Help with a difficult guest

[Galia24]

Hi, I am new at Airbnb and I have had about 2 people that stayed in the flat ( just started beginning of April with excellent reviews). My challenge I have now is that I have a lady that wrote to me about 10 things that are wrong with the flat

1) There is no ketchup available.

2) Fresh flowers left were not so fresh as she had to throw them the next day.

3) There is only a Tv in the bedroom ( which is huge) but she can't relax as it is advise for her health not to watch tv in the bedroom, she can only do that in the living room.

4) There are no scissors in the kitchen and she had to use a knife.

5) No rack to hang her clothes ( I went to the flat and left a rack so she could do that)

6) Only 2 towels provided needed more

7) There was one mug drying in the drying rack and she said she doesn't want to deal with the mess from other guests.

😎 New washing up sponge as the one provided seemed very used

9) No apron to cook

10) No microwave

11) I have a couple of unusual shape mugs, better experience if they are all the same size

On the day she arrived I was in the area and offered to take her from the station to the flat as she arrived with lots of luggage and was dark, so I thought I could save her some time.

For amenities I left wine, chocolate, sweets and some fruit as well as the coffee and sugar and cereal ( new)

Yesterday she said that some people would leave a bad review due to all the challenges and today she said that in order to give a good review I should give her a refund.

I then offered a free night ( she hasn't answered)

 I just feel very stressed about this situation , this lady is staying 7 nights at a discounted price because she is only the third person to stay in the flat.

Anyway I don't want to quit because of this type of people and although some of the concerns are valid and I know I will improve from this.

I want to get your thoughts on this situation and have you ever experience this with your guests?

Thank you!!!

Galia😔

[Helen3]

Hi @Galia24 

If there's a next time please post here for advice first 

1. It's against Airbnbs T&C to threaten a bad review if you didn't refund so you would have grounds for having any review removed 

2. I wouldn't have often her a free night you have done nothing wrong 

a. She booked on the basis of your description and photos if she needed a TV in the living room she should have booked one that had this amenity , similarly for the microwave , if you didn't offer ketchup then why should she expect it , same for a kitchen apron, 

3. you should have new washing up sponges for every guest 

4. moaning about a clean cup on the draining board is ridiculous 

5. if it is one guest on a shorter stay two towels are sufficient 

the guest is being nitpicky and unfair what are her previous reviews like .

by the way your photos don't show a sofa in your living space I would say that's an essential 

[Guy991 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Galia24 ,

Luckily I’ve never received an offer to write a good review in exchange for a refund. But if I did, I’d make sure the guest writes it in the Airbnb chat, and then I’d immediately contact Airbnb to let them know the guest is trying to extort me.

There are some things in the property that she suggested which are worth considering, like scissors and a microwave. But other things, like ketchup, in my opinion, are not. I never keep any opened products between guests. You never know how they were used, and there are hygiene concerns.

Don’t apologize. You’re not required to provide things like an apron or ketchup unless you’ve specifically listed them in your description.

Are you using Instant Booking? Turn it off.

I once had a guest ask me to move the TV from the living room into the bedroom. I said no, but she still wanted to book. I didn’t accept her reservation because I could already tell she’d be demanding and I don’t like guests like that. They give hosts a bad feeling.

That said, my first 20 guests taught me a lot about what’s truly needed and I was happy to provide those things promptly so they and future guests could enjoy the place more. Even now, guests sometimes ask for things that have gone missing or that I didn’t realize were useful. That’s normal and part of being a host.

You also want to show a clean and hygienic environment. This is very personal, but I don’t like having an assortment of mismatched old mugs. I provide my guests with sets of identical cups and plates. I don’t like to feel like I’m living in someone else’s storage, so I understand why a guest might be put off by those mugs. Other hosts might find it charming. I don’t.

I didn’t give a complete answer to your question but at least I shared a few things to think about.