The Best of the Best

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

The Best of the Best

Perhaps it’s time to count our blessings and tell stories about the BEST guests we have had rather than the worst.

 

We just had two in a row who were definitely 5* ++ and I am trying to define the parameters that influenced my opinion.

 

First, they knew what they wanted and they put some effort into finding it. They obviously read the listing and the rules.

 

Second, they respected our property and took care of it. No unusual cleaning was necessary.

 

Third, they communicated promptly in a friendly and respectful manner.

 

Fourth, they were openly and unabashedly impressed with the house and surrounding wilderness. This is important to me, because I consider the house to be a work of art which took me decades to create.

 

Fifth, they were problem-solvers and dealt with minor issues themselves before notifying me.

 

Sixth, although they both had large dogs, they were well trained and well behaved.

 

Seventh, they expressed a strong desire to return in the future.

 

Eighth, although this probably should be first, they were entirely honest throughout the process.

13 Replies 13

This was our first year hosting and really didn't know what to expect but as our season is winding down my wife and I were talking about it over dinner this evening. We have had 22 families come through our cottage and I am happy to say we for the most part enjoyed all of them. I didn't give any bad reviews and the issues we faced made us better hosts and were a valuable education for the future. I know somewhere down the line we will get a bad one but this year we are both very thankful for the guest we had the privilege to host!

Mike-And-Helen0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

To be fair, pretty much all our guests have been lovely.

The best ones have visited rural places before and know what to expect.

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Brian2036 

 

99.9% of our guests are perfect 5 and we love them.  We are pet friendly, though the commercial vacuum cleaner is a blessing.  Lol.

 

Your thread, at least in our world, is almost exactly what we experience.

 

 

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

I was just musing about this myself yesterday @Brian2036, so your post is timely. My experience as well. We have had a few small hiccups, but overwhelmingly, great people book to stay with us. Cheers to those guests. 

 

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

@Brian2036over time, 95% of our guests are good to great. This past year we are looking at 90% which is still the vast majority.

 

Our best guests:

 

Are friendly and communicate well. Communicating well means following instructions like telling us when they got in, thanking us at the end of the stay and just being generally positive and pleasant. We also tell guests that we are happy to post pics of their pets in our space on our Instagram page-- we have had quite a few "famous" dogs and cats stay with us, so bonus points on communication when they send us a cute or funny picture.

 

Leave the place decently clean. Just courteously clean, not "you don't need to send the cleaners" because we always clean after, twice. Guests who throw out their old coffee grounds and don't leave gunk on the stovetop are ideal. Bonus points for running the dishwasher.

 

Don't bring more people than they say. My absolute #1 pet peeve. Guests who show up with more than stated, or invite others over without mentioning that this is possible are far too common. The best guests tell us prior to the stay what their plans are and update the reservation if it changes. If it changes too much, sadly those good guests might cancel, but we are always supportive of them finding a better place for their gathering.

 

Have good reading comprehension. This isn't facetious! Some people just don't seem to have this skill. Our best guests read our listing and understand what is offered.

 

"Get" our space. I am excited when our guests are into the history of our space, or just old house nerds like me. Some have even offered up interesting facts about it that I didn't know.

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Laura2592 

 

I'm in complete agreement. For us, in the past couple years it's been more like 80% really good guests. Prior to that, I'd give it a 99. But even a few baddies can really wreak havoc. 

 

I'm inclined to point out a new observation with one recent "really great" guest, were really nice, likeable, did everything right, obsessively clean and orderly, no party animals... Exactly the type of guests hosts aspire to attract.

 

But this one, as perfect as she was, exhibited an unusually high intolerance for imperfection.  I won't bore you but this one quickly became a royal pain in the... 

 

Sigh. You can't win 'em all 🤨 But overall, lots of good guests. Still

Katja202
Level 10
Ruinen, Netherlands

@Brian2036  

Oh how wonderful of you to post this. I was just thinking yesterday, what is everyone grumbling quite a lot lately. And that while another super nice guest just left the door.

 

What I notice is what is a good guest for me is if they have really had a good time. This guest had a burn out and came to us for a few days to relax in nature. We have a quite a large vegetable garden around the house, so I gave her a harvest basket and scissors and told her if she wanted something from the garden she could just pick whatever she felt like or just flowers also ok. Every evening she came to see the garden and the herbs with her basket. She had a wonderful time, she said and she had completely relaxed. If someone goes home with that experience, superb ..... I'm really happy.

Groetjes Katja
Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Katja202 

 

Bingo. Enjoying their getaway is what they're paying for, and that's the best we can hope for.

 

We love happy guests 🥰

JeanLuc65
Level 3
Pluvigner, France

Bonsoir,

majoritairement nos vacanciers sont corrects et prennent soin de l'environnement mis à leur disposition, que ce soit le gite et tout ce qui gravite autour du gite tel que le jardin par exemple.

Concernant la propreté du gite à l'issue du séjour, là encore nos vacanciers sont des personnes responsables et le laissent propre.

Par ailleurs, j'attache beaucoup d'importance lors de l'accueil, car c'est le seul moment ou chacun d'entre nous a la possibilité de faire une bonne impression et ça permet aux deux parties de faire en sorte que le séjour se passe bien.

Enfin et je pense que cela a aussi une incidence, nous habitons sur place et de ce fait, il serait difficile pour eux de nous occasionner des dégâts ou difficultés sur le respect des règles édictées.

JeanLuc65
Level 3
Pluvigner, France

Dans ma dernière phrase,  il manque " Enfin et je pense que cela a aussi une incidence, nous habitons sur place et de ce fait...

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

Our best guests were those who booked, notified us that they cannot come and didn't ask for a refund

(Happened 2 x  in 5 y. of hosting )

 

(Sorry, I couldn't resist 🙂 😄  )

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Elaine701 @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Katja202 @Laura2592 

 

We just got this review from two women, alone, who might have made me nervous except I read their reviews and saw that they had been happy in isolated places near here before.

 

Jessica

A beautiful cabin completely hidden away with nature all around! So much character and work were put into the cabin by the host and it is just a wonderful little getaway!

 

It doesn’t get much better than that.

Ernani15
Level 2
State of São Paulo, Brazil

Que bacana, eu também tenho boas lembranças dos hospedes. Minha hospedagem fica em condomínio e por isso sempre tive preocupações e receios de ocorrerem incidentes. Por isso coloquei o máximo de informações sobre as regras de condutas no prédio e percebi que isso ajudou ainda mais a ter boas experiências com os hospedes.