Helpful advice

[Laura2592]

I have a guest who stayed and left. Not super eventful-- brought a cat, everything seemed ok. Reviews had been left and were positive. She messaged me today following my Instagram.

"Hi Laura!  I wanted to explain my scores left during my stay because I feel that I owe you an explanation...."

(Ten minute pause, during which I actually looked at her scores for the first time. It was a 5 overall and 4s in cleanliness (WHAT?) and value (uh, okay.) I tend not to dig into these anymore because it just irritates me.)

"I thought some helpful advice might be useful as one host to another. I am from NYC and I can't believe that your pricing is as high as it is. I don't know what your area is like, but this would even be high for me in a major city. I suggest lowering it to something more reasonable and in line with a rural market that doesn't have many attractions. As for cleaning, our cat got under a shelf in the utility room and came out covered with dust. We found a spider and I didn't want to say anything but it was large and scary. We took a picture of it and I will send it. It may be poisonous! I think these issues need to be brought up to your cleaners ASAP. We appreciate that you are a cat friendly host and wish there were more like you. With just a few tweaks we think your listing will be absolutely perfect. I would love to return if you offer a discount. Will be following your Insta!"

I have not responded to this. 

So of note: 1) this person said nowhere on her profile that she was a "fellow host."

2) our prices are very much in line with a whole house rental in our market. In fact, we could stand to raise them and would be if we were not selling.

3) dust under a shelf in a utility room?? yeah I will get right on that. TBH that space is so small its hard to believe a cat could even squeeze under there. 

4) the spider was a common house spider. Not poisonous.

5) they want to come back...at a discount...to do nothing because the area is obviously so boring.

6) we charged zero pet fees. They have a cat. Hardly anyone even takes a cat. Yet we are too expensive.

Only a few more stays.

Geez. 

Why would someone even do this? I looked at her private feedback and it was "we loved everything!"

[Rhonda45]

This woman be a VRBO host.  It stings to get unfair “advice” from people,.   We have all had these weird guests .  Try to remember that the vast majority of guests are truly nice and appreciative.  Being in rural areas, insects and spiders are common and people from cities aren’t used them so ignore her remark.  You might reply that her cat left cat hair and in the future she should check the area before leaving.  (I’m being catty- bad pun!). Everyone in the service industry has nasty customers.  Our sweet and very talented hairdresser had a really nasty customer the other day who wanted ALL. Of her money back because she didn’t like a wax job.  She and her daughter got haircuts and the teen didn’t like her cut and our operator offered to fix it and the mom wanted ALL of her money back!  

Thee are mean peoplebut remember most are really great! 

[Gillian166]

@Rhonda45 I wouldn’t dare ask for money back. My daughter had a colour done last week and she wasn’t happy, but we paid and left. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ll just never go back there. 

i agree. The majority of guests are great. And even CS has been good to me lately. 

[Robert5946]

I have had the same complaints of pricing ( it's a seasonal market) and we are not over priced. It bugs me as well, if we were over priced why did they book here!

Also I agree, most host won't take cats (your better than me) I don't take pets.

[Merrydith0]

@Laura2592  As a host I find it hard to understand why guests book a place they think is too expensive? Maybe so they have something to complain about? Life is too short lol I say. 💖💖

[Huma0]

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@Merrydith0 wrote:

@Laura2592  As a host I find it hard to understand why guests book a place they think is too expensive?

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Because their expectations are above their budget. If they could find what they wanted within that budget or for less, they would book it, but they can't. So, they book the place they want but can't afford (or think they can't afford) but at the back of their minds, they are not happy about spending more than they wanted to, so they are not going to be appreciative guests.

You would think that anyone with an ounce of logic would figure out that, if what they want is outside of their budget, it means they have overestimated what they can get within that budget. 

I get many guests sending enquiries along the lines of, "I really, really love your place and want to stay there, but it's a bit over my budget. I can only afford £X (usually 30-50% less than my minimum rates, and that's before Airbnb fees). Would that be okay?"

A few months ago, I had a guest contacting me asking for a big discount because she was a student. When I said no, her aunt (a Superhost) messaged me telling me that, even though my place was above her niece's budget, she thinks it's the best, but she is a poor student...etc. etc. (actually, it turns out she had a full time job and was just coming here to do a short course, so not a poor student after all). I still said no, and the guest booked with my usual long term discount. She seemed happy here, but gave me 3*, not just for value, but overall too. When I asked her why, she said she really enjoyed her stay, but my place was a bit above her original budget. 

'Above my budget' does not equal 'too expensive/overpriced/bad value', but unfortunately a lot of guests are only thinking about the former, rather than the actual value they received. You could say it's a  fairly entitled attitude. Sure, I would like to fly business class rather than economy, but I can't afford to and I don't think it's usually worth the extra cost, so I don't. I don't book business and then complain about the airline because I don't have a business class salary.

[Helen744]

@Huma0 how annoying is this . Has Airbnb done anything to change the way the 'value' question is asked and if not how about they introduce people to the idea of 'intangibles ' like safety . Did you feel safe ?  . Was your host helpful  ? Was your interaction clear ?. Could you see how to contact the host?. Did you communicate with the host easily?. Did the kitchen add to the pleasure and feeling of value to your trip ?. Did you find it easy to purchase food etcetera .? Did the host help you or give directions when you asked .? Did you ask.? Did your host assist with your parking ?. Were instructions clear.? Was it easy to let yourself in and out of the house ?.Was there a place for your shoes , your luggage , hanging space ?. Were there reading lamps,somewhere to charge your phone.?  Was there milk tea coffee or other additional kitchen food items .? Did the stove, dishwasher, coffee machine work? . Were there towels,  tea towels, flannels.? Did you think this was value ? or did you actually find a hair under the bed and get furious at the owner only to realise it fell out of your own head during the five days you actually spent in my house.  H. Kitchens are a huge value in every Airbnb and as long as they generally function that saves guests heaps of money if they choose to use them . I find that even those who are 'hotel people ' can quickly realise that most if not all Airbnb spaces can save them money ,by keeping them fed and watered in a great value way.. I am going to focus on this side of 'my business' from now on and if Airbnb boffins cannot or will not see this point of difference they are letting everyone down on 'value' H

[Rhonda45]

Actually, a guest is asked far more questions and has more options when they review a guest than the reviews the host has available.  I didn’t realize this until I stayed in a wonderful Airbnb a few months ago.  I don’t think it’s fair.  But most people are really good guests.

[Huma0]

@Helen744 

@Emilia42 posted screenshots of the review process from the guest side in this thread in January: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Review-Process-as-a-Guest-as-of-January-2022/m-p/1567000

Of course, this might have changed since then as Airbnb seem to be continually tweaking it, but it's fairly recent, so let's assume (until someone informs us otherwise) that it still looks like this. So, you can see the guest is asked a lot more questions than the host. Some of them seem a bit odd to me, but the ones about accuracy make sense more or less. I assume the amenities listed will be governed by what the host has chosen to tick on the amenities list. A few of the things you mentioned are covered here, e.g. communication with the host.

The problem with the value rating is that it could indeed be seen as 'intangible'. What good value means to one person can mean quite a different thing to another. The designer coat that is on sale for half price will seem a bargain to someone who is used to buying such items, whereas to another, it would still seem crazily expensive and a waste of money.  In my experience, most people tend to be subjective rather than objective. 

However, I would hope that someone who is logical would deduce that THEY chose the listing and agreed to the price beforehand based on two things:

1. Their needs/wants, e.g. the location, parking facilities, pets/no pets, outdoor space or whatever.

2. That it was the best listing within their budget that provided all or at least most of their wants/needs OR, if budget is the main consideration, the cheapest on offer that provided all/most of their wants and needs.

So, providing the listing was accurate, logically it is also good value. It was the best value on offer, which is why they booked it. Sadly, common sense is not so common, as others have said.

[Emilia42]

@Merrydith0 

What a person can or cannot afford does not equal value.

A product or service must be experienced in order for a user to determine its value. Just because a guest books or spends within their budget doesn't mean that value is there. 

[Brittney101]

Was the cat authorized?

[Laura2592]

@Brittney101 yes we are pet friendly. 

[Helen744]

@ Brittany101 by the CIA snoop cat H

[Hal3292]

@Laura2592My wife saw your post and figured you might like to read her proposed answer to your guests:

"I thought some helpful advice might be useful as one ABB aficionado to another. I am from somewhere other than NYC, and I can't believe how lucky I am to have received such detailed advice, and unsolicited at that! How kind of you to offer pricing guidelines even though, as you say, you don’t know what my area is like. I know it can be hard for people from NYC to identify with those of us not from the big city. And I am thrilled that your cat survived the encounter with dust – and you with that scary spider! I’m looking forward to the picture you took – but then again I like spiders, so we may be appreciating it from different angles. With just a few tweaks I think you would be absolutely perfect guests. I would love to have you back but only if you bring two cats next time and remember to bring your feather duster! LOL. Oh, and your timing is amazing! I was just about to adjust my pricing, and your next stay will be 25% higher. See you on Insta!”  

[Karla533]

@Laura2592   That guest was trying to do you a favor. I would have been grateful for such a message.