The coded language of a review

[Laura2592]

I struggle with reviews. I try to be as honest as possible without being unkind. I have noticed that there are a lot of 5 stars out there for guests I would not have given 5 stars to. Digging deeper, there seems to be some common themes and coded language to warn other hosts that there might be issues belying the 5 stars. No one wants to come right out and say that this person was painful to deal with.

For example a recent guest emailed me 20 times or more per day of his stay with questions about very pedantic things. The sink made a gurgling noise. A light bulb in a decorative lamp went out. One remote only has one battery. He counted the light switches and can't figure out what one does. We addressed all of these concerns but it didn't stop until my husband took over communication. He responded immediately to that and the masses of emails halted. On his reviews this guest is described as "extremely communicative." When I write mine, I  would like to add that he "responded well to my husband" and that he may do better with an onsite host (we aren't.) 

Another guest had expectations for kitchenware we could not meet. He let us know our brand new Amazon delivered set was no match for what he expected. His reviews when I looked (too late, he was an early guest and I was still learning) said things like "this guest has a very high standard" and "this guest described himself as a chef and enjoys a restaurant style kitchen." Likewise one guest was very upset we didn't provide a lemon zester in our normal kitchenware (we had to go get one, she was having a literal melt down.)  Nothing in her reviews addressed that specifically but did say "XX has some quirks about what she needs during her stay. Best to communicate with her beforehand."

Another couple booked our place and brought in other overnight guests without paying. She sent us pics of the families standing on our porch. Her ratings from other hosts (all in our area) said things like "this guest likes to visit with family in the area." Or "so and so visited our place to be closer to her family in the area." I would have appreciated a "so and so had her family stay with her." It was obvious when we sent her the charges afterwards for the number of guests that she had done this before.

What have you said about guests in reviews that you meant as a warning to other hosts? Have you come right out with it or somewhat coded your responses?

[Sarah977]

@Sean433  I do think that having a listing in a vacation destination, where people have booked flights to and are staying for a week or two makes a difference in the type of guests one gets. At least that's true in my case- I have gotten consistently lovely guests. They tend to keep their room and bathroom clean and tidy because they are staying there for a week or 2 and want to come back to a nice, relaxing space at the end of the day, not a dirty mess like they might leave if only staying a day or two.

I know there are homes here that have had problems, if not the home itself being left in a bad state, at least a matter of the guests acting like the whole world is on party-hearty vacation and disturbing the neighbors until all hours. But those are places that accomodate large groups, not just one or a few people.

[Stephanie365]

@Pat271,  agreed.  Crumbs and smudges are normal things hosts should expect. Pillows will be rumpled, and even sometimes dishes cleaned but not put away.  While I ask guests to put dirty towels in the hamper, if they are still hanging in the bathroom, that is a non-issue. If they throw wet towels on my mahogany dresser, that is an issue. 

The guest who spilled coffee on the counter and just let it run everywhere... all over the counter, down the cabinet, in the drawers, in the cabinet itself and on the floor where they tracked it around the kitchen and made ZERO effort to clean it, as in they even left the cup tipped over on the counter? Well they got slammed for being a pig in my review. 1* across the board and a DNR.

The guest who smoked at my non-smoking accommodation? They got slammed.

Fortunately, my bad guests have been minimal.

[Pat271]

Haven’t given anyone across-the-board 1’s yet, but I agree with your sentiment!

[Beth15]

No I haven't but after reading this I think I will.  W

I have had a bad experience I have simply not given a review.... up till now.

I do think there is probably a 'you scratch my back and I will scratch yours' In other words an unwritten assumption that good reviews are written from both host and guest.

B

[Trude0]

I agree with those who suggest honest, straightforward reviews (without being mean), even if you risk getting bad ”revenge-reviews”.

I’ve been very worried about getting bad reviews, but am even more worried about letting”bad” guests into my guest house. I have not had any yet, but have decided that since I have had 20 guests and 20 lovely 5-star reviews, I should certainly be able to afford giving a negative review, if I have a guest that I need to warn other hosts about. 

Because if a ”difficult” guest wants to book my guest house, I hope I’ll be able to see honest reviews from his/her previous hosts.

[Sandra856]

Hi @Trude0 🙂

The guest cannot read your review until the guest has submitted one as well  - and if the guest doesn't write one yours will get published when the 14 day review period is over. It is to prevent revenge reviews. You can write an honest review without being afraid of a revenge review.

I always write an honest review when I have had a bad guest. And I really wish all hosts would do the same. 

[Trude0]

@Sandra856 : I know.

But many have mentioned here that if things have not gone well, and you have reason to expect the guest might leave a negative review, it might be better not to leave one yourself. This since as soon as one party leaves a review, the other party is notified by Airbnb about this, and ”pushed” to also leave one. Some might then choose not to leave a review, and hope that the guest does not, either.

[Sandra856]

@Trude0 Yes, in that case I leave it last minute. On the very last day of the review period. When I do that the guest got very little time to write a review. I works perfectly. I have had my share of bad guests who had low star ratings but funny enough nice reviews. 

[Trude0]

Yes, have understood that this is the way to do it IF you need to leave a review that is not great. And as said, important that we do - instead of choosing not to review, or using such coded language that the rest of us might miss the message...😄

[Sarah977]

@Trude0  In that case, hosts advise to wait until day 13.5 to leave a review in the hopes that a guest who hasn't left a review by then will likely not get the notification and review in time. 

If hosts don't leave honest reviews for these bad guests, they just get passed around from host to host making everyone's life miserable, not to mention demanding refunds, which Airbnb passes out like candy, overriding hosts' cancellation policies.

[Trude0]

That was my point, yes! 😄

[Lilly28]

I am waiting my Chinese guests - two girls. Their flight landed at 7 p.m.  -no delay. My check-in time is 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. I messaged them right when the plane landed to welcome them, telling them I am waiting them as soon as they rent their car and I expect - a wrote - that they will be at my place not later than 8.30 p.m. We just rented a car - followed in some half an hour. And I waited and waited... until at 9 p.m. I received a message that they will first go to dinner. In an hour they messaged me again that they are inside a famous restaurant having dinner! Now it is 10.30 p.m. - they are still having their dinner. I am tired, wanted to go to bed early, but as things are going - I will have to wait them perhaps till 11.30 p.m. or even later? I wonder what a review to write to these ladies?! I read their reviews - more than 10 - all were just two words - good girls - or - Nice people... Good guests... They are here for business - booked only one night. 

[Sarah977]

@Lilly28  What I would have done with these girls is that when they messaged at 9PM saying they were going to go to dinner first, I would have messaged back saying that that plan won't work, as your check-in cut-off time is 10PM, as stated in your listing and check-in instructions, suggesting that they come to drop off their luggage and get the keys before going to dinner. I also would have said that if they didn't arrive before 10, that they would need to find other accommodation for the night, as you don't stay up past 10PM to check guests in.

I would give them points, though, for at least continuing to communicate their plans and whereabouts, rather than just leaving you unaware.

I say I would have done this in your situation, as you don't want to wait up. For myself, I'm quite a night owl, so a late arrival would't fuss me too much, unless they didn't arrive until 1AM.

But at this point, with these girls, just leave an honest review as far as whether they leave the place clean and follow other house rules, and as far as the check-in, I'd write something like "Guests did not honor check-in cut-off time, assuming they could simply decide to go out to dinner instead, after assuring me when their flight landed that they would be arriving an hour and half before check-out window ended".

It's so rude of guests to assume that just because they paid for a room, that their host can be left waiting while they do whatever they decide to do before checking in.

[Huma0]

@Lilly28 @Sarah977 

I had this sort of problem a few times. Then I introduced a late check in fee. My check in time is between 3-9pm and guests who want to check in after this pay extra. The rate increases by the hour.

This has worked most of the time. I only had one pair of guests who ignored the request and ignored Airbnb when I escalated it, but others have always paid.

This is not to penalise guests who have unexpected delays. If a guest arrives between 9 and 10pm and has kept me informed, I just waive the fee. If they want plan from the start to arrive late at night, i.e. 10pm onwards (usually because the flight is cheaper), well that's their decision but I am not going to wait up late for free to save them money.

The main reason for it though is to deter the guests who arrive in town well before my check in closes, but decide to ignore the time we agreed and go party or go to dinner or go do something else fun instead while I wait for them.

It really worked. I had no more of these types after introducing that fee. Once they realise there is a cost involved, they are very happy to stick to the check in time.

[Chastity3]

Ahh, the good ‘ole coded reviews, which have helped me on what to expect. However, for the sake of other hosts, if I had to write an honest review regarding my experience hosting a guest I will and I recently had to. I wrote a lengthy, straightforward review on college students who were obvious inexperienced with how they conduct themselves when booking a room in a host’s home vs booking an entire place for themselves. I made sure the review was in a tone of constructive criticism and full of examples to warm hosts what the issues were. Even though these guests left me a 5-star review and enjoyed my home, I wrote my review to empower me to continue writing honestly if this happened again with different guests.