Would you host this guest again?

Would you host this guest again?

Hi Community.

 

I've just hosted a guest who, while perfectly lovely herself with good communication, has kind of left me gasping. It generally takes me or my employee just under 3 hours to clean and reset our property to be ready for the next guests. I leave a 4 hour window for change over just in case. I was fortunate that I did not have a same-day booking on the checkout of this most recent guest, as they moved heavy furniture without replacing it; pulled the fridge out of its cavity and put it back in with one wheel off skew; took out toys (jigsaw puzzles, monopoly, decks of cards etc) and left pieces all over the place so I had to sort them back into their boxes; changed the positioning of many of my items (completely rearranged cupboard/drawer configurations); used bath towels to wipe up what looks like tomato paste; took heavy items from upstairs to downstairs and vice-versa... after 6 hours solid cleaning and putting things back where they belong, I had only managed to do the upstairs... have to go back to the property again tomorrow to tackle the downstairs.

 

I'm left in a bind ... what sort of review do I leave so that other hosts know what to expect? I can see that mine is only her 3rd Airbnb booking, so maybe she doesn't realise that leaving the place like this is disrespectful? I chatted with her a couple of times on the phone and also via text as she was at the property for a week, and I quite liked her. But I can't work out whether it's better to try to give her some pointers - which may be seen as unwanted, and could possibly end in her giving us a bad review.

 

My biggest question though is: no matter what kind of review I leave, if I tick the "no" button on "would you host this guest again?", does that automatically mean that the guest will be barred from instant booking my place?

 

I'd be so grateful for your feedback.

Cheers, Cat.

8 Replies 8
Eileen58
Level 4
Fayetteville, AR

If you give her a thumbs down, she can not instant book your place but might possibly send you a request. I just had a recent guest that sounds similar to yours. I mentioned in her review that she did not follow check out instructions and hit her pretty hard on cleanliness (also thumbs down). I'm hoping that is enough for future hosts to get an idea of her as a guest. 

Great to know - thank you

I had a HOST, who decided to redecorate my listing..mind you it is a "Boarding House" so she only booked one room in a 7 bedroom house with dining room, living room, TV room , kitchen and  common areas.  

 

She rooted through cupboards and storage areas for Christmas decorations, not quite Thanksgiving yet...and set the table with plates cloth napkins with napkin rings, wine glasses and silverware.  Lovely, but other guests wouldn't know it's just for show and might not want to move it or sit at the table?  She re-arranged the front room and moved the container that has an umbrella and snow brushes...because it was "cluttered". She moved all of the books and the few decorations I have so it suited her taste.  She didn't want the luggage rack or throw rugs in her room, so she placed them in the hall, in front of the room across from her room.

 

She said she couldn't  wait to come back in her private message, because she is attending a continuing education program in my town. I gave her an okay review, hit NO  to hosting her again and told her how inappropriate her actions were in the private message. 

 

So far this year I have hady my share of weird guests.  This one was right before the recent one I had to formally evict ( not an Airbnb guest, different platform)

 

I hope February is not as crazy. Fingers crossed 🤞

Good grief - that is bizarre! Thanks for sharing

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Catriona51  It doesn't sound like she broke any rules, more that she was extremely careless.  You might consider adding 'do not move furniture' to your rules going forward.

 

I would never want to host this person again, so would not hesitate to say 'would not host again' or 'would not recommend' whatever the button says currently.

 

As for a review, we always try to say something nice.  You could say XX was nice, good communication, pleasant, whatever, but significant additional cleaning was required after the stay.  I probably wouldn't get into any more details.

Excellent advice - thank you! Takes away guilt of being unpleasant, but warns future hosts

Tara0
Level 10
Oxford, United Kingdom

Sounds like an awful, inconsiderate guest, who I really wouldn't want to host. I wouldn't bother with 'pointers'. Leave a completely factual review, just saying what you found after check-out. No accusations, no emotion - just the bare facts. And yes, tick the "no" button!

Sudsrung0
Level 10
Rawai, Thailand

@Catriona51 

 

We've had a couple of times over the years, 

 

The one time at one of my villas which a big place, the guest moved the furniture from a front patio to the back around the pool and we had some gym equipment also out the front which is in the shade and they had that around the pool, 

When my husband went to check them out, he said to them, "Are you putting that lot back?" If not, I will make a claim to AirBnB. My husband was alone and could not possibly move it all; we would have to get a couple of labourer to move it.

 

They moved it, 

 

Another time was a guest completely turned a King sized bed around poor cleaner had no chance, They got charged and I mentioned it in the review, "Next time leave the furniture where it is"