I hate the guests I have this weekend!!! (rant)

[Michael956]

I have two guys sharing a queen size bed in one of my guest rooms.  I'm gay, by the way, so I have no problem with guys sharing a bed, but these are two straight guys.  Guess they're cheap. 

Anyway,  all my guests have been lovely...until now.  They didn't respond to my request via the Airbnb platform about their arrival time, so I ended up messaging them using their cell phone number.  Now I can't get them back on the Airbnb messaging system, and I've missed a couple of their "requests" as I always respond instantly to anything coming from Airbnb but don't always check my personal messages. 

So the first strike against them is "bad communicators".  Soon after check-in one of them asked if he could do laundry "at night".  He said it was raining so he'd need to wash and dry his clothes after being out all day.  OK, no problem.  I offer my guests full access to my washer and dryer, but when he said, "at night" I assumed he meant 9 or 10 p.m.  At 1 a.m. I am awakened by the sound of a zipper crashing back and forth in the dryer, and a loud cell phone video being played at the table near the laundry area.  (My house rules ask for "quiet time" after 10 p.m.) Thinking of my other guests in the room nearest the kitchen, I get out of bed and go, "shhh", there are people sleeping".   

Now he is on the fourth (and last) day of his stay, and he has done laundry all four days.  My house is not a laundramat!  One day he took all  my still damp towels and sheets out of the dryer, piled them in a heap, and put his own clothes in.  When I went to use the dryer, I carefully folded his laundry, which consisted of 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear and 2 t-shirts.  We have a water crisis in California!  Then one afternoon I hear someone open and closing all the cupboards in my kitchen.  Fine, I thought, I tell my guests to feel free to look for cups, dishes, silverware, sugar, etc. in my many cupboards. 

However, later that evening I walk into the kitchen and find him munching away at my food, which i keep in the highest, most inaccessible cupboard.  The nerve!  Not only is my house a laundramat, now it's a restaurant!  I didnt' say anything because I was so embarrassed for him.  And this is after I went out and bought  a large fan for his room after he messaged me that he needed one because he "sleeps hot", even though it's a chilly and wet January outside.  They are both working my last nerve.  I've never left a guest a bad review, but I so want to punish them and warn other hosts. 

Sorry, I just needed to rant here.

I can't wait for them to leave tomorrow morning.  

[Tracy76]

We experience the same, people taking out nice towels to beach or putting them on the floor by the pool. We ended up buying some inexpensive beach towels and leave one per person, which seemed to solve the issue. We also got a label maker and put labels everywhere, people seem to follow rules better when there is a reminder.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Heh @Michael956 so I see your house rules list will grow up after this guests? 🙂

Of course guests will do tiny loads, they travel with one suitcase. I think US machines are quick but European machines have washing cycles of 40 - 90 minutes + dryer needs the same time too and electricity is expensive here. No way 🙂 Laundromat is a block away and we give them a bucket and detergent  if they want to wash their socks by hand (they never use it)

We are off site hosts and I am very concerd about guests like @Susie5 had. Kitchen is a disaster waiting to happen. I am thinking to remove a stove and just leave a microwave and a fridge. 

[Barbara-and-Glenn0]

That is a good idea about just the microwave. We once had guests book on Thanksgiving and had asked if they could use our kitchen. We said no. It takes one time for someone to leave the gas on or even the stove. We did say they could use the microwave. 

[Maria1617]

I have one that has complained since the day he arrived 4 days ago. I had to leave the gym to come to his rescue because he didn't know how to turn the key. I wanted to hit him... Lol. But I didn't I said oh no worries anytime.. Today he texted me at 7:30 am that there is some kind of dust particles on the bathroom counter and that I may want to check that out. I was like really ?? At 7:30 a.m.??? He has 17 more days here, I wonder what else he will be complaining about. By the way, my place is really quiet and peaceful

[Michael956]

So this is a draft of the "private feedbook" I'm thinking of leaving them (I've substituted their names here with "Guest 1 and 2"):

"Hi, "Guest #1".   First, I want to say that I liked both of you individually and that I think you’re both very nice guys.  However, as an Airbnb host I had some issues with your stay, and I want to express them here in the “private feedback” section rather than in the public review that will appear on your Airbnb profile so as to not make your future bookings with other Airbnb hosts more difficult or interfere with your ability to make “instant bookings”. I’m not sure you fully understand the Airbnb concept of “home sharing”.  The advantages of Airbnb stays are that the cost is significantly less than staying in a hotel, you get the personal attention of your Airbnb host, and you get to experience life in the place you’re visiting as a “local”.  In exchange, Airbnb hosts expect guests to follow the simple rules outlined on the listing and to follow common sense rules that apply whenever staying in a private home.  These were my areas of concern:  1) Not using the Airbnb platform to communicate.  When you didn’t respond to my message via Airbnb about your arrival time, I contacted you via your cell phone and you responded.  That’s fine, but all subsequent communication was via text messages instead of the Airbnb platform.  I read all Airbnb messages and respond to them instantly, but don’t always check my personal messages, so it’s important to hosts that guests use the Airbnb messaging system.  2)  Laundry.  I happily provide guests with access to the washer and dryer.  However, you used the washer 4 times on a 4 day visit, all for very small loads.  There’s a water crisis in California!  Hotels change a fortune to wash just one piece of clothing.  Of course it’s fine to use the washer if an Airbnb offers it, but within reason (and not in the middle of the night).  3)  (this issue pertains to "Guest #2").  The vast majority of Airbnbs don’t offer food of any kind.  I put out breakfast items like juice, bagels and muffins so my guests are ready to start their day without having to stop and get something to eat.  However, "Guest #2" went through the kitchen cabinets at all hours (except breakfast!) and ate the breakfast food as well as items not intended for guests.  I didn’t say anything so as not to embarrass him, but this was not appropriate guest behavior.  4) Finally, guests are asked to keep shared spaces clean, and that includes washing your own glasses, cups and dishes after use.  In summary, each of these issues are minor ones, but taken together they left a less than favorable impression of your stay.  Many Airbnb hosts would have left you an unpleasant public review and rated you poorly, perhaps with a “thumbs down” that might prevent you from making “instant bookings”, but I prefer to offer these observations to your privately so that your next Airbnb stay is more positive for both you and the host.  I wish you many more Airbnb experiences and lots of happy travel in your future. 

[Jeannette0]

 What's wrong with a short public review, reading --

Pleasant guests in person. Some snags with (Guest A) and (Guest B) related to spotty pre-trip communication, doing laundry noisily at 1 a.m., eating food not set out for guests, and cleaning and putting away items in common areas.

... as well as a private thumbs-down if you like.

[Michael956]

@Jeannette0 That sounds very reasonable, and I may do just that.   Thanks.  

[Kelly149]

I'd have to aggree. No private feedback needed, that just gives them ammo for something nasty to say in response to the public review you do give them. Bad reveiws are often the less said the better.

The "pleasant enough but maybe not well suited to shared home listings" is the ideal review I think. 

Then: Communication 3 stars, House Rules 3 stars, Cleanliness 4 stars. You decide about Overall & Thumbs Up/Down.

Your first instinct was right, it is not your job to train these guys. The review is for the benefit of future hosts. If they're self-aware enough to take note of your review, Google can tell them how to be a good house guest.

Btw, when guests message off platform (they don't know any better) I just respond to their message in the app. If I'm really not sure if they're getting it, then I may text an image of my message in the app to their cell. Usually good to remind that type of guest that they need to be getting notifications of messages while they're in a stay.

[Michael956]

@Kelly149  Good advice.  Thanks.  

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jeannette0 yes, keep it short, young people don't read more than 3 sentences in a row... max

[Ruth12]

Is there really a reason to slam all young people when we are talking about the behavior of individuals?  Not all young people are created equal and I know many old people who don't read more than 3 sentences.  Every generation thinks that the generations who follow are not as good as themselves.

[Perry17]

perfect public review.

we spend time trying to educate someone elses kids on manners and we are just wasting energy.

bad guests snowball, we think we are being "kind" by not giving honest reviews in public when we are in fact just being unkind to our fellow hosts.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Michael956

Fyi, this was our review for the problem guest we had. Henry and I did not want to go into details about what bothered us but still wanted to warn other hosts. Our personal opinion was that he was a bit passive-agressive. He did leave us a pretty good review though. Our friends say he probably couldn't come up with a reason NOT to give us a nice review and we're just thankful he wasn't totally unreasonable. 

"While we appreciate that most house rules were respected, the guest needed occasional reminders about common sense/basic courtesy and we were a bit disappointed that our comments or requests were accepted with a smile & apology but then mostly disregarded. Would not recommend for a shared house situation."

We also gave him an average 2~3 stars in all review areas and clicked "not recommend". 

Based on some of the other horror stories I know he's probably not the WORST but he definitely could have been nicer and a little more considerate. We didn't bother with a private feedback.

[Michael956]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  That's an excellent review for him.  It's balanced, professional and honest without being overly emotional.  Thanks for the example.  

[Mary151]

That is kindly said and a nice idea, however as a host, I definitely would want to be aware of these guests and their poor behavior. By not giving a "bad" review  you are blind siding other hosts I would think- just my take on it 😞