What are your experiences with bad guests?

[M-and-I0]

In the time that we've been hosting, I've noted bad guests tend to belong to these categories:

1. last minute/low rate bookings
2. Locals
3. Experienced guests (5 or more reviews)

The first two are easy to spot and we can filter depending on the quality of their communication at the time of booking.

The last group is the most frustrating and tricky. They look like decent people, sound like decent people and have more than a few great reviews.

While there are great guests with numerous reviews, I'm talking about the group that seems to think they are entitled to everything and you need to appease them at all costs. They expect you to provide more than what you outlined in your listing or to bend the rules for them. Some will even outright break the house rules (for example come before the check in time without any notice and expect to be able to use the unit) without any concern. Even if you call them out for it, they act like they did nothing wrong and you're the one who's not providing quality service.

Perhaps in their experience with Airbnb, they've found that they generally cannot be penalized unless they damage property. They've come to see hosts as business owners that need to provide customer service plus put on that "customer is always right" attitude.

Through all the experience with hosting, I've now come to be skeptical when I see a guest with more than 4/5 reviews, which is something I used to be excited about because I thought for sure those were the no-fuss guests.

I'm not sure if these people know how to play their cards just right to not get in trouble, and only manage to get positive reviews (when hosts cancel on them, they don't get reviewed) or if at some point a switch turned on and they realized they are pretty much untouchable as long as they stay legal.

When I cancel on these guests, despite the clear disregard for policies, the guests always get their full refund and their accounts are not flagged or removed so they can just continue on with their behaviour. They may have figured, well if I try to get things my way the host will probably accommodate since I'm the paying customer but if the host gets refuses, they can't touch me anyway. Worse comes to worst they could just create a new account.

So I'm wondering if other hosts have had similar experiences with Airbnb-familiar guests and what you think could be done by Airbnb and/or the community to ensure that guests, not only hosts, are held accountable for their behaviours?

[Sharon64]

No. Don't try that if you want to continue hosting. Just make it business traveller friendly!

[Annette33]

@Sharon64 , sometimes it's hard to know whom someone is talking to or answering to. perhaps try to do it like I just did with highlighting your name: type @ and a bunch of people in this conversation will come up, highlight the one you are answering to, and then all is clear.

about business friendly: I tried to get into that a while ago, but Airbnb keeps reminding me that 24 hour self check in is one of the components, so anybody who doesn't provide that doesn't qualify. I don't, but I am still listed under "business friendly" , not that Imthink it makes a difference in bookings. plus, one is not supposed to have animals on the property. 

[Sharon64]

Well I have not experienced that. I have had contract workers from other areas of Florida; some quite close. They have not posed a problem. That is a scary thought to have homeless people in your home who would not want to leave. Yikes.

[Regina38]

It would be extremely helpful to see the reviews and stars that guests left for other hosts, this way you could see of they were reasonable. I missed superhost once because I let a woman stay 3 different times in my apartments each time she stayed in a different one. She was a Physcians Assistant at a hospital and moved here for the job. She was trying to decide if she wanted to keep the job and stay. I helped her move her stuff from one floor to another and she gave me 3 stars because the move did not go smoothly. I let her move in before normal check in and helped carry her belongings??? then she stayed again and gave a good typed review but left 3 or 4 stars. She then went on a mission and came back and stayed in my nicest apartment. At that time Airbnb began letting us see stars!!! I contacted her and asked her to not review me if she could not give me a 5 stars. She said she was glad I called because she said she could hear people walking up the stairs, It is a 100 year old building ugh. she moved into an apartment finally but no superhost for me.

Another woman gave me a bad review because the apartment was not handicap accessable, I had let her come look at it before she checked in and sit in furniture and she assured me it would work then complained and 3 stars.

yet another woman complained about cushions on a couch, I replaced them she returned never said oh nice nothing. left short review with low stars came again same thing then lo and behold Airbnb let us see stars while she was staying a 4th time I called her to ask why the low stars, she said because the couch was low and she could not get up out of it.  I told her if she couldnt give me 5 stars to please stay somewhere else next time. She said she didnt know stars were such a big deal. I moved that couch up to the 3rd floor where a handicap or older person would not stay due to stairs.

I would not have re rented to these people if I had seen the stars beforehand.

usually when I bend over backwards they leave a low review. I love hosting but would love it more if I could weed out the people with unrealistic expectations.

[Denise77 · Accepted solution]

Well you are right. Oddly enough,  the ones you go out of your way for are the most critical and lower stars on you. The ones you provide normal service for, give you 5 stars. Sometimes I think people are plain old eat up with mean. Nothing you can change about that.

[Karen313]

@Denise77 Agreed. Almost without exception, the guests that I feel were the most high maintenance &/or I bent over backwards for, are the least thankful & most critical.

[Lilian35]

I had a guest that puts his high sounding job credential title CFx and phone # on every e-mail to establish his status and creditability. 1 guest. After 1 night He complained that He cannot stay another night in my apartment and wants his money back, dirty bathroom (I had cleaned, but very hard water area, soap scum very hard to clean, I'm so tired trying to explain it is not dirty!) and dirty coat closet. It was a new set-up, so there are issues I know of.In any event I apologised and gave him a full refund.Well, He did not cancel right away and He certainly enjoyed the queen bed, towels thrown everywhere and woman's hair in the bathroom.... I had even asked him to just stay, treat it like roughing it at a friend's house.Legit complain or scam for free stay?

[Annette33]

@Lilian35 , can't be a scam when on your own you decided to give a full refund, then invited him to stay. Sometimes people take us by our word, even if we don't mean it.

[Melanie58]

I think as Airbnb grows, we face problems similar to hotels. The reality is there are just all different types of people and some of them are a certain way. I think the best way to address it is just to raise prices to compensate for the trouble. (In my experience it seems price doesn't affect reviews very much - a person with a critical disposition will complain that the bed in a $20 a night room isn't comfortable just as much as a bed in a $100 a night room).  99% are wonderful, and 1% are a bit more work. I like to think it evens out. 

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

It's also possible that the guests with four or five reviews have had wonderful experiences.  The bar may have been raised.

[Leonie35]

Just had my 1st horrible guest. Showed 2 hours before check in, demanded I leave work to let her in. When I got there she was gone, said I was wasting her time! Then she showed up later in the night, drunk, started running all over our private home. Spent the whole time in the apartment drinking. Then left me a nasty message on my review! Days later called me to threaten me and told me she knows were I live! Her name is Janey, whatch out for her!

[Marguerite17]

I absolutely agree-- I am currently trying to have a terrible review from a horribly entitled guest removed from my profile, as I feel it was very unfair and not representative of the level of service I provide. So far I haven't had any luck with removing it-- any advice? 

[Ian168]

use other booking agencies like booking.com

air bnb dont do much for theor hosts, it seems.

i cannot understand why.

[Ian168]

maybe we should all complain to airbnb at once..?  LOL>    

[Ian168]

yes, we recently had a terrible guest and airbnb still gave him a refund and he lied through his teeth and set us up,

since the guest was out 5th or 6th guest without any other bad comemnts aimed at us, airbnb wont remove the comments

in fact, we have not ahd any bookings since this bad review, we answered it honestly

i dont know why airbnb allow negative comments to been left where ppl can see them

at the end of the day  - it does no one anygood.

i have thought of starting a new profile - all over again