What are the red flags of a high maintenance guest and how to warn future hosts...

[Ashley197]

Hello fellow hosts, 

What is the wording you fellow hosts use in reviews to subtly "warn" other hosts about high-maintenance guests? A follow-up question would be this: what steps do you take to detract such high-maintenance guests from your listings, set boundaries politely with them, or just let-go of the fear of the bad review they might leave if you, say, direct them to the closest grocery store rather than buy them $10 worth of bratwurst per day because your listing says "lite breakfast snacks included"?  

To be clear, I'm not referring to a guest that asks for something once or twice as high-maintenance (I appreciate guests that communicate how we can best add o the comfort of their stay). Far and away, we have had wonderful low-maintenance or average-maintenance guests. I'm also not venting about the regular, reasonable host jobs that take time and effort, like spending time chatting and suggesting fun sites to visit, or checking-in a couple times a day to ensure things are clean, well-stocked, dishes washed and available, etc. 

 I'm speaking of the very occasion a guest that throws a kink in every routine we have. You know the ones I'm referring to (you might have some funny stories of your own!)... guests that might do any of the following (which I know might read like "you might be a long-time host if... you've had this happen..."): a guest 

 - knocks on your door in the early morning with no notice expecting to check into their room not only before the announced check-in time but before the previous guest has even woke up. (with no notice),

- expects you do 4 loads of laundry for them the day before they leave when they've only stayed a couple days,

- expects you go shopping for exactly every ingredient they need,

- somehow, in a 24-hour period eats all of the bagels, toast, yogurt, eggs, milk and cereal that was set out for guests of 3 rooms to eat at their convenience (such that the other guests message you asking where the lite breakfast snacks promised are)

- takes hours in a shared bathroom, or leave a trail of nasty mess in their wake, or that sneaks extra guests in to their booking for 1 person,  etc...

Though the above is said in humor and with a laugh, any serious (or humorous) suggestions are truly solicited and most welcome! 😉 

Thanks for any and all thoughts! 

[Matthew285 · Accepted solution]

@Ashley197 I have heard a lot of hosts use the phrase

"The guest would be more suited for a hotel stay"

to warn other hosts: do not accept this guest.

[Zappa0]

Nailed it. 

Also check the number of recommendations vs the number of recommended reviews. 

Bobby is recommended by 5 hosts! But has 10 reviews that have interesting wording. 

In terms.of when they are booking. Any time people send a request under a spouses' or friends.or family.members account but cant take 5 minutes to.set up their own (or just switch to their own) I decline them. 

Any guest who asks questions that are covered a hundred times...I decline them. 

[Ashley197]

Thanks for sharing that helpful wording with me @Matthew285! Diplomatic, but still pretty clear to other hosts.  I gave a review recently that was along the lines of "they enjoyed thorough use of the common spaces  and food items for all of the guests to share and seemed to settle in quite comfortably" ... but I'm thinking that was still pretty vague. This particular situation involved a couple guests who would use the bathroom for hours right before check-out while other guests were waiting and politely asking to use the space. They also would take the doughnuts, bagels, sweetbreads, and granola bars out of the glass cloche of breakfast foods we put out for all of the guests. They would nibble through the items, then put them back in the glass cloche of food. So the other guests had a choice among many options of - nibbled - food items.      

[Matthew285]

@Ashley197 I hope the nice guests who had to wait outside the bathroom didn't down-rate you or your listing because those... inconvenient guests hogged up the bathroom for hours.

I am glad you were making your best effort to warn future hosts about those guests while still being diplomatic. It is such a fine line to walk.

[MicheleandLouw0]

@Ashley197its shocking how arrogant and thick- skinned  some people can be!

[Sandra126]

Pre-nibbled breakfast!!! You are kidding, that is a first. Full marks for originality.

and your wording is fine, I would get it. The ''suited to hotel'' sort of steers them away completely from Air, you can say ''whole house/apartment'' instead as this kind of guest you just had the pleasure of would be perfectly fine by themselves, just not somewhere they have to show consideration. And nibbling.

[Sarah977]

I used to work in a fruit stand part-time. The owner told me one day that there was a woman the day before who was pawing through the pile of corn on the cob for ages, then left without buying anything. When he went over to tidy up the pile of corn, he found 5 ears of corn with big bites out of them!

[Zappa0]

Way to vague. Thats gross...we cant be afraid to tell.it.like it is. 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Ashley197

Seeing your other post, you may have lowered your prices to a level where you attract the wrong sort of guest.

[Ashley197]

Thanks @Marit-Anne0! I think you may be right... there was a distinctly more positive vibe when the price was higher. It's amazing to me that the expectations grow higher when the prices dip lower. I would love to keep the price high and attract the more positive, appreciative guests - I do worry that if I don't lower the prices, I won't keep my occupancy... I would welcome your and anyone else's thoughts on this if you're willing to share! 

[Fred13]

@Ashley You raised the very questions most hosts occasionally have; how do you protect yourself (important) and your present business (hosting) against the occassional 'ogre' who will take full advantage of your kindness, without a care toward you or others. Oftentimes what we call 'high maintenance' are really what we should be calling 'the takers', the totally self-centered, the type whose mentality is that the world revolves around them, not the other way around. Honestly, I no longer care why they are this way (ignorance, mean nature, no experience, age, background, etc), I just don't want them in my life (or place) in the first place. When I happened to stumble on one - I meet them head on, review or no review.

   @Marit-Anne0's price-adjustment suggestion perhaps is one consideration to lessen having to deal with the roughest types. Also offerings which welcome a crowd (i.e. 15 people) with limited facilities (1 bathroom), require high social cooperation which is a tall order; it only takes one 'taker' for chaos to rein. Re-consider those two approaches.

   As to reviews, guest reviews are to thank and/or to warn, follow-up public responses are to sell yourself and your place for they are what future potential guests will mostly see.

[Ashley197]

Thanks for your reply and for these thoughtful suggestions @Fred13! 🙂  Just out of curiousity, when you mention that you meet "takers" head-on, would you mind sharing how you do that and what kinds of responses you get? Trouble-shooting and diplomatically (but effectively) setting boundaries with "takers" is always something I can use more advice and ideas on! 🙂 

[Fred13]

@Ashley0, when I meet guests, I subconciously place them where they fall on the wide spectrum of human nature. I do not really treat all people the same. The 'givers' are obvious, kind, warm, open; I can then be open and relaxed with and choose to put my best foot forward. Conversely, the 'takers' (the self centered, demanding types ) which I rarely encounter, put me instantly on guard, and I immediately become deadly formal and icy cold with. They get nothing extra from me for they do not deserve it. It's really a personal moral stand. Inevitably the 'Takers' will sense that...

    I am starting from a mentality that 'Nothing has to be'; I do not have to host just anyone, at any personal 'cost'. I believe once you really believe and accept that, you can handle any situation, for really what is the worst that could happen when you really think about it? A cancellation of a booking, not the end of the world certainly.

   I also do something else; I do my best to select guests that match my nature and place, so I put much emphasis on who I have as guests in the first place. By doing that I am rarely having to be formal nor icy cold, good thing for it is really not my nature.

[Michael956]

Shared bathrooms are always  a source of anxiety for hosts.  I call myself the 'bathroom vigilante" because I find myself going in and out of the bathrooms (thankfully I have two, but they're shared by all guests) frequently to wipe up after-shower puddles, splattered toothpaste on the mirror and sink fixtures, unflushed and dirty toilets, etc.  Thankfully with two bathrooms I've never encountered a "bathroom hog" who ties up the bathroom while others are waiting, but I've had my share of sloppy guests and there's not much I can do about that except frequent bathroom checks with a cloth and spray bottle.  I also serve a "continental breakfast" of bagels, muffins, fresh fruit salad, granola, O.J., coffee and tea.  I want guests to take as much as they want (sometimes guests don't touch a thing and it goes to waste), but I'd be furious if a guest took small bites of things and put them back.  What kind of person does that?  I once had a guest who raided my kitchen cupboards at night and ate both the breakfast foods as well as my own personal food.  Most Airbnbs don't offer any type of breakfast, and our guests should be happy with what we provide and not expect or demand additional items. Bratwurst?!?!  It's not a restaurant!  Then there was the guest who did a load of laundry every single night of a four night stay, and each load consisted of two pairs of underwear, two socks and a t-shirt. My house is not a laundromat!  In each case I've gritted my teeth and reminded myself that I'm a host, not a den mother, and I haven't mentioned these trangressions in their reviews.  Some day, though, I'm going to get a real "guest from hell" and I will unleash my inner den mother.  I took a look at your listing and you offer a LOT at a very reasonable rate.  Your guests should be grateful to get so much for so little.