Guest from Hell

[Toni225]

So I had this young couple checkin on 6/8/19 for two nights, the female who made the booking asked if  I would do an early check-in, that they would be arriving at 9:00AM. I had a one night booking for 6/7/19 and was not sure how early I could check them in ,so I offered to allow them to drop off their luggage. My booking for 6/7/19 cancelled so I message the female and said my booking cancelled so I can do the early check-in, then I get a request for a one night booking again for 6/7/19 which I declined.

So the couple arrives at 10:30AM and I checked them in going through the apartment with them and going over the house rules with them verbally again.  So I was  at a loss for words when I return home from dinner that night to find my entrance door wide open. that was 11:08 PM, I  then heard the male  come in about 20 mins., later and again reminded him to please close  the entrance door when entering and leaving the home. He was very nice and said he was sorry and will make sure to close the door when leaving or entering. 

     On Saturday night 6/ 9/19  around 12:15AM they both left out of the home, now remember I had gone over the house rules with them, So on Sunday morning at around 9:30 AM I notice that the utilities had not been turned off like I have in my house rules and I also went over verbally with them. So I sent her a message over Airbnb at 11:13 AM.   I got no response back from her so at 12:18 PM I called Airbnb who reached out to her at 1:07 PM the male calls and said I could go and turn the utilities off, so I go up and walk right into a mess., they had eaten and placed all the garbage in a bag and left the bag in the middle of the kitchen floor, mind you there is a brand new stainless steel garbage can right there in the kitchen, a bottle with unfinsh smoothie in the middle of the living room , a plate with pizza on the sofa and two pillows from the bedroom also on the sofa, on the sofa was also a wet bath towel.

Their dirty clothes were thrown over the back of the dining room chairs  and all the kitchen , dining room and bathroom lights were left on. You could also see that one of them had been sleeping on the sofa because the room smelled of body odor. At this time I also on the phone with Jason from Airbnb and he is telling me thanks for reaching out to Airbnb support team he has forward my inquiry to a member of his team so they can help me better.

   Today at 11: 15 AM,  I go up to let them know its time to check out only to find out that she has already checked out and leaves  him there, he told me she told him checkout was 12:00 Noon  I pulled up my listing and showed him its 11:00  AM . I then called Airbnb and as always its have you reach out to the guest, now remember some one was to get back to me.  So at 7:01 PM tonight I get a request from Emily over Airnb requesting a full refund stating that her stuff was tampered with and being locked out the apartment upon return, plus a review based with lies. I find it horrendous that Airbnb has yet to return a call to me since  I made the first call to them yesterday , allow this person to ask for a refund based on lies when a member from the Airbnb support team was with me on the phone at 12:00PM when her male friend was checking out .

It is my honest opinion that Airbnb cares nothing about its host and thats why guest does the things they do.  I am interesd to see if any other host has ever had ths same problem, I am considering delisting my home again from Airbnb  and going back to 9Flats .

[Toni225]

@Pete69  It is really sad that individuals treats other peoples homes or shares with such disdain, I am going to give hosting a rest for the next 6 months. Last time I gave them a rest for two years . I will not put up with individuals who refuses to read listings  and follow house rules, and acts with that entitlement syndrome.

   Thank you for your side note when I do go back hosting I will not use instant booking and I will require all guest to have reviews, no reviews no booking with me . I will also be selective in whom I accept as guest .

Thank you once again, have an awesome day .

Cheers,

Toni

[Pete69]

@Pete69 About one third of my guests have no reviews. Might be hard to keep a high occupancy rate without accepting people with no reviews.

[Sarah977]

@Toni225  I've accepted many guests with no reviews and they've been lovely guests. However, I don't use IB and make sure I exchange messages with the guest to the point that I feel they'll be a good guest. How someone communicates is key to me in getting a sense of who they are and whether they'll be suited to my listing.

A prospective guest who accompanies their Request with a message like "Hi Sarah, I am coming to take a sailing course. Your place looks charming and perfect for me, as I'd like to be away from the hustle and bustle of downtown. I'll be renting a car and will be out at my course most days. Let me know if you need anything I can bring you from up here.",  I would have zero qualms about, even with no reviews.

I also agree with some other posters that leaving some lights or a fan on is no big deal, those things really aren't heavy consumers of electricity, and I would just raise my nightly price by a buck or two to cover this possibility. If it's leaving the AC or heat cranked up when they are out, which can get expensive, and they were there for more than a few nights, and ignoring reminders to turn it down, I would tell them that if they continue to forget, I'll have to go in and do it myself. And of course leaving the entrance door open is unbelievably clueless and unacceptable. Do they really leave their own front door open when they go out? Hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

@Toni225  Airbnb does make hosts feel penalized for declining requests, even though they're not clear on what the "penalty" is. In my view, there's nothing they can do that is worse than having to deal with a lousy guest who you know right off the bat is going to be trouble. And the fact is - you have property in New York City, Airbnb needs you a lot more than you need Airbnb.

If you do decide to continue using the site, you might consider changing your listing type to "Entire Guest Suite." It's a small distinction, but guests who choose "Entire Apartment" are likely to be put off by the host being in an adjacent unit and observing their whereabouts. Whereas with a "Suite" listing it's understood that guests have a private self-contained unit (bed, bath, kitchen) within the home of an active onsite host. 

[Toni225]

@Anonymous  Thank you so much for your imput I will change my listing immediately,  I am waiting to see what Airbnb's response is going to be on this matter. I called them since Saturday and they have yet to get back to me, I followed up with four additional calls and still no response. I really do appreciate you imput it makes sense.

One of the things I don't agree with Airbnb with is that the will see you have a confirm booking thats checking out at 11:00Am and the will want you to book another guest who will be checking in at 3:00 and the penalize a Host who declines the reservation .  I had a inquiry whom I told it was not possible, airbnb sent me a warning tell me I face the possibility of having  my listing remove if I decline guest often .

You are correct in that I don't need Airbnb while I love hosting , I don't depend on it, I got an offer last night from a Doctor who will be interning at a nearby Hospital , he will take my place for the next six months. Airbnb also fails to realize that most people in New York wants them gone and City Council is working very hard with the New York Attorney General to shut down Airbnb in New York.

Thank you and do have an awesome day.

Cheers,

Toni

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Toni225 

I find nothing wrong in your revew at all. I would go further and reply to her review on your profile in a similar way for te benefit of your future guests.

You were factual. Enough said.

Furthermore, a late checkout can legitimatly be charged at 2.5X your nightly rate for any part of the next 24 hour period taken (Guest TOS). I would issue a payment request for that too as well as decline any refund the guest requested and let Airbnb sort it out. You have already spoken with Airbnb about this as well as 'reached out' to the guest - so let them get sorting it out based on their rules. Your evidence will come in really useful.

[Toni225]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  I do feel bad that I had to reply to her review, that really  is not my style to add fuel to fire, how ever I took into consideration that if I did not respond that in a court of public opinion I would be guilty . My main concern also is why should I not reply and a another host stuck with her as  guest in the future. I will now go to my profile and reply there as well.

I have decline her refund . 

I am awaiting a respone from Airbnb .

Thank you so much for you imput, do have an awesome day.

[Anonymous]

@Toni225  It is painful to hear how Airbnb's automatically generated emails and warnings are terrorizing hosts like you into feeling forced to accept inappropriate bookings. The fact is, you're a new (to Airbnb) host in a highly demanded area, so you're going to get a disproportionate amount of requests from guests who aren't a good fit for your home. The algorithm doesn't take this into consideration. I aired my thoughts on this here (no response from Airbnb):  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Voice/Stop-penalizing-hosts-who-decline-inappropriate-reque...

There's nothing in Airbnb's Terms of Service that requires hosts to accept any number of bookings, nor is there a clear policy on what the consequences are if you fall below the "Basic Requirements" targets. I have never met the minimum acceptance rate, but at no point was my listing removed or in any way penalized, so I don't really take it seriously. But still, threats like the ones you received add needless stress and risks putting hosts in dangerous situations when they feel that they can't follow their instincts on a problem guest. 

That said, there are a few things you could do to reduce the odds of getting an undesirable request. For example, you can change your Calendar settings so that all your checkout dates are automatically blocked from same-day changeovers (you can manually unblock specific dates if you wish). Or if you want several days between bookings, you can set it that way too. You can even default the calendar to all days being blocked, and manually open up the ones you'd like to book. I also think that the change you made to Property Type will help.

I agree with @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  that a Host Response is necessary; just remember that the audience for it is your prospective guests, so be sure that what you write is presenting your hospitality in the light you'd like it to be seen in. As awful as it is to get a nasty review, you can use it as an opportunity to demonstrate that you're a no-nonsense host who doesn't tolerate your rules being broken; hopefully this scares off other Guests From Hell.

[Robin4]

@Toni225 @David6 @Helen350 @Sarah977  @Ian And Anne-Marie1  @Andrew1406

I am always a bit concerned when hosts here suggest you need to relate a blow by blow description of a hosting that went wrong. You need to bring it all out into the public arena. My question would be, why?

What part of,  "I cannot on any level recommend this guest to other hosts" does the future  reader not understand! You are clearly saying, stay away from this guest. Do we need to know any more than that to make a decision whether to host or not? If the guest left a sh*t in the pan, burnt a hole in the sofa, used a months worth of electricity in two days, is that going to have any more impact than a host saying........

I cannot on any level recommend this guest to other hosts!

In fact the more brief it is the more impact it will have because nothing else gets in the way to  cloud the impact of the statement!

My feeling is, tearing another person apart (even though they may deserve it) just removes a bit of dignity from yourself.

Either the guest was fine, or they were not....I don't need any more than that, and I respect a host whos judgement has not been coloured by emotion!

Cheers.....Rob

[David6]

@Robin4 

I have used similar:  ‘unfortunately I cannot offer a positive review for this guest.’ 

But i have lost it too, and left an emotive response to a review. Is it the right thing to do. No, of course not. But the injustice of it all - often malicious or a retaliatory - and often on the back of huge  problems and hard wrangling with Airbnb who refuse to offer any support. 

You know what. I don’t beat myself up about it. Emotion is fine. If I read such responses (when booking as a guest)  it makes me realise how passionate and how invested a host is. 

[Helen350]

@Robin4 I suppose my issue with "I cannot on any level recommend this guest" without saying why is possibly unfair to the guest? It can say more about the host's unreasonable or unhinged attitude, rather than the guest..... For me, reading that a host would not recommend is unhelpful; I need to know why! When I was training to be an Occupational Therapist, it was impressed upon us that you should not write unsubstantiated impressions, without evidence; what is weird or unacceptable to one person may be normal behaviour to another... So detailing transgressions is not washing dirty linen in public, it's being objective, so future hosts can make their own minds up... (Personally I don't critisize guests in reviews for minor issues.) 

[Robin4]

@Helen350 

A good point Helen but when a host has said to you they cannot recommend a guest on any level, they are not saying it simply to make conversation, they are telling you to stay away from this guest. And when a guest has turned your life upside down I don't think ' possibly being unfair to the guest'  is particularly relevant!

But, Helen, I do get what you say one should not make unsubstantiated comments, and I don't!

I did not mean you should just use that one  sentence in isolation. I wanted to say keep it short and refrain from unnesseccary details!

I have only ever had to write one negative review and Helen I really hated to do that, you can see it further up in this thread on the bottom of page 1, I think, and I did substantiate it as far as was prudent without getting into minute detail. I explained the issue as far as any prospective host needs to see it.

Cheers.....Rob

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robin4 

I cannot on any level recommend this guest to other hosts!

Rob, In the light of @Toni225's review received by her guest your proposed review is almost complicit and apologetic. Everything was fine, but I wouldn't recommend? The guest would just laugh!

And Rob, there's nothing wrong in being factual and truthful about a guest particularly one who is attempting to claim a refund on based on lies, being disrespectful and inconsiderate. 

If you state a truthful review you can pretty much guarantee that a guest will change their behaviour on reflection of being called out rather than pussyfooting around their transgressions.

CC. @David6 @Anonymous @Helen350 @Sarah977 

[Robin4]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

Oh deary me, I didn't expect that I would have to post the same information twice on the one thread but, it appears I do!

Here, once again for the second time, was the context of that statement Ian....

Please can we move on now, and respect that we all handle the review process in our own way....make suggestions by our experiences but Ian, I am quite sure the guest did not laugh at the way I worded that review!

Cheers.......Rob

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robin4 

 I am quite sure the guest did not laugh at the way I worded that review!

I read it the first time. Posting it twice didn't make it any more relevant.

The major difference it seems Rob, is that your guest didn't even bother to leave you a review (of all her accusations) during the two hours she spent with you,  whereas @Toni225 's guest did with all its lies and vitriol and it stands there clearly on her profile.

I really don't see how the type of review/reply you are promoting here helps @Toni225  in any way whatsoever?