Older Guests and Expectations

Leah---Tom0
Level 2
Clay City, KY

Older Guests and Expectations

I'm sure this has been discussed many times over, and I have looked at a few threads, but I do need to vent my frustrations here.

 

My partner and I host out of a room in our home. All the young people love it here (and I should add, we are in our late 20s, 30s). We charge only 30 dollars a night and offer a lot! We provide kitchen use, including food for breakfast. Most reservations go really well. Until we get an old couple. This most recent one complained because we didn't cook a hot breakfast for them...when we work and have school full time. Just because "breakfast provided" was listed as an amenity, they thought they should have breakfast served to them. Honestly what do people expect for 30 dollars! As Airbnb becomes more popular, these cheap old people are becoming more common, at least here. They are destroying our rating with their unrealistic expectations. What is the solution here? Raising my price for everyone? We're not in this for the money, we are in this to enjoy and meet cool people, but these demanding people are ruining our experience and our reputation. I fear raising the price will only raise the expectations of the more general customer base. Not only that, but people drive 45 minutes out of their way for the cheaper cost. We will lose customers if we raise it. 

 

This is not a 5 star hotel or even a bed and breakfast. This is our home where we live. These old people are really making me want to throw in the towel. When we get a booking like that we just groan! What can I do? What can I say on my listing that is tactful but will keep these cheapskates away? I don't want it to sound like we don't want any old people at all. We have had some wonderful experiences with plenty of them. But every rating under 5 stars we've gotten have been from people over 60. We are going to lose our superhost status because of this. I know one solution is to cater to their every ridiculous need, but for 30 dollars its not worth it! We are so busy, and most people understand that. We don't have time to do better than we already are, because this is not a full time job. Incredibly frustrating.

 

On another note, is it bad practice to respond publicly to a complaint left in private feedback if it presumably effected the star rating they chose?

27 Replies 27
Lawrene0
Level 10
Florence, Canada

Hi, @Leah---Tom0. Age discrimination will get you in a load of trouble. Over six years, my pickier guests have been of every age, and you may find that, as well, as you continue to host, so that your "cheap old people" and "cool young people" line blurs. I can suggest, though, that if the breakfast thing is becoming a problem, make a note about it in your description or rules. 

"A note about breakfast: We provide the eggs, bread, coffee, ...., and you are the chef!"

Repeat it in your initial message when a guest books.

As to your last question, your response to Doris's written review is doing you no favours. No one knows she gave you four stars, and they don't need to. You have made yourself look defensive. Understandable. I hate four stars, too. We all do. But Doris will never see it. Keep any responses professional, and always resist the temptation to lash out. 

I get you about the price. Like you, I keep my price low because of amenity limitations and wanting it to be affordable to the college crowd. I wouldn't raise it. Just maybe be clearer about breakfast, and see if that helps.

Hi, @Leah---Tom0

Assuming you send a “thank you for your reservation” message after a booking is made, I would include a reiteration of what you offer, and don’t, addressing your “old people” issues head on. With the 48 hour free cancelation grace period, they have time to cancel and rebook a spot that is more appropriate.

 

NEVER respond to private feedback complaints in your public review response. Only respond if you will be writing something that will help future guests decide if you are offering the right place for them. This is a sale opportunity.

Thanks for your thoughts and feedback. Unfortunately it does not look like I can delete the response. I will keep it in mind for next time, but at least nothing said was untrue. I am always trying to update the listing to reflect the most accurate details, but there is always something that I cannot predict someone will misconstrue. People have some really weird expectations for staying at somebody's house.

@Leah---Tom0  As it's your own response you can call AirBnB and ask for it to be removed. The cheapskates as you say are drawn to your pricing. The only way to avaoid it is to raise your nightly rate. I would try $40 and see if you are attracting a better crowd. People in a shared environment need to be told up front in your first reply to them what is/is not offered and reminded that they are coming to your home, not a 5* hotel. They need those expectations brought down to reality immediately after booking and then reiterated in your check in information.   

 

 

AirBnB number:

United States and Canada

+1-415-800-5959
+1-855-424-7262 (toll-free)

 

For Superhosts (they will verify you):

North America: +1-647-945-9627 +1.888.326.5753

N-C-0
Level 2
Ottawa, Canada

Stop offering breakfast, or  say in listing it is “continental” or cold only (i’m 70, a host and guest

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

Hi@Leah and Tom

unfortunately entitled guests and cheapskates are endemic across all social strata and age groups.

 

If you do not provide any breakfast as all, then remove it from your amenities list.

 

A breakfast as all hosts know is either Continental or cooked.

 

So if you provide a Continental breakfast then show a photo of such on your listing to prevent further grief from Numpties either young or old that it is NOT a coked breakfast!

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

 

Hi@Leah and Tom

unfortunately entitled guests and cheapskates are endemic across all social strata and age groups.

 

If you do not provide any breakfast as all, then remove it from your amenities list.

 

A breakfast as all hosts know is either Continental or cooked.

 

So if you provide a Continental breakfast then show a photo of such on your listing to prevent further grief from Numpties either young or old that it is NOT a coked breakfast!

Daniel1992
Level 10
Downingtown, PA

Age is a protected class, and the only way you can refuse a booking based on age is if the community by-laws are set up that way, such as a 55+ community.  Stop with the extras and increase the price.  That should ward off the cheapskates. 

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

Hi@Daniel

Well I never knew that elsewhere the aged were a protected class.

 

Not that it bothers me, as I'm perfectly capable.

 

I might be retired  but I'm not retarded

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

Cooked!

Also cheap prices attract the cheapskates like a magnet.

 

Have photos with a sentence underneath,describing what is provided for the other group of guests now endemic .....the really obtuse ones .

 

Just to be ultra transparent,make sure you clearly describe on your listed description and house rules what is not provided or acceptable behaviour in your home.

 

Happy hosting

Sandra856
Level 10
Copenhagen, Denmark

Hi @Leah---Tom0 🙂

I believe that it could be that many guests aren't really aware of how the 5 star system works. They think that a 4 star rating is great.  Almost every guest that has given me less than 5 stars (I write to them to ask if there is something I could do better/improve since they rated me with 4 stars) wrote to me that they weren't aware that giving a 4 star rating was bad. 

When it comes to the rating system I think airbnb is responsible for the lack of transparency of how the system works .

John1574
Level 10
Providence, RI

@Victoria567     @N-C-0  @Sandra856  @Daniel1992 @N-C-0

 

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To be candid, these hosts sound a bit clueless.  To refer to older people or elderly people as "old people"  is insensitive  and is a sure sign of cluelessness in this politically correct age.  But that's Millennials for you, cluless to an extreme.

 

The breakfast problem could easily have been solved in an instant by not listing it as an ammenity.  If a listing says Breakfast Provided, I would expect breakfast to be served to the guest by the host.

 

I think these hosts are just not cut out for the hospitality industry and would do us all favor by finding a different platform.

 

I think the post is discriminatory and that the mods should remove it asap.

 

@John0, by disparaging them for using "old people" by then saying Millenials are clueless ruins your point entirely.  You're basically saying everyone from 20 to 35 are clueless people.  Well, sir, I'm in that age group.  I'm not clueless.  You can take your entitlement and go.

 

Also, if Millenials are clueless, wasn't it your generation that raised them that way?

 

Kathie21
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

The problem is not with 'old people', but with Airbnb telling guests that 4*=Good, 5*=Exceptional.  Unfortunately many guests don't realise that this is not really true and that 4* is a bad review.

 

It's probably true that older people are less likely to view somewhere as Exceptional because we have more experiences with which to compare a place.  Your place looks great value, but for me the room could never be Exceptional because it appears to be lacking in basics - bedside tables/nightstands for example, and somewhere to hang clothes  Older people have different needs - we are more likely to need to go to the bathroom during the night for example, so somewhere to put a torch/phone withing easy reach is more important.  Instead of dimissing older people's needs as 'ridiculous', why not try thinking about what you provide from the perspective of another age group?  With a bit of rearrangement and a few secondhand bits it looks like the room could be made more user-friendly for all your guests without spending much at all.