Are guests getting more difficult?

Catherine281
Level 3
Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, United Kingdom

Are guests getting more difficult?

Hi, I have been hosting for over 6 years on multi properties now and have found the guests are getting more demanding. Is anyone else finding that? Literally, one last guest seemed to think I was both a concierge and also at their beck and call re extra towels, etc. I provide a super-sized bath sheet - which comes from a professional laundry and costs me £2 per sheet - per guest - what do you go when a guest asks for another one? Up till now, I have given one but margins are so tight now that I am going to stop. However, you then run the risk of a bad review. I think guests know that they can just ask and ask these days with the threat of a bad review in the air otherwise...and f hosting is your profession risks losing super host and prominent listings/ Do you think Airbnb has shifted to wanting guests more than hosts....

59 Replies 59
Debra300
Top Contributor
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Alexandra199,

 

It's not just the younger traveler that's becoming more problematic.  I have had a couple of bookings with senior single travelers, and neither of them should have booked a stay in a self-catering suite that's on the top floor of a guesthouse located on a hill.  They expected hotel type service (call me a cab, call the airport, call the clinic to get my COVID test results, Why am I not seeing you everyday?, Why isn't my room being cleaned?, Can you take me to XX? etc.).

 

Like @Emilia42, there hasn't been much change in the behavior or cleanliness of my guests  during the past couple of years.  The biggest problem that I've noticed and posted about is that so many more people are asking for discounts.  During the past week, for one of my listings I received 10 inquiries and seven of them asked for a discount.

Don't just believe what I say, check the Airbnb Help Center
Catherine281
Level 3
Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, United Kingdom

@Debra300 god that sounds more like working in social care than airbnbing....


@Debra300 wrote:

@Alexandra199,

 

It's not just the younger traveler that's becoming more problematic.  I have had a couple of bookings with senior single travelers, and neither of them should have booked a stay in a self-catering suite that's on the top floor of a guesthouse located on a hill.  They expected hotel type service (call me a cab, call the airport, call the clinic to get my COVID test results, Why am I not seeing you everyday?, Why isn't my room being cleaned?, Can you take me to XX? etc.).

 

 


woah!! but thinking of my own parents, they just don't "get" what airbnb is all about, and not all of them can adapt to these changes like subsequent generations have been able to do. This is seriously out of line behaviour. 

Catherine281
Level 3
Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, United Kingdom

@Alexandra199 I checked out booking.com last night and boy some of the public reviews of properties were scorching... I actually think that there is a new class of person who gets pleasure from giving rubbish reviews.... the detail some of these reviews go into. Mind you I did have one person who gave a 500 word plus review going through every room on the property...

That is true. The problem with booking.com reviews is they specifically ask the guest to say what they didnt like about their stay. Some just answer 'nothing' but i bet everyone can find something wrong about anywhere! Its a very negative slanted review mechanism.

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

I am not finding any difference so I think it does depend on the nature of the listing and the location. If anything, I am finding guests to actually be more self-sufficient. I have cut back on my communication and interaction with guests over the last two years and it's been a lot easier on me. 

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Anonymous  is right. 

 

I'd only add that the whole Airbnb concept has only really exploded into fashion in the past 5 years, with exponential growth every year (pandemic notwithstanding). 

 

It's only been in recent memory that Airbnb became a verb, like Google. Before that, the whole idea, while considered rather "quaint" and a low cost alternative to hotels (with like expectations), has become (through Airbnb's own marketing) a broadly accepted means of acquiring "quality" accommodation for whatever your travel needs. 

 

And as Andrew eludes to, that sets an expectation to travellers that they will be getting something like or better than a hotel (and in many ways, that's true, but not necessarily in the ways the guest expects).

 

And along with that fashionable perception, is a similar expectation for the same services that one would expect when there's a concierge, front desk, cleaning and service people on staff, room service, and never a complaint from the management, unless you start a fire or something. Otherwise, all else is fair game. 

 

Now, that's much too much of a generalisation, and frankly, most guests are still pretty conscientious, but there's certainly been an obvious change in attitudes, behaviours and expectations in the past 2 or 3 years. 

 

The new norm is to look carefully at who's booking, and scare them off if they seem too demanding, entitled, or clueless. Otherwise, the chances of getting clobbered in one way or another is just a problem waiting to happen. Yet those guests will naturally blame the host for not meeting their (unrealistic) expectations. 

 

Watch your back. It's a new world out there. 


@Elaine701 wrote:

@Anonymous  is right. 

 

 

The new norm is to look carefully at who's booking, and scare them off if they seem too demanding, entitled, or clueless.


this is quite difficult though, because you only get a first name and no other info, so you have to try to have a conversation to work out what you think they might be like. And this is dangerous, because i'm sure we've all had guests who asked 1000 annoying questions before they arrived and then turned out to be awesome 5* guests.  And i'm sure we've all been burned by people telling nothing but lies from start to finish. 

@Gillian166  Nope. I only had one guest who asked annoying questions ( 20 to be exact- it was a numbered list), and while she wasn't a particularly objectionable guest in any important way, she did a few annoying things during her stay. 

 

And I have never had a guest lie. We don't all have to field requests from guests like that.

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Gillian166 

 

I don't know, maybe I just have a nose for this, but for me it's pretty easy to spot them. Ask the right questions, and the answers tell you a lot. 

Sharon683
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

I agree with you that some guest are becoming more demanding even having an entitlement issue.  My last guest arrived with the smell of cigarette smoke.  I have strict smoking restrictions.  He informed me he did not smoke on our email thread prior to his arrival.  He asked if I could pick him up from the airport.  I informed him he can take a Uber or Lyft. I do not provide airport transportation. He asked to check-out at 2pm without a charge.  I politely declined.  My check-out is at 10am. My new guest was checking in at 3pm.  Then he asked if he could  leave his luggage and return at 2pm. I politely decline again. During his 9 day stay, he asked me if he could have a package delivered to the house.  No problem.  Unfortunately, nobody was home so UPS left a tag stating they would arrived the next day.  I left the tag on is room door and advised him to contact them.  The day of his checkout he immediately left a horrible review stating,  I would not accept his UPS package! Also stating "BEWARE, this is the worse place I have ever stayed at.  He stayed 9 days! SMOKING ALL DAY AND NIGHT! I informed Airbnb multiple times.  I am a superhost with 89 wonderful reviews. I must be doing something right. Fortunately, Airbnb removed his review.  

 

Helen@744, I would never accept packages they can be picked up off site these days. H

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Catherine281 

 

Are guests getting more difficult? Yes, I think so. 

 

While many of my guests are still lovely and unproblematic and seem appreciative of the quality and value they get, the difficult or demanding ones seem to be on the increase. One encounters them more often than before.

 

Since the pandemic started, a far, far higher percentage of guests asks for extra discounts than before. It doesn't seem to matter that comparable listings in the area cost significantly more than mine and therefore it should be obvious that I am offering good value. They want more money off because they are under the impression that COVID = small businesses struggling = /desperation and lower prices = they should benefit from that.

 

I have also encountered a lot of unrealistic expectations on what a homeshare should provide. One recent example includes a guest asked me to provide slippers, an exercise mat, specific type of hairbrush (round but small), coconut sugar (I provide both white and brown sugar, honey and sweetener, but she 'liked to have coconut sugar on her yoghurt'), detergent for delicates (I host long term guests and they are supposed to buy their own laundry detergent anyway, let alone specialist ones), amongst other things.

 

After she left, we met for 'a drink' as she was still in London. I paid for the wine and snacks (she didn't offer to contribute) and then she went on to order dinner, not asking if I wanted anything, and expected me to pay for that too even though I had just sat there watching her eat! She continued to message me after check out asking for advice on where she could buy this or that, what was this or that area of London like? etc. Once she messaged at 11.30pm asking to come over because she really needed to talk to someone. I was worried and stayed up late trying to find out if she was okay, but she didn't respond again until the next day when I discovered the issue was that a guy she met casually wasn't interested in dating her, i.e. nothing serious at all.

 

I don't charge a lot for my rooms considering what is provided and I am happy to go the extra mile for a guest, but there is a point at which it becomes somewhat ridiculous.

@Catherine281 @Huma0 

I provide slippers, robes, coconut sugar as well as stevia and sugar. A dozen types of teas, half a dozen coffees, various methods of preparing them. Milk, several non dairy milks, cereal, hot chocolate. A hairbrush is a highly personal item that guests should have, but I do provide toothbrushes, flossers, tampons and pads. And a hairdryer. Laundry detergent is all purpose and safe for our septic. As per towels, I leave two sets per person plus an extra bath towel per person, for hair. Extra pillows, of course. We have a chance to pamper our people, so why not? 

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

 

I provide most of the things you have mentioned (e.g. different types of tea, coffee, sugar, toiletries, hairdryer, extra towels, pillows etc. etc.), but I draw the line at having every type of sugar under the sun or running out to get various types of laundry detergent.

 

There are two key differences between your listing and mine:

 

1. Yours is about three times the price and that's before the cleaning fee, which I don't charge. Given that I'm in a pretty central part of London, you could consider my private rooms as very good value.

 

2. I host long term guests, staying anything from weeks to months (hence the value). They are not here to be pampered, but generally here to work or study. Yet, they still get more extras here than they would at most short term Airbnbs in London and certainly those within this price range. Most (although not all) will buy their own tea, cooking oil etc. even though I provide it. It is extremely rare for long term guests to ask for additional things, especially food.

 

The guest I mentioned above was staying with me for a few weeks, but staying in London for a couple of months (I didn't have availability for her whole stay). She had daily requests for things that are not included and certainly not listed as amenities at my Airbnb. It seemed like whatever came into her mind, she would ask me, e.g. she wanted a specific type of hairbrush because she had changed her hairstyle (not my problem, but I gave her one anyway and then washed it thoroughly afterwards), nail polish remover, exercise mat, and on and on. These are things that a long term guest should buy for themselves.

 

She expected me to act as her concierge AFTER she left my listing and was staying with a different host. I'm guessing he was less accommodating! I also do not expect to have to pay for restaurant meals for guests who aren't even staying with me and especially when I didn't order food!

 

Luckily, most of my guests are not this high maintenance, otherwise I'd be out of house and home by now...