Small Damages and Strange behavior

[Stacy43]

I'm still pretty new to hosting. I'd like to say so far that I've had fantastic guest aside from 3 visitors. I'm a little put off now as I'm starting to second guess myself and my hosting. 

1) we have dogs. we make the guests acknowledge this fact when they book. we make no bones about dog hair. it's a battle. I had one person complain and give me a bad review for cleanliness bc there was dog hair on her floor in her room. This was after she petted my dogs and spent time on the deck working for 4 hours. Meaning she walked back and forth through my dogs' home several times. She asked if she could use the deck. It's not included in the rented space. I think that mainly this person just didn't like me. I got that vibe.

2) i had a couple stay 1 night, came in super super super later than they communicated that they would causing us to have to miss dinner out. I know that's part of it. I accept that. Still upon arrival they checked in so fast that they didn't listen to the instructions to use the key and rang our doorbell at 1am bc they were so drunk they couldn't get the door unlocked with the key. They also gave me a lower review on cleanliness bc they dug a blanket out of the dark recesses of the closet instead of using the blankets that were placed on the bed for them and complained that there was dog hair and grass on the blanket. Well, yeh, we use that blanket to go to the park. It was buried so far in the back of the closet, I'm not sure how they found it?! 

3) the last person was just an insane experience. This person booked a room for 9 days. A week before she canceled the reservation down to only 2 days with no explanation at all. She didn't communicate with me her check-in time frame at all. While she was here she tore up some decorative boxes that were placed in the room, she ate ALL the snacks & took all the condiments that were left out. There was human hair all over the bathroom floor as well as the bedroom. I could pick it up with my hands. It was disgusting. I don't know how she had hair on her head. She took almost all the toilet paper that was in the bathroom. 4 rolls. She was up at 4am slamming doors & running water until my dogs and I were up at 5:30. She let me know at 8am that she was sick and she was checking out early. Ok. A lot of ppl check out early. No biggie. She then proceeded to give me a lower review for location, value and cleanliness. I give her a nice review bc I'm scared to give a bad review bc I don't want one in return. Then I find later that day that she completely ruined a set of sheets by spilling something on them. Coffee I hope it was. Also she stained my carpet. UGH!!

My question is how do you guys handle these little dings that you get from guests?? I'm super paranoid now. Plus I offer A LOT of amenities for the space I rent. I keep the cost low. I have removed any extra linens from the room. Not sure how to tackle this but it feels that it's escalating.

[Fred13]

Three things immediately come to mind:

#1 -Try your best to separate the area that the guest uses from your personal (and dog)  area. If possible.

#2- Best to never acknowledge something a guest said privately to you (dog hair) and respond to it publicly.

#3-Consider charging a bit higher price.

[Stacy43]

I agree, the dogs are kept out of that space completely. That's why I'm surprised when someone pets or interacts with the dogs, get's hair on them and complains. My dogs are kept away from guests as well. The guest room and bathroom are seriously THE cleanest places in the entire house! Thanks for your suggestions. 

[Fred13]

Yoiu really got it covered Stacy, then must be chucked up to the limitations of humans, that sometimes has nothing better to do than complain about sheer nonsense.

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Stacy43  Since we can only control ourselves, we should try to place ourselves in the guest place. 

If the door lock requires a “trick” to open or you bang three times here, lift here, press that twice, it’s not the guest fault.

You might want to upgrade your lock.

I know the struggle of dog hair too well. 

My Rottie gets hair over everything. You have to keep hammering the cleaning. It sounds like you’re resolved to have dog hair and that’s that. I’ll admit we’re obsessed with being clean but we don’t have the ability to give people excuses to talk smack about us. 

Good Luck!

[Stacy43]

haha, yes the lock is pretty much dummy proof. It's not difficult or hard at all. Ironically enough the ppl that have issues are ppl who are in the world of academia. Which is hilarious. 

The only time that the dog hair is a real issue for us is during shedding seasons. The rest of the time I'm on top of it for the most part. 

[Paul154]

Charge more, care less.

Don't game the review. Be honest but understanding.

"Pleasant guests. Unfortunately, woke us up at 1:00 am, because they were too drunk to operate the key in door"

If they are staining your sheets from coffee, I had you rate them low on "cleanliness" and "following house rules"

On Airbnb, guests and hosts have no expectation of privacy

[Stacy43]

Ok thank you for the advice. I'm new since September so I'm still unsure about the reviewing processing. I appreciate your candor. 

[Lyndsey2]

Your space is so cute! 

First - please, please write honest reviews. The guest can't see your review until they write one of their own or they are no longer able to write a review, so there's no need to worry about retaliation. If other hosts had written honest reviews of your bad guest, you might have avoided the trouble.

As for dealing with nit-picky guests - anything that has been mentioned to me more than once is something I make sure to chat with new guests about when they request a reservation. Something like, "The great thing about Airbnb is it allows for many unique spaces. One part of this space is my dogs. They are friendly and are kept out of your space, but they do shed! I want to double check that's okay with you before I confirm your reservation." Or, "You might have noticed the picture of my dogs in the listing - just want to make sure you know they do shed. We keep them out of your space but since allergies can be a factor, I always like to double check that it's okay." Also, add a picture of your dogs to the listing so guests know what to expect. 

I think of hosting as endless war on hair, so I imagine adding dogs to the mix is a challenge. Just keep at it! Swiffers and lint rollers are my favorite things. 

Finally, there are just some annoying guests. The good news is that the great ones tend to outnumber the annoying or actual bad ones. Sometimes venting on the community forum is the best way for me to shake it off so I can welcome my next guests like they're the first ones I've ever had. We're always here to chat with!

[Madison17]

I agree with Fred and Rene about the dog hair, it can be tough to deal with. We have 2 cats and a dog, so can definitely relate there! 

As for the lock, I would suggest getting a good keypad electronic lock to avoid any similar situations like that one in the future, as well as other key issues like keys getting lost or accidentally taken with by guests when they leave, etc. 

We got this lock a couple months back and love it. It syncs directly to my AirBNB calendar, sends guests emails with key code and instructions as soon as they book a stay, enables codes at time of check in and also disables codes at time of check out (and accurately lol), and auto updates itself. I don't have to do a thing or have to worry about keys or anything.

Here's a link to check it out, I highly recommend it! 

https://www.amazon.com/AirLocking-Smart-Lock-for-AirBNB/dp/B0759NPC5Y/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=airloc...

[David126]

I also have a mega shedder, I try and rake him as much as possible but he like lying outside the front door, door opens wind blows it in, I use a shop vac downstaies and vacumn the carpets every day. I do not have carpet in the common areas so that probably helps.

I very rairely read reviews and never personal responses so that is not an issue.

[Fred13]

"I very rarely read reviews and never personal responses so that is not an issue." Beautiful.

I think as we get older David, life becomes so much simpler.

[Ange2]

"I give her a nice review bc I'm scared to give a bad review bc I don't want one in return. "

@Stacy43  The guest cannot see your review before they write a review. If only one party writes a review it goes public 14 days after check-out. The only way they can retaliate is by writing a response to your review, so best not to give them any ammunition and just keep it factual, short and sell yourself or use the well-worn red-flag phrases "better suited to a hotel" or "guest stayed xx nights", and thumb them down.

I no longer put any faith in reviews given the risk of a host writing a nice review for fear of retaliation, or an 'overly picky' host.  I prefer to go on communication and take my risks there.  But, many hosts do rely on other hosts reviews of guests to inform and guide them into whether to accept someone.  Also, if a guest has received a 'not recommended' thumbs down or less than 3 stars, supposedly they cannot book with IB which goes towards protecting hosts with Instant Book, (and supposedly they are blocked from booking with you again).

[Olga464]

@Stacy43  We handle it with help of 11 pages of house rules. My guests behave like soldiers in the army. You can read my ad. All is there.