Help to reply to negative/damaging guest review

[Sam-and-Adam0]

Fellow hosts, Hope someone can help me in responding to a very negative review of one of my listings. 

Biggest problem is that I can now tell that she didn't at all read the listing (she booked a 2 bedroom *suite* in my 'cosy cottage' but then starts off her review with "if you are looking for a quaint cabin, this place is for you. If you are looking for a house (or a part of a house) to stay in it's not ideal."... and then she goes on to slam everything with huge exagerations and lies.

She said "Some rooms you had to be fully hunched over to fit in And not bump your head on the low, slanted ceilings. Also quite a bit of the flooring and the stairs were lopsided, which lead to an ever-lasting feeling of vertigo."... Well very clearly in the picture of the second bedoom there is a bit of slanted ceiling, but it is over top off the pillows/bed so never something we've had to "hunch over for" and all of the other ceilings are regular full height. And perhaps the stairs may be a tiny bit uneven in this century-old cottage, but vertigo?!?!

She had issues with every single door- just saying perhaps she doesn't know how to use a door latch, and not that every door was suddenly broken.

And then she goes on to say "Finally, we were informed on the morning of, that the cabin is actually shared. The guests staying in the back part could very much be heard throughout our entire stay."  ...We do have a studio appartment also on the same property, which is very clear in our listing-- and *she didn't rent the full property, just the Suite!*. More importantly- absolutely nothing at all is shared!!

The worst is that there was absoltely ZERO communication from her... so when I had written the review for her, I had no clue that there were any problems at all and recommended her to other hosts 😞  Definately a "better suited for a hotel" guest!

Anyone had a similar situation? I'd love a couple lines to leave as a reponse

I think my listing is incredibly clear, as are my photos (just because she had *hoped* it would be a bigger space 😉 so any feedback on that would be appreciated as well)

[Mystic-Whaler0]

Terrible! I'm so sorry this happened to you!

[Lyndsey2]

Ugh. What a terrible guest. This is exactly the sort of situation that makes me always go check the reviews a potential guest has written, not just the ones written about him/her. The good news is that her review gets lost in the much larger number of wonderful reviews, and even better, she comes off as a bit crazy (really? she's upset that there was no door on the kitchen??). I suppose you could add the word "historic" to your description somewhere (it would make me more likely to book!) but overall, your listing seems fantastic and her review would not deter me!

As for a response, I might say something like,

"We're so sorry to hear that you didn't love the suite as much as we do. We have thoroughly checked all the doors and made sure they are functional. If you had trouble with the latches, we wish you would have let us know! We would have been happy to help! [add any other response about other issues fixed, etc here, though it may be best to just ignore much of it.] It is true that there are some slanted ceilings over the beds. These architectural details are one of the quirks of a historic cottage and we have tried to show that as accurately as possible in our photos. We do also suggest that guests who are looking for complete quiet and don't wish to share a wall with guests renting out our other unit can instead rent out the whole cottage at [listing]."

Or something like that. Keep it positive and light!

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Sam-and-Adam0

Hi guys - first off, the review is not as bad as you make it sound - but I can understand that you take it personally.

I would post a brief but friendly reply along the lines of the eamxple below....you will come out the better half!

Hi (name), thanks for your feedback - yes, our place is quait, quirky, with slanted ceilings and uneven flooring. It's what most of our guests love and give us 5* fors and it's not something we would ever want to change. Sorry that you felt misled by our photos - it's the first time anyone has said that, and while we couldn't have changed anything, we  would really have appreciated you mentioning this to us during your stay. We always want happy guests and and would happily have worked with AirBnB to find you something more suited to your needs.