how to properly review a kind of crappy guest

[Joi0]

Last weekend a large group of single guys rented my place. The guest who made the booking reported that his friend punched a hole in the wall in our main hallway, out of anger, because he lost his keys. I thought it was admirable that he admitted to it. My cleaner later reported that the house was filthy, especially considering they stayed less than 48 hours. I submitted a resolution request for the damages and extra cleaning. He balked at the price and negotiated me down to $130 for the repair ($100) and extra cleaning ($30). It was not a huge hole (it was fist sized) but even a small hole requires joint compound or spackle, sanding and painting. At least 2 or 3 trips to the house for the handyman. There is no way I can get a guy to do it that cheap. Anyway, I wanted to keep things civil so I agreed to the $130. Now I am supposed to review him. Some things they got right (they followed the departure instructions nicely) but this damage and the condition they left the house and the way the resolution was handled left me fairly unimpressed. Especially since he gave airbnb a different story than he gave me. ("My friend fell and lost his balance") 

What kind of review should I leave? I don't want to be unfair and ruin his chances of booking other places, but I feel he is a bit irresponsible. Any tips?

[Eileen4]

Please, please, please give the guy a bad review! I do not want that sort of guest coming to my place. Not being allowed to book on Airbnb again isn't a punishment. There are hotels this guy can stay at.

Think of the reviews as being aimed at other hosts. Would you have let the guy stay if you'd known he'd had some of the "accidents" happen elsewhere? I wouldn't. I'd decline the guy. So remember, it's not about him. It's about other hosts.

[Joi0]

I fully agree that the reviews are for other hosts...and I need to know about a guest like this ahead of time, too...but part of me thinks, "accidents do happen" and "guys are messy" and these guys were all college age, so maybe they are just immature? If he didn't negotiate the resolution request would it make things any differenet? If he just paid up and apologized?

[Edith0]

It would have been fair to just pay and apologize. But he didn't. So you have to tell the facts such as "I found a hole in the wall and a lot of mess to which we negotiated a price". 

[Jennifer93]

He sounds like an absolute nightmare and I agree with Eileen that I would definitely want to know about his behavior being a host myself. It's very important to be honest and let future hosts know. It doesn't have to be agressive or unkind but it needs to state the facts.

[Eileen4]

Look, I've had the messy college students and yes, I get that it makes sense to roll with the punches when they stay, but a hole punched in the wall? I had a group of guys stay and the place was left college-student style, which I was willing to let go, but then they screwed up with the keys--someone took them with them--and the one who booked wouldn't answer my texts, or emails, even when I sent one of each every day for five days. Unless he was somewhere without wifi--which given his profession I really doubt--that meant he was avoiding my messages. 

Now, I have several sets of keys, that's not the issue, but there were a gang of these young guys and I really didn't want the key disappearing with one of them--it's a security issue. So while ordinarily I would have blown off the mess, the missing keys pushed the situation into the "unacceptable zone" and I wrote a review that reflected that. I was nice, but said I was "troubled by the missing keys and the lack of response." I thought that was fair and I added that the place was left less clean than usual. 

I can put up with one thing being a problem, but not two and especially not a hole punched in the wall. 

[Lindsey6]

Be honest with your review. This facility is there for a reason - it is not one sided like TripAdvisor where you can only leave a review for your accommodation. Airbnb allows hosts to review their guests, so do the right thing and let other hosts know that this guy could potentially cause similar problems for them. The age range of this group or their level of maturity doesn't really come in to it, they caused damage to your property, disagreed with the cost of the repairs, and also lied to Airbnb about what happened, none of which is acceptable. The cleanliness and condition of your place when they left is also an issue and there's no excuse for not leaving someone's property exactly as you found it. Be diplomatic in your review but be truthful, and there is always the option to leave additional private feedback, where you can perhaps be a bit more direct.

[Andrea9]

@Joi0

What a bummer having disrespectful guests like that.

I hope you had done your conversation in which he told his real story on your Airbnb message thread, because Airbnb has insight into that, and it counts towards evidence that his story is false. 

[Joi0]

unfortunately it was through text with is phone, but i do have a copy of it. 

he wasn't responsive to the airbnb messaging so i started texting his phone. 

i have found some people don't have the app so if they don't check email they don't get my messages.

[Joi0]

sooo...anyone want to help me write a diplomatic yet truthful review???

also, i'm a bit worried about his public response so it needs to be hard to argue with!

i'm sure he would write something like

"host asked for excessive compensation for a minor ding in the wall"

[Eileen4]

"These guests were friendly and easy to deal with, but I was troubled by a (3 x 3") hole left in one wall, one which could not have been accidental. I was able to collect damages easily, but given that the sum was negotiated down and did not ultimately cover the cost of a handyman, I feel I've been put in the unfortunate position of not being able to recommend this guest and/or his friends."

Then, if you're really feeling annoyed, you could add

"I think that a hotel, with security cameras, might be a better bet for this particular guest."

[Joi0]

how is this?

B**** was friendly and pleasant. He and his friends did a nice job following the check out instructions, which I really appreciate. They must have had a really good time, as the condition of the house was more what I might expect from a much longer stay than 2 nights. There was also an incident resulting in a dent in the wall, which Benny acknowledged and paid for partial repair.

[Eileen4]

Two things:

1) I'd probably trust him based on this.

2) He can't actually do much to retaliate.

I understand wanting to be nice--I find bad reviews difficult too--but even just saying he'd be 'better off at a hotel' conveys a warning to other hosts. It's what I've done. 

I wrote one that just said: 'Had some issues with this guest. I think he would be better off at a hotel.' A couple of hosts contacted me afterwards and I gave them the full story.

I think you need to decide exactly how you want to respond and then just stick with your decision. Personally, a punched wall is more than just "an incident." An incident could be a piece of luggage leaving a gouge. However, a hole in the wall necessitating a visit from a handyman would be an unqualified bad review for me. I wouldn't care how pleasant the guest was. 

[Nelson4]

I think you should write what happened... no need to say the full story.

Why?

I would read that... and avoid that guest! 

The most important thing i found on Airbnb is the share we all do here about the experiences we have in hosting. 

If we start to avoid or to be afraid of leaving a review well...probably we're getting away from the aim of this website

my idea 

[Vernon-and-Mary-Lee0]

What would you do if a guest cancelled  9:30 Night of booking said he was lost but was in town by 3pm wanted FULL refund cause he got lost. Good directions on Location of listing  Thanks