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.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Kelly149 

Funny how most of those details are already in the house rules which the guests never read, although when it creates a problem for them, it's the hosts fault it wasn't read. Key points now we send in the welcome email stating stuff previous guests couldn't be bothered reading. Each listing will have its own points, I expect.

 it MIGHT get you less guests, but it DEFINITELY gets you less problems.

Don't take that to its logical conclusion, you might enjoy it too much!

[Ann72]

@Kelly149 

Nightmare!  Toxic, spiteful, and entitled.  Much worse than weird.

[Ann72]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Thank you - I think I posted to remind myself Never again...  In your shoes I might have been jailed for murder after the infant-bearing lady showed up - such a good thing I'm a remote host at times like this.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ann72 

With experience you would learn how to handle it.

What can never be learnt or taught is how the guests will react after their stay. You get a feeling something isn't quite right and there's something brewing.. You just know when that fall is going to happen and when that retaliatory review is going to come. Pretty much as you infered in your initial post about missing amenities.

@Veronica824 reminded me of this with her post this morning on retaliatory reviews. Might be worth a look to consider any future actions.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Retaliatory-Reviews-Inequality-what-to-do/m-p/133963...

[Ann72]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  That 1 star overall when all categories were 3 or better is just so bad!!!

My experience has definitely taught me that something is brewing with this one.  Every message from me is about containing her ridiculous sense of entitlement but of course I'm using all honey and no vinegar and killing her with kindness on the surface.  Certainly as far as communication there is absolutely nothing negative she can point to.  

But experience tells me she'll find something!  She checks out Saturday so I have a feeling we'll know by next week.  🙂

[Veronica824]

it's Sept 7th and I'm still waiting for my support case manager to resolve the issue for me from Aug. 2nd open ticket about the retaliatory review I received.   Latest ridiculous claim from case manager is I deserve the 1 star review for not "Respects House Rules" when the guest barricaded me in my apartment and the police were called.   You can bet I've spent the last month researching what is and is not legal to do in Michigan should this type of situation ever happen again because Trust and Safety took the information, agreed to speak to the police who had been called, the police were here waiting on Trust and Safety to call before extracting the guest, but they didn't call.  We must remember AirBnb is a booking site. The rest is up to us.   There are forums outside of this community where I am learning a whole lot! 

[Debra300]

@Ann72,

You should let @Ute42 answer that guest's inquiries.

[Kelly149]

@Ann72 I realize that on another thread I told @Inna22 not to say sorry... but this lady sounds like she needs a good dose of "OH DEAR" and "BLESS YOUR HEART"

I'd say from here on out every single question gets a paragraph or more....

A Babysitter - oh yes! I'm so sorry I didn't think of that before, of course I'm happy to recommend several!! Jimmy's cousin, Myrtle's, sister Jean, is staying at the Williams' this summer and I heard that she is just wonderful with children!! She's about 75/80 though so remind me again how old your little darling is? I mean, if she isn't crawling yet and has had her dinner and been put to bed then I'm just sure that Jean would be wonderful to have over to the cottage.

Or I did hear that when the hardware store and the high school cut back on their hours then Ralph and Betty were looking for some more work so that they could still go ahead and move out of Betty's parents' basement, so I think they've done just about anything anyone has asked of them lately so I know they'd take care of anything you need. 

Or also, I think Karleen down on Harbor has been looking for work too! Well, you just let me know how I can help and I'm sure we can work this out.

I hope y'all had a terrific time at the beach!!! Take care!!

[Ann72]

@Kelly149  You will not believe this but I was literally going to call on you because I really, really needed some of that killer Bless your heart I-just-cut-out-your-spleen-and-you-didn't-even-notice

that only a Southern woman can provide.  I've got something all ready for the next one thanks to you lol.

[Kelly149]

@Ann72 well good luck!! we all certainly need the diversion of a good story, but I hope for your sake that she gets it together!

Yesterday, I had a guest who wanted to call and talk about a reservation... "wait, I'm sorry, who are you because that reservation is for a name that isn't you?" Guess what, today the reservation is in her name (instead of husband's) and all is well.

Yesterday, my husband says "gosh it's been a long-time since you've had a problem guest or a grumpy review". Ummm, yeah, you know that 'life's too short to put up with this BS' attitude I've had lately about dumb questions and pushy guests.... it MIGHT get you less guests, but it DEFINITELY gets you less problems.

Oh, and you know who provides babysitters and sandy beaches with umbrellas.... the Four Seasons... 2k/night... 

[Ann72]

@Kelly149  I am slain on the floor - this is HILARIOUS.  Your husband is so lucky to have your life's too short attitude.

There is a New York lady equivalent to the Southern lady's bless-your-heart and that's darling.  If you pick up the phone and say darling once, with emphasis, to a friend, everyone is happy.  However, if a maitre d', a theatre usher, or for instance an Airbnb host says darling three or more times in the course of a conversation, you are complete and utter toast.  This lady has been darling'd.  She actually called after receiving a 3-darling paragraph and got darling'd some more:  "Darling, you are hilarious!  But I remember having one baby!  You can't go anywhere without a BATTALION!  Darling by the third you're throwing a diaper into your handbag and telling everyone to suck an ice cube. Now don't worry about another thing - you'll be fine!  Darling you'll forget you ever needed more than a single towel by the time Maine has its way with you."

That has considerably slowed her down.  She tried one more thing - asking for a babysitter - and I instantly referred her to my housekeeper.  

Now I've positioned her into a corner by asking her to produce the mandatory Certificate of Compliance Maine requires every guest to hand over or email upon checking in to lodging.  She doesn't know that I will be holding this over her head for the rest of her trip.  I'm sure I'll get a spiteful review but much more than mean reviews I hate people who think the rules weren't made for them.

[Cathie19]

Ah! Hmmmm..... but @Ann72  & @Kelly149  & @Ute42  & @Jessica-and-Henry0 , is it the right sized umbrella? Right colour?

[Sandra126]

I once had a potential guest say she was going to report me because I wouldn't allow her booking with a toddler. Despite me saying not suitable in listing. Also said she was going to slag me off on social media because she really really wanted to stay and it wasn't fair. I love children as guests, but school age only. I'm sorry @Ann72 that you had this experience, I love the Texan response. I will learn from it and try to embody it in my next response, whenever I get back to the game of hosting.

[Huma0]

@Sandra126 

I don't accept children and state this on the listing. I mean what part of "I do not accept guests under 18 under ANY circumstances," is unclear?

However, until I switched to long-term guests, I still got a lot of enquiries and booking requests from families with kids. Most of them did not want to take no for an answer. They would keep messaging telling me that their child was really well behaved, really mature, exceptional and therefore I need to make an exception.

I had one who repeatedly tried to instant book for herself and two girls, even though the room was for two max and I had told her no over and over again.  Another got extremely rude and aggressive, asked me what was wrong with me and told me I must be an awful person.

Look, I don't dislike kids, not at all and, for some reason, they seem to like me. I just don't want to host them.

[Sandra126]

@Huma0  indeed, and why would you want to take your children to a listing that doesn't feel happy hosting them? The reasons could be lack of safety or whatever. Just book with places geared to family and you'll have a happier stay.