Do I leave a bad review

Melissa-and-Emmanuel0
Level 2
Montreal, Canada

Do I leave a bad review

This is our first time after almost three years as hosts, that we're having a hard time deciding on what to say on the review  as we had a bad experience. 

A couple of days ago we had a couple in their twenties staying at our place. We're a young couple in our twenties too and we're coffee lovers. Our listing shows that we have a good espresso machine and other tools to make different types of coffee. 

We think that one of the reasons why the guests decided to stay at our place is because of our nice coffee making set up. Once they arrived to our place one of the first things the guests asked was on how to use the espresso machine, they seemed very intrigued and interested about it. We like to tell people to feel free to use anything that we have to make coffee and sometimes we like to share with them our coffee.

We should mention that our listing does not offer breakfast but as mentioned before we don't mind when people use our coffee making things, and our guests are welcome to use our kitchen.

So this guests had somehow unusual sleeping times ( compared to someone that goes to school and has a regular working schedule), they stayed for a week and every day they would wake up after 12pm - 1 ( they would go to bed pretty late too)  because of this we had to be careful not to do a lot of noise in the mornings. So, in order not to make any loud noise in the kitchen we would not use the espresso machine as it can be very noisey. After a couple of days we realized that the guests had bought a bag of "good quality coffee" just like the one we use to buy too ( which is a little pricey) We figured that it was because they like coffee a lot so they didn't wanted to take all of our cofee, but we also realized that our coffee bag didn't lasted as much as it usssualy does. One day, we only had a couple of beans left in the bag and the guest asked if we tought there was enough coffee beans to make a cup of coffee, we answered "no" and his answer was "ok, I would just make a mix with your cofffee and mine". We were surprised that they were so confortable about emptying our coffee bag. He went ahead and made himself a cup of coffee, after this, we figured that he was using our coffee and his as well.  We  bought another bag of coffee beans and as soon as we did, the same day the guests without asking would make themselves more than a cup of cofee a day. 

 

Also , on their first day we realized that they weren't properly prepared for a really cold weather so we offered to lend them one of our winter coats as it was very cold outside. They used several times but at some point we realized that they were taking our pair of gloves too and they dind't ask about it. Once we even had to go and nock at their room as we needed them and we couldn't find them. They rushed to give it to us ( the gloves were in one of their backpacks). This situation made us feel uncomfotable.

 

We're telling all this,  as we think that this was more than just making themselves one cup of coffee once in a while and we felt that they we're being way too confortable about using our coffee and not asking for it. This can be hard situation to be in as we felt bad about being so "protective" about our coffee, so we never said anything.

As we mentioned before, the guests would go to bed pretty late and a couple of times they would make themselves coffee late in the evening (arounf 10pm). The guests would wait until we were in our room to go and make coffee. 

One day, one of us came back home and realized that one of the guests looked nervous and was rushing to put their bed sheets in the washing machine. They spilled coffee on all of our guest's bed sheets and on the matress too, leaving them stained. It looked like they were not going to tell us and wanted to wash everything . We would've appreciate it if they had waited and ask how to deal with the situation. We ended up cleaning the bed sheets ourselves as they had no idea on how the washing machine worked. We told them that it was ok and they seemed sorry about it. After this situation, they kept making themselves coffee, and we still felt uncomfortable and confused about how they still felt ok about using our coffee ( more than once a day ).

What makes all of this experience even more uncomfortable to deal with is that one night once we were in our room falling asleep  ( 12h30am), the guests went to the kitchen and started making themselves coffee with the espresso machine, it was very noisey and of course it we couldn't fall asleep. We weren't able to go and tell them that they were being noisey and never mentioned it after as we didn't know how to approach them about it. 

 

So now, after all this, we don't if we're being too "intense" about the situation and don't know either what to write on their review. We don't feel that these guests are the type of guests that we would reccomend to anyone after what happened. 

Any suggestions ? What would you say on their review, would you reccomend someone like this? 

 

 

Any suggestions or thoughts will be appreciated. 

 

 

Thanks in advance !

6 Replies 6
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Melissa-and-Emmanuel0

 

While it's annoying I really don't think a bad review is justified. They had unusual sleeping habits - lots of people do... They thought, as I did from your description, that you provide complimentary coffee - so they used it. It just wasnt a meeting of minds and a number of small things just grew into something that felt a bit uncomfortable. It could come across as being petty to say they used too much of your coffee, or that they slept in late... I'd wait a few days and think about what you want to say - it may be easier with some distance from the situation. They don't sound like bad people comparared to some of the examples that you read on these pages.

 

Good luck.

Thanks for your advice, we do agree with what you say. But if we tell you that we forgot to mention as well that we were nice enough to lend them a winter coat  as it was very cold outside. They used it a couple of times but at some point we realized that they were also taking our gloves, we had to go ask them ( they had them in one of their backpacks. ) They never asked us for the gloves and we do think that it is very disrespectful to do something like that considering that we were already pretty good by giving them the suggestion to use one of our coats. Also, when they stained our sheets it looked that they didn't wanted us to know, I think they weren't expecting us to be back home when they started trying to figure out what to do with it ( instead of waiting and asking us on what to do).  

Would you still think the same thing about them and the situation ?

 

Well I think the short answer is yes they feel the same,  as you already mentioned the coat and gloves the first time round. I agree with @Gerry-And-Rashid0 that you might think of chilling here- take it as a learning lesson and make some coffee rules for next time (no coffee machine use from 10pm to 7am and hide your own  beans) And about a review - leave a neutral but pleasant review but with the thumbs down for others. If you feel you must leave a bad review - at least gave the decency to tell them how you feel about things face to face before they go. I don't understand why you wouldn't have said something when they were using the machine late at night - surely not a big deal to politely but firmly ask them to not use it as it was late at night...

Best Wishes.

@Melissa-and-Emmanuel0

 

I guess I would - there was a chain of small events that made you feel quite rightly uncomfortable. But overall I think it was just that....I stayed in a hotel once where the blind came off the wall when I tried to close it, I dropped a glass in the bathroom and somehow managed to jam the hotel room door lock. I think I am a perfect guest but I am sure if it had been a private home a host might have been scratching their head and wondering about me! Sometimes it's just coincidental...other times a bit of that mixed with a little bit of thoughtlesness. 

Emma94
Level 10
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I doubt that you would write anything 'bad' about these people. If you didn't have the guts to address the issues as they were happening while the guests were at the house what makes you think you can do it now? Anyway, if I were to write anything about these peeps I would address their sense of entitlement and lack of respect for other people's property. Tell other hosts that they were a special bunch and didn't know how to control their limit. You couldn't really fault them much because you were a part of the problem from the minute that you failed to address the issues in a proper time frame.

Cynthia-and-Chris1
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

@Melissa-and-Emmanuel0  This sounds like a classic case of "Overly Nice Host Syndrome."  Many hosts don't realize that they get to make the rules in their house and guests need to abide by them.  It takes a certain amount of "guts" to be a host - you sometimes have to stand up for yourself and your household and just tell a guest "NO."  A lot of this could have been solved by addressing your concerns with the guest right off the bat.  We make it clear in our House Rules that we are FIRM with quiet time after 10PM, as we both work early in the morning.  The first night if I heard my guests out in the kitchen making noise, I would confront them (nicely) and remind them of the rules.  I certainly wouldn't tip-toe around after 8/9 AM or forego my morning coffee because the guest is CHOOSING to keep odd hours. 

 

To answer your question, I don't think this guest warrants a BAD review - but you can be HONEST in your review.  Something like, "So-and-so and their friend were friendly guests.  We were disappointed they didn't notify us right away when they spilled coffee on the bed sheets, but appreciated their attempts to clean up.  Because they kepts different hours than us, they may be better suited for a hotel environment instead of a shared-home situtation." 

 

This sends the message loud & clear to future hosts, but doesn't totally sink their ship.