The “almost” nightmare guests

[Crystal144]

So, I accepted a booking from guests with a 4 star rating. From now on, I will take anything less than 5 stars as a red flag

they had 4 reviews, all glowing praise, but people are obviously giving them suboptimal scores. After hosting for one night, I’ll be giving them suboptimal scores too. 

But i feel really bad about writing something negative, shall I just write 

“nice people, better suited to motel accommodation”

the reality behind this included muddy shoe prints in the bathroom, shower stall(???!!!!!) and white plush carpet, despite our “no shoes upstairs” rule. 

Blood spatter on the pillow and the the bedside drawer. Wtf

also yanked the powerpoint out of the wall. I confronted her about this and she was sorry

Grrrr. What should I do? One stars? Or 4 stars for being at least nice people? 

Thanks so much for your help guys! 

[Sarah977]

@Crystal144  I'm confused. What's "nice" about tracking mud through your house, ignoring the no shoes rule? Or splattering blood around?

[Crystal144]

Haha! I knowww... that’s the quandary. It’s like, they were friendly, but clearly of very low intelligence, and high clumsiness 

[Robin4]

@Crystal144

"Although communication with the guest was good, poor care and observance of our house rules  puts me in a position where, although she was pleasant and understanding, and I wish her well for the future, I would decline the opportunity to host her again and I am finding difficulty in recommending, her to other hosts."

Give her a three star overall....that doesn't totally crucify her, it just stops her from Instant booking and lets her know she has to lift her game when staying in someone elses property!

Don't bother putting in a damage claim Crystal, you probably won't get it and it will just antagonise the guest still further!

Cheers.......Rob

[Crystal144]

@Robin4 thanks so much for this! Would you be ok if I copy pasted it? I could not have done better myself. Xxxx

[Robin4]

@Crystal144

Absolutely, that is what we are here for Crystal, to help each other.

I get caned here for trying to be too diplomatic, but my stance has always been, as a civiliastion we have got where we are by being dimplomatic.

Ok I am off to have some lunch, I am that hungry I could eat the a*se out of a Chinaman through a cane chair!

Good on you Crystal, use that with my blessing...and I am sorry youn struck one like this. All the best.

Cheers......Rob

[Crystal144]

All done! I ended up using a hybrid of yours and my own words. I will copy paste them here once I can see them again on her profile once she reviews me. 

Oh and I gave her 1 star for everything... because I’m quite angry

[Robin4]

@Crystal144

There you go lunch  consumed, cane chair and all!

Oh Crystal, I wish you hadn't done that....... given her straight one stars! She will complaint it is a revenge review and get it removed, and as you said she was ok in some areas contact and stuff.

You have to chart the middle ground.....leave a review that gives the guest no opportunity to have it removed and yet still get your point across to the rest of the community. When a host says, "I do not recommend".....we all know, we are not fools Crystal. And by giving her 3 stars overall Airbnb will remove her ability to Instant Book and she will have to submit a reservation request and the host will see your review and make a decision from there, and in 90% of instances based on your review, future hosts would decline the booking request!

Crystal a review that is removed is no good to anyone. You get 48 hours or until the guest submits their review to edit your review. Now the thing I am not sure about is if you get to edit the star ratings you have already given. Hopefully you do. My suggestion if you can edit the star ratings is to  give her the following

Communication.......4  star

Cleanliness................2 star

Observance of House Rules......3 Star

Overall.........3 star

Now if you can do that you will acheive the desired result, She will have severe restrictions put on how she can book and who will accept her.....

But most importantly, the review will stay for all to see.

Quick Crystal, get onto it and see if you can alter those star ratings

Good luck girl.

Cheers.....Rob

[Crystal144]

Hi Rob!

just saw this - thank you so much! I was still able to edit my star ratings and did as you suggested! 🙂 thanks for your help on here, I often enjoy your answers to others’ questions on here too,

cheers!

[Kathryn169]

What great advice. I’ve just had a nightmare guest. Arrived alone in damaged car. Was drunk for 2 days, staggering into my house nearby wanting hugs, telling me her life story. Total lack of Covid awareness. Then “partner” rocks up. All ok for a couple of days. Then visitors arrive and join them in the hot-tub!

Reminded them by text  of house rules, one car no visitors, Covid compliant arrangements etc  then bumped into them so they apologised. At 12.22 am received text to say they’d gone early! Now plucking up courage to see what state they’ve left behind. 😢 

[Robin4]

@Crystal144

Sorry I am forgetting if I am a host or a gues!

Give her three category ratings I mention and then give her the thumbs down.

There that makes more sense.

Cheers.....Rob

[Crystal144]

@Robin4

Although communication with the guest was adequate, poor care, cleanliness and common sense observance of the house rules puts me in a position where, although she was pleasant, and I wish her well for the future, I would decline the opportunity to host her again, and I am finding difficulty in recommending her to other hosts. I will not be taking booking requests from guests with lower than 5 star ratings again, as in retrospect it is a red flag despite previous hosts declining to leave honest feedback.

Better suited to motel accomodation.

[Elena87]

@Crystal144

One thing to point out is that group dynamics can change and a previous five star guest doesn't guarantee a future five star guest.

In the summer I accepted a booking with a handful of good five star reviews, but this guest arrived with friends instead of his family as I suspect he normally did.

At departure I was left with an apartment with lights left on, a/c left on, all drawers and doors  left wide open, debris all over the floor, pillows and wet towels thrown at the wall and left behind..and so on with a multitude of unpleasantries.

On the other hand, I had a guest where the last review was a shocker, as she royally screwed up with the departure date and the host slammed her, but well lesson duly learned and  she was the perfect guest here....I'd keep an open mind about guests and star ratings.

(For instance some host wrote on the forum here just recently that a guest by pointing out she had a ripe avocado in the kitchen made her blood boil, not a heinous airbnb crime but the avocado aficionado undoubtedly received a star rating bloodbath)

[Crystal144]

I am imagining your description of how they left your place and I’m furious on your behalf!!! I am so so sorry and upset to read that some group of punks would do that to an Airbnb host. Just... wow

Also, interesting point re 5 now 5 before... still, unless I know for sure that they lost points for something that is rectifiable and not the result of bad ingrained habits, absentmindedness and disrespect, then I am happy to reconsider. 

Then again, I don’t need to be taking risks at this point either 

edit: I’m curious about the avocado story, what happened? 

[Robin4]

@Crystal144

Hey, I understand you are bloody cross....what does it take to get mud out of a white carpet, plenty I imagine! Don't bring your wrath out into the public arena though Crystal, you have said you would not host this guest again and would not recommend to other hosts. How much more of a blow to the temple do we need to realise, this guest is to be avoided!

This guest was a thoughtless pain in the a*se.

But leave it at that....now I am saying this for the future Crystal!

There are going to be many guests who for one reason or another do not have a perfect review record, and Crystal it may have been for some stupid triviality....'the guest left the towels in a pile on the bathroom floor instead of putting them in the laundry basket'......2 star cleanliness and, thumbs done! They were no doubt a perfect guest in every other way, communicated well, washed the dishes (apart from the towels on the floor and the rubbish they may have bagged up but left because they did not have access to the service area where the bins are) returned the listing in great shape! Would you take a chance and host them.....I sure would.

I make a point of not burning bridges....

Let me put a point to you Crystal, would you host a guest who comes to you with a profile like this?

I accepted that booking Crystal and this is the review I gave at the end of her stay....

I gave her a chance and am so happy that I was able to get her Airbnb career as a guest off to a great start.

We were all cleanskins once Crystal, we all had to learn the ropes and start from somewhere.

I place  my importance on the wording of that booking request or that first IB message, I analyse every word and I make up my mind whether to host that guest by those words. They are either passive or they are aggresive, and you soon learn to pick the difference

In a couple of hundred guests it has only let me down twice....and that's not bad.

Cheers.....Rob