I made a rookie mistake

[Ann72]

I allowed someone to break the no-children rule at a 2-person listing and bring a toddler, and it's about to blow up in my face.  Big time.

Since booking in March this guest has made 15 separate requests.  I finally took a look at her reviews of other hosts.  (So TWO rookie mistakes - didn't do that before.)  She has found fault with almost every place she's stayed, except the first one or two.

A real Karen has been unloosed on hosts everywhere.

Today, I asked if she would submit her certificate of compliance, which Maine requires of every visitor except those from 5 exempt states.  This message stemmed the endless tide of requests from her.  But the eerie silence following means she's plotting something.  She is 100% the kind of guest who will comb through the listing, compare the amenities to exactly what's in place, and make complaints in addition to demanding refunds.

So the golden summer of 2020 is coming to a close.  Watch this space.  And in the meantime - don't get too specific about those amenities.  Karens are roaming the land.

[Laura2592]

@Ann72 so sorry to hear this. Is her stay coming up soon? Hopefully its a short one.

[Emilia42]

Ugh, maybe she will surprise you? Want me to do a drive-by? See if she's lurking about?

[Mark116]

@Ann72  What kind of requests has she been making?

[Debra300]

@Ann72,

Sorry that this guest already has you feeling uncomfortable.  I hope she's not the one that you let stay at your place instead of taking your annual August holiday in Maine.  Then it would really sting if she "demands to speak to the manager".😀

[Ann72]

@Laura2592  She arrived on Saturday for an 8-day stay uuggghhh.  @Emilia42 lol yes - last seen at Castine Beach.  @Mark116 Beach chairs, portacrib, high chair, full refund if we have to book due to Covid (no), beach pail and shovel, do you have essentials like salt and pepper, children's books and toys, will we find a cooler bag for the beach, can you provide us with a beach umbrella, we need sandy beaches (why come to the stern and rockbound coast of Maine?), we need a babysitter.  She got the guidebook twice - once at time of booking and again shortly before trip - and asked both me and housekeeper where the beach was.  @Debra300  THANKFULLY - no - that couple have stayed before and they are wonderful.  LOL she is winding herself up all right.

[Mark116]

@Ann72  People can be so annoying.  Salt and pepper?  Really?  A babysitter?  A sandy beach?   

I can't relate at present though because my post covid guests barely respond to any messages or even acknowledge them, so the idea they'd be pestering me for salt and a baby sitter would never happen. 

[Ann72]

@Mark116  SO annoying, and believe me, she only messages when she wants something - my messages to her go unanswered for as long as she wants them to.

[Yadira22]

@Ann72 I am so sorry and the entitlement from this guest is 🤦🏻‍♀️. I like to reserve my sarcasm for moments like these and honestly the moment I heard what she was asking, my immediate thought was “... and would you like fries with that?” 

You are nearly there! Stay safe. 

[Ann72]

@Yadira22 🤣 yes!  And for now, total

silence from that direction...

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ann72 

1. the no-children rule...

2. wanting a portacrib, high chair.. children's books and toys.. we need a babysitter.

🙈

[Mark116]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Yeah, I would have had a very, very hard time not writing back a snarky reply reminding my guests that I don't normally allow children, but made an exception for them, thus, there are not any toys, books or other items for children. 

[Ann72]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Right?!?!?  I mean I am seriously the worst for falling for this crap.

Oh @Mark116 don't worry, that's exactly what I did!  "Remember that children aren't allowed lol?  So  - no toys!"

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ann72 

We have a no pets rule. The amount of enquiries we get asking if we accept pets is unreal.

I fear one day I'll relent and have a mutt running havoc, peeing on the furniture, digging up the garden, ripping the upholstery, pooing all over the place, shedding on and in the beds, yapping and annoying the neighbours, marking the walls, and with a cooing owner who doesn't see any harm....

It sounds like you're in the same sort of nightmare and might already be suffering the same inflictions.. (substitute 'child' for 'mutt'). I can't say that I woke up in a cold sweat, but I certainly won't be sleeping easy at the thought and the reminder.

Our most outlier review was from a guest who turned up with an unannounced baby.. wanting a portacrib, high chair.. children's books and toys.. blankets, all tidied away as not indicated as being required, guests never read house rules, incapable of understanding photographs, then just looking for excuses for their mistakes.

I can sympathise. Good luck!

[Kelly149]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  ugh... our only bad reviews...

"this town has TRAFFIC, right at the time we wanted to checkin!! AND the host thinks we should only have the amount of guests that we booked and paid for and not all our extra buddies who live nearby, so unreasonable!!! (we're a 2+ million population & you didn't think there'd be traffic! and yeah, cheapskate, no free rides)

"this host is so fussy about SMALL DETAILS" (that small detail was that she had extra people over, ran out of parking space & parked a car in my YARD, on a HILL!! We came over extra times to try and push her friend's car off the hill where it was stuck and then after the TOWTRUCK came to confirm that all was ok.)

People are weird...