The coded language of a review

[Laura2592]

I struggle with reviews. I try to be as honest as possible without being unkind. I have noticed that there are a lot of 5 stars out there for guests I would not have given 5 stars to. Digging deeper, there seems to be some common themes and coded language to warn other hosts that there might be issues belying the 5 stars. No one wants to come right out and say that this person was painful to deal with.

For example a recent guest emailed me 20 times or more per day of his stay with questions about very pedantic things. The sink made a gurgling noise. A light bulb in a decorative lamp went out. One remote only has one battery. He counted the light switches and can't figure out what one does. We addressed all of these concerns but it didn't stop until my husband took over communication. He responded immediately to that and the masses of emails halted. On his reviews this guest is described as "extremely communicative." When I write mine, I  would like to add that he "responded well to my husband" and that he may do better with an onsite host (we aren't.) 

Another guest had expectations for kitchenware we could not meet. He let us know our brand new Amazon delivered set was no match for what he expected. His reviews when I looked (too late, he was an early guest and I was still learning) said things like "this guest has a very high standard" and "this guest described himself as a chef and enjoys a restaurant style kitchen." Likewise one guest was very upset we didn't provide a lemon zester in our normal kitchenware (we had to go get one, she was having a literal melt down.)  Nothing in her reviews addressed that specifically but did say "XX has some quirks about what she needs during her stay. Best to communicate with her beforehand."

Another couple booked our place and brought in other overnight guests without paying. She sent us pics of the families standing on our porch. Her ratings from other hosts (all in our area) said things like "this guest likes to visit with family in the area." Or "so and so visited our place to be closer to her family in the area." I would have appreciated a "so and so had her family stay with her." It was obvious when we sent her the charges afterwards for the number of guests that she had done this before.

What have you said about guests in reviews that you meant as a warning to other hosts? Have you come right out with it or somewhat coded your responses?

[Helen427]

@Kevin1322  cool to read you rehome greyhounds, there's a few other hosts in here who do also, unfortunately I can't have a dog permanently where I am at the mo.

How about getting a photo of all the dogs sleeping snug together?

Or if you take one of them awake perhaps in a favourite chill out place where guests can take time out to enjoy them to - make having your dogs about an attraction to your home.

All the best

[Kevin1322]

Yes @Helen427 good idea, we'll do that.  I

[Helen427]

@Kevin1322have a scan through CC and touch base with others world wide who rehome Greyhounds - there's a few in here who have mentioned them, it's a shared common bond.

Maybe start a topic on them!!

[Kevin1322]

I'll ask Mrs Kev to do that topic, she has 1000s of social media  followers for the hounds and rehoming, people with hounds, and of course there is the hounds that hop group for tripods.

[Stephanie]

Mr and Mrs @Kevin1322 - I don't hide my love for dogs... I can't wait to see the topic! Nice to see you're in Cornwall - I have family-in-law in Truro. 

[Alexandra316]

@Kevin1322 I'm one of the greyhound people! If you go to my Flat on King listing, you will see Bexley, Alonso and Cougar amongst the photos, the brindle triplets. Lily is a cutie: love the tripawds, and actual grey greys are pretty rare!

Good to see another greyhound/motorcycle enthusiast! There is one other greyhound person here, from California: I'm going to try and find and tag her too. @Linda108 

You place is really cute: I love Cornwall. A bunch of my family lives in St. Agnes.

[Kevin1322]

That's great! Bunch of my family live in Halifax, Canada.

Love your hounds!

All of ours are grey (or blue as they call them here) just brought another home yesterday, a two year old blue and white, so we called her Daisy as she's patterned like a cow, and only two years old. 

[Linda108]

After 4 years of hosting a private room, I have developed a booking confirmation message and/or inquiry response message that confirms that the guest understands that I, along with my greyhound, will remain in the home during their stay.  Perhaps, in addition to the picture and rules, the message will alert a guest about your beloved greyhounds.

In my case, my greyhound, Cami, often gets more positive mention in the reviews than I do!!

[Huma0]

@Linda108 

Likewise. Even though they are mentioned on my listing and in the photos, I make a point of messaging every guests reminding them of the cats and they need to message me back saying they are okay with that. 

My listings seem to attract people who love cats or animals in general. However, a few do slip through the net, i.e. guests that are either allergic or scared of cats, but don't bother to mention that when I ask them if they are okay with them. These types just really like the listing and chose to ignore the fact that there are three cats. They seem to think that the cats will just magically disappear while they're around.

I have very little patience for that sort of thing. I had one guest leave early and said it was because she couldn't cope with the cats being in the kitchen. This was weird as she was constantly badgering my cats, even pulling their tails, which I told her to stop doing. I found out from another guest that she accidentally slammed one of their tails in a kitchen drawer and then became totally hysterical. It was only after that that the cats suddenly became a 'problem'. I gave refunded her in full for her remaining stay and was glad to see the back of her.

[Alexandra316]

@Linda108 They really are perfect co-hosts: we have a separate unit in our home that we Airbnb, but people often specifically ask to meet the dogs - and who can blame them?

[Laura2592]

All--

What about if a host just says "thanks for choosing our house/condo/boat/cottage" etc and nothing else? I have been reading those as "uh oh, tongues are being bitten here" but maybe that's not fair? It is telling  if that same host goes into a lot more detail with other guests in reviews.

[Helen350]

@Laura2592 I've often thought that too!

[Emilia42]

@Laura2592

@Helen350 

I see many of those kind of reviews from the property manager types. The hosts who have dozens of listings and I assume never meet or really even communicate with the guest. It is merely a transactional review. 

[Helen350]

That too @Emilia42 ! Tho a whole property host near me sometimes reviews that the guests looked after the house well, & sometimes just writes "Thank You for your visit!"

[Emilia42]

I used to work front desk and housekeeping at a hotel. And I can honestly say that we didn't have any of what I would assume would be a "better suited to a hotel" type of guests.

I can only imagine that hotel employees quietly rate some of their guests as "Better suited to an Airbnb." This would mean that guests snuck into the restaurant kitchen after hours to get a snack, that they checked out 4 hours late because they figured the cleaners wouldn't be coming until the next day, and/or requested a refund based on the hotels location even though they walked in off the street to reserve a room.