I've been a host for about a year and, fortunately, I've been satisfied and grateful by the reviews and advice that I've gotten. I have to admit, it probably has to do with the house and it's location more than anything else but we do try. I respect how this system affects a self-regulation that overcomes the pitfalls of renting to anonymous tenants through a realtor - we've been burned. Yet I see now, where this system might also have it's weaknesses while admitting, I'm still new to this. For one, I hate to doom someone with a less-than-perfect review, so I usually make them less resounding, with a private msg to Airbnb.
But now, I'm fearing retaliation.
To wit: Our last guest has been our worst experience, even before she arrived. She's been on Airbnb since April (when the reservation was first made) and she has no reviews. She changed the length and dates of her stay 3 times, she insisted on a discount for an eight-day stay that she eventually managed to eventually cobble together with her cousin , and when Airbnb charged her for changes, she wanted us to reimburse her. She was slow to get that it was Airbnb that was charging her, and after that, she assumed that we had some influence and a better means of communication to get her off the hook. This was despite spelling it out to her every time. The conversations with her were numerous, repetitive, long, and ponderous. After a while, we wished we could rescind without risking the loss of income. Even on her arrival, she was a little snippy about not being able to check in just after 11AM - the checkout time at the hotel she was staying, even though we explained that we had guests leaving that same day and needed time to prepare.
Within two days we discovered that she was harboring a dog in the house ("No Pets", I'm allergic). I had suspicions as I had noticed her talking to a dog-walker who skedaddled and pretended to be an incidental bystander as I drove up (we have chickens that need attention in the AM), she had more than a day to come clean . It was a longtime neighbor, who knew of my allergies, that called and confirmed my suspicions. When my wife confronted her, she apologized profusely, saying that her daughter had shown up unexpectedly with her dog, and that it stayed in a kennel while in the house for a short stay (dubious but hard to prove otherwise). Even after this, at every chance, I always asked if all is going well and re-insisted that they call at any time with the slightest problem or request.
I also granted them a late checkout but was surprised that they had left much earlier. Upon entering the house there was a foul smell mixed with Lysol. I immediately texted them asking if they knew about this and if it had anything to do w/the dog. What I got back was a slew of nonrelated complaints about stuffiness, sticky windows, and an "excruciatingly painful" injury her boyfriend had incurred trying to open a bathroom window. I read this text sitting in my 450 sq ft downstairs with two doors and all ten windows, including the one in the bathroom, open to let the sea-breeze diffuse the stench (we live on the ocean). Amazingly, she insisted that they "noticed the smell as soon as [they] walked in the house", seemingly forgetting that I was there to greet them and give them a tour. She then said it might've been a "rotten and moldy" melon we had left them among other "amenities" that we generally provide guests (coffee, pastries etc.). It was bought the night before they arrived. Oddly, applying rug cleaner and a vacuum to our oriental rug seemed to take care of the problem but the pervasive odor of Lysol really made it hard to pin down the source.
We prominently state in our description that our 100-year-old house (a converted barn) has its quirks. We did not state that in the summer, sticky doors, drawers, and windows are the norm rather than the exception in our island neighborhood.
What do I do? I know now that any negative review I give will release a torrent of bile from her (though I'm familiar with her delivery, and that it might be more revealing about her than us). But then there is this, now searing, obligation that I feel I have to... all of humanity by giving a truthful assessment.
Any advice?
