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.

[Sarah977]

@Ann72  Geez, couldn't you have come up something that would have made her cancel after the first 5 demands since March? You poor dear. 

Maybe you'll luck out and there'll be some Airbnb review glitch when she goes to leave a review and she won't be able to 😜

[Ann72]

@Sarah977  I did - a pandemic.  It doesn’t seem to work on these types 🙂

I’m kind of looking forward to her review!  Mine will be even better.  

It’s okay to have one guest who’s not stress-free in a six-figure year.  It comes with the territory.

[Cathie19]

That’s good to hear @Ann72, that means I’m safe now for another two more years! Lol...

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977 

there'll be some Airbnb review glitch when she goes to leave a review

Is that a thing? I've had a recent guest with a gushing party eager to review but couldn't as she reported "just went to write a review but for some reason it’s telling me that it’s not in the correct format..." ??

I thought it might just be a copy and paste issue but even that didn't resolve it. Are there other reports of this you've seen maybe?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Are there any poor women called Karen out there?

You should defend yourselves against these slurs.

What do you feel now your name has been associated with this sort of behaviour.

Also can someone explain why Karen not Sarah or Ann or Lucy or Emily?

[Ann72]

@Mike-And-Jane0  There are articles all over the internet about why Karen!  These things happen 🙄

[Stephanie365]

But Felicia's are breathing a sigh of relief now that they're no longer relevant. 😛

[Sarah977]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Yeah, I feel sorry for all the women actually named Karen. I know quite a few and they are all really nice people. But they aren't upset about it, they find it funny. I googled it awhile back to see how the women who go on rants over nothing came to be referred to as that-   https://www.insider.com/karen-meme-origin-the-history-of-calling-women-karen-white-2020-5

[Sandra126]

Highly entertaining thread, thank all for the amusements. @Ann72 , let us know how it ends, darling.

[Ann72]

Bless your heart, @Sandra126, I will darling!

[Kelly149]

perhaps we've started a new review trend....

"What a Darling guest! So very definitely well-suited for a super high-end hotel chain. We're just so sorry that our charming cabin seemed to fall so short of her many requested ideas and suggestions. We just kept saying "well, bless her heart" over and over during her stay. I'm sure she'll read the listing info on her next requested ABB stay much more carefully. I wish a hearty Good Luck to any host she inquires with in the future!!"

I'm adding *darling* to *how very dare you* in my hosting repertoire!!

[Ann72]

@Kelly149  🤣🤣🤣 dying

I've added Bless your heart and How very dare you to Darling in my host-speak repertoire.  And the kill-'em-with-kindness paragraph.

I channeled you when I wrote to the guest yesterday about getting her Cert of Compliance.  This girl has been blessed and darlinged into submission:

I am nevertheless 100% sure her review will be bad.  But mine will be 100% designed to warn other hosts about her, so we'll be even.

[Ute42]

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@Ann72 @Kelly149 @Sandra126 @Colleen253 @Sarah977 @Emilia42 @Mark116 @Debra300 @Cathie19 @Huma0 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Colleen253

What I have learned

I started renting out my place 17 years ago and I went through a big learning curve as all of You I assume. I can't get into everything, but I'd like to get into 2 bulletpoints to explain my hunge NO tutorial.

Early check-in

When I started this business I soon realised that every 2nd guest was asking for an early check-in and in the beginning I did allow early check-ins. But I never got a „thank You“. In the very beginning this missing „thank You“ didn't occur to me, but after a while I was starting to expect that „thank You“ but I never got it.

What's the procuct we are selling? We are selling time at a place. So if someone gets a 4hrs early check-in the guest gets excess product for free. Wouldn't it be nice to get a „thank You“ in return?

After a while I got annoyed over this and I just didn't allow early check-ins anymore. What was the result? Again I dind't get a „thank You“, obviousely. But If I don't get a thank You for allowing an earlier check-in and I don't get a thank You for not allowing an earlier check-in, why then bend over backwards?

The extra saussage

We have a phrase here in Germany, „the extra saussage“. This phrase has a negative vibe to it. Some people not only want one more saussage, they want it plus they want it different. Can I have a saussage without garlic? Can I have my saussage barbequed instead of boiled? Can I have a white saussage instead of a red saussage and so on and so forth.

I soon realised that there are people checking in to my place who are happy with everything, and there are people who are on the phone all the time asking for extra saussages. Why is that? It's the exact same place. So after a while I started to refuse extra saussage demands.

The point is: You have to refuse extra saussages at a very early stage. What I'm reading on this forum all the time:

• Guest: I want an early check-in

• Host: Yes
  
  

• Guest: Can we use the kitchen?

• Host: Yes, even though the listing says „NO“
  
  

• Guest brings a dog to a no pet listing

• Host says yes
  
  

• Guest: Can we have a cocktail blender?

• Host drives to the store to buy a blender

And this goes on and on and on untill the host gets annoyed and all of a sudden says „NO“. That is something the guest just can't understand and accept, bc in his or her mindset it is: „I did get 7 extra saussages already, why can't I get extra saussage No. 8, whats wrong with this host, I think he's an idiot“. And this is the point when everything goes south and guest and host are getting into an argument.

My current policy

I always say NO to the first 3 extra saussage requests and the very first request is early check-in.

I'm sending out a pre check-in information to all of my guests and in there it says:

• Pls note check-in is at 1600 hrs. An earlier check-in, e.g. 1545 hrs,
  is not possible as we need the time for cleaning.

Despite this information there are still guests naging on me about an earlier time but: NO. My house is in a very secluded location and it's alomst impossible to find even with car navigation. My guests don't even get the adress of my place, instead they get the adress of a meeting point where I will pick them up at 1600 hrs (Not: 1545 hrs!). So they can't surprise me by just pullin up the driveway and all of a sudden just be there. Despite all these precautions, sometimes this happenes:

• Guest calls me at 3pm: We are at the meetingpoint

• Ute: Great, I'll be there at 4pm.

In Summertime they now have to sit there in the heat of 90F degrees, sweating all over, and when they get to my place they are so worn out and exausted that many of them just don't have energy anymore to ask for a saussage. And if they do they get a triple-NO. This combination breaks the attitude of all demanding guests.

You may now say this is pretty rude what I'm doing, but I do something to make up for that.

When guests arrive they get a fridge which is completely filled up. Eggs, bread, micemeat, canned tomatos so they can prepare a spaghetti meal for themselves and their kids. There are cold bottles of beer for the guys, white wine, red wine (outside the fridge!), and I do have a vegetable garden, harvest salat and all kinds of other vegetables for them an put it into the fridge. Also I have an ice cube machine which is a surprise to them. This is a professional device that produces 50 lbs of icecubes per day and my guests just love it in summertime.

So the general policy is: Whatever they ask for they don't get. But they do get unexpected extra products free of charge. This policy works great for me, in 95% of all cases I don't hear anything from my guests on site. And if they need a cocktail blender they themselves drive to a store to buy it, in fear of getting their NO No. 4.

It's important to say NO, and we need to say that in the very beginning.

[Ann72]

@Ute42   I live and run a business in New York.  I say no while literally stepping over people.

I know that it's often hard to catch the tone in another language, but the very title of this post should signal that one knew that one should have said no from the very beginning 🙂

"I (translation: a savvy veteran) made a rookie (translation: an inexperienced newbie) mistake."

You are 100% right that it's important to say no at the beginning, because as our saying goes, "if you give an inch they'll take a mile."  

Everything the guest has asked for since then was either already supplied or denied.  But you are right that once they get one thing they keep trying.

The difference between you and me is that when I say "no," I don't apologize with a fridge full of food.  I don't apologize for saying no while stepping over someone by tossing them a dollar.  I don't feel guilty about saying "no."  But in this case, I definitely regretted saying yes 🙂

[Ute42]

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@Ann72 

• "I (translation: a savvy veteran) made a rookie (translation: an inexperienced newbie) mistake."

I (NO NO Ute) just looked up the word „rookie“ in the dictionary and Your translation is correct.

I know You're not a rookie anymore, I was mainly refering to myself in that post.

As far as the fridge goes: I agree it looks a little weird if I tread my guests so mean and then fill up the fridge for free. Maybe I have to reconsider this. I'm finetunig my check-in policy all the time. 😊