Increasing guest expectations

[Matthew1526]

I wondered if anyone else has seen an increase in guest expectations / complaints since the pandemic? 
I’ve increased my prices about 10%, since the cost of everything in London has gone up by at least this much. I don’t know if it’s price related, but I’m getting many more complaining guests who are reporting cleanliness issues (taking photos of inside the washing machine, a few crumbs in the corner of a cupboard etc etc) as well as other random faults to Airbnb and demanding huge refunds due to them (someone staying 3 weeks just requested a £520 refund due to the above issues!) the next guest will then give me 5* reviews and be over the moon with everything, so I’m pretty sure it’s not a case of a deteriorating property or standard of service. Just a more demanding level of guest on here?

I’m finding it harder and harder to meet guests’ expectations. They seem to expect me to offer a 5* hotel quality space + 24/7 concierge service, for the price of a poor 2 * London hotel. I’m at a loss as to how to manage things going forwards as it feels like there’s just no pleasing some people and I can’t afford to offer the refunds they’re going to airbnb and asking for. I also don’t seem to get the support from Airbnb that I used to. I don’t feel valued as a host like I used to.

please let me know if you’re experiencing similar things with guests. Many thanks! 

[Pat271]

I haven’t had these problems, but unfortunately this may have a lot to do with the supply/demand situation in your area. If a lot of your competition is offering palace-like amenities and service, there’s not much you can do except attempt to meet or exceed their offerings.

However, I will fight tooth and nail not to give refunds. I think guests’ refund expectations will vanish if NONE of us give refunds except for truly hampering experiences, like the furnace blowing up or something.

The most I do for minor inconveniences (and usually I am not asked, I offer), is to offer a gift certificate to a restaurant or activity. You can call a restaurant and set this up if certificates are not available. You’ll notice that hotels strive to do this - they’ll offer a discount off a future stay, a free breakfast, something of that nature. You don’t see hotels doling out refunds hand-over-fist for minor fussiness.

I also try to get a feel for signs of entitlement, before I book the guest. Enthusiasm, thankfulness, excitement about the trip, and a compliment or 2 go a long way with me, and I will respond in kind. It pays to develop a rapport with the guest.

In addition, I don’t use instant book, and I will not book a guest that will not engage with me. I wait 23 hours, and then notify them that their booking will expire because not all information requested was received, and give them instructions on how to withdraw their request to assure proper cancellation.

But…again, the bottom line is supply/demand. If you are in a saturated market for a particular business, it’s not a good proposition to get into that business, short-term rental or otherwise. Here in the US, we have some hosts in Florida that are dealing with that issue.

[Matthew1526]

thank you so much for your thoughtful reply.

I totally agree that we shouldn't be giving refunds unless something terrible happens to the apartment (god forbid!) or we agree for the guest to leave and be refunded for the remainder of their stay... recently I've offered this a couple of times to really moany guests, but they haven't wanted to leave. It's like they want to stay and make everyone's life a misery complaining about a million things, just so they get a discount. It feels so unfair to me that Airbnb allow this sort of behaviour amongst the community.

I think frequently about what people's expectations are vs what a hotel would offer and my own hotel experiences. You're totally right - a hotel would never give a refund! 

I've been offering to send my cleaner free of charge, some are happy with this offer, some say they don't want the inconvenience (even when i offer them to go whilst they're out) but I think a restaurant / deliveroo voucher is a great idea that I will try going forwards. I'd happily support my local restaurants and have an arrangement with them to give my guests a free dinner on me. That seems a much more positive outcome for everyone than an over the top refund request for cleaning issues that people don't want to give you a chance to rectify.

Unfortunately I live in London, so it's always going to be a saturated market and I'm already deep in to the business, managing around 15 apartments, so I don't really have a choice but to try and find solutions to trying to deal with these kind of guests. It's just upsetting to me how much harder things seem to be getting, rather than easier!

I too have stopped using instant book and am trying to be engaging with guests prior to their arrival. My sister meets everyone for check in. She had a really long and friendly chat with a guest on Saturday who then sent a list of complaints to Airbnb customer service about a number of tiny issues, rather than attempting to speak to either of us directly. It's just really disheartening when you think you're engaging with people positively and they behave that way, behind your back almost!

[Paul1255]

Hi @Matthew1526  hope you’re doing well!

Here in London I’m definitely experiencing a different type of guest in the post-pandemic world (if it’s even right to call it that, but you know what I mean!)

Now the majority of guests need hand-holding and support in a way that they didn’t used to need before- and now if I don’t hear from a guest after check in it’s unusual.

It definitely contributes to a feeling of exhaustion- managing 20ish listings isn’t easy, and sometimes the extra care guests require does get on top of me.

Pricing absolutely does have an effect on expectations that guests have, I have the full range of listings- 1 beds ranging from basic ikea at £70 a night to high end luxury at £230 a night.

i get the least grief from guests at the lowest priced apartments and have to work the hardest for my money at the top end.

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

That's interesting, because a lot of hosts on the CC say that lower prices attract more difficult guests...

My prices have always been pretty low I think for what I offer, so personally, I don't have a comparison to make.

[Paul1255]

@Huma0 

I think that hosts often end up with difficult guests when they lower their standard pricing to snag a booking, rather than having a listing that is low-priced.

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

That makes sense. I never do that. I keep my prices pretty low because I host long term guests. 

I have found that (in general, but not always), people who ask for extra discounts or haggle are often more problematic than those that don't. They are also more likely to leave lower ratings.

[Matthew1526]

Hi Paul, thanks so much for your kind reply. It's really helpful not to feel alone in this!

Today I felt really emotionally exhausted by guests complaints; none of which were what I would consider serious or a real problem  at all - in fact I often find that guests with serious problems, like boilers going out etc. are much more understanding and amicable to deal with than those that think they have a serious problem because they found a few crumbs in the back of a cupboard or some gunk in the rubber of the washing machine!

I think my issue might be that my listings are all at a mid - high level price point. So to some they're reasonably priced but to some they are a little over their budget.

Most of my guests are really happy, but every couple of weeks or so I get one who is disappointed by everything. I'll then rush around attending to their every need, feeling that I'm not good enough, only for them to leave and the following guest be over the moon with the exact same apartment and treatment.

The thing is that I can't afford to lower my prices just to lower people's expectations and demands, now that the cost of everything in London has gone up! Our electricity bills have pretty much doubled, especially as guests love to have the heating on full all winter with windows wide open... So I have to 'charge back' to guests for those increases, we can't be expected to stomach the blow, can we?!

Can I ask where you stand on refund requests? How do you handle these, particularly when nothing major has gone wrong and it's just small rectifiable issues, that the guests don't want you to rectify in any other way than a financial rebate!

Many thanks again for your time and input

[Paul1255]

@Matthew1526  I absolutely get where you’re coming from!

Fully agree, it’s the guests who often have a bigger problem during their stay, like no hot water for a time etc that deal with the issue with the most grace.

Ive had 1 guest  book out of their price range- and then look for every little thing to complain about to try and get some ££ back.

I offered to send the housekeeping team back in, of course they didn’t want that- so in the end I offered a partial refund of the cleaning fee and a Marks and Spencer gift card and then got on with the rest of my life 🙂

I knew a poor review was on its way regardless so I didn’t try to do anything further to make the guest happy.

I know that my listings, housekeeping team and my service is more than good enough, but there are some guests who won’t think so or won’t appreciate it- and that’s fine, I don’t take it personally or to heart anymore.

If I have an unhappy guest I won’t rush around to their every need- nothing I could do would be good enough and I would end up exhausted physically and mentally.

I think the joy of hospitality management  is definitely to be found in the happy and appreciative guests who have great stays and make great memories in London, but the real test of success is in those difficult and trying guests.

I think in the time I’ve been hosting I’ve realised that even if I’m providing everyone with the same standard of service, not everyone will have a good time and be happy- and that is often something that is out of my control and says more about the guest than me.

[Gillian166]

^ this is some golden advice here @Paul1255 
I only manage 3 so we don't find it as taxing as you describe, and many of our guests come to our wine region to explore, rather than spend half the time in the accomm. Or if they do, they are canoodling couples and generally pretty happy with that!

I've def had a few people who have probably spent more than they wanted to (those that book outside their usual price range), and I agree: they do complain more. I wonder if they think that's how "rich people" behave? Not that our listing is super expensive but I personally find the comfortable/wealthy middle class types to be very nice (even the lawyers, haha. actually no, I don't mean that, they have their own way of behaving, nuff said). 

We were commenting recently that it's sad that we tend to remember the guests who were trouble, and yet as you wrote I think the joy of hospitality management  is definitely to be found in the happy and appreciative guests who have great stays and make great memories...

[Paul1255]

@Gillian166  I think there are some hosts in London who could benefit from exploring a wine region!

Indeed, I think it’s human nature to remember and dwell on the negative sometimes- I suppose it’s a way of protection.

I could reel off the experiences with not-great guests and reviews without having to give it much thought, and I bet most hosts are the same!

It’s always good to read through all the great reviews and reflect on the guests who did have a great time 🙂 

[Gillian166]

I make little instagram posts with the nice reviews, plus their name, so in a way I do honour them, and elevate them. 

[Paul1255]

@Gillian166  Same! If I get a thank you card or note or something cute straight on the Gram it goes 🙂

[Deborah1226]

I’m having these same issues, except not with lower paying guests, but rather the higher paying. One guest complained and complained on a review, saying that the brand new mattress “sunk way down” when they slept on it. The mattress is firm with a 2” memory foam topper on it. It’s one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in and other guests have felt the same. The woman was pretty heavy and so maybe that’s why she sunk “way down”. If she’s that particular, I think she needs to double check with a host ahead of time to see if their beds are extra firm, instead of complaining after the fact and leaving a bad review. 

Another guest complained that I had a wrinkle in my hallway carpet. 

Airbnb caters to the guests and expectations of guests are getting higher and higher. I’ve compared with other listings in my area and have found that hosts are offering all kinds of 5 star services, including free breakfast, bathrobes, etc.  I thought I was doing amazing by offering cold bottled water, soda, microwave popcorn packets, oatmeal packages, granola bars, and a coffee and tea bar. I guess I need to provide milk, orange juice, yoghurt, toothbrushes, toothpaste, make up remover, etc. too.