It's interesting that everyone here is a host when I'm a guest.
I had one hotel give me a nasty review b/c I needed help (I was brand new to Mexico) getting food (I almost starved that night and the girl didn't care) and then help figuring out how to get a bus to another city.
They did try to help & I was very grateful, but they made a huge mistake & the bus trip was booked for the wrong direction.
I had to then try to correct it by phone & stress about it until the next day by going in very very early to the bus station.
I tipped everyone & tried to tip the second girl who helped me from the front desk, but she didn't want the money.
My rule is I never review a place where there were issues (there were issues with this hotel) if the host is nice. I just won't do that to them, so I never reviewed them.
Months later I see how they said I DEMANDED things from them.
Total lie. Was I stressed & asked if they could help & they could feel my stress sometimes & I was anxious? Yes, but that's not demanding.
A hotel (I don't care if it's small) should help their guests & not omplain about it in a review. In fact, I would have recommended them to others, but now I never will.
I later gave them a nasty review on Trip Advisor, but no one on Airbnb usually goes there to see what others say about the hotel. I read other negative reviews about them.
The point was I couldn't defend myself.
I felt bad for taking up so much of their time & because she didn't do things properly, it took a whole day (more than 8 hours) just for me to get the bus arranged. I couldn't even relax (I wasn't on vacation, but still).
I don't read Spanish & this is why this all happened, plus again, I was brand new to Mexico.
Most hosts don't seem to review at all, so any of the other places I stayed in didn't review me (one hotel in Tepic gave me a nice review) & vice versa until I got to Colima where this host who was nasty right from the beginning refused to take cash from me. I always pay cash to a host after I've stayed there a night & they can see me & see I'm not a bad person.
I got his number from someone else, not through Airbnb.
Anyway, he complained about that the first time he reviewed me (as if that's a SIN) & he also complained b/c I asked him where there are restaurants around the area since there are NONE within walking distance. Wow, who complains about that??? He said I should have looked them up online. WOW. No other host has ever complained about me asking where there are restaurants & one host even had a map to all of the places.
I left, then came back & ended up booking his place again for a lot longer & asked if he could lower some of the fees so I could stay longer. He told me that if I book for a week it's less. I did that.
Then there was no hot water (luke warm) and no water pressure. He accused me of lying about it. I never did get hot water.
Then he wanted to overcharge me for cleaning the place trying to sell me on it & wouldn't give me any more toilet paper (his cleaning lady mother finally did).
Were the floors dirty when I left?
Yes, his 3 workers who came in, plus almost 3 weeks of me being there made them dirty. Plus his nice mother (she probably wasn't all that nice in the end) also came into the house a few times to water the plants.
Did I leave dirty dishes in the sink this time? Yes, if I'm going to pay a huge price for cleaning, why is it my responsibility to clean the whole house for them?
I was going to get my own cleaning lady, but when he raised the price of the place to a much high price, I just left.
Again he trashes me in the review lying & said I tried to get him to take cash (I hadn't the second time around) & then had to mention how dirty the place was. And then another lie about how he had to wait around for me or something. I didn't understand the translation other than he's LYING!!! No such incident happened.
I never reviewed him the first time around because I didn't want to burn bridges. The second time I did review him & I told them everything wrong with the place including the beds were terrible where I could feel the springs.
Another Airbnb I went to right after him were never around to help me when the lamp didn't work & I needed it to see after dark. Also, they left a starving cat hungry so I told them about that. She/he was crying outside my door the whole day & night. I didn't have any food to give it & it wouldn't eat the ceviche. Someone finally came over to feed them (I never saw the 2nd one).
Then the 2nd day their stove didn't work & I went hungry until I finally ate COLD FOOD. I went hungry later on because all I had left were eggs. I didn't want to eat them raw.
Anyway, this time I complained to Airbnb. Why should I pay for the 2nd day (even the first day with the lamp issues that put me out.)
Because they contacted him he put down that I have unreasonable expectations or I can't do things on my own.
When I arrived the fridge wasn't plugged in & I had food. The stove didn't work so I messaged them.
It turns out it wasn't plugged in & I finally saw the electrical cord hanging, so it worked the first day after I plugged it in.
Oh, & this guy was a very mean host. He threatens in all of his auto messages (I've never seen them before) & in his house manual. Everything is a charge. If you have a person come over, I should clean the place for them (so why am I paying a cleaning fee????) If the white towel in the bathroom is used to clean (that's just stupid, who would do that & why use a white towel if this is such a concern?)
He will track you down if you break something & don't tell them. Ok, I get it, you want it paid for, but "track you down???" I was literally scared of this guy that he was part of the cartel or something.
So now I look like an unreasonable person because of these lies & I'm NOT.
I need what I need & I always ask questions before I book. That is NOT A CRIME.
If something isn't working, depending on how pressing a need it is I don't even tell the host. Like the first lying host his internet had issues. The firs time I was there I didn't complain.
The second time I did. He apologized & had the ISP reboot it. That helped for the day, but then it continued to go in & out.
I didn't tell him again because I didn't want to fight with this guy again (remember the hot water & pressure issues.)
Now I'm scared to say ANYTHING about ANYTHING for fear they will lie in the review to make me out to be the bad guy because they think I will give them a bad review so they want to get me FIRST.
And I'm sick of Mexicans thinking that it's ONLY foreigners who leave bad reviews, I've seen bad reviews from Mexicans too. That's just racist.
I came on here looking for evidence that the reviews from guests are FAKE.
I've seen too many glowing reviews that don't line up with what I've experienced.
Then I found this thread & felt the need to put in my two sense about how I feel as a guest.
I'm a nice person, I keep to myself, I do my work and don't make noise. I don't trash a person's place & I try to leave it pretty much the way I found it except I'm NOT going to clean your place for you.
If you don't charge me a huge cleaning fee, ok. Once a host asked me to clean up because of that & I cleaned all of the dishes. No problem. But if I have to pay an overpriced cleaning fee, of course I'm going to get you guys to clean the place. Most times I wash the dishes, but with that guy I cleaned up a bit, but I was still upset that he tried to scam me out of the expensive cleaning fee and that he never did get me my hot water.
So you can talk about retaliation from guests, but what about the retaliation from hosts?
End of rant.