To greet or not to greet, that is the question

[Inna22]

Up until last December I never greeted my guests. In November we travelled and stayed at an Airbnb. The host greeted as was incredibly nice. A few things went wrong (including roaches) but my husband forbid me to give him a bad review because he really connected with the host. So I have decided to start greeting in hopes to further boost my reviews since it clearly has a profound effect on some people.

This week I had two comments from guests about how intrusive they felt it was to be greeted. One said he booked Airbnb for privacy reasons but still gave five stars. The other one said he was tired after the long drive but was not comfortable saying no to me. I spend about 5-10 minutes with each guest (unless they want to chat) and this one also had a lot of questions about parking so I told him I would help him sort it out when I come over.  He gave four stars and in his comments said it was because of the greeting.

It is a pain in the behind for me to greet guests because it is usually when my kids have activities, during dinner or when I am putting them to bed. If I am loosing just as many stars as I am gaining, perhaps I should go back to not greeting. I understand some hosts need to exchange keys, collect certain forms etc but mine are designed as self-check in. Of course I would always come for any suspicions reservation as I have done before

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  Perhaps you could include the question in your booking message to guests- "The host will be pleased (even though you're not) to greet you on arrival. Would you like this, or do you prefer to just check yourself in?"

[Inna22]

@Sarah977

Yes, I was thinking about doing something like that- sending them a message when I get in touch prior to arrival with something like "I would love to stop by to say hi and to show you around. Most guests find it helpful. However, if you prefer self-check in, the house is designed to be self-explanatory”

I got a messaged today from guests that all light bulbs were out in one of the bathrooms. When I came over they just did not flip on the light switch!!!!! To some, nothing is ever self-explanatory. I by the way did not get a chance to greet them. Not that it would have crossed my mind to give them a lesson on light switching in every place you need light.

[Sarah977]

@Inna22 You mean you don't have a section in the house manual as to how to flip on a light switch? How negligent of you. Maybe they were aliens, and that was their first day on earth. You have to anticipate guest issues from all cultures, you know, otherwise you're discriminating 🙂

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 you should be my personal therapist. My evening just got better after a good laugh

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Inna22 @Sarah977 

you can laugh but we realized very quickly what we have to explain/show/print to our guests or some of them would not be able to find or figure it out by themselves.

The list is very long....

There is no house simple and smart enough to be able to beat a holiday brain :))))

[Gordon0]

Many, many of our American guests are seemingly incapable of turning the lights off (especially the bathroom ones), but perhaps that's because our switches go the opposite (or obvious) way to turn on/off. 

[Inna22]

@Gordon0 It is nice of you to try to find an objective reason, but they managed to turn it on...

[Sarah977]

Gordon- Maybe they're afraid of the dark.

It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't be able to figure out how to turn lights off just because the switch is somehow opposite. If the light is on, you switch it off however it works, seems like a no brainer. 

You do know that Americans consume more of the planet's resources per capita than anyone else, right? They have a reputation to uphold 🙂

[Kath9]

Hahaha @Sarah977, you always make me laugh! The funny thing is @Sarah977 @Inna22 is that I do explain to my guests how to switch on the bedside lamps because so many people can't work it out! They're the old style ones with the switch on the top of the lamp stand instead of the cord. After crawling under the bed numerous times to turn the power switch back on, I now just tell everyone how to do it which I'm sure some people find weird. Sometimes you just have to spell things out...

[Gordon0]

Wowzer, @Inna22, just wowzer. What sort of person moans/complains that they're given a personal welcome? The world (or some of its people) are beyond weird. 

[J-Renato0]

What sort of person....?

One of them, according to Inna said that "he booked Airbnb for privacy reasons".

I do not understand why someone would think that Airbnb is for the ones that want privacy!

It sounds as if the guest would be using Airbnb for sexual encounters as a love hotel. If not he could be a spy or member of some inteligence service, M I 9, C I A , K G B and whatsoever...

[Sarah977]

@J-Renato0  I quite agree. I think it's downright rude of guests to think it's okay to decline to meet the host or to act like they can't wait for you to leave if you greet them. Even if it's an entire house or apartment listing, it's a private home. Self check-in is a convenience for guests so they can come and go as they please, not so they don't have to interact with the host who's worked hard to make sure they have a comfortable stay.

Even at a hotel, they still have to deal with reception to get the room key and fill out paperwork.

[Cathie19]

@JRenato maybe they want it as a “safehouse”.

[J-Renato0]

@Cathie0

Yes.... very possible! 🙂 hehehe