And just like that, all was well

Steve2743
Level 10
Calgary, Canada

And just like that, all was well

You know, life's funny. Last night I was dealing with my worst guest in the year that I've been hosting, who cancelled their 4 night reservation after only one night, demanding a full refund, claiming that the place was filthy, and stunk of cigarette smoke.

 

Today I received a last minute booking, and they're my best guest to date! They love the place so much that they insisted that I join them while they BBQed me an amazing meal of steak, lamb, and corn on the cob! And the only cleaning I had to do between them and the nightmare guest was the bed sheets & towels! If you're dealing with a nightmare guest, just remember that an amazing guest is just around the corner. 

 

That is all,

Steve

Steve
74 Replies 74

i seriously think that the way a host is review its not enought accurate and just giving stars its horrible becaus ethere are just 5 stars, so you can be happy just if you get a 4-5 stars....

i would like to suggest numbers review from 0 to 10.... at least you will be happy to get a 10 but 7 as well.

 

I totally agree Eva! I have been doing this only this year and have thought Airbnb (and Uber) need a 10 point system where a "10" equals an A+, an "8" equals a straight B, etc. Right now, if you got all 4's that is like an "F" and Airbnb threatens to suspend you! Why can't 4 stars be a good thing? I had a guest praise me very well the other day and rated me 4 stars. I have had quite a number over time and I can't seem to break out of the 65% 5-star rut. Those early ratings (inconsistent) when I was getting started still haunt me....

Colleen-And-Don0
Level 4
California, United States

Sure there are more sane people and good guests than there are the opposite, BUT when people book your place and reveal close to arrival date how bullying and disrepectful - and dangerous - they are, should they be able to cancel by providing unverified lies where the property owner then loses the total payment because air bnb didn't feel comfortable telling the guest how to alter his behavior to be an appropriate, civil and safe guest for anyone?

In my world, the penalty is to the person who has acted out, lied and cheated.

Air bnb, your poor judgement cost more here than my lost revenue: you have rewarded totally out of control behavior because you didn't want to have to deal with it. And left me in the lurch. Plus encouraged the guest also to mistreat the next host since air never enforced any penalty for his earlier episode.

Other vacation rental websites don't hang their owners out to dry after abuse from a guest.

Totally shocked.

Colleen in Hilton Head SC

You are 100% right. I also had my worste clients for over 6 years of letting in August. A young couple who obviously wanted a quiet peacfull rest but in August in a complex of 280 apartments is the wrong place for that. As they walked in with the pools teaming with people all having a great time you could tell they hated it before they got into the flat. The next day the list of things wrong made me think that I was going to have to pull the place down and re build it and they left saying they could not stay there at all and left and would have to go to a hotel. I since found out their aunt lived close by and they stayed there for nothing. 2 days later I had re let the flat and they loved it. All I did was change the sheets and towels.

Mara98
Level 1
Venice, Italy

Ciao Steve and Jayne!

I understand exactly what you mean! Bad guests is an unfortunate thing that affects us hosts so much! 

I just recently had a couple who seemed to love the place and smile and talk and do things a happy guest would do, including telling me all was great. However they gave me a 2 star review saying there were fowl smells and the the house was filthy. I have a feeling this was because when they came to collect the luggage after check out time, they couldn't use the bathroom due to it being occupied by the new guests. They seemed upset about it but I could not of course kick the new guests out!!

I generally receive very nice reviews and amazing guests and I'm sure you do too! We must endure these small obstacles and move forward!

We are a community with a common goal and we all work together to achieve this, many guests do not know what this means though.

Good luck with your airbnb and to the many great guests you'll host!

Ciao from Venice!

Mara

Thanks @Mara98! I've been hosting long enough that I've now realised that it's just one of those things you sometimes have to deal with. 80% of my reviews for this past year have been 5 stars, with the the remaining 20% being 4 stars. In the end, the worst it will affect me is that I'll have to wait until January to achieve super-host, instead of October. It's frustrating nonetheless.

Steve

What if the guest lies? I bought a new stove/oven after she obsessed about needing to bake during her 2 day stay. Seems she never used it then complained it didn't work. Just one of many lies! She was looking for a discount from the initial conversations. I should have known. Also, do outside bugs count as having pests? 

Hi @Sharon300 Outside bugs definitely do not count as pests. Every part of the planet (except all those Airbnbs in Antarctica) has some form of insect that annoys everyone. Nothing can be done about that.

 

As for the oven, I definitely would not have been buying a new one for a guest. Especially for a two day stay. Perhaps you can email the receipt (with the purchase date clear) to Airbnb as proof that their review was falsified?

Steve
Levi-Shayna0
Level 2
Nashville, TN

I think "And just like that, all was well" should be at the top of every Airbnb page, app, just put it everywhere. We should all get matching tattoos.

 

The thing about Airbnb guests is they're like water in the river - they flow. You can't let one bad bit of rough water rock (or sink) your boat. 

 

One in 20 will be a pain, one in 100 will be terrible, 1 in 1,000 will be the very worst nightmare guest... and the other 19/99/999 will be just great.

 

When you get a bad one, they leave a terrible mess, they try to extort a refund, they break things, they threaten a bad review, they're needy and high maintenance, they steal/stain/hide your stuff... just remember, we're getting paid for this! Deal with the one the best you can and MOVE ON!

 

The sun will come up tomorrow. "And just like that, all was well."

@Levi-Shayna0, perfectly said! Perhaps this should be a secret code among hosts, to let others know how bad the guest was, without saying anything that would risk having the review removed? We could all just leave 1/20, 1/100, or whatever, to indicate the severity of the guest. 

Steve
Martin382
Level 2
Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom

This cheered me up , been in a bad mood all day today and yesterday after some rockets , one italian and one canadian decide its too stressfull driving my small motorhome around Scotland and break stuff to boot , well done you for injecting some positivity into my evening , i suppose the gin is helping also. Thanks , Martin

@Martin382, glad to help! Definitely needed the pick-me-up myself. 

Steve

Thanks so much for posting this--I'm currently dealing with my first nightmare guest, and this has made me feel much better. Have to remind myself that up to this point I've been lucky with good ones.

@Kristen73! It's frustrating, I know. But their review will be buried in no time, and you'll be back to fantastic guests. 

Steve
David1424
Level 2
Brighton, MI

Every year you will get that one tenant who is just absolutely terrible. I don't rent to anyone who I don't have a good feeling about. I do not refund for cancellations (in 99% of cases). I am not a hotel and I can not just fill my condo with a walk-in. How many people went to the next booking because my calendar was booked for that period? Hundreds if not thousands. I do wish Airbnb would be more strict about cancellations. Let people pay extra for cancellation insurance like the airlines do. I despise that I was penalized for canceling a booking at the tenants request a couple months ago. I tell them they have to do it on their end now.

I am always very skeptical of renting to anyone from Miami. I don't know what it is with people from there, but they always trash my condo. They will use every single towel available, every pot, pan, dish, glasses will be dirty, stacked all over the counter and table with food. This doesn't leave a lot of time between changeover cleaning. 

Things I have noticed; higher prices bring a better tenant that will usually leave the place cleaner than they arrived, lower prices bring poor quality tenants with no respect and filthy lifestyle habits.