Will my guest see if I rate him 1 star for cleanliness?

[Michelle1667]

My long term guest books monthly so he can have a clean done on a monthly basis.  When I go in the place is really dirty with mould in the shower and the kitchen is a fright and the clean therefore takes a long time.  As he books monthly, I am asked to review him regularly and would like to know If I rate him just 1 or 2 stars will he see this?  I really want to warn other hosts but would not like him to know.  I have not said anything to him as he is a good guest in all other ways and he is a long term guest at the moment.  

[Lisa723]

@Michelle1667 no-- but fwiw in your shoes I woud have a direct conversation with your guest to align your expectations and solve this problem. Why do you assume he cannot change his habits? Maybe he is interested in and would pay for more-frequent cleaning? Suffering in silence and then secretly down-rating him doesn't seem very productive for either of you.

[Colleen253]

I second what Lisa has said, and want to add, re " If I rate him just 1 or 2 stars will he see this?  I really want to warn other hosts". Hosts who don't have Instant Book enabled are not able to see star ratings, so not addressing cleanliness in the written review means many hosts will remain clueless.

[Sarah977]

I also think that waiting a month to clean after someone who seems like he never bothers to keep anything clean isn't a great idea. Wouldn't doing a quick once-weekly clean make more sense than waiting a month and then having to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make the place decent again? 

@Michelle1667

[Helen350]

If it were just mould in the shower, it could be a question of some people (?men!) not understanding that showers are not self cleaning, just because water sloshes around when you wash?! (So do bacteria!)

I have a LTR with 2 ensuite bedrooms rented to 2 strangers who don't know each other.  My male tenant keeps the shared downstairs clean & reasonably tidy, but has grumbled to me twice in 6 months that the shower gets mouldy! - I said he needed to clean it! And recommended a scrubbing brush & some bleach. My tenant seemed genuinely puzzled at this revelation! In contrast, my  female tenant, who recently left, left her shower like new, not a speck of mould to be seen!

So shower cleaning lessons could be the answer, @Michelle1667 , as Lisa hinted?

[Sarah977]

My ex-boyfriend was a carpenter and had built lovely cedar cabinet doors in his kitchen a year or two before we got together. But he never thought to wipe them down and they were covered in old stuck-on food and crud. When I asked him why he would go to the effort of doing such nice woodwork, only to let them get encrusted with grossness, he couldn't come up with any answer.

@Helen350

[Anonymous]

@Michelle1667  This feels like a case study in passive aggression.

As @Colleen253  mentioned, non-Instant Book hosts can't see guests' star ratings, and these are the ones who need honest information most! That said, if you've never mentioned the cleanliness issues to him but welcomed him back for repeat stays, he has no reason to think he did anything wrong.

Wouldn't you hate it if a guest gave you a bad rating or review because of an issue that they never told you anything about? Same goes the other way around. I think your first responsibility here is to communicate with your guest. If the result is that the guest improves his cleaning habits, there is no reason to warn other hosts. If there's not a positive result, that would probably merit a mixed review and reconsideration of whether to host him in the future.

[Helen3]

Why haven't you said anything to the guest . In your situation I'd have a discussion with the guest and reinforce your house rules and check out instructions . @Michelle1667 

If they don't improve then you don't need to accept further bookings .

It's always best to leave honest reviews