New to Hosting: Questions about room entering into kitchen and how to get better reviews/reply

[Carlos403]

Hello Airbnb Community,

Being in my infancy to airbnb; ive had to learn some lessons the hard way and would love your help on how to solve my issues ive been having with my listings and guests recently after a long strech of perfect guests!

1. My primary listing is a medium sized room with an entrace from the kitchen, due to the lay out of my house that is the only option.
 - what are some ways I can tell future guests this and not lose future guests because it sounds bad but I want to be completely Honest?

2. How can I sound proof the room so they dont hear someone whose in the kitchen microwaving cooking etc.

3. Ive recently gotten bad reviews from guests who were looking for a refund because they wanted to leave early; when I tried to tell them I wont be able to refund them the money they left early and left a really bad rating of 2 stars I feel they did this out of spite even though I try really hard to be extra nice and courteous to guests.

4. Ive been having a roach problem, I tried many methods cleaning often spraying, traps; but recently began bait and apparently it really works; any other solutions?

Right now I have a bad rating overall less than four due to my last three guests leaving me bad reviews because of spite; and I was suspended for 5 days; what can or should I do? To re-increase the appeal to my place it once had before these three ratings.

Thank you so much.

-Carlos

[Andrea9]

@Carlos403

I looked at the room listing and to be frank would have fallen into the same trap as for ex. a guest complaining about the nightly noise due to Ramadan.

You'd be better off to describe better that the room is off the kitchen and living room - even make annotations to the pictures.

When you know that you will be using the kitchen late with different people (while others will be in bed), you should communicate this immediately pre-booking to somebody wanting the room in that period.

I myself am even going slightly sleep deprived while  the local Moroccan boys who have started to hang out on the square in front of my house (and bed room on that side) from midnight to 2am loudly talking and laughing now during Ramadan. Especially also since they always hang out in a crowd of around 10. Very annoying and can't wait till it's over 😕

So the more you describe the situation and even point the less positive things out to guest pre-booking, the less complaints you'll get. Maybe less bookings as before, but at least probably not as many bad reviews.

If guests feel 'intimidated' by always having to pass right through the middle of the common area to get to their room, maybe there's a way to put up a screen at least for the kitchen area to make guests feel less as if they had to pass through your activities to get to their area.

Regarding the sound. For my loft-like and quite open apartment I recently purchased a white noise machine to buffer sounds I make as well as those from the guest area above. They are adjustable, won't block everything, just muffles sound.

[Joanna85]

My advice is to just clearly state your space.  My space is a mother-in-law suite--extremely private but it's an old house.  What I did, and it's worked for me, is just state what I would complain about if I stayed there....it's worked for me.  People seem to overall say it's way better than I describe it.  But you always have complainers.

Here's my whole thing about this Airbnb:  it is a room in our homes.  It is not a hotel.  We watch t.v. in our homes, the dog barks, the birds chirp, the old a/c rattles on the roof when it kicks on, the plumbing sometimes has a mind of it's own, my energetic neighbor likes to blow the leaves with his really loud blower at 8am almost every day....some things I just cannot change.  People are using Airbnb because they are budget travelers or for some reason a hotel just isn't what they need.  If someone stays with me and complains about my parakeet (which someone did the other day) my response is:  this is a family home. This guy acted like my parakeet was literally on top of his head the whole stay..and his issue was mostly Jelly chirps when she first wakes up at 5am and he was just going to bed at that time!   My place isn't ideal for a day sleeper..if someone is a night owl and asks me to please not run the washer until 3pm...well, that's absurd, this is a home  MY HOME! and I feel 10a.m. or 11a.m. to wait to run the wash is a reasonable request but 3pm doesn't fit my schedule.   Sometimes all you can do is the best you can do...but be upfront about it.

[Kate157]

Ok, for me the whole roach thing is a big issue. You must get totally rid of them and make sure they are gone. Nothing says "unclean" like roaches. You should do this before hosting any more people. I also think you might want to consult a professional about sound proofing to see what is possible. For me, I hate smelling food and hearing pots and pans rattling when it gets a bit later. I would definitely not leave a good review if I had to endure that. While it is your house, remember, guests' expectations are important to consider. For me, one of the things this means is privacy. If guests can easily overhear noise right next to them, it's not feeling very private.

[Isabel203]

Some thoughts:

1) Figure out what kind of guest os going to enjoy your place and then write your listing to attract those people. I am guessing that people would love your set up if they like sharing space, sharing food, and getting to know new people. "If meeting new people is part of what you love about travelling..." Then, figure out who is NOT going to like your place and discourage them from booking. Right now, it seems your listing  is likely to attract people who value peace and quiet and this does not seem like a good fit for your space.

2) Until the roach issue is under control, you MUST contact each of your guests directly and let them know the situation. Then, I would send them a special offer to encourage them to keep the booking, or offer to refund ny money they will lose by cancelling. If you don`t do this, you are asking to have very bad reviews.

3) From your lsitings, I wasn't clear what the configuration was. The smaller space is described as a private room within a quiet house, which would make me think that I would be the sole guest within a family home. But looking at the other listing, it seems like the smaller space is actually within the larger space which is also rented out ?????????  Work on clarifying the setup

4) I have found "Under-promise and over-deliver" is a good strategy for getting good reviews.

Good luck with it!

[Zacharias0]

@Carlos403are you using commerical grade pesticide or residential grade? Ive had a roach problem for the longest and its mostly due to my area and less the cleanliness of the house. Roaches come out at night and get into anywhere they can and theres a 1/2 inch gap between the front door and the floor itself. First I put in a foam gap seal, but they still find their way in. I use to use a pest control company but they weren't doing something right: either the product they used wasn't strong enough, they didn't come often enough or the elements decreased the efficacy of the product. I looked up the chemical they used and eventually went out and bought it myself online. Go to DoMyOwnPestControl dot com and look for Suspend Polyzone. You'll need the sprayer as well. It was the best $50 I've ever spent and since its a concentrate youll get over a years worth of applications if you apply every 2-3 months. I spray the outside of my house up the walls and about a 4 foot distance around my house. They may make it inside sometimes, but they  get only a few inches inside the house and are dead by then. If you have more than a common roach problem then you'll need to do your research and find out the source of the problem. Theres a solution for every problem the key to finding the cause.

In regards to the noise of the kitchen have you ever though about living in the  space instead of putting your guests there?

[Annette33]

@Carlos403 , the good news is that you came here to look for help with your various problems. Bad news is that you got a few serious issues, but they can all be solved!
1.) get a professional pest control guy right away, don't try to save a few bucks with some home made solution. repeat the professional treatment if necessary.
2.) sorry to say, your reviews are terrible.... did you know that by Airbnb standards, anything below a  4.5 is considered bad? so I am not surprised that Airbnb delisted you temporarily. This is what I would do about it:
a.) as long as you have 5 people max in the common area, then 2 or even 3 in the bedroom off the kitchen, you will always have problems: potentially you have 2 sets of guests that need to get along to keep everything going smoothly. I would reduce the max number: as soon as you have the private room rented I would block off the main area and make it unavailable for rent for that date: better a happy customer with a good review than a few more bucks but general unhappiness all around. do it vice versa, if the common area is rented, block off the private room: that is what caused the issue with your last guest, complaining about the noise from the kitchen.
b.) flesh out your description and be more detailed, also explaining that the room is behind the kitchen. yes, you have to do that - in contrast to your general description of promising a quiet home. also take better pictures, you should show the kitchen in its present state, I assume lots of stuff is on the counters, not empty like you are showing it=leads to wrong expectations. phones take great pictures these days, put a little effort into it.
c.) the worst marks you got was for cleanliness, that goes hand in hand with the roach problem. You need to do a thorough cleaning job before and after each guest, otherwise the roaches will be right back.
d.) try to make yourself a bit more available to your guests, that can easily pre-empt some problems. saying there will be minimal contact, but you're accessible for messenging is not very friendly. say it differently, and/or revise your approach.
e.) it is good practice to say something nice in response under a good review, it is bad practice to post a super long response under a bad review - you are only drawing extra attention to it and being defensive never works. the response is not for the benefit of the guest that wrote the review, but for future guests to see how you handle difficult situations. Be cool, it works much better.
And now: good luck with your future hosting. Take pride in it, do the best you can- and it all will work out fine.

[Lois-and-Darryl0]

@Carlos403, @Kate157:  I agree with your first two commenters, but totally agree with Kate!  When I hit the word "roach" my mind immediately responded that you do need to suspend all of your listings until you can be 100 percent positively sure that this problem is gone.  And if this becomes (or is) a chronic issue, like big old cities like S.F., some parts of New York, where you never do get rid of them - then you need to acknowledge that being an Airbnb host is really not an avenue you should pursue.  I lived in an old, run-down building in San Francisco, during my freak-flag, crazy hair days.  And I lived with roaches; I became accustomed to them dropping on me in the shower, and even finding their way into my coffee cup.  Yes, they were always disgusting, and the nightmares eventually ceased.  However, people who have never met a roach where they live or sleep could be experiencing nightmares at the least and future anxiety at the worst.  As a professional host that is trying to supplement an income by letting out rooms, you owe it to your Guests to make sure that without a shadow of a doubt you don't have roaches.  I would give you 1 star if I met a roach in a house or room.  And that's not spite, Carlos, that is the reasonable expectation of a Guest in a home.  This is people's vacations; they are making positive great memories, and paid you money to help them do so.  I hope you don't take this as disrespectful.  My intent is for you to see the extreme urgency of this problem.  Don't worry about the low ratings, please.  Of course you have low ratings.  You are a Host, and owe it to your Guests to give them a pleasant, clean, and comfortable experience when they're traveling--you've taken money from them!  I suggest you suspend your listing until you know the roach problem is rectified, and you can work on the off-kitchen room while you're ensuring there are no future roaches.  Lois