Hi fellow hosts. I need advice. I posted a similar query earlier today but it's not showing up yet, so apologies if this pops up twice.
I recently hosted a family and it wasn't a great experience but not horrible either:
1. The guest didn't have a profile photo or Airbnb host reviews (joined in December 2018 and no previous stays).
2. They didn't respond to my messages asking what time they expected to arrive.
3. The booking was for 2 adults and 2 children. They arrived with 3 children and commented "oh we meant to tell you we were bringing an extra kid". I told them the extra child would have to share a bed because we didn't have a spare one. I didn't ask them to add an extra guest to their booking to change the fee, thinking that they would just do it (yes, naive of me).
4. They checked-out without saying goodbye or leaving a message so I didn't get a chance to ask for the additional fee in person.
5. When I went to clean, the cottage was untidy - food, dinnerware, used tissues, rubbish on the floor, wet towels on furniture, furniture and appliances moved, used chopsticks in the bedroom, a whole bottle of body wash was spread over the shower floor (it took ages to clean as it was so thick and slippery), plus my not inexpensive couch cushions were outside.
6. Bizarrely, our entire first aid kit (with 80 items) was empty. I can't prove it was them as I didn't check supplies before they arrived but the previous guests were lovely and I can't imagine it was them.
They didn't trash the place like some of the awful stories I've read in the CC but they weren't respectful of me or our home.
How do I rate them? I wouldn't be comfortable hosting them again but as they were Airbnb newbies maybe they don't understand how this world works. Maybe I'm just making excuses for bad behaviour because I'm worried they'll retaliate with a bad review.
Ironically, an hour after they checked out I got a message on my mobile (not via the Airbnb app) that they loved their stay and would recommend us to all their friends.
Any advice? Thanks.