Problems with new AirbnB guests

[Rita536]

Hello.

I am experiencing some problems with my current guest, who is new to Air bnb (they joined in May).

First, they haven't consistently responded through Airbnb communication channels. In fact, I wasn't certain they were actually going to stay at my spot, as they hadn't responded to the answers I provided to some of their questions. I broke down and called them on the day of their expected arrival. This was thirty minutes before check-in time. The guest said she was, indeed, staying. However, it was at this time that she told me there were 4 people, instead of the 1 that was officially booked.

When the cleaning woman brought additional towels, the guests began complaining to her about the (fire marshall approved) wall lights and the fact that they would not be served breakfast meals. In one of my notes to them (which I do not believe they read), I stated that while there are snacks and coffee provided, they are responsible for buying their own food. They were also mad that the unit does not have refrigerated air, despite that being specifically stated in another one of my notes to them. (This is in Taos, New Mexico, where we rely on the heating and cooling of adobe. It cools down considerably at night during which we circulate that cool air through the house so that the house stays cool during the daylight hours.)

I only heard about these complaints through the cleaning woman, as the guests did not reach to me via text, Airbnb, or even a phonecall.

I also discovered from the cleaning woman that they broke a chair.  As the cleaning woman had been preparing the location the day before, she knew the chair was not broken at that point in time. When she inquired about the chair, the guests complained that it was dangerous and not a good chair. My 240 pound nephew has used that chair, and he is still with us, today!

Again, these guests have not reached out to me and have put the cleaning woman in a difficult place. Also, these guests were booked via Instant Book, and I was unable to thoroughly vet them.

How do I resolve these issues?

[Rachel0]

@Rita536 I had a look at your listing and one of the things that I noticed  was that you have "breakfast provided" as one of your amenities.  If that is not the case, you need to delete it.  Also you mention that the guests booked using IB, so you were unable to vet them in advance.  IB is not compulsory, so if you do not wish to use it, turn it off.  However, the issue with your current guest sound more like a failure of communication. Keep all messages within the Airbnb thread so that they can be referred to later if necessary.  When a guest makes a booking, make sure that when you respond you confirm the dates of arrival and departure, plus the number of people coming - eg "Thank you for booking to stay at XXX.  Please confirm that you will arrive on XXX, depart on XXX  and that the reservation is for XXX people."  

[Rita536]

Thank you so much, Rachel.  I will follow your advice.  As to breakfast, I always provide packets of oatmeal, granola bars and other breakfast snacks.  I am still pretty new at Airbnb and when I began to list all my amenities, I saw that the site did not give me any option for snacks--just a yes or no to breakfast.  I will immediately change that.

All in all, I feel that their expectations were greater than I could provide, and their lack of communication over the Airbnb channels created unnecessary problems.  Three  few days before they arrived, they asked me questions specifically relating to breakfast and air conditioning.  I answered in length to both questions.  If they had read my note to them in which I answered their questions, then they were fully aware of what breakfast entailed as well as the reasons for lack of refrigerated air.  Since I didn't here back from them, I could only assume that they had chosen another site or were satisfied with what I offered. In otherwords, they were fully aware of what breakfast entailed 3 days before their arrival. ( That last bit is just a bit of legalese knowledge gained from I working as a paralegal for a District Attorney, albeit criminal law, not civil)  However as a Super Host, my reviews continually state that I am easy to communicate with. And although I think my excellent reviews will downplay their negative review, I regret that they chose not to respond to my queries via Airbnb channels. 

[Gordon0]

@Rachel0 has given some good advice there, @Rita536, and as she says, your listing stipulates breakfast is provided, so your guests have you by the short and curlies on that issue. They could (and it sounds like they will) complain to you or Airbnb about this.  

If you want to continue using IB, set up some parameters, ie. bookers must have good reviews etc. 

[Rita536]

Thanks for replying Gordon.  Please see my reply to Rachel.  I appreciate the input both of you gave. 

Gordon, in my note above, I inserted a legal "aside" as to the "short and curlies" issue.  Yep, you sound like so many attorneys I have worked with.  I love it!

[Alexandra316]

@Rita536 I would suggest you do set some IB parameters, as Gordon has suggested, but you can also cancel instant bookings without penalty if you're not feeling comfortable with the guest due to bad reviews, poor communication, or you know they are going to break your rules. See https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2022/how-do-penalty-free-cancellations-work-for-instant-book-host... for more details on how to cancel without being penalized. Something to keep in your back pocket for future guests.