how to review recent guest from Pakistan

Jessica162
Level 2
New South Wales, Australia

how to review recent guest from Pakistan

a few days ago i had a couple in their late fifties from pakistan stay with me and my family. they were nice, good-natured people, but they were quite difficult to handle and now that i have to leave a review, i feel a bit hesitant to write the negatives because they have promised to leave 5 star reviews for us. 

 

this is what happened during their stay:

- they kept leaving the light on in the bathroom even after they've gone to bed. i sleep very late as im writing my thesis but it's annoying having to turn it off after them 

- language barrier is definitely one of the factors causing the issues

- they were very fussy people

 

 

honestly, i really wanted to write something in the lines of, "these guests, considering their overall behaviour, are perhaps better staying in a hotel". i feel like im wording it wrong and a little too blunt. any advice, guys?? TIA 

11 Replies 11
Poppy1
Level 1
Chicago, IL

I dont think where they are from matters, i guess maybe ask why it is thats an issue for you? Just the language barrier perhaps?

 

I would totally write that review if that fits your experience with them. Also mention something positive about the experience. It is fair!

well, sounds like leaving the lights on in the bathroom is their only "missbehaiviour", so don't be fussy, leave them a good review. Or give no review, this is also always a good option. Or write you would not host them again, because they have left the light on 😉

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

To be honest if the worst you had to contend with was turning off the bathroom light - I think it would be really unfair to mark them down.

 

Lots of people from all backgrounds can be fussy and maybe it was a little odd and awkward for them to be staying in your home particularly without good English. Cultural barriers may mean you thought they were fussy - they may have thought their behaviour normal.

 

You say they are nice good natured people - so why make it difficult for them to stay with another host.

 

Maybe say something along the lines of - they were lovely, good natured people who enjoyed their stay. As guests new to BNB they were a little anxious at times but this could have been down to language barriers.

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Jessica162

 

It could have been a genuine  misunderstanding (did you think of making a drawing? I would have and taped it to the bathroom door or pantomimed to them that when sleeping they turn off the light).

If it's really important to you, use @Helen3 's review version and add onto it a bit:

 

Maybe say something along the lines of - they were lovely, good natured people who enjoyed their stay. As guests new to BNB they were a little anxious at times and didn't grasp every last instruction but this could have been down to language barriers.

Monica4
Level 10
Ormstown, Canada

@Jessica162 We always, always, leave the light on in the bathroom at night. It is a safety issue, and I believe not all that uncommon! Certainly no reason to give them negative feedback. They could have misunderstood you and thought that you wanted the lights on.

 

As for the cultural / language barrier....if you want to host then get used to it.

 

As to being fussy.....there are guests like that.

 

Did they leave a mess, were they sulky or moody and unfriendly, very demanding, loud......? If not, they were good guests.

Lilian20
Level 10
Argelès-sur-Mer, France

Yep , that'd be blunt and almost out of place since the idea of having guests is to meet new people. 

 

About what happened during their stay : 

- 1. leaving the light of the bathroom on is not the worse that can happen

- 2. language barrier can also make the experience very funny at times

- 3. maybe they are not fussy (language barrier) - especially if they do leave a great review. 

 

Good luck with the next guests 

Jessica162
Level 2
New South Wales, Australia

UPDATE:

 

honestly, where they come from does not matter to us at all. they could be australian or american, for all i care. it is just a detail that i put in to justify the language barrier that occurred between us as hosts and them as guests, and i have no intention of stereotyping or generalising. my family and i are open-minded towards guests of all cultural backgrounds and religions.

 

however, it is really their overall behaviour that made them a little more harder to accommodate than our average guests: they were nice people, but they were  very hard to please. of course this happens and i am not complaining, because we all are like this at some stage in our lives. 

 

anyway, it went like this.

 

i had class then and my mum was dropping me off and had offered to pick them up ONLY because where they were was right next to my uni. (we do not pick up or drive guests for free unless where they were going was on the exact same route as us.) so my mum took them home and i rang her after my lecture and asked her how it went. she told me that they were asking to cancel their reservation because our location was way too far from the cbd. my mum called their previous host and told him about this and asked if he could take them back. he told her that when he helped them search for places on airbnb he had already advised them that our location was far away and nowhere near the city, which is where they want to visit on a daily basis, but they did not listen and "obstinately" (his word) made the booking anyway. the previous host also advised her NOT to give them a refund and if there should be any issues, have them take it to airbnb. so my mum helped them look for other places they could book on airbnb but they were not happy with the results since they were too expensive and out of their price range. the guest gave up and decided not to cancel but asked if he could give them a discount. my mum firmly refused. then he asked if we had a mirror. she said that there was a mirror in the bathroom. the guest said he needed a mirror in the room and if there was not, was it okay if he could change his clothes in front of her. (needless to say, that was out of the question).

 

he later asked to see the second floor - where we lived - because he wanted to inspect our kitchen. my mum told them that they already have the minibar all to themselves and there were supplies left for them, like bread and tea and stuff for them to help themselves with, and why on earth would he need to see the kitchen for. (we do not allow guests to enter our living area; exceptions are only for long-term guests that need to do their laundry in our washing machine) he replied that he wanted to use our eggs to cook his breakfast with and use the kitchen to make his tea/coffee. again, my mum said no. (kitchen is not included in our list of amenities)

 

he went out for the evening with his wife and asked if my mum could pick them up afterwards because they did not want to pay public transportation fare. my mum refused and explained that the first time was an exception because they were nearby to where she'd dropped me off earlier in the afternoon, and no sorry they will have to come home via public transport. 

 

the next day, he told my mum that he was unhappy with the room because it was uncomfortably far away from the bathroom. (we have two rooms on the first floor listed on Airbnb. room 1 is simple and small, but because it does not face the staircase and is next to the bathroom it gives guests way more privacy compared to room 2, where they were staying, which was larger and of course less private). she told them that she had already given them the choice to choose between these two rooms upon their arrival and had suggested that if they wanted to be closer to the bathroom and have more privacy, it was ideal for them to take room 1. however, they had said it did not matter to them and said they would be happy with room 2.

 

on their last day (they stayed for three nights), the guest asked if they could have a late checkout at 6 PM. (our latest check-out is at 11 PM). my mum did not allow them to stay till that late but agreed they could leave their stuff at our house while they went out so long they depart as soon as they have retrieved their luggage. they came back late after 6 and asked if she could drop them off because they didnt have credit on their phone to book for a taxi or uber. my mum said she cannot drop them off but she will let them use her phone to call for an uber. however the uber was late because they'd entered the incorrect address and they kept asking her if it was okay for her to drop them off by offering to leave us 5 star reviews in return. when the uber was close to our location my mum suggested they should wait out for the driver outside and saw them off. 

 

mind you, i do not feel annoyed or frustrated with these guests at all. i mean, guests are human. we all make mistakes and are completely clueless when it comes to living with people whose house rules are different to yours. it is true that there were some cultural barriers and their lack of english made it hard for us to communicate with them properly, but then, if we as english-speakers visit a foreign country where we have no command of the language or the culture, we too will need lots of help. this was exactly us when we visited norway a couple of months ago and the host left us a review highlighting our cluelessness. 

 

also, monica. i told them myself that as part of our house rules, we would like the lights be turned off when they are not in use. it may be for security reasons for your listing, but as an energy-conscious household we want to keep our costs low.

 

i have no intention of leaving a negative feedback, like i said i am hesitant because i empathised with them and felt that there is no need to do so anyway. i just want to illustrate to future potential guests what it will be like hosting them, that's all. that they require extra attention and lots of help since they're first time airbnb-ers. 

 

all in all, thanks to everyone who responded! 

lol, as i am pakistani myself, and i am not ashamed to say that yeah we have those kind of people, infact every country has.

 

Did they told you whether they are on vacation, or actually just visiting australia? I am curious, they can be dual-national or actually not living in pakistan.

 

But judging from what you said, i will say they were defintely on vacation or was just on tour.

 

Language barrier sometime can be a real problem, and they might not understood what you meant.

 

I will say review as you please, but avoid discrimination if possible. 70% people in pakistan belong from middle class families, and almost 35% below poverty.

 

English is taught in schools, but its not our first language. So Expect 70% people speak broken or no english.

 

My Written english is somewhat good, but verbal is terrible and i will struggle... i know. (the reason because we don't use it very much in conversation in our home country).

 

Loved reading the complete details...... HAHA we want to see your kitchen.... guess was nice people, but the went little extreme to save some cash 🙂

 

Anyways, on behalf of them and pakistani nation i apologize.

 

Good day.

 

 

 

 Hi Nauman! This happened a long while ago, last year, and since then I have left them a lovely review, and vice versa. I have never left a bad review for anyone. Also, I have stopped hosting because of my busy schedules, but now that I have finished studies, I will be resuming hosting on Airbnb. Although my mum was disappointed, and at first I was also, but after they left I honestly didnt care anymore, because I know that language barrier is a big issue, and it happens to anyone visiting a country whose language they do not understand. Like I said, it happened to my family and I also when we travelled to Europe. 

 

I was born here with my sister in Sydney, but my mum is from China, and my mum also experiences some difficulties with language barrier sometimes despite living here for thirty years. So what gives?

 

It's all good, I did not and will never discriminate against race. All my friends are only either from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Europe (we all work in a diverse environment), and I have visited India and Pakistan countless times with my dad because my dad travels there for work a lot (I don't know the language at all, but I am very familiar with their beautiful cultures) so it's safe to say I completely understand. I was also very happy to have known them and since them I still keep in touch. 

 

Yeah it's true about the energy & cost-conscious part, but for good reason. Sydney is a very, very, legit VERY expensive place to live, and energy and water rates are NOT a joke. Families and people in Australia pay the world's highest electricity prices, as of 2016 and 2017, which is shocking. So we like to be as efficient as possible to minimise costs. 

 

And no, please, please don't apologise. They did not damage the room, they were not disrespectful, they were absolutely lovely and sweet (they even gave me some saffron rice which is my favourite). 

 

Kate157
Level 10
SF, CA

For myself, since I first started hosting, I would rather not leave a review than leave a negative one. The exception would be for someone who is awful, but fortunately, this has not yet happened to me. Some guests are easier than others, but putting negative words in public is a serious thing, so I try not to do it.

Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

I think if you write a review like that then you will come off badly - these are minor issues and from time to time guests do something you don't particularly like. Leaving a light on...minor...being fussy....is that bad? Language barrier - is that their problem or yours?