How does this review sound? Guest burnt the table and the countertop and has declined to pay.

Samantha458
Level 2
Lake Country, Canada

How does this review sound? Guest burnt the table and the countertop and has declined to pay.

Hi all,

I'd like to leave a polite but honest review on some recent guest that we hosted and am hoping for feedback on how what I have in mind sound/comes across.  They put a hot frying pan on the wood dining room table and burnt it.  It needs to be sanded and refinished to fix it.  There is tile built into the centre of the table that they easily could have placed the frying pan on.  They also caused a less severe burn on the laminate counter top that bubbled in a couple spots and can't be fixed.  They have declined to pay for the damage done so i'v involved Airbnb.  Our kitchen is less then a year old and its dishartening to be dealing with guests like this already.

How does this sound?

 

Guests group was friendly and cleaned up after themselves but did not respect the property and did not notify us of major damage done. They were not our ideal guest and are perhaps better suited in a hotel.

 

Thanks everyone

18 Replies 18
Nathan268
Level 1
Martinsville, VA

I’m so sorry this happened! If it were me, I would leave off the comment about the guest being better suited to a hotel- I would keep it straightforward and state that the guest caused damage to the property and did not notify you. I would also say that they were unwilling to pay for the damage and they would be welcome as a guest in the future. 

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@Samantha458I would cut out the positives at the beginning, honestly: they don't deserve it when they damaged your property and took no responsibility for it. As a host, I don't care that they communicated well if they cost me thousands of dollars. 

 

I would say: 

 

Guest damaged the dining room table the laminate countertop with a hot frying pan. When asked to pay to repair the damage they caused, they declined. I wouldn't host them again, and I think they may be better suited to a hotel. 

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Samantha458 

You have (small) deposit on your listing, so should be easy for Airbnb to collect some money for damage.

When making a claim, useally it is a garantuee for getting a bad review from the guest, making it twice a "damage".

It sounds like irresponsible use of facilities, maybe next time tell guests "do not put hot pans directly on delicate surfaces" ;>)

You should mention the damage in the review, but never put in how Airbnb did resolve it.

Best regards,

Emiel

 

Thanks Emiel, 

Those are great points.  We have a welcome letter asking them to maipe up any spills right away so it doesnt stain the countertops or cabinets, so good idea to add about hot pans.  I think I may make up a longer welcome letter that assumes common sense is not so common 🙂

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Samantha458 @Alexandra316 @Nathan268 

 

Personally not a fan of the "better suited to a hotel" line, which could mean almost anything. Other hosts just need facts, not opinions.

And @Emiel1 makes an important point: if you mention anything about an Airbnb claim they will take down the review.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Samantha458 

guest caused mayor damages to the property, did not notify me and was unwilling to pay for the damage. He is not welcome as a guest in the future.

Marie21
Level 10
Dublin, Ireland

@Samantha458  i think it is important to specify the damage, as there is a difference between heavy party damage and table damage, 

Samantha458
Level 2
Lake Country, Canada

Thank you everyone!  You were all very helpful.  

 

I think this is what ill go with:

 

"Guests caused damage to the dining room table and laminate countertop with a hot frying pan.  They did not notify us and are unwilling to pay for damages.  We would not host them in the future."

 

I think that covers all your suggestions and wont get pulled down by Airbnb.  

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Samantha458 

Further to my other post, you do have to protect yourself from these 'questionable guests' in any way you can.

You can purchase rolls of countertop protector which do give your precious kitchen surfaces an element of protection. I use it here in my listing and although I simply have a laminated soft pine timber benchtop in the cottage, it has not suffered any damage.

In our main kitchen the counter tops are granite stone and are not subject to damage by heat or cutting but I have taken these shots to show that the benchtop protector has a minimal impact visually...particularly if you use a kitchen cleaning aid on it which I should have done before I took this shot. Any of the score marks just disappear and it is transparent enough for the countertop to still show through........

This shot is of the granite surface.......

CAM02462.jpg

 

And this is the same shot with the benchtop protector in place.....

CAM02463.jpg

 

All it does is take the 'sheen' off the surface but, it comes in 5 metre rolls, is not expensive (when compared to a new countertop) and when it gets to the point where it starts to look really tatty,  just chuck it away and use a new piece. 

 

Sam, it is not like using a total protective barrier but it does give enough protection so that only a complete moron would not be aware that they had done the wrong thing and remove the hot pan before it actually affected the laminate surface.

 

Cheers......Rob

 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Samantha458 

Unfortunately there are some inconsiderate guests about Sam, and it is unfortunate that you struck one here.

The review process is tricky and over the past year has become further complicated by the fact that there are now far more hosts than there are guests, and to a certain extent, guests are seen as diamonds, where as hosts are seen as a nesseccary evil to keep those money baring guests coming!

I say this because you have to be really careful the way you word your review. You can complain all you like about a guests review of you, but all Airbnb will say is....'it was the guests perception and we need the review system to be transparent' and their review of you will stay!

If the guest doesn't like what you as the host says, the guest will say 'it wasn't us, the host is criticising us for something we didn't do' Airbnb will side with them saying 'lack of proof' and, not wishing to hurt their impeccable guest record, will remove your review from their profile!

 

Sam, say something along the lines of...."The guests respect for our property was poor and regrettably I have to say I would decline the oppoprtunity to host them again". and give them a 2 for 'observance of house rules' and give them a thumbs down!

You haven't accussed them of anything specific but you have alerted everyone else that they were not acceptable guests......and most importantly Airbnb will have no option but to say to the guest....'the host has just said they would not want to host you again, nothing we can do about that...and the review will stay!

 

Cheers......Rob

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Samantha458, THIS is one of the reasons I stopped use of the kitchen for cooking - the number of times I had to re-sand and re-oil my wooden kitchen benches was getting ridiculous. What on earth are people thinking putting hot pots and pans on wooden surfaces? Do they not cook at home??? Perhaps they have a McDonalds diet normally, so their brains don't work very well 🙂

 

Anyway, I think your review is good - short, professional, honest and to the point. Vague reviews that say 'better suited to a hotel' don't give hosts anything.

 

 

You made me laugh Kath. I also seriously wonder if anyone cooks at home anymore with the amount of silly damage. I am really concerned by the fact that all my damage on wooden tables was done by parents with children (at home, I don't host children). Do they not use their ovens and stoves at home? Then again, my ex's sister in law has a VERY expensive Aga that she only used to warm up jar spaghetti sauce, for her four children. I feed my dog better than that. I am holding off updating my kitchen for a couple of years while I rent it out in the summer, my nerves couldn't take the possible damage to a brand spanking new one!

You made me laugh as well!  I also question the amount of cooking people do these days.  I completely understand holding off on updating the kitchen.  I was not happy when I saw the burn on the new countertop!  I'm pregnant to boot and may have had a but of a melt down.....

Thank goodness the majority of people regonnize that its brand new and treat it well, but i'm crossing my fingers we get through the summer with no more major mishaps!