Hello Jennifer
Your time and effort is much appreciated all the way from across the world.
Hope you are fine Jennifer.
Most of your advice has been implemented , if not all of it : )
1. The first concern appears to be with meals or providing food. In your listing it states the following:
^have subsequently deleted free breakfast because the experience with the said guest left the kitchen in such a state that I had to cater to post breakfast hours leading up to and until lunch time. The same was the case for dinner.
Home made food supplier numbers were given to the guest and yet they were not paid till a day or two days later. I know the suppliers having dealt with them for years as one of my own family was suffering from cancer. They make the best food and delivered almost instantly. It’s not left hanging around. So the guest was charged the same rate. Which was really the best and a canteen rate if you like.
Still I had to remind and WhatsApp and ask several times if they were paid. It was awful. At one point she said the food provided was horrible and a few days later agreed to having food from the same home made food supplier. That lady felt awful and so did I. It was like having organized the meals was rubbished and so was the effort of all home made food suppliers to get her the best. Told them all to especially look after her food.
This was mostly not communicated and it meant being tied up for the whole day. Not just that but was subjected to being called names for not being there and then told I could put it down on AirBNB. After reading all that and my calls being dropped and being shouted at and lied to; I had to express that I would not be subjected to any sort of off setting behavior and name calling.
That day I tried desperately to get help and at least on 5-7 occasions was forced to put things on text as opposed to have had someone call me from the AirBnB side.
When the call finally happened I was told that I could get her to leave and find alternative accommodation but I felt that perhaps it was these rare medical conditions that was causing her to behave in this manner.
It is a well known fact that for all : any diseases sugar is a massive culprit. And yet the guest could have indefinite amounts of all sorts of chocolates and biscuits and pizza but not onions, tomatoes, and potato.
Yet the last two days from the same home made food supplier who was rubbished , the guest said it was okay. How could this be possible ?
Yes you are indeed correct with respect to the freebies expected and unconditionally so.
I offered the best rice because no home made supplier will give the best basmati. They never have. So I was happy to give that. But she wanted it cooked. After a few days and that outburst I realized I was being had. So I told her that she could have the rice and cook it herself.
She then wasted so much of it and didn’t wash up. Again the excuse was I’m not feeling well. So I had to leave it there deliberately to make a point. Again it was left without being washed.
The same with the pulses. Told her that the rice was offered and that the pulses was payable at a paltry sum of just RS-105 and that was not paid whilst staying at home. I requested it and it was paid for after she had left.
On account of the late cooking I will not be having anyone cooking meals and leaving things in a filthy state. The home has never been in such a state when my own Grandmother was sick. She kept such a clean house. That was the biggest upset for me. It is as such an undignified way to conduct oneself.
Will definitely implement what you have advised ⬇️
((As for late cooking, you can set rules that dictate hours in which guest can access the kitchen. This way you avoid late night/morning usage that is disruptive to you. You can also include a caveat about cleaning up after themselves. Make sure these rules are clearly stated in the listing. While it varies from host to host, many people also place the rules in their welcome material or message. ))
☝️
2- Medical assistance
Agreed and taken off. Your advice is appreciated.
Yes you are right my listing actually refers to basics available such as balms for migraines, cold, and sprains.
In this case offered to drop the guest given the extreme heat and her low BP - even though the guest used UBER extensively. The offer was never accepted and an emergency number of one of her friends in Mumbai was never received.
3- Bottled water
This has been changed again thanks to your advice. To be honest this is the only guest who has taken 10-12 bottles in a day. The default bottles are not included in this number. Not even the couples who have stayed here behaved like this. Because my guests feel at home and have never betrayed my kindness.
I only came to know a day prior when all the bottles were found on the bed, under the bed, on the study desk etc in addition to food stains, wrappers left everywhere and mid-stay.
4- Transport
It was causing me anxiety because she would come up and show her watch and say “irregular heartbeat” and “low bp” and that is why I would offer. First she would say yes and then she would say that she has a girl friend who lives close by and she was accompanying her.
One day she said she was unwell and was going with the said girl friend to the beach with her low bp intact. All effort to get the number failed and I stayed up till she came home.
5- Appreciation
Tbh this guest and the prior guest who was a woman really appreciated nothing. It was said to me verbally and on WA but no review. I struggled with writing the review / my close friends too, like yourself said to write the truth. I did and then just put 2 lines instead of what actually took place. I was happy to have my home back to clean and get back to it’s tranquil state. It took me a week to enter the room. Caused me anxiety and I just did the whole thing over the week. It was just nauseating especially the kitchen. Everything was cleaned over twice.
6- Violating house rules
Yes I will do this the next time and hope that no one comes here and takes kindness for granted ever again.
7- Saying things and then behaving as if they were never said
So I started putting this down in writing over WA to the guest just to reinforce that the conversation did happen and that I had not imagined it in the first place. I have no words to describe this behavior.
Thank you Jennifer
Sorry for the delay in having replied.
With kind regards
Cheryl