Needy Guest

[Lenore22]

Hoping this goes to the host circle to commiserate- last time it posted to the help board... 😬

Well here we are: day 1 of a 3-day stay with a guest who asked if our pet-friendly listing could be extra-cleaned prior to their stay because her "children have severe allergies to pets." (We said no, not beyond our already rigorous standards for covid-19) Despite my not-so gently recommending no less than 5 other local listings that have strict no-pet policies that would meet their needs with lovely hosts whom I personally recommend, she decided to book with us anyway. ("Your place looks just so perfect and everyone says it's so clean...")

I guess the flattery got to me... Well here we are, after a week of updating her daily on conditions during a severe local wildfire because her family has bad asthma and is worried about air quality, this well-intentioned guest is making all kinds of little suggestions on how we can improve... Well, we did ask for it after all, didn't we?

From rewashing all the towels last night because she didn't like how they smell, to helpful notes about what supplies are running low (laundry soap- thank goodness she travels with tide pods in case she suddenly needs to wash 10 towels sets; toilet paper & paper towels already after 1 night)- she's got a keen eye for detail, so now we can just start guessing whether these helpful notes will start chipping away at star ratings or if there's anything we can do to turn it in our favor. 

I know... I know... We should have cancelled. Difficult when all of our other bookings this month have cancelled due to the wildfire. (It's kind of a big deal... Our house is safe, but the community is severely impacted- including one of our cleaners whose family was evacuated last week and we haven't heard from in a few days).

Is there anything you do in the middle of a stay like this to make the best of the situation? Do I offer a little gift certificate to use at the member businesses in town for her understanding? Or is that just adding fuel to the fire?

Fingers crossed...

[Lenore22]

Do you just ask for a photo of the ID through Airbnb?

[Lisa723]

@Inna22 @Lenore22 

take care:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2799/airbnbs-offplatform-policy

[Lenore22]

The kicker is, I love how they are using the house. I love that they brought their bikes To ride around the neighborhood and that the grandpa hoisted the grandkids on his shoulders so they could pick cherries and that they are spending lots of time at the lake. If she was just straight with me from the beginning, I would be totally cool with this. Was she just trying to put me off balance by coming at me with every single little thing that was wrong? Of course, now that I've called her on the guest # & asked for the fee difference... Crickets. Finally some peace! (This am my phone was going off every 10 minutes for 3 hours!!!)

[Elaine701]

@Lenore22 @Inna22 

Wow. You know, I'm (still) always gobsmacked at how people can justify all this pettiness and pickiness, while simultaneously defrauding you of rightful income. 

So this begs another question. Does this guest appear to be attempting to hide the fact that they have far more people than they booked for? It may well be the case that she hasn't a clue that she's in serious violation. Really, people can come up with some of the most absurd rationalisations for their behaviour. She may have convinced herself that it's all just peachy and justified. 

It's always tricky to avoid retaliatory reviews, but it seems as if you're headed for a less-than-glowing review anyway, so... 

Perhaps it's time to do what @Inna22  has suggested, thanking her for her valuable suggestions, but also offering a "suggestion" of your own:

"I would like to point out, as you may not be aware of it, but you booked for 4 persons, but currently have as many as 9 staying in the house. With all due respect, that does represent a 125$ per night discount which was never discussed with us, and frankly, even as helpful as you have been, I and most other hosts never would have approved if you had. If I am mistaken, perhaps you should contact Airbnb for clarity on the pricing. Thanks again for being such a helpful and understanding guest! ".

Maybe something like that would wake her up. It's not a "threat". It's a "suggestion".

[Ephraim0]

With guests like that the solution is "not possible.. " it's endless with guests that want an abnormal amount of service and attention. I'm thinking there's a good chance they booked at a bargain price, which is often the case with getting problematic prices. Never go too low, there's a threshold, bargain hunters are headaches more often than not. 

Begin detectinb requests that put you out right away. You knew it in your gut, I still ignore my instincts time to time, but it's a good reminder.  Saying no ends the cycle immediately and sets boundaries. Lastly  you can find comfort in knowing that some people are never satisfied. So just remember to say "I apologize, unfortunately that's not possible" and avoid headaches from the get. 

[Lenore22]

@Ephraim0 great advice!  This was my reminder. When she couldn't see it wasn't a good fit & booked anyway, I should have just cancelled. I don't think it was a bargain price at over $250/night, but she registered for 4 people, not our max (which she also exceeded), which would have put it at $350... So I guess it was a bargain?!?

[Laura2592]

@Lenore22 this is obviously a scam artist guest who knows what they are doing. All the "compliments" on your space in the beginning were to butter you up because she was going to go over capacity, not pay, and blame some sort of spurious allergy complaint on her fraud. I hope you will leave an honest review for this guest. Something like:

"So and so had a lot of needs that our space could not accommodate but decided to book despite that. Offered many suggestions on how to make the space work better for her. Booked for 4 and arrived with 9. Did not respond to communication regarding the extra guests. Not a group we would have back."

[Lenore22]

I might just copy & paste that review! 😁 Very accurate & neutral. I was planning that type of review from the beginning. Now I'm worried about damage or some kind of false claim that shuts the listing down. She's gone totally silent. 🤷‍♀️

She had 7 glowing reviews going back 3 years at the same place: a large mountain cabin like ours where they would stay every 4-6 months. I guess it was just a better fit? I can't imagine that if she's done this kind of thing, they would have her back again & again...

[Laura2592]

@Lenore22 its just hosts not being honest. I had a guest once with over a dozen great reviews and one poor one. She was a really difficult guest with a lot of issues. I think people were just afraid to tell the truth.

[Lenore22]

Yeah- the review system clearly doesn't work as intended. @Laura2592 

[Lenore22]

Final message after checkout with guest. It sounds reasonable, and yet I know differently on several points. Do I bother addressing/responding in case she takes something up with Airbnb?:

---her message to me:---

Hello Lenore

 – wanted to share feedback with you privately, I’m not a fan of posting public recommendations. First off, thank you for the gift certificate, appreciated, Angelica was wonderful. Spent a few mins chatting with her. In terms of our stay I was disappointed in the overall experience. As a traveler for work (pre Covid) I would recommend/suggest:

- deep deep cleaning. Throughout the house there were cobwebs, dead flys/insects on the floor, even a bug in my bed on night 1 (fire room) that kept me up most of the night.

- Towels (as I shared) had a bad odor, had to wash them all upon arrival following my shower

- Toilet paper and paper towels, in previous AirBnb stays houses are stocked up, we had half paper towels and 1 extra roll of toilet paper. Luckily I travel with an extra pack of paper towels but asking the guest to purchase toilet paper was disappointing

- Snack basket was a wonderful surprise, most items were expired in 2020-2021. 

- I think of the kitchen as a clean space as it’s the common clean area to eat and to have the fly swatter (dirty) in the kitchen hanging was a bit uncomfortable to me

- Recommend fixing the front door knob as it’s loose inside and out

- Shower’s don’t drain, properly, clogged up 

- a/c worked well, great wifi, beds comfortable, yay

I appreciate your communication and being available.

Wishing you a wonderful summer, we appreciate the experience.

****

For my part:

Insects: it is the high season in the mountains for insects, which is why we treated the house for insects the weekend before she came. This could explain any dead insects. As mentioned in our listing, our house is in the Mt Shasta wilderness and bugs & other critters will venture in through open doors/windows. This is beyond our control.

Deep, deep cleaning: in addition to COVID-19 protocols, the rugs were steam cleaned before their stay and the cleaner actually washed the couch cover & all the throws and as part of the insect treatment, cobwebs were knocked down the weekend before they checked in. Maybe some were missed, but this isn't an area I feel we neglected.

Towels: I don't know what to say, they were all washed & most guests actually comment on how fresh they are. 

Front door: is new with a new bolt installed 6 months ago. The house is old, so there might be okay in the mechanism, but I don't think so. (We did notice her locking/unlocking the door about 20 times after she was locked out when someone in her party repeatedly used the wrong code) ???

Paper products: we put a brand new paper towel in the dispenser with an individually wrapped roll under the sink and a roll with an extra in each of our 2 bathrooms. This should be enough for 2 adults& 2 kids for a few days. Agreed that it's not enough for 9 people, which is why we don't accommodate that number of guests.

The fly swatter is hung on a hook in the laundry room by the cleaning supplies in case the aforementioned bugs get in. It is offered as a convenience to guests like the broom & mop separate from dining areas.

-shower drains were actually cleared over the weekend as they are every month to keep our hair that accumulated with guests. Again, it is surprising, but understandable that with 9 guests, some of whom have long hair, it might start building up again, which is why we do not accommodate so many.

***TLDR***

I have an answer for everything, but wouldn't normally enumerate everything. I would just say: thanks for your feedback. we'll look into it.  Travel safely!

... Unless I should to cover my butt in Airbnb

Your thoughts?

@Laura2592 

[Lenore22]

Oh, and I actually took a photo of the gift basket

  remember this was a gift basket for 2 adults + 2 kids, not the 6 adults& 3 kids that stayed. The trail mix & nuts were bought last month & don't expire for a long time. The bag of granola clusters had a sell by date of July 2021. It's close, but considering they checked in on July 6th, I thought it would be ok. Guess I was wrong... 🙄

[Lenore22]

... The wine, microwave popcorn & fancy chocolate bar also were not anywhere near expiration. 

No good deed goes unpunished...

[Laura2592]

@Lenore22  well you knew that was coming.  Did she ever respond to your messages about the extra guests?

[Lenore22]

@Laura2592 

Of course no response to extra guests. She went dark until check-out- when we got the laundry list of complaints. I'm waiting to see what the cleaners find and then will charge for extra guests through the resolution center with a photo showing 9 people entering after quiet hours (I say no extra visitors after quiet hours, so even if she says they didn't stay, which they did, it's still in violation)