Unhappy guest from the beginning of their stay - do I offer a discount?

[Janice456]

The guest complained about the space from when they arrived.  My listing is very clear with what I offer and what is not available. 

[Emiel1]

@Janice456 

What are the complaints ?

If yhe guest is complaining about amenities which you do not offer in the listing: no discount

[Lorna170]

@Janice456  Looks cute and cozy.  What are the complaints?

[Dale711]

Hi @Janice456 

Guest complaints is part of their nature.

So handling such guest can be a complex job. 

Even if you offer the discount, is the issue can be resolve? 
In the option of price reduction can be satisfactory the guest desires, you could given a tryout. 

However, better yet to apologies, come up with the conclusions, and Thank the guest to better the light.

Regardless of the complaint being genuine or fake, what concerns is your response to the same.

[Jennifer2682]

Unless there is a "real" issue, I very rarely offer discounts... it just sets a bad precedent.  And your rates are inexpensive enough that no one should be expecting The Ritz.  I recently had "a complainer" who literally nit-picked every single thing about my place.  Things hundreds of other guests have never had any issue with.  She was staying for a week, so the payout was enough for me to pick up a couple of souveniers for her at a local shop, totaling $70.  Left the gifts on the doorstep with a note thanking her for being "so cool and understanding" about any issues they've had.  This got the message across that I valued her, but that cold-hard-cash would not be forthcoming.  It was personable and it cost me way less than a refund.  (Even just a 10% discount would have been $200).  She left all 5 stars and a nice public review (though the private note was a super long punch-list of things I needed to improve, lol).  You win some, you lose some.  Be hospitable, but don't let folks take advantage.  (Also, I believe we should always be improving, so keep in mind that perhaps some of those complaints could be opportunities for growth!)  

[Ko19]

What if the guest left a poor rating checking out, but very soon after, the person returned with a new reservation? We welcomed back a guest with open arms, but didn't discover the guest's true feelings (the poor rating) until a couple of days after checking in.

A very similar thing happened a long time ago with another guest, but she posted the poor rating about the previous stay while she was staying at our place. We feel like we got back stabbed by some audacious two-face.

Our average is 4.5 stars. We consider 3 stars as very bad.

[Quincy]

Welcome to the community @Janice456, May I also ask what the guest exactly complained about? Very curious to hear this.