Angry drunken guest ranting about politics, how should I review?

[Kelly---Jack0]

We had a guest show up late last night pretty tipsy (she was in town hosting a wine tasting event). Within a few minutes of her arrival she cracked a beer, sat on our couch and started ranting about politics and every topic from gun violence and abortion, to dark money and lobbyists. We avoided her inquiries and tried to remain neutral but she became pretty hostile and demanded to know where we get our news. I informed her that we prefer the local news and that I had a mid-term in the morning and was going to bed.

It was an awful experience but I’m not sure how much of this I should include in her review. 

[Kath9]

Hahaha @Sarah977! I also know a few veggie oil fuel aficionados - they always smell like fish and chip shops!

[Ann489]

@Kelly---Jack0    Uhmmm....your question is obviously based on the fact that you and your guest disagreed politically.  Had you been on the same page, would you have started this thread? Probably not.  That being said--I agree with Andrew;  your review should focus on  how the guest treated your property, etc, not his/her political views.

[Kelly---Jack0]

We are not super political people and do our best to remain neutral and listen to all sides. The issue here was her drunken,  hostile behavior fueled by her passionate views that felt very intrusive and offensive given she had just arrived as a stranger/guest in our home. I would have been put off by her behavior whether or views aligned or not. 

[Robin4]

@Kelly---Jack0 

It's pretty much been conclusively proved, alcohol and aggression go hand in hand and some of the nicest people turn into monsters after a few too many drinks. It also dramatically increases the risk of damage or injury, so as hosts you needs to be relatively firm here.

The next day she possibly felt bad about her behaviour and may have just been too embarrassed to say anything. But you can only review guests as you find them Kelly and if this woman hosts wine tasting events there will of course be alcohol involved and there is a strong possibility this was not a one off reaction. What have her previous reviews been like?

She probably becomes verbose after every event and unleases her verbosity on who ever she happens to be around.

So for that reason I think you have to be a bit firmer with the review here because, to other hosts this might come like a bolt out of the blue, just like it did for you!

I would say something like...."Although we looked forward to this stay, and although a tidy guest, her job can result in some stressful behaviour which bordered on uncomfortable for us. I wish her well for the future but would decline the offer to host her again"!

You haven't been specific about anything, but you have thrown a red flag out there for other hosts. 

All the best Kelly and Jack.

Cheers.....Rob

[Kelly---Jack0]

Thanks Rob! Her reviews were really good from everyone else and it looks like she’s done quite a bit of travel. I’ve concluded she was either having an off night or others have been hesitant to bring up the negative. I really was surprised given what I was expecting off her other reviews. 

[Kath9]

@Kelly---Jack0, well said. Whether you agreed with her views or not is irrelevant - it was her drunken hostile behaviour that was the issue.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Kelly---Jack0  Your review is invaluable to the AirBnb hosting community. As long as you’re honest and fair that’ll help everyone.

Our hosting would be different to yours, we would mostly be interested in whether the guests were trustworthy, responsible and followed house rules rather than them being great conversationalists.

If she was in fact berating your opinion and was forcing her point on you in a confrontational way then some warning of this could be appropriate especially as in your case the guest shares hosts spaces

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Kelly---Jack0 

If it were me.......I'd cover the basics about whether the guest respected house rules, her level of cleanliness and communication. I think I'd probably add something along the lines of "Based on my experience, I would not recommend this guest for a shared home private room listing." at the end. 

I personally agree that it's not about whether one shares similar same views on political topics......... even if I agreed with every single thing the guest says, I'd still be pretty uncomfortable if someone I met less than 5 mins ago was drunk and ranting angrily about politics. 

[Rachel0]

@Kelly---Jack0 People often do talk a load of cr*p when they have had too much to drink and I do agree that she should not have acted as she did.  However, did you get the chance to talk to her again in the morning after she had sobered up and did she apologise for her rant?

[Kelly---Jack0]

No, I left in the morning for class (I had a mid-term exam) and did not get back until 12:30PM. I do know she overstayed past checkout time as my boyfriend said he could hear her talking loudly on the phone most of the morning and could still hear her in the room when he left around 11:45AM. Checkout time was at 11:00. She was gone when I returned at 12:30. 

[Anonymous]

@Kelly---Jack0  It sounds as though the guest only stayed 1 or 2 nights?

If so, one way you might avoid having guests like this in the future is to slightly increase your Minimum Stay. Some people view these fly-by-night stays as inconsequential and are less likely to conduct themselves appropriately knowing they won't have to face their hosts again the next day. Of course, you'd also want a Maximum Stay reflecting the longest you'd be willing to be stuck with an unpleasant person.

Between the hostile rant and the overstaying checkout, I think any onsite host would find this person to be pretty disrespectful - even if they shared her political leanings. I still think the alcohol and the specific thrust of her politics are best left out of the review - plenty of heavy drinkers and political extremists are still capable of behaving respectfully in their Airbnb, and you won't want prospective guests to get the impression that your bias extends beyond poor behavior.

[Kelly---Jack0]

Sadly almost all we get are 1-night guests and I am honestly getting so tired of it. I would increase the minimum stay, but I fear we would book less that way and we really need the income right now. The next guest that was with us last night showed up at 1am was loud all night and the took the entire basket of toiletries and all the snacks we put out despite leaving before 8am and not even using the shower. Seriously I am getting tired of 1-night guests! 

[Anonymous]

@Kelly---Jack0  It can be a tricky one, since some locations (particularly those near theme parks and airports) are overwhelmingly favored by 1-night guests. At the same time, though, allowing 1-nighters is autocatalytic, since it breaks your calendar up into fragments that can't be filled by longer stays. 

If it's the case that the Orlando market is impossible to crack without doing 1-nighters, I do suggest at least limiting what freebies you allow for these guests. It's a common complaint of hosts that guests take too much of the things that are left out for them, but this is a very solvable problem! Only put out the amount of stuff that is reasonable for the length of each guest's stay, so there's no ambiguity about what's inclusive.

[Rachel0]

@Kelly---Jack0 One night stays are just too much work.  I stopped doing that three years ago and now have a 2 night minimum for the winter and 3 for the summer.  It works very well for me but as I don't know what the market is like in Orlando I cannot say whether it would work as well for you.  I certainly have very few problem guests!

[Ann72]

@Kelly---Jack0 No one who knows me here will be surprised by what I'm about to say, but it's simple:  raise your rates!  You have a LOVELY listing and if you're close to both the airport and Disney, I don't understand $37 a night.  Some might have you believe that that will get you more bookings.  But if you just set it at $75 a night, you could get half the bookings and earn as much.  However, in my experience, you'll definitely get more than half the bookings.  Just give it a try for a month or two and see what happens.  Most hosts will tell you you'll get better guests at a higher rate, too.