I will no longer post a bad review about a guest

[Megan160]

I had an awful guest experience and tried to settle it with the guest personally. She stayed at a reduced rate and then needed to extend her stay. We gave her an even bigger rate discount. When she left, she left the place a mess. Dirty, greasy dishes, pots and pans. All the furniture was in dissaray, both sets of blankets/quilts had spots and stains on them, there were crumbs in all the beds on the mattress pads (which had to be hand picked off), and she ruined a set of sheets.

I took 3 days to cool off before I texted her because we really went out of our way to help this guest and she took advantage of us. I told her I was unhappy about the state of the place and asked her to pay $50 to replace the sheets. Prior to this text, she had nothing but glowing reviews and thanks for me in all her texts. She did not understand why she should have to pay for her sheets because I was a woman and the damaged sheets were a result of a "woman thing" and thus I should understand. I said I shouldn't have to pay for her "woman thing".

After much internal debate, I decided to warn other hosts and gave her an appropriate but still not brutal review, even leaving out the refusal to pay for damages and passing on her lame excuse for the mess. She then gave me a bad review, lying about my place and me. Prior to this review, I had 5 star reviews. Now people think my place is noisy and I am rude. My bookings have almost stoped dead in their tracks after her review. Plus, my 3 month pre-book for Jan-March canceled right after the review. I have contacted Airbnb twice about this to no avail. I had responded to her bad review, but not in much detail because I assumed that if I could prove it was a retaliatory review, it would be removed. THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Not only will they not remove it, they won't even let me expound on my explanation to her bad review.

So frustrated! I am knee deep in the process of spending a lot of money to make my other 2 rentals Airbnb rentals and now I can't even get bookings in prime season. Airbnb penalizes us for trying to warn other hosts about bad guests.

[Ricky63]

In my experience reviews are always blind so I would agree it can not be retaliatory, and you can always request a review then deal with the damages after you have been notiefied that they have written a review, that way you get a fair review and one not influced by the dameges process.

[Jennifer--And-My-Brother0]

I found out after I stopped hosting and had time to look at my last guest's profile that guests are permitted to write a response to our reviews so for my one negative 4 star review about hair dye on stained sheets, the guest responded by LYING about me.   I had no idea and had proceeded for months to be blissfully ignorant.  Maybe incoming guests had read it and thought I was bending over backwards in response but I had no idea.   But I left five stars for everyone and I wonder now if they were all waiting for me to write something truthful and negative about them. 

[Mark116]

I feel that many, many hosts leaving glowing reviews that are not really warranted. 

I have no other explaination to the fact that we have hosted several groups who had wonderful reviews, oh they left the house immaculate, etc., who left our house disorganized and dirty.  It seems unlikely they would choose to leave only our house a mess---fail to take out trash and recycling as directed, fail to follow basic rules, break or stain items---it seems more likely that other hosts praised them when they didn't deserve praise.  It's one thing to leave a vague neutral to positive review, quite another to gush about the guests fabulousness and how you recommend them, when it seems obvious they are borderline.

[Jennifer--And-My-Brother0]

  I am against quibbling because ultimately, they paid for their stay.  If this was a hotel, that's all you can really ask of a guest and if they didnt do any damage that required a claim on the deposit then they get five stars EVEN THOUGH they may have been demanding, required extra effort, whatever.

[Catherine2643]

I don't often (actually hardly ever) have bad guests, but agreed the guests PAY for their stay. However, unlike a hotel, for hosts living in the same place they offer as STR, we also offer private, personalized hosting services. As a host, I don't sign up for sneaky, lying, manipulative ppl with their own agenda to steal, destroy or hurt my home or other guests. Some ppl do behave that way. I think it's important to carefully, truthfully and clearly communicate the facts to other hosts. I do read reviews and consider guests with higher reviews more favorably. The Cleaning fee is NOT a deposit for damages. It's simply a cleaning fee for the cleaners. IMHO, I think maybe wise to wait at least 24-48 hours as a host to leave a negative review

[Terry297]

My new policy is to avoid leaving a bad review by.... omission of praise or to not leave one at all. I expect some breakage and an occasional dirty guest. I expect a certain amount of linens will need replacing each year. Actually, it is quite predictable after a few years with a particular property. All guest with bad reviews has to do is use another name on the next reservation, someone else in their group. That makes the guest reviews pretty useless to me. 

Also, with an instant book, you are in a precarious position once they are booked, then you search their reviews. Bad reviews already booked are tricky to deal with. Canceled booking can kill your stats and placement in the search.  I liked it better when I got inquiries, called the person to talk about what they were looking for, then suggesting my place may not be the right one.

I understand Fair Housing Laws as I am a Realtor too, but owners should be able to talk to potential guests to see if the venue is appropriate to the guest's plans for their travel event. For me, I want to know what level of party activity guest are planning. My neighbors deserve respect too. My complex has many permanent residents. 

[Davor24]

Same here.

[Jonas120]

Same here...What makes me angry is this hypocrite manner. I want true reviews about a possible guest ! 

[Terry297]

I think the reason the review system is so flawed is that there are no real standards to how many stars. I have been 5 stars 91% and 4 starred the rest until I recently had a nightmare guest.  I had a guest who booked my pet-friendly condo (always scrubbed deep clean top to bottom). My listing clearly states pet-friendly in many places in the descriptions. They arrived and walked out once they saw my pet gates, pet decor,  and notes to keep pets downstairs on the hard floor areas. They did not contact me at all. They huffed away and rented a hotel on the highway. They gave me  1 star because my condo was pet-friendly although it is clearly noted that it is. Airbnb would not help. A 1 star is like getting a zero on midterms, really kills the average. So unfair. I think we can trust 4 and 5-star reviews but when you see a single 1 star in a sea of 5 stars, you should know it is an outlier. Nevertheless, bookings dropped dramatically. The star system is flawed. Some will drop all the way down to 1 star on some small issue or something that is their fault, like booking a pet-friendly condo, then blaming the owner that it is pet-friendly. Had they given me a chance I would have tried to place them in another waterfront condo and transfer the money to the other owner. They never discussed with me. But, they were just mean on the review. Did not give me a chance to resolve "their" mistake,  then they trashed my business. Airbnb was not fair about it at all. I don't think a guest review should be kept if the primary reason for 1 star is finding out they rented a pet-friendly place and they have asthma and the property is clearly labeled as pet-friendly. You can't fix stupid. I agree the owners get hurt more than the guests on reviews and Airbnb is not fair in these situations. The guests can trade reservation ownership with another in their party if they have bad reviews. The owners are penalized for months, have to drop rates to get booked and get some new reviews, no matter years previous of 5 stars. Just one recent 1 star is a killer. 

[Jerry-and-Kerrie0]

We just got a 2-star rating for our 19-ft vintage trailer. A Mom and daughter wanted a fun "glamping get away." I am more than honest about the size of the trailer, its amenities, and location and yet upon leaving (booked through another site) I was accused of lying, of having shabby things (almost everything is brand new - we try to replace anything worn out.) When they were here, they never said anything to us - they were friendly and we accommodated their every wish. Imagine my surprise when we were ripped to shreds in her review. They were even pissed that we didn't come in and clean every day. Even worse was, I can only assume that because they didn't especially like our trailer, they felt they had the right to absolutely trash it. I was astonished at the number of empty bottles of Gatorade that were left behind in a one-week time frame - and more surprised that they didn't bother to put them in the recycle can that is provided. Like you, our previous guests have all given us 5-stars. However, with this 2-star rating, if this was on Airbnb, we would no longer be superhosts. I am tired of being punished for guests bad choices and behavior.

On another note, referring to your comments on Instant Book. I will never use Instant Book--for exactly the reasons you stated. I will communicate with every guest to make sure they understand just what they are renting.

[Terry297]

I also stopped giving guest bad reviews for the reason that it hurts owners more than guests who just have to switch to their sister's name on the reservation next time. I am afraid of retaliation and I know it happens. I don't trust the review process. I also don't like the instant book,  as in past years I would talk to all my guests to screen if my property is right for their event. That alone can stop issues with reviews... making sure the property is right for the situation. With an instant book, you can't have those conversations. We have a condo complex with a lot of permanent residents. I prefer not to rent to groups of teenagers or college spring breakers or bachelor parties with stripper visitors or large parties. Recently we had a person book on our property. They invited 35 people, a family reunion, took over the common areas with tents and several large meat smokers, brought golf carts that their grammar school kids were driving around the neighborhood and parking lots like bumper carts, and loud music blaring through pumped out speakers on the condo's common areas. It was chaos. We had to call security and make a big issue out of it. It was no my rental, but with the instant book, how do you know?  I used to talk to people on the phone and if my unit was not appropriate I would help them find a more suitable venue for their event.  You have to do instant book now, but it scares me and it is the major reason some in our complex are calling to ban short term rentals by modifying our CC&R POA docs. 

[Davor24]

Same here.

Had one cse where a guest came unhappy because it is raining outside and weatherforecast said it will rain for two days more.She asked me to either give them money back or else.

We agreed she leaves apartment next day if she doesnt like it.

After one month she wrote how we are rude,how all is dirty,smells,moisture,bla bla bla.

Second one,guest arrives instead of 9pm at midnight.

Guest who booked ist the man hwo arrived.

Man doesnt want to give documents for registration.

Man is very angry because he is hungry and I dont want to look for him place to buy food at middle of the night.

Then,after two days man doesnt want to leave the apartment (at the end of his stay)because he want to pay cash and someone stole his wallet and bla bla bla

On the end he write how whole state is rude,how we hate etnic minoroties how this and that.

Nothing about apartment itself but he doesnt forget to give 1 star for all.

My record goes down as my future bookings.

Airbnb DOESNT even want to listen.

[Matthew465]

That is ridiculous!  I’m sorry you had such bad experiences!  It really isn’t fair how it’s set up. 

[Terry297]

Yes we had guests that were going to a local wedding. Day of we had a horrible Texas rain and power was out sporadically from College Station to Beaumont, a large angular swath across Texas. She said because our condo was not new enough and had overground power that we were at  fault that she could not plug in her hair dryer to prepare to be the guests at a wedding. The power was out for 4 hours. She texted me for hours about how much they paid for a 3 br 2.5 bath 2000 sq ft luxury condo on open water on a Texas lake and wanted a refund.  But they did not want to vacate... I told her we cant cotnrol the weather and prorated her stay to refund her 5 hours on lack of power, although she still had complete access to the condo, the country club and the area. I am going to kill the instant booking. Most of my problem customers are coming through that channel. 2 150 sq ft hotel rooms on the interstate would have cost her more and same power outage. 

[Matthew465]

I also had a lady leave a stain, on a brand new $200 duvet cover.  She made is seem like no big deal, and told me it was “woman troubles”, as if this somehow exonerated her from all accountability.  What really makes me mad is that she promised to leave a good review, because I was out of running water, and told her I needed to cancel,  but she insisted on wanting to stay anyways.  So she agreed she wouldn’t give me a bad rating because of the water. She was one of the most annoying demanding guests I’ve ever had, all over the place.  I offered to bring her water, she said “no thanks” then said in her review she wasn’t offer any water, and ignored her messages.   She kept messaging me asking to light a fire in the fireplace that didn’t have proper draw or ventilation, and had filled the entire suite with black smoke the last time a guest tried it.  I told her I was sorry, but no.  Then she gave me a bad review, and in the private message wrote, “well, as you can see,  I held up my part of the bargain. I didn’t leave you a bad review.”  I was like, “yes you did, after explicitly promising not to as a condition of your staying. You used all the beds, dirtied all the linens, and stained a brand new duvet, and I dont have the water to wash it!  I have to take this all the the laundromat.  You didn’t even try to be the least bit sensitive to that.  And I asked you if I could bring you water and u refused, and instead obsessed over having  a fire.”  I was just completely flabbergasted.

It’s the people that ask for nothing that give good ratings, because they have integrity.  Its the ones who seem to be gifted with getting host to agree to or allow one stupid request or exception  after another that are going to complain no matter what.  If they try to nickel and dime you left and right, or make some lame case for deserving a discount(“We’re arriving so late, and leaving so early, we’re practically not even staying!), they are the ones who will leave trash everywhere and stain your carpets and sheets, thank you over and over all bubbly and happy, and then leave a bad rating.  Then there’s the ones who take everything that’s not nailed down.  If it’s a perishable item, like little bags of chips, sugar packets, stirrers, shower cap; they’re taking it.  And they always check even the most out of reach cupboards, just to see what’s in there. In my case, having my laundry machine be accessible from their suite, they will themselves to linens.  They will literally grab a load of laundry with my undies to get what they want, sometimes even partially folding my undies.  These ones will leave 4 out of 5 stars, just to screw you out of superhost status.  And then write you a message  about how they would like to stay on a weekly basis for the next few months.  Then there’s the loud ass people in their 20s, who try to sneak like 4 extra guests, and ask you for beer or to bake their pizza in your oven for them.  You don’t see any plates and napkins,

so you feel oddly pressure to provide them. For some reason,  there’s nothing more demeaning to me than delivering a fresh baked frozen pizza to a bunch a 20 year olds, like you’re a soccer mom or something.  And when you bring it to them, they don’t offer to take it, they’re on their phone and like “Thanks brah!”, so you awkwardly scan the room looking for somewhere to set it while several girls who didn’t pay to be there stare at you in silence.  They will leave 4 out of 5 stars, and dock points for something vague like “Description” and then write “I don’t know, like, it just wasn’t what I thought”.   Then there’s the passive aggressive couple guests who won’t tell you their ETA,  or respond to your messages, until you basically stop cause you figure they just want to be left alone.  They always manage to stealthily check themselves in, and then when you ask if everything’s ok, they reply “we’re fine, thanks.  🙂  Just heading to bed, have to leave early.  Is it cool  if we light the bonfire in the backyard?” You try to explain that it would take hours of supervision and there’s actually a drought and you’re not even sure of its legally allowed to have a fire, and you don’t have enough water to put it out should it get out of hand.    They’ll argue with you until relentlessly, until you give in, and agree to light the bonfire you’d been slowly building and perfecting for months, saving it for a special event.  And you’re lighting it for one guy who’s getting ready to go to bed.  You write to him that you’re all ready, armed with a stem lighter and starter fluid and have the hose out and primed.  Then they respond “Thanks, we’re actually pretty tired, we’re going to bed.  Does your water heater always make this much noise or?”   And you’ve never had a single noise complaint before or since. These types will leave the longest most passive-aggressive review ever, as if they’d been there for a week, and not 8 hours.  It will seem nice, but is basically saying they were disappointed over and over again but they’re such chill guests, and we’re able to take it all in stride.  It will be a 3 out of 5 star rating if your lucky, and look something like this:  “Great place!  Awesome quiet spot nestled in the woods!  Would have been nicer to be closer to the city.  Matthew was very accommodating!  I would recommend this place to anyone who doesn’t mind a lot of noise at night, but nothing earplugs won’t solve!  Would have been nice to have a pool table or jacuzzi or anything really! There’s an awesome bonfire out back, we didn’t know about it until it was too late, so just be sure to ask Matthew in advance and he’ll light it for you! Would be awesome to have s’mores offered to guests too.  Matthew was also very communicative, except for a few times when we  actually really needed something.   One of the stepping stones is loose too, my wife almost fell and seriously reinjured her back, she recently recovered after 30 years of severe pain, but it’s fine if you like a little danger and adventure!” And then their private message is, “Thanks Matthew!  We had to leave at 7am cause of the noise, we went and slept in the car and then got lost, so we’re going to miss our flight!  But awesome place, thanks for having us!  I left a few suggestions for you in my review!  We’ll definitely be back!”