Is it me... or "them"??!!

[Lilia22]

Hello everyone.

Happy, Healthy and Wealthy New Year to you all.

Two of my most recent reservations TOLD ME what they expect from my place! 

Example: "We expect the accomodations to be clean and for the appliances to work...",

"Our expectations are of a clean, comfortable apartment, quiet and conveniently located."

I read these to my husband and daughter and we all agreed that the tone of their introduction note was done with a "whip on their hands"! 

I politately replied thanking them for choosing Villa Lizette for their stay and suggesting that they read over all my reviews, the description of my place and if not satisfied to PLEASE cancel the reservation!  The first one changed her tone on her reply; the second one, I have not heard from her!

Does this happen to you?  Am I being over sensative and reading more than there is to it?

Just like before, I totally appreciate your input, advice and support.  Thanks to many of you here, I changed a couple of things regarding my listing, (my first year doing Airbnb), with great success.

Lilia

[Sarah977]

@Lilia22  I wouldn't take it personally. I know from some of my guests that they have found themselves in the past with horrible airbnb accomodations, which were not as described, so they may just be trying to avoid a similar situation by laying out their expectations at the outset. 

You say the first woman's tone changed after you replied. She obviously realized that she was being a bit harsh in her first communication.

And the second, who you haven't heard from again- potential guests change their minds all the time for reasons that have nothing to do with you or your listing. Some are polite and message back to let you know that they can't get away for holidays when they thought they could, or found another place which was more suitable to their needs, most don't bother. Many of those have sent out "feeler" messages to numerous listings.

[Paul154]

This is Airbnb - everything is negotiable.

Also, there are no standards in Airbnb.

So the guest had a right to state her demand. She may have had bad experiences.

You also had a right to feel offended and had an opportunity to offer a deep-cleaning for $xx.

As it is,  you handled it well. Your guests now respect you. You're a superhost.

They may cancel, come and complain or come and enjoy themselves.  

You the host get an adventure, even without leaving your property 🙂

[Paul154]

 I'm very impressed that you did not fall into their trap.

You did not directly answer their question, but instead said "read my reviews"

Brava.

You did not unreasonably warranty your offering.

Now, your guests can't break your toaster and demand their money back.

[Matthew285]

@Lilia22 you are not reading too much into it; the guests' tone was quite off-putting.

(They make it sound like you are a naughty school child, and that the only thing keeping you from misbehaving is their guiding hand.)

But as @Paul154 pointed out, you handled it courteously and professionally, while still defending your honor and standing up for yourself as a host.

(I don't know if I would have thought of a response as good... I'll have to write yours down.)

But yes, the guests' tone was very condescending.

[David126]

I have had a few situations where the tone of messages was weird but the stay OK, and a few where I was put on guard and my assumption proved to be correct.

The old adage that some business is simply not worth having may well apply.