Humans....we are a strange unpredictable bunch

[Robin4]

Within 30 minutes this evening I got the worst review I have ever had, and also one of the best.

I don't stress about reviews any more, they just emphasise what a weird and diverse bunch we humans are.

Here was my worst......

And 30 minutes later came this one from a guest who arrived two nights after the one above!

So, there you go, I go from being a totally unsatisfactory Airbnb host to one of the best within 48 hours.

This is why it's no good taking any notice of the Airbnb review system....who is correct and accurate here? The first review or the second, they can't both be right. What do prospective guests learn from this? All they learn is to not trust anything they read.....it's sort of counter productive!

Until this evening out of 508 reviews I have only ever had three 3 star reviews and I have never copped a 1 star in any category before.

Never mind, it will be more than another 100 reviews before another 3 star comes along, whereas I know I can depend on another 90 5 star reviews in that next 100!

I guess it reminds me of that old saying...."You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all the time"!

Cheers.......Rob

[Fred13]

What was the age of the first guests?

[Annie1372]

@Fred13 

Great question!!

[Robin4]

@Fred13 

They were in their early 70s, which did strike me as a little strange because, I am in my late 70s and I pay a lot of attention to making life easy for the more elderly. This is not a groovy kids pad!

No the thing is Fred, these are not Airbnb people, they expect a concierge at the gate, a hydrotherapy pool and freshly painted surroundings with not a trace of wear and tear.

Because they had everything running that it was possible to use at one point, they tripped the power circuit which by law for this type of dwelling is limited to 45 amps. It took a simple resetting of the circuit breaker but, because I was not there at the time to do it, they went out for the day. 

This no doubt had an effect on their perception! 

I gave them a reasonable review because I felt we got on ok, and I am not going to now look a goose by grizzling about them in the public response. I am just going to let it go and.....As I said.... it is surrounded by great reviews, let the rest of the reviews do the talking for me, and possible hosts can make up their own minds from there!

Aahh, all part of life's rich tapestry, Fred.

Cheers........Rob

[Valerija2]

I think you must give them an honest public review to warn another host! 

[Robin4]

@Valerija2 

Valerija, I did give them an honest review, they communicated well, were clean and did not break anything, as guests they were fine and that is the way I reviewed them. 

Where I went wrong was accepting them as guests in the first place. I should have realised from the problems they were having booking, the fact that they were new to Airbnb and their total lack of any sort identification and initial communication.....I should have suggested that my property would not be a good fit for them and ask them to look for alternatives.

I let myself down with this one!

Cheers......Rob

[Valerija2]

I felt exactly the same. Some people with aging are very spoiled. I work in a hotel, and we had a group of people 70+ omg...... most of them are ok, but few gave us such a headache. they were unsatisfied absolutely with everything. I quickly realized that is better to be more strict with than and not even try to please because it only gives them food for new compline. 

[Ann72]

@Valerija2  You are absolutely right about being more strict with this kind of guest.  They will push and push until they meet a firm boundary.  Surprisingly, I find that once they meet that boundary, they are happier.  I think they just needed to know where it was before they could relax.

[Robin4]

@Ann72 

Ann I am becoming more convinced that Airbnb belongs to the young. They understand how it runs, they don't compare it to anything else and accept it for what it is. I don't think I have ever had less than a 5 star review from a guest under 50 years of age. 

For our more senior citizens Airbnb is a leap of faith, they have heard how good it is but, they bring their hotel history baggage with them!

You can't filter your listing on an age basis but, if it was possible to be invisible to old f*rts like us.....that sure would be a filter I as a host would use!

Cheers.......Rob

[Cathie19]

Don’t filter us out?.. please…

lol 

🥴😁😆😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Ann72]

Ha @Robin4!  That made me laugh.

When @Debra300 visited recently, we discovered we had the same mother - you know, the one who always said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

I had the strong impression that your guests are living on a fixed income they thought might buy them more.  Didn't plan ahead too well and when they saw you making a beautiful go of everything, they felt envious.  But they didn't have the same mother Debra and I had and so, they vented their spleen.  It's apparently your fault their life isn't what they thought it should be!

[Robbe0]

Omg...I thought I was all alone on this, thank you everyone for sharing your experience with Senior Citizens (I love Seniors that aren't guests by the way (lol), my senior guests were kind but...when it came to reviews they really were over the top.

**Is there a Post on Hosting other Hosts? if so please let me know, this is my other challenge I am trying to overcome, almost 99 % of my lower review rating is from other Hosts, when I receive a reservation request and I see that it's another Host I cringe and get stomach pain (lol) in 8 years of Hosting, I only have 1 Host that didn't lower my review rating and he still remains one of my BEST of Friends still today, but after him, not so great..

Cheers all,

Robbe

[Robin4]

@Robbe0 

Robbe, you are definitely not alone and yes, I too have found some other host/guests difficult to please. They tend to think they know the platform backwards and offer suggestions and advice as to why their listing is better than yours. Their stay is a hosting comparison.

Robbe, I think it is human nature, as we get older we feel we have done our contributing to civilization.....it's up to our kids or someone else to do the running around after us. I think we get more critical as we age.

I had this one woman, mid 60's who was travelling with her similar age sister. They had come here because she was to be the Matron of Honour in a wedding celebration at a local winery. Honesty Robbe, it was like hosting Queen Elizabeth 11, she arrives with more stuff than I would have considered possible to cram into one vehicle. Her list of requirements was endless.

When the reservation ended and they had departed I went in to prepare the cottage for the next guest and there were 6 of her dresses draped across the bed, obviously overlooked in the departure process.

I messaged her and asked how she would like to handle the return of them. She said to mail them to her and she would attend to the postage. The post office said it not possible to do priority post collect and the package would need to be paid for on posting. I informed her of this and the amount (which was considerable with the packaging, around $35) and she took it out on me telling me it was up to me as the host to make sure the guests requirements were satisfied.

As I said in another post on this thread Robbe, it's a pity we hosts don't have an 'age' search filter!

Cheers.......Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 @Valerija2 @Ann72 

In my experience, older solo travellers are usually very self-sufficient and easy going. They tend to be polite and sociable in a shared listing situation, but also quite happy to spend time by themselves. They have a clear idea of what they are going to do while in London and it usually involves some kind of passion, like the theatre or ballet, or visiting particular sites. If they have particular requirements, e.g. they want a bedroom close to a bathroom, they ask about this in advance. They are organised and this is because they are seasoned travellers.

Older couples, on the other hand (I have no experience of hosting groups) are a completely different kettle of fish. Most of the ones I have hosted have been inexperienced airbnb users and, even when they are experienced, they come with unrealistic expectations, lots of petty complaints and an attitude of "What can we find wrong with this place?" rather than appreciating the hospitality and good value offered. They expect hotel standards and service when they have booked a lovely big room for the same price as a couple of hostel dormitory bunks. Of course they have never stayed in a hostel (at least not since their youth, but probably not even then) so they have no idea of the value they are getting.

My least favourite guests of all time were a very grumpy couple who expected me to cook them three meals a day (definitely NOT offered on my listing). Another couple rated me down because they said they never saw me after they checked in. They were here for two days but were using my place as a base to visit towns outside of London, so they were out from the crack of dawn until night time, when they went straight to bed. How exactly was it my fault that I didn't see them? Was I supposed to camp outside their bedroom like a stalker? They rated down the location but specifically chose the location themselves because it was minutes away from where their daughter lived! 

Oh, well, I don't accept couples or pairs anymore, only solo travellers, so hopefully won't have to deal with these types again.

By the way @Valerija2 , I was in Riga last week (my third visit). What a lovely city.

[Susan990]

Yes! Solo travelers are the very best clientele to cultivate.  Whether young or old they are always self reliant mature adults who take care of themselves and their business and always appreciate the value of the place they have chosen to stay.