Guest sending mean message after leaving her an honest review.

[Hillary121]

I left a recent guest a review  which said she was generally fine, but didn't abide by my house rules (which was true---unregistered guests, let herself in before check in time, left overflowing trash and lots of food in the fridge, rearranged furniture and didn't put it back, complained about electricity going out due to severe storm etc). She left me a 5 star review. She was mad about my review and sent me a rude message about how she regretted her 5 star review and that she only rented from me because it was not a guy who she normally rents from and he welcomes her whole family and we should buy a generator, blah blah blah. How do you handle this situation? Do you just block her?

[Nash-Cottages-LLC0 · Accepted solution]

Hi there @Hillary121.  I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the recent guest. It’s always tough when guests don’t follow house rules. And, your experience highlights one 'pro' of the blind review system. Three thoughts: 

(1) If you wanted, you could respond to the guest's message in a polite and professional manner, reiterating the importance of house rules and why they are in place for future guests' comfort and safety. This might help in mitigating any additional backlash. You could also thank them for the suggestions. 

(2) Double-check to make sure your house rules are clearly stated in your listing and reiterated during the booking confirmation process. Sometimes, a gentle reminder before arrival can help. We've learned that lesson and have had folks message us and say 'whoops' we forgot to add another guest. Given folks the benefit of the doubt, but, it's good to highlight the important rules/requests early and as often as you can without being a pest!

(3) If the past guest has been annoying, you could block them particularly if you don't wish to host them again. It sounds like you wouldn't want to host them again and they would rather not stay with you. One point is that if the guest becomes more terse in their language (abusive and the like) please report them. 

Remember, you’re not alone in this. The hosting community is here to support you. Let us know what action (or not!) you decide to take: block or not to block. 

[Hillary121]

I responded nicely but she responded with another long and insulting diatribe so I blocked her. It was very clear to me that she doesn’t even know what the house rules are or she can’t read, because she insisted it wasn’t in there (untrue- it’s in house rules, my house manual, and a printed house manual in the Airbnb). Anyway, she had lots of 5 star reviews (although nothing that recent), so this was surprising. I modified my check in message to include a reminder about the house rules. I usually give guests the benefit of the doubt, but my Airbnb in in my backyard. She had multiple cars pulling into my driveway and let herself in to the apartment a full hour before check in with zero communication to me. 

[Helen3]

Hi @Hillary121 

Personally I would block the guest on Airbnb messaging and your phone and move on. There's nothing to be gained from having ongoing discussions around this .

[Hillary121]

Agreed- I did. 

[Karen114]

@Hillary121  Thank you Hillary for being honest in your review. More hosts need to do the same. If more hosts were honest in their reviews we would not read about bad guests that have multiple 5 star reviews. They don’t become bad guests over night.  Past behaviors is usually a predictor or future behaviors. 

Don’t be discouraged. As @Nash-Cottages-LLCO recommended, make sure your house rules are clear in your listing. 
Do you use a rental agreement ? I do and this solves a lot of problems. 

Hang in there, this too shall pass and give yourself a pat on the back 😊

[Hillary121]

I don’t currently use a rental agreement. I guess my question is, don’t guests have to affirmatively state they have read and agreed to abide by the house rules?

[Karen114]

@Hillary121  Yes, they do however it's as simple as ticking off a box at check out and we know guests don't read anything.

  Having a rental agreement where they are signing each section that they understand makes it more tangible to them.  Honestly,  I can't attest to how many guests actually read my RA and just sign away but it's there if I need to circle back with them about something.