diligently for her next host so that both she and hosts would have a more positive experience in the future."

what if your review of her says nothing about this and hers complains of your terrifying cat!? what if you don't say this and she hasn't learned her lesson and gets another pet owning host?

And, btw, maybe for such an important part of your listing, it would be worthwhile to confirm that guests really know what is going on before they arrive. Guests notoriously don't read - you must confirm everything

[Katherine197]

My thoughts excactly! Well said!

[Fred13]

@David126 That would have really have freaked me out; 90 minutes must have felt like a nightmare when one is so worried considering the dangerous situation. You are so right, can't never go there again. 

@Bruna-and-Siana0 Like everyone else here, I forever wonder why the guests do not bother reading even the simplest of instructions or even labels. My latest attempt at combating this phenomenon: during the walkthrough I cover the 10 points that are of paramount importance, all in bullet form (large letters) and post them on 3 obvious places. Maybe this will help, maybe.

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

Hi @Fred13 @Kelly149 @Sarah977 and @David126 We wrote a review similar to what Kelly suggested. We tried to be positive and we didn't write a very harsh review. However she gave us 4* overall, 2* on value and 4* for cleanlinless. If it was you, would you let it go? Contact her asking why 2*? Contact AirBnB?

Almost everyone else gives us 5* on value. Since she broke our house rules letting the cat out and there is written proof through AB messaging, I'm not sure if AB would remove the review so the rating doesn't impact us. 

[David126]

@Bruna-and-Siana0

What do you expect to achieve by contacting her? I assume she is not coming back and you would not want her to anyway.

What did her written review say?

[Sarah977]

@Bruna-and-Siana0   Bummer. Is the 4* overall going to tank you? If so, I guess you could talk to airbnb, it's always worth a try, especially since you have almost all 5* reviews. I wouldn't bother contacting the guest about the 2* for value, or any of it, since it doesn't apparently count towards overall, and what's she gonna say? Something lame, no doubt. Maybe she assumed you'd give her a bad review for the cat episode so figured she'd mess with you. You already know she's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[Catherine53]

"You already know she's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer."

Sarah, you seem to spend an inordinate amount of time bad mouthing people, even to the extent of calling them names here on AirBnB. Over 1,500+ posts? And so many negative. I am going to contact AirBnB and see if your posts and comments can be reviewed and if necessary, removed. I'm sure there are rules here concerning courtesy, civility and politeness. If more people were like you, I'm sure most of us would not want to use this service. STOP NOW.

[Kelly149]

@Bruna-and-Siana0. Nothing matters but the 4* overall and given your high volume of reviews probably doesn’t much matter. 

I’d put her out of mind & focus on taking care of the cat and clarifying guest comprehension going forward

[Robin4]

@Bruna-and-Siana0

Well it appears, as Huma has said in another thread that you can ask the guest through CS to amend their star rating, and if you gave her a good review she just may do this, although I could not see her review amongst your others. The only reference I could see to a feline related problem was one by Quoc-Huy which is buried along way down in your reviews.

I was not aware that star ratings once given could be altered, but Huma has had success. It might be worth a go!

Cheers......Rob

[Robin4]

@Bruna-and-Siana0

EDIT.......Sorry I started this an hour or two ago and got called away have come back to it and find it is no longer relevant but, possibly still worth posting!

I am a bit torn here girls because, I have a dog, and people think because I have a pet and they are paying money, it's up to me to make sure the pet does not impact on their stay. I can ask guests to shut the gate, keep the dog out of the listing but, I can't get unduly upset if they don't. After all they are paying me to stay in my property for their enjoyment, not be my animal minding service.

But I also feel for you because you did all the right things and gave heaps of warning to the guest. Bloody silly woman should not have booked if she had a cat phobia!.....What do you do, walk along the train line when the sign says beware of trains.....Drrrr!

If this were me girls, I would give her a good overall star rating because as you said she was a good guest in other areas, maybe a 4 star for 'observance of house rules' but mention in the review how, as lovely as she was, her lack of understanding of animals (particularly cats) may make her a better candidate for a hosting where animals are not present....but don't cane her.

Just my thoughts girls.

Cheers.....Rob 

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

Thanks for the advice. We actually did that. We gave her thumbs up but 4 stars for house rules and communication. She didn't read our listing, neither the house rules (she told us that). She also failed on communicating us the issue with the cat (this would have been quickly solved by locking the cat in our room or bathroom). 

I was surprised when we saw her review and rating. 4* overall, 4* cleaning and 2* for value. 2* for value is bull**bleep**, almost all other guets gave us 5* for value. She probably thought we might write a bad review so that was her revenge. However, we were nice in our review and rating and we didn't penalize her too much. Lesson learned, next time we won't be that nice!