How should I review this guest?

[Ann72]

I had a couple check in for a long weekend.  Upon InstantBooking, his introductory message was, "working on flight info- once we have them we will share."  I don't ask for flight info so that wasn't helpful.  He had booked for one person; when I asked him to correct it to the two-person maximum he wrote, "Two of us- thank you I- Once I have the airline info into Portland I will share."  I told him Bangor was a lot closer but didn't hear back.

They checked in.  I'm staying across the woods and blueberry field.  Two of the three nights they were there I heard more than two voices floating across the field.  After the second night I messaged, "Hi Frank, many voices coming from the cottage the past few nights, and as noted above, my insurance is particular about the number of guests in the cottage at any given time. Please fill me in on the specific number of guests staying asap."  His answer, "As we discussed previously, just the two of us over night. Do you need an accounting of day time and evening guests as well?"

Didn't like his tone, but let it go.

They checked out and I walked over with a friend.  The cottage looked great.  Nothing seemed wrong.  But...an alarm clock that is usually sitting in the bookcase in the living room was in the TV room near the sofa.  Yes, true crime fans, we had a clue.

Here's where I'm stuck.  I can't call him a liar in public without more proof.  But I think he's a liar.  The only two options I've come up with are these:

* Leave a review that's just a "." and all 1 stars.  Even though he left the place clean I'm seriously annoyed.

* Leave a review that says, "Frank didn't live up to his name" and all 1 stars.  

* Let it go, say something bland like "Frank was an okay guest" and give him low stars.

I don't know what to do.  Any ideas?

[Kate867]

@Ann72   You have no proof that he had extra people there.. perhaps suspicions, but not proof and a moved clock is not it.  I move clocks round my own home all the time.  I don’t have one in the living room and sometimes need to keep my eye on the time for a particular reason without having to fumble for my phone etc.

If he left the property clean then why knock him down to one star?   You have no proof regarding breaking house rules with regards to extra guests so again, I think one star is simply making assumptions and a tad unfair, particularly if you do not state that daytime and/or evening Dinner guests are not allowed. Finally, communication… Probably not the best and he was probably wanting to confirm his flight times so he could advise you an approximate time of arrival but no big issue really, seeing as he also mentioned ‘we’ in his messages I suspect he booked for one in error.  Embarrassingly I have done this myself before.

Airbnb expect both Hosts and Guests to leave honest reviews.  Perhaps star rate honestly and accordingly, leave a fairly bland written review ‘Guests left clean and tidy but communication could have been a little better’ and then mention any other concerns in your private feedback to him.

[Ann72]

@Kate867 thank you.  I allow people to have guests over and let him know that was okay after he brought it up.  I have many guests who only note they're 1 guest and know that's a simple mistake made after reviewing lots of listings and finally choosing one.  That's not an issue at all.

But I do know he lied.  He chose a listing with a maximum of 2 guests, then decided the place could fit more people, so he brought them.  (There were no extra cars going in and out.)  I have allowed the occasional guest to bring an extra and have accommodated them with appropriate sleeping conditions.

Bland is the best way to go.  I'll take your advice and rate honestly.  Probably won't go into things in private feedback because it's just he-said-she-said.  I will note that I won't host this guest again and be done with it!

[Helen744]

@Ann72 Guest was unaware of our rules and had extra people over, against our house rules, of  which we were not notified. This seemed deliberate not just a mistake and we felt uncomfortable . We treat our guests well and  trust them and we expect to be treated the same and so will not host this guest again . H

[Helen744]

then the message is out there and other hosts know what to expect and the stars dont matter really H

[Alexandra199]

Oh Helen, I agree with what you say but stars really do matter!!! I have had so many guests ask to book with reviews that all look ok (if a bit brief) but their star ratings show another story. The stars are the hosts incognito way of saying what they really thought of the guest. If you can't put your finger on exactly what was wrong, but you definitely wouldn't host them again, then please reflect this in the stars.

[Helen744]

@Alexandra199 I did not mean it quite the way you think Alexandra. Stars for hosts of course matter too much but when reviewing a guest there is no hard and fast rule about how many to take off and /or clearly why . Its imperfect .One mans poison so to speak.I believe it is more important in the written review to allude to the actual behaviour which caused poor star ratings . We all have different places and what may pass for challenging behaviour for one host may not be the same for another.I personally would not in Anns position have  said that it was okay to have people over . If this person arrived by plane then who was he 'having over'/ how do you say those subtle things that have no 'rules ' on Airbnb. The stars are not a place to take revenge although we may feel like it but if someone is really breaking the rules say so. We are all bogged down in guest counting but if we had a quota of guests and no extra  guest fees we probably would not care . It upsets us when people are rude to us but there is no stars for that just 'would not host again 'which others cannot see.We often host husbands and wives , partners, mothers and fathers , children and work colleagues. all of them may be having good days or bad days or arguments with each other or have a sense of entitlement or just like to take things out on strangers or those they think are paid to put up with it . Who knows?One day I will simply say in a review ' I am not paid enough to ever host this person again"H

[Ann72]

Don’t worry @Alexandra199 I gave him 5 for cleanliness but 1 each for communication and house rules.  Unlike stars for hosts, the only way to move a guest’s star rating down a notch is with a 1.  He will still be close to 5, but not a perfect 5.

[Gordon0]

I particularly like 'Frank by name, not by nature', @Ann72 

[Ann72]

Very on-brand for you @Gordon0 😂

[Nur785]

This is post is a year old, but I'm wondering what you ended up doing @Ann72. I have the same situation, except in my case I have proof as in an external camera showing the extra guests come in. 

I have extra comforters and pillows in the closet which I provide bedding for if there are more than 2 guests.  But because there were supposed to be only 2 guests, I didn't leave bedding for those. They used them anyway and got makeup stains on my pillow protectors but worse on my down comforter which did not have a duvet cover on it. 

They also disabled the doorbell camera after the guests got in. 

I have one day to review them. I'm wondering what to do. I didn't confront them and they didn't leave me a review either. 

@Mark116 has given me some great advice and a great template for an issue with another guest. I'm thinking about taking his template and applying to this guest as well without the specifics. Thanks again for the advice Mark. 

'R and her partner were polite and communicative.  Unfortunately, they were not a good fit for our space and had trouble following our house rules. They've had unauthorized guests.  For these reasons, i would not host again.

[Ann72]

Hi @Nur785 - I left a brief review, nothing accusatory because I couldn't prove anything.  "I found Frank's communication sketchy, but he left the cottage in good shape."  By saying "I found," I made it clear it was my opinion, an important factor in reviewing.  I gave him low stars and brought his average down to 4.5 from 5.  

He left me private feedback with the review, referencing my message to him about extra people:  "After your message we couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that we were being watched and listened to. I am giving 5 stars and a positive public review because the property is amazing - just thought you should know."

I believe that if he really had done nothing wrong, he would have left less than 5 stars.  But a guilty conscience makes you do things differently.

I think the review you've drafted is fine.  

[Nur785]

@Ann72 Thank you for the updated. I wanted to give you an update of what happened with my guest. 

3 hours left to review, I wrote my review. I also wrote a private note that said, I wish you would have told me you had guests and I would have given you sheets. 

She left a five star review. Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wonder if she will ask for the review to be removed or retaliate in someway. 

[Kevin1718]

This happened to me once before, couple (Husband & Wife) booked, however they brought there two children, my listing is on the water with an extended deck out into the bay. I have a no children policy because of safety I also have a No Smoking policy. They also smoked.

They were staying for 10 nights, during the stay they extended for another 4 nights which I agreed to.

On checking out I discovered from cleaning that children's beach toys were left behind as well as children's breakfast cereal, the cleaner also confirmed that the beds in the second room were slept in and choc. cherrios were all over the bedroom floor. I also confirmed with my neighbour  the number of guests staying as they saw them at the beach as well as out on the deck.

I requested money for the additional guests thru Airbnb which they reclined to pay.

I waited till the two week window to review guests was up to the last 5 minutes of the last day and posted a 1* review for the breach of rules. I was honest about everything. By leaving it go till the final minutes it doesn't give them time to write a false retalitory review.

I finally got some compensation from Airbnb. 

Kevin aka Furking Heaven

[Basha0]

I don’t allow extra guests and when a couple books and I see a bed in another room was used who am I to question it? Perhaps he snores and they don’t sleep together. I say “he snores” cause being a woman, I am sure we women don’t snore😀