Rating a Guest

[Pam2286]

We are relatively new hosts. So far we have had 4 guests. The first 3 left our house in pristine condition, and followed all of our house rules.

Our last guests have been given 5 star reviews by other hosts. However, they left our house in what we consider a mess. Things like: large food crumbs on the floor, bugs in the hot tub (suggesting that they left the lid on the hot tub open overnight), empty potato chip bags in several bedrooms (even though our rules say to only eat in the dining area), broken toys, exterior doors left unlocked, etc.  They have left us a review, although we cannot yet see it.

Should we just not leave a review? Should we give them a 3 for cleanliness, and just not leave any comments?

Interested in what other experienced hosts think.

[Helen3]

I would say you should always leave a review for any guests and particularly if the guests have left your house in a mess to help warn your fellow hostings considering them for future bookings.

You can talk about any positives such as good communication and then outline issues you encountered with cleanliness and security issues due to leaving the property unlocked, leaving an appropriate rating.

@Pam2286 

[Nash-Cottages-LLC0]

@Pam2286 

Welcome to the hosting club! It sounds like you're already doing a fantastic job—three out of four pristine stays is a great start.

As for your latest guests, we've all had that experience where things didn’t go quite as planned. Given their previous five-star reviews, it's possible they had an off stay, but it doesn't mean you should overlook the issues. 

When it comes to reviews, honesty is key, but it’s important to be fair and constructive. If you feel their cleanliness was lacking, a rating of 3 for cleanliness is reasonable. You can mention the specifics without sounding too harsh. Something like, "We encountered a few unexpected messes." gets the point across without being too negative. @Helen3 had some great advice for including something positive in your review. 

As for the unlocked doors and broken toys, maybe mention those as gentle reminders in your house rules or welcome guide for future guests. If you had locking the door as a house rule, you could mention that they did not follow all the house rules.

Happy hosting!

Judy and MIke

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Pam2286 comments are way more important than the score. I would not care about crumbs and only really give bad reviews for unreported damage.

I fear you were spoiled by your first guests. An element of mess is to be expected and I am not sure eating crisps in a bedroom really counts as 'eating'.

[Karen114]

@Pam2286  Yes you should always rate the guest even when not favorable. It seems maybe the other hosts they stayed with weren’t forthcoming. 
I have experienced this myself. Guest has all 5 star reviews and they were horrible. Just know that guests don’t go from being 5 star to horrible. 
Crumbs on floor or counter and empty snack bags would not make me rate them low on cleanliness. It’s pretty normal actually. I also have rules about not eating and drinking in bedrooms but I know they do. 
You may want to rate them low on house rules for eating in bedroom, not locking up house and leaving the cover off hot tub. If these are in fact part of your house rules. 

[Mike-And-Heidi2 · Accepted solution]

The best policy for hosts is to leave an honest, fact citing review.

Leave emotions like disappointment and frustration out of it.

For us, what you mentioned would not garner a 3, but we would reduce it to 4 stars in that category.

You should rate them honestly according to your own standards.

I would also advise setting your expectations of them in the check out instructions.

[Rebecca]

Hi @Pam2286 👋

You've got some good advice here from some of your fellow hosts, did anything stand out to you in particular? 

[Pam2286]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. We wound up rating them a 4 in cleanliness and a 4 in house rules and a 5 in communication.  We tried to be as diplomatic as possible. We noted that the guests had 5 star ratings in the past, and maybe they just had to hurry out of the house, but we were disappointed that the house was not left in as good a shape as other renters.

[Pam2286]

This is the review we left. 

"Not sure what happened, as Jessie has received 5 star reviews from other hosts. Granted, we are new hosts, but our home was not left in as nice as a condition as previous renters. Maybe Jessie and her party had to leave in a hurry, but we we were disappointed in the condition in which the home was left. Also the exterior doors were left unlocked."