Uncomfortable with Guest Behaviour... What to write in review?

[Sarah327]

Hello fellow Airbnber's!

I would really appreciate your thoughts/advice on my current guest, who I have felt extremely uncomfortable hosting throughout their stay.

Thankfully, they are checking out tomorrow and, while I haven't contacted Airbnb about it (as other similar experiences have previously fallen on deaf ears), I want to ensure I accurately review them and possibly warn other hosts of their unusual behaviour, including but not limited to:

- checking in very late (almost midnight) saying they would be arriving "later", only when I messaged the key code and offered to leave some lights on as it was getting dark (meaning I haven't yet met them in person)

- keeping all the curtains/blinds shut tight throughout their stay (I know this is normal to some but it really isn't for me and I have only (and quite recently) had one other guest do this and they checked out an hour late)

- the property remains in complete darkness at night, even when it is occupied, and I haven't seen a light go on once (and I am usually able to from my bedroom window)

- making almost no noise at all, no normal sounds and movements (my cottage is adjoined to my house, so we usually hear the odd bump and bang whenever guests are staying as most aren't very quiet)

- sneaking in/out of the property and returning late at night (I am home all day and night and haven't seen them once which is very, very strange!); but

- most worryingly, they have deliberately turned OFF the porch security light.

After their first night, I simply thought the bulb had blown. When I checked it the next evening it was not, so I slipped my hand inside the door and switched it back on again to find they had deliberately removed the applied cover (to prevent the light from being switched off). The next night it was off again and at this point, I felt I couldn't say anything with only a day until their departure.

What's really odd, and very concerning to me, is that it lights up the porch steps to make it safe for guests to return late at night. It is for their own health and safety! Combined with their unusual behaviour, and believe me +95% of my guests don't behave in this way, I feel other hosts might want to know before hosting them.

Some might think I'm crazy, but are they doing drugs in my property? Sleeping them off in the day, going out at night to score more... The mind boggles. All I know is their behaviour, for a supposedly newly married couple, just isn't right!

[Helen744]

Helen@744 Sarah, I just realised what your post is about . There is a bit of an art to 'how much guests need you to be around' I think you need to realise some people need you more than others . I still sometimes mistake this with my guests but i have worked out ways to get the message across about house rules etcetera ,before they arrive, so that in my walk thru I can let people know any little thing extra ,but if they cut me off as quick as possible, I will have already told them the basics and can let them alone.Sometimes this is a form of deciet as they may not be the actual ideed person ,sometimes it is just their need for personal privacy , Some people are downright rude but I let it go and Go. H. 

[Andrea4731]

@Sarah327 So when you say you “slipped your hand in to turn back on the light” you really mean you unlocked the door, entered the space & invaded their privacy with no prior message or notice. Imagine you were staying somewhere “private” & you see a hand come in & turn on a light? I would be terrified. 

[Gillian166]

+1 to this. 
Also, they KNOW this was done, cos they turned it back off.  They could very well put this in their review. 

For all we know, there's a tree outside that triggers the light and annoys them all night long. We have outside sensor lights here and sometimes i turn them off too cos they just annoy me so much. 

It's a slow weekend for me, can't wait to hear the result after they check out!

[Sarah327]

It's really difficult to convey fully my property set-up, typical guest behaviour and interactions, and describe what made me feel so uneasy about these two. As my parents are retired police officers, perhaps this partly explains why I am more heightened to/aware of people's (odd) behaviour.

I am thinking the best review to leave, and ensure I convey to other hosts there was something amiss with these guests, is along the lines of:

XX and XY were extremely quiet guests, who made full use of the cottage during their stay. Owing to their very late arrival, we met only briefly the evening before departure. I did have some concerns in regards to XX's communication, observance of house rules and cleanliness, but in particular with a security/porch light being turned off (which is there for the health and safety of guests and all visitors to the property).

Do I also include:

- they kept all the curtains/blinds shut tight throughout

- their comings and goings were so unusually quiet, I never saw them

- they deliberately avoided me upon departure; and

- left without paying for logs (only doing so later when requested via the platform)?

I should add XX has left me a review when agreeing to the request for payment.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah327 Leave any suspicions you had out of it and stick to facts. Was your place trashed? Say so. More cleaning than usual required? House rules violated? Which ones?  Poor communication?  How?

“I did have some concerns in regards to XX's communication, observance of house rules and cleanliness, but in particular with a security/porch light being turned off (which is there for the health and safety of guests and all visitors to the property).”

As an host, if I were considering hosting these people, your first sentence raises my concerns, but then your last sentence leaves me with the distinct impression that you are an overly picky host. If an outside light being turned off was the worst of their transgressions, then I’d be fine hosting them.

I don’t care a whit about whether guests leave blinds open or shut, or their benign comings and goings. That they paid for the logs when requested to is a good thing. 

[Mark116]

@Sarah327  No.  There is nothing wrong with wanting privacy, being quiet and not wanting to engage the host.  It may weird you out, but factually, it only means they were a poor match for your listing and hosting style, it does not objectively make them bad guests.  It also makes you sound like a snoop and that is bad for your business.

[Colleen253]

@Mark116  It also makes you sound like a snoop and that is bad for your business".

Very good point. 

[Sarah977]

@Sarah327  I think people have been a bit harsh with you here. While I agree with others that the things you have talked about that made you uneasy are really not a host's business, none of us were actually there and I can understand that there is a vibe that hosts get about guests, just as hosts can get an uneasy feeling about a guest from their pre-arrival messages that one would have to experience first hand to understand.

So I do get your "feeling". Which may or may not have  anything to do with reality. However, none of what you mentioned should be part of the review- not the curtains closed, not their late night comings and goings, not their elusiveness- none of that contravened any rules nor was it in any way disrespectful.

I find your "I had some concerns about" to be odd and not appropriate. Your concerns are not of import- either they left it clean or they didn't, either they followed house rules or they didn't. Stick  to facts, not feelings.

[Colleen253]

The struggle with this situation is 'vibe' 'feeling' 'impression' cannot be conveyed in any meaningful way and really have no place in a review. Unlike 'more cleaning required than typical' 'smoked in non smoking listing' etc. Best to always stick to facts.

@Sarah327 

[Sharon683]

Not trying to be funny but they sound like vampires. 

[Helen427]

@Sarah327 

Your home and countryside setting is gorgeous

The couple concerned based on previous reviews may well have been attracted to your property and wanted a quiet romantic country stay in front of the fireside with glowing flames hence no sign of life.

Let's be honest here, when one has the rare opportunity to enjoy a fire it's also nice to watch it and enjoy a cuddle with the lights out.

Without knowing if they were out during the day, perhaps they knew they would be home late so kept the curtains closed to keep the place cozy and warm knowing it may be cooler with the curtains left open late.

In relation to the water over the bathroom window - did they know how to use your shower over the bath?

Some people are  not used to such devices and do cause water to go all over the place, or maybe they just had a playful moment as some do in life for reasons of their own not ours.

I wouldn't be too concerned so long as no damage was done to the walls and wooden window frames.

Maybe you need to point out how to use your shower over the bath in your House Rules Guide.

Best to move on positively and remember others who view your listing will take what they will from your review of them and it will soon disappear as you have other guests.

Meanwhile, please give your delightful animals a pat from me 🙂

All the Best from Auckland, New Zealand 

[Clara116]

@Sarah327  you wrote::

After their first night, I simply thought the bulb had blown. When I checked it the next evening it was not, so I slipped my hand inside the door and switched it back on again to find they had deliberately removed the applied cover (to prevent the light from being switched off). The next night it was off again and at this point, I felt I couldn't say anything with only a day until their departure.

For all our Airbnb guests security and privacy is #1 - you violated guests privacy by what you have written above. You must contact guests to ask is it OK to go into the space - "slipped your hand inside the door" WOW - good thing they weren't spooked, and feared for their life and shot you??? Sound crazy?? Think about it. 

I think you might want to rethink how invested you are in watching, checking on, guests/lights and everything about a guest staying in your fabulous property.  Remember #1 Security & Privacy - you can't know what a guest thinks or means by something unless you ask them.  But watching and making assumptions will get you into some deep waters.

Oh, show folks how to use the bath fixture - its European and many people have no clue and water will be everywhere - when I first went to Germany I made some messes until I figured it out. 

happy hosting

[Marie6762]

@Sarah327 

I agree with most of the comments above, but not paying for the pet is a legitimate complaint.

There are folks who are super-shy, super-private- I like that, personally.  And I would absolutely turn off a motion-sensing light if there was even a possibility of it being activated by critters, blowing branches, etc.  I like my darkness dark!

We are all wanting to know how they left the space, other than the “soaked” window sill?  The rest, as has been mentioned, is your personal preferences or “feelings”, so not really useful to other hosts.  As was said, I would be offended at the inclusion of my personal habits in a public review- possibly enough for a call to Air CS.  And it might reflect badly on you as a host.

[Marie6762]

@Sarah327 

Your listing is heavenly!

[Sybe]

Removed post and replies as requested by OP.