Help before I post a negative review

James1560
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Help before I post a negative review

Hello Airbnb community, I've just experienced a very difficult guest and I know many other have too. I am preparing my review for the guest which is 100% true but before I do, I was wondering whether anyone else could perhaps comment before I post it.

 

Here is the review I'd like to post:

 

** <guest_name> and his friends are new to Airbnb and they were unfamiliar with the importance of following the house rules. On the second day of their stay, I had received an email and a phone call which had reached board level of my apartment block. The email stated  “We have had a number of serious noise complaints coming from your property The complaints are not only excessive noise disturbance but include loud threats of violence and drug use, ongoing until 3.30am on Monday and Tuesday night.” This is not what any Airbnb host ever wants to hear and I was forced to call the Police and raise the incident with Airbnb. Once he and his friends had left my home I was able to assess the situation and it wasn’t good. There was clear use of Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas), vomit on the bedding and linen and the floor, hand marks on the walls, cigarette burns in my sofa and outside table and even a missing personal gift left by a Japanese guest …. the list goes on. I strongly suggest that you do not allow this person into your home. **

 

Could you please let me know your thoughts ladies and gentlemen? As it currently stands, I've lost all faith in the platform and have cancelled my bookings and blocked the calendar. 

 

56 Replies 56

@James1560 - don't get me wrong, I love a good story. But reviews get auto-shortened unless you click "see more" on long ones. Getting to the point really helps.

 

Oh and one last piece of advice - if they do not review you first, do not review them until day 13 after they left. A guest that crappy might give you a one star review just because they are terrible people. 

@Amy-and-Brian0 - You're absolutely right, I hadn't thought about the auto-shortening. I thought if the checkout was 11:00, I was going to wait until 10:55 on the 14th day.

 

 

@James1560 The review period actually ends exactly 14 days from the time you got the first e-mail notification to review.

Thanks @Emilia42. I read that too somewhere else in this community. Thanks for clarifying. 

@James1560

All burdens for the host. No risk for Airbnb.

 

Marta794
Level 6
Portland, OR

@James1710 In agreement with being short and to the point. Also, leave as much emotion out as possible. I think what you've got, along with the other suggestions, has really drilled it down to the basics in putting forth an honest and descriptive review. Good luck.

@Marta794  - Yep, everyone has been very helpful. I posted it so that I could get advice from the Guru's on here and you've all been brilliant. 

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@James1560, I think others here have already given you good advice on the review so I won't comment on that. And I'm very sorry this happened to you. But, let me get one thing straight - are you saying this is your home and you move out when you get a booking? If so, rather than quitting, why not just let out a room or two? You say that people prefer a whole place, but that is not necessarily the case. Many guests are happy to book private rooms in shared accommodation. You being there also eliminates the possibility of people booking your place for a party. The VAST majority of dramas I read about on this forum are from hosts who don't live onsite and horror guests like yours will specifically look for whole apartments they can trash.

James1560
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

@Kath9 thanks for the message. I will consider it. Either that or rent one room out permanently outside of Airbnb which is what I used to do. 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@James1560  In addition to all the good advice you've received here, I would also leave out the line about having to call Airbnb. I've read posts here saying that reviews were removed because the host mentioned Airbnb involvment.

And @Kath9 is totally right- there is nothing wrong with listing private rooms in the home where you are living. I've been doing that for almost 3 years, as do thousands of other hosts. Many guests are looking for exactly that- a home-share stay. I've gotten lovely guests and never had to be nervous about how a guest is going to treat my home. I couldn't care less about those guests who want to IB and have a place all to themselves- they are welcome to book that if they wish, but it's not my game.

@Sarah977 I understand and thank you for replying. 

James1560
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Thank you to all of you - It's lovely to see so many people with a genuine interest in helping others. 

 

This is the final draft that I've decided to go with, based on all the feedback.

 

"Police had to be called during their stay. A personal item was removed. Vomit, alcohol and drug paraphernalia was left behind. Complete disregard for my home, the contents and my neighbours!"

@James1560Mention of drug use is another thing that will get a review pulled. I would take it out also. I know it seems like something other hosts should know about, but if the review is deleted, it won't help. Otherwise, I think it looks good: definitely better to keep it short and to the point.

@Alexandra316 - Thank you for the reply. Do you not find it frustrating that we can't speak the truth about what really happened?

 

The truth is, they did use drugs and completely disrespected me and my neighbours. So, we should be able to tell the truth. I haven't explicitly said that in the review, I've said "drug paraphernalia was left behind".

 

I know people are saying not to get emotional about it, when it happens, it's very difficult not to. This is my home and is especially difficult to stomach after the guy said to me "I'll treat it like my own home". 

 

I really don't understand why we can't tell the truth so other people don't fall foul to this. 

 

We should be supported by Airbnb - without people like us, there is no Airbnb.

@James1560   You will be safer if you describe the paraphernalia but don't explicitly mention it's 'for' drugs, then you are being factual but not making a judgment.  

 

My experience is that anyone who says 'I'll treat it like my own home, I'm respectful and neat' is none of those things.   When someone says that to me, now I consider it a red flag and try to discourage the booking and if they don't cancel I give them a lot of attention, a lot of direction,  and come and get the keys in person when they leave. 

 

Also, remember your purpose with their review is to warn other hosts....multiple noise complaints, damages and police involvement is more than enough detail to ensure a sane host will never accept them without getting into detail about possible illegal activities.