@Alexis213
Hi Alexis, I assume that is Douglas's review you are talking about!
I read the review and sure, it is a bit tough on you but the things Douglas stated were his perception and, unfortunately perception is allowable. Things like....he was saying the toilet seat would not stay up, nothing about it being a soft close lid! A toilet seat that will stay up is important for a man, you don't want to hang onto this porcelain thing all the time or prop it up with your knee!
Dampness and lack of ventilation is always a bit of an issue in basement properties, and there is not much you can do about that except perhaps put in a hepa filtration unit which would keep the air a bit sweeter. I feel he was being a bit unreasonable there, after all, he knew what he was booking!
Some issues though, if he described them reasonably accurately, I could see as a real problem! He said steep concrete steps to the basement with no handrail and no lighting! Guest said he had to carry a flashlight......that is a real issue! You only have to have someone fall down there and I am sure a liability claim would go against you.
What seems 'bleedin obvious' to us hosts because we are familiar, will seem totally strange to a guest who has not been there before, and we need to take all the precautions we can. Although I have almost flat concrete paving from the roadway to the listing door I have a mass of high power sensor lighting that lights the pathway up like midday when guests are coming in at night!
All in all I felt he was hard on you Alexis, but he did not seem to overstep Airbnb's content guidelines.
If it were me I probably would have taken a slightly different tack with the review response and said something like...."As a host I appreciate constructive feedback, that's the only way we can improve but being a Superhost with 90+ five star reviews I am somewhat perplexed by Douglas's review and don't quite know what he found that others haven't"! That sort of makes him look the fool and a bit like that one soldier in the Independence Day march...he is the only one in step!
Just one other small point Alexis....another guest gave a short but nice "Excelent location, clean, great value"....and you responded with ...."Strange we don't have a cat"!!.....What th!
Don't bring private feedback out into the public gaze....it doesn't look good!
Cheers......Rob
