Cleanliness 2 stars. So I ask the guest what the problem was... sit down for this one.

[Kevin1322]

got a  2 star rating for "cleanliness".

So I message the guest to ask what the problem was.

Them " wood floors were not shiny"

Me: They are not wood, they are porcelain tiles.

Guest "they should be shiny"

Me: They are R12 rated non-slip tiles.  Non slip tiles aren't shiny.  Flattered that you thought they were wood, but they don't shine up. We bleach them daily. That is the point. The clue is non-slip. For grip. So you don't slip on them. 

Guest "you should have warned us, we could have dropped our phones and broken them"

Me: My tiles?

Them: "no, our phones"

This is what we are dealing with in 2021.  

You have to laugh or else you cry  🤣

The Endless Mirth of hosting.

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 : This revives my faith in Charles Darwin.

[Marisa182]

@Kevin1322We do see it all! One of my last guest checked out July 10th, and even before he left, I decided to put my place on "Snooze" until the end of August. Too bad because after 2020 I can use a lot more bookings, but I just couldn't deal with the mess and the fact that hardly anyone really takes the time to read my listing or even check out the photos.

[Kevin1322]

the first few guests we had when restrictioins allowed back in mid May were either so stupid (calling you to say they are lost when you told them whatever happens do NOT use satnav or google maps, follow the directions) , entitled or needy that we would have taken 2021 as a year off Airbnb if we didn't need it to make ends meet.  We had one who laid on the complaints with a trowel after she and her friend left and we refunded her.  And left her a bad review and ticked the would not host again box.  (that one is in another post)

Since then though, many have been lovely, quality seems to be rising.

[Marisa182]

I'm pretty lucky actually. Most of my solo guests are great and leave the place like they found it, spotless! But this last guy just threw me over the edge... maybe it was the fact that he re-heated parts of chicken right on the rack of the toaster oven and left a large pool of grease on the crumb tray, or it could have been all the water on the bathroom floor while the bath mat remained rolled up on the edge of the shower just where I had placed it. Or it could have been the fact that he didn't know that my basement studio does not have A/C as stated in my listing. Not that it was hot in my partially below ground apartment. That is where I go when the rest of the house is too hot. I wrote a review for this guest shortly after he left, and will not host him again, but he has not yet written one for me.

Glad to hear that the quality of your guests "seems to be improving"

[Inna22]

@Kevin1322 where do I even begin with mine this year. From cling wrap being a staple in every respectable Airbnb (mine is obviously not one of those) to only 2 out of 4 TVs being large (why did you leave your house- to watch my TV?) to request for $100 because not enough paper towels for the stay and on and on

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Marisa182  guests didn't read carefully even before.. but you are right, it has worsened this year. Airbnb's new layout with all those expandable "read more" fields doesn't help either.  I have put a password in my house rules to see if my guests have read them before booking and the score percentage is a disaster, maybe 1 out of 10 reads it, and that 1 is always also a host.  By booking without reading results often in unhappy guests, cancellations, refunds, and low review ratings. That's bad for all of us, guests, Airbnb, and hosts. I don't understand why Airbnb doesn't change its layout as it used to be back in 2016 when I  joined.

[Marisa182]

The first thing I do when I get a request or a booking is to thank them for checking out my place. Then I ask if they have read the entire listing, and specifically, are they okay with my strict house rules.. I do use the word "strict".  I live upstairs, so when he or she ( I only allow one guest) arrives, I give them a quick tour,  point out 

the floor plan in case of emergency, and go through some of the house rules again. I always finish by saying, " I am just upstairs, please contact me if you have any questions." By some of the questions I am asked, I know they did not read my listing, let alone the house rules. But again, I feel lucky. It was just after the last guy that I decided to shut down until the end of August. I wrote a negative review for him, and then he started sending messages through Airbnb, I thought he would never stop, but in the end I wished him well and told him he also could leave a review with his version of the story. So far I don't think he has.

[Jillian115]

Wow that’s crazy. I had a guest mark me down for cleanliness and when I asked if there was an issue he said no everything was great I just don’t believe in giving 5 stars. Lol. You just can’t win. 

[John5097]

@Kevin1322 

Shocking a guest would give you 2 stars for floors not being shiny. I actually had to take out a new tile floor I had just installed 3 years before. At the time I didn't know about the non slip rating, and these were like ice if feet were wet. I often came in with sloshing wet feet from being out paddle boarding and so slippery. I finally decided to just rip them out, as I thought it would just be too much risk if guest happened to have wet bare feet from raining or something.  

My only suggestion would be to try and explain in great detail that it was non slick surface for guest safety and also ability to clean between guest. Thank them for the review but also ask if they would be willing to have it removed. 

I read your reviews and you do so much for your guest. I'm thinking I might need to try and educate guest about the review system like everyone else seems to be doing. 

This was a pic of the very slippery tiles I laid then had to take up. 

[Kevin1322]

wow. Taking them up is worse than putting them down.  That is a lot of very hard work right there. 

[John5097]

@Kevin1322 

I got very lucky there was a layer of dried glue on top of the concrete from where a rug had been installed back in the 60s so the mortar for the tiles didn't bond to it and used a floor scraper. Thinking back on that I deliberated a lot about whether or not to take them up. By that time at the end of the project I was way over budget and everyone thought I was making a mistake and no one would want to rent it. 

I've also found that about one guest of a hundred will complain about cleanliness no matter what. I also wanted to keep the tiles because they are easy to clean, and just one of the best flooring options. I put down laminate flooring which is also good and easy to keep clean. So I guess be thankful its not a rug or something that would be constant dirt magnet. 

Would be nice if Airbnb gave host the option to remove the star ratings for both a lowest and highest review each year that would get rid of the occasional one or two star review for something ridiculous like this and isn't useful for future guest or host that put so much effort to make guest happy. If not host won't invest as much time and effort. 
 

[Judy790]

My favorite is when they ding your rating because of the weather.  I'm a Host not God.

[Laura2592]

@Judy790 or leave comments about the weather in the review and ding you. 

[Laura4935]

We recently were left a bad review about the lack of space for wet towels and only one night stand in the room. Not that we offer a full size washer/dryer, kitchen and closet system for a bargain price. They were hoping to have a haven away from home but it was just too annoying for her 🤷‍♀️🤪

[BenkaandKeith0]

This is like a storytelling thread. What can we do about it rather than cry over each other shoulders. If we could only get around the camp fire with a drink and share.... but this wining, wasting of our time always for the same problems that no one at Airbnb simply does not care. Review problems are not theirs. Nor are ratings, our frustrations, nada. Venting frustration does not solve the situation neither. Constant battle continues... work, work, work, maintain your rating, then one crappy one shows up (seems like summers are their prefer times when most of them surface) and off it goes the effort of months, years. We have over 1000 reviews and it's incredible to see how one single guest, who clearly set it's expectation based on their moon cycle, will lower it 😞