Guests reviews

[Malisa8]

Hi Guys. I would like some advice. I had a guest staying at my home for 2 months. Firstly, he used his wife account. I was expecting a woman and on the day of the stay,  he emailed me to say that he will be the guest not his wife. Secondly, this man was incredibly messy, disorganized and had absolutely no respect for my home. Kicked his shoes off in the foyer....Everyday I lined them off organized them neatly and everyday he kicked them off with no care as to where they landed. He cooked and left the stove and sink filled with food debris and everyday when i returned home from work i cleaned up after him. Finally, my other two Airbnb guest started complaining to me that they were taking out the trash because he constantly filled it and left it there and they were forced to clean the stove or dishes after him-if I was at work or at my parents for the weekend. Worst of all, he damaged my hardwood floors by constantly dragging the chair against the floor. He refused to pay for the hardwood floor damage because he says it's "normal wear and tear".  So 3 days ago, after I asked him to leave my home, he started to complain about an "infestation" in his room. I asked the other 2 guest if there were any pest in there room and they both said no. They were no pest in the rest of the house. 2 days ago I went to his room to check for pest and I saw 2 dead flying insects. He said the room was filled with them and he killed them all. I said this is hardly an "infestation" . Yesterday he called me to his room and his room was filled with about 6 flying insects. I was very surprised. I told him he had to leave right away because they were too many bugs in his room. I called Airbnb to make a note of it and they cancelled his reservation. Here's the thing: now I'm hesitant to leave a reservation for him. I don't want people to think my house is infested with bugs. I have no idea where they came from....I also don't know why they are only in his room...giving him the benefit of the doubt. Please advise me.

[Malisa8]

I'm sorry there is a duplicate. I don't know how to delete the other post.

[Fred13]

"now I'm hesitant to leave a reservation for him." You mean a review.

   The first duty you have is to yourself. You got stuck by this unconscious slob and now getting him out of your life. Forget about a review on this one, just hope 14 days go by he doesn't review and you do not hear from him again.

    Since he got kicked out he shouldn't be even able to leave a review, nothing he has to say is of value, nothing, but Airbnb is not there yet in enlightenment. So IF he leaves a review, you do also and then you will have the option of a public response. That one has to be brilliant to lessen the damage of the guest confrontation/thrown out/get-to-review reality of Airbnb.

   Good luck, time to be smart (and cunning).

[Huma0]

@Malisa8 

If the guest does leave you a bad review, come back here and post it so that other hosts can advise you on what to respond. This is where a lot of hosts let themselves down because they get too personal and ranty in the responses and forget that it is future guests who are going to read the response. Not hosts, probably not the guest in question, but your potential future guests. Always keep that in mind.

It doesn't solve your situation, but in future, do not accept third party reservations. You were lucky that Airbnb helped you in this case, but if you accept a third party booking, you are potentially opening up a can of worms as, technically, you are not covered by Airbnb for those. 

Make sure you have clear house rules about how guests clean up after themselves in communal areas and require guests to agree to these rules in writing, i.e. via the Airbnb message system.

Put some felt pads on the feet of the chairs and any other movable furniture.

[Suzanne302]

@Malisa8 

What a terrible situation to find yourself in, and what a horrible guest! Even if you review this guest, he used his wife's account so he's free to start another one. Or, maybe he used his wife's account because he had bad reviews on his own.

@Huma0gave some good advice and I will just add this:

Chalk this one up to a learning experience about setting boundaries early on. If you are naturally a non-confrontational person, it does take practice, but learning to address bad behavior when it happens will make your hosting life so much easier!

[Malisa8]

Thank you guys for the advise. I did not realize that I had messages here. 

I'm learning to speak up immediately when incidents happen now. Thanks so much guys. 🙂

[Helen3]

I do hope you left an honest review of this slob to warn other hosts. Wouldn't you have wanted other hosts to have warned you about him so you could have avoided hosting him @Malisa8 

Also I'm sure you already know this as an experienced SH, but when he turned up rather than his wife, you didn't need to let him check in as it was a third party booking.

[Jenny]

Hi @Malisa8 

I'm so sorry to hear about the experience you had with this guest.

I hope the advice given by fellow hosts has been helpful.  You're always welcome to post on the Community if you need advice or a second opinion!

Jenny