Feedback on a Negative but honest review?

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Dino50
Level 2
York, United Kingdom

Feedback on a Negative but honest review?

Hi,

 

been hosting all summer and just made Superhost status. Had great guests and reviews but hit a stinker with my last guest. They were to be a honest a total PITA . Noisy until around 2am , left the bathroom filthy and even when I let them leave bags after check out to pick up later they arrived back not so much as a thank you and of they went. Rude all around. Never had this with a guest before. I even let them check in 2 hours early but no thanks nothing.

 

Only issue they found is they said the bed sheet seem dirty. Not so as I pointed out it was actually a light gold pattern on the sheet. They agreed in the end and didnt want it changing which I would have done no problem. Over all a difficult frustrating experience for me and they were constantly sending me messages asking for more towels, milk, and it felt akward and I am normally very easy going.

 

And something tells me they are going to leave me a  bad review (it will be my first ) but I want to write an honest review of what I thought of them as guests , but wondering if it would/ could back fire on me ? or should I just leave it ? Im gonig to wait until day 13 anyway as can imagine they wont be happy if I do review them with thumbs down, which I honestly feel is justifed.

 

Any feedback from more expereinced hosts here would be really welcome as im still learning the ropes 😉

 

cheers Dino

1 Best Answer
Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Dino, thank you for wanting to leave this guest a review! Many hosts will skirt around the bad guests and never end up leaving a review. I personally think all reviews should be short, factual, professional, and with as little emotion as possible. Longwinded reviews often stray from the point and sometimes make the host look a little crazy. 

Something along the lines of .. "I did not have a good experience hosting XX. Quiet hours were not respected. The space, in particularly the bathroom, was left disorderly and required extra cleaning. Many additional amenities were take advantage of and there was a general lack of appreciation. I cannot recommend this guest and find them better suited for a hotel.”

 

Low stars in the relevant categories and a thumbs down.

 

View Best Answer in original post

18 Replies 18
Letti0
Level 10
Atascosa, TX

@Dino50  Never give them an inch they will take a mile and you will pay for it in the review. Demanding guests will kill your reviews. No discounts, no early check in and do not give extra amenities not listed if you don't want to. I do offer luggage drop off or leaving for pick up later, I state this you do not. I give extra towels if need, I state this you do not. Do not let the guest control your rental, you need to control it. 

Dino50
Level 2
York, United Kingdom

Yeah I offer luggage leaving they just need to ask.  I dont give discounts,  and am going to stop early check in as its become a pain as of late. Thanks for your reply @Letti0 question do you leave negative reviews for guests if you feel its warrented ?

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Dino50 they can't see your review until they write their own review or it is too late for them to write one. So they can't retaliate for your review in their own review. Nor can they comment on their review after the fact. Please leave an honest review for benefit of other hosts. If you expect them to leave a bad one, wait until the final minute of your 14 day window to (a) avoid triggering them to write one and (2) push it lower down on your stack if/when it does appear. Also they will not be able to see that you gave them a thumbs down, unless they are counting their recommendations.

Dino50
Level 2
York, United Kingdom

@Lisa723hi they have left a review tonight but of course I cant see it until I review.  So when I leave my reviews if I did the review on day 13 they would only have one day to leave a response ? or is it another 14 days from when I leave my review ?

 

and yeah will time it to be on day 14 thanks

They can leave a response any time but your guests won't see it until/unless they go looking for it. So I would not worry about that at all. If you respond to their review, keep it brief, dispassionate and professional. You are addressing prospective guests with your response, not these guests.

@Lisa723  The response time to post to a review is supposed to be 14 days also just like a review timeframe, but Steve in Ireland and I have found it's closer to 30 days in some cases. Rather random it seems. Probably computer/phone app issues is my guess. 

 

@Dino50  Unfortunately I had to leave one today. The 3rd one ever I've had to leave and all 3 have been on AirBnB. On HA/VRBO I get maybe 25% of my guests reviewing me even though I review them all. On Airbnb it's really needed for hosts to leave honest reviews of guests as the vetting options are getting more narrow for hosts everyday. 

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Dino, thank you for wanting to leave this guest a review! Many hosts will skirt around the bad guests and never end up leaving a review. I personally think all reviews should be short, factual, professional, and with as little emotion as possible. Longwinded reviews often stray from the point and sometimes make the host look a little crazy. 

Something along the lines of .. "I did not have a good experience hosting XX. Quiet hours were not respected. The space, in particularly the bathroom, was left disorderly and required extra cleaning. Many additional amenities were take advantage of and there was a general lack of appreciation. I cannot recommend this guest and find them better suited for a hotel.”

 

Low stars in the relevant categories and a thumbs down.

 

Thanks Emilia, loved your example. How would you write negative w review for a host ? I have screenshots- proofs of scamming ( rising price during the stay not through Airbnb) , threats- taking my child and our luggage to the road “tomorrow” while we’re still paying for our stay, cutting off electricity during our last ( and paid) day if the stay . Will appreciate your advice

Rachel0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Dino50 Sorry to hear that you have had such a rotten experience with these guests.  You don't say if they already have reviews or whether your review will be their first.  Please leave an honest and factual review using the excellent  wording suggested by @Emilia42.  

Mauro162
Level 2
Rome, Italy

@Emilia0 As in the past I have had a case in which the guest gave me a 5 stars review but I gave them 3 stars resulting in a self imposed 3 star rating for the stay, I wonder if the star ratings one imposes on guests actually still do influence our own star rating.

Since then I have omitted starring negative experiences down, just giving them, aside from a calm and professional review, a thumbs down.

 

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

@Dino0

A factual review is really always appreciated by fellow hosts, to stop this guest bouncing from unsuspecting host to unsuspecting host.

I would always leave a guest review 2 days after guest leaves to give you time to reflect before writing your review.

 

Guests XYZ

Initially nice enough, as they were excellent communicators, from the pre booking stage onwards.

I accommodated their requests for a check in 2 hours earlier than stated in my description, including leaving their luggage for collection on departure, after check out hours.

 

Lots of communication via messages, throughout their stay, to replenish the ample supplies of milk and freshly laundered linens,already provided.

 

Unfortunately there was noise until the wee hours and the bathroom required far more extra cleaning than usual for a stay of this duration.

 

PS.

I would personally skip the opinion such as best suited to a hotel, as many guests who use air bnb, also use hotels and may find this a bit cheeky, as reputable hotels would not tolerate the noise, as it would disturb the sleep quality of fellow guests.

 

 

@Dino  I would add 'high maintenance' somewhere in the review, then rate them down on all applicable stars and thumb them down as not recommended.

 

For future should you be so unfortunate again ( I hope not)  you could also add a rule about quiet time. And, personally,  if it were me I would remove:  "If you need anything or have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me"  there are guests who take that as opening salvo for an assault on your generosity and time,  as these ones did.

Instead of "high maintenance," I like to say, "guests are probably more suited for a concierge-service accommodation." 🙂

Dino50
Level 2
York, United Kingdom

Just an update - I did leave an honest review , not emotional just factual and not nasty but still marked them down in the areas where they were a pita. But then I felt bad as they had left me a glowing review ...eeek ...

 

but honestly the noise was ridiculous anyway nowt to be done.

 

Have a lovely elderly couple in now for 3 nights. They upstairs chatting away watching tv etc no bother she even cleaned some dishes today in me kitchen but I did give them free breakfast as I like them.

 

Wish all guests where as lovely and easy as the couple I have in now 🙂