Accepting and Inquiry with a concerning review

[Colleen565]

Hi!

I'm new to hosting and have an inquiry from a guest with this review:

helpful messages

respectful

excessive garbage

messy kitchen 

ruined bed linens

I'm torn about renting to him and don't know if my expectations are not realistic. Our rental is our primary home so this review made me nervous...am I being too picky?  How would you handle an inquiry from a guest with this review?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Colleen565 I would reset them. You should not have to replace bed linen or deal with excess rubbish.

[Helen3]

I would just respond and say unfortunately you won't be able to accept their booking because of their previous review.  @Colleen565 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Colleen565 ! Welcome to the Community Center and thank you for sharing your concern here with fellow Host members.

How did you deal with this inquiry in the end? Did you go with Helen and Mike's suggestions and avoid proceeding with the inquiry? It would be nice to hear your thoughts on it.

[Colleen565]

First I must say it's so nice to have a community to go to for advice. Someone else ended up instant booking and taking the date but I will feel more confident next time there's a similar circumstance. 

[Jennifer1897 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Colleen565

First, I just have to say your property is absolutely stunning.

Moving on to the topic at hand though. Does the guest have other reviews from hosts that reflect positive experiences? If so, the bad review might be a one off or a situation in which the host and guest just didn't connect well. In this case I would communicate a little more with the guest (vetting) and get to know them a little better and the purpose of their trip. This would likely give you the opportunity to feel a little more comfortable with them or determine if they are suitable for your property.

If this is the sole review or one of two, then I would definitely share your feelings about being nervous. Personally, if a guest is fairly new to using the platform and/or has mainly bad review(s) I would likely not accept them, as the aforementioned negative behaviors are likely to be repeated. 

[Colleen565]

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for your kind words about our house.

Your advice is really helpful. In this case they only had one review, which made me nervous. I wasn't really sure how to approach the subject with them. I like your idea of sharing being nervous...it's honest. I think I was so worried about upsetting them. Luckily someone else instant booked and took the date. But I'm sure I will encounter this again.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Jennifer.