Help with writing a review about difficult guest

[Vanessa254]

hi peeps 

1st time writing a post here and been a hosting for a year . Never done a critical review either. 

I had a husband and wife stay with us for 4 days . 

When they arrived I welcomed them showed them around etc . The lady smoked and i said she could go out the front door no problem.  She asked could she use back door instead and i said no as you would need to go through my living room which is private. They started chatting straight away about their life , I listened and when approciate I said I had to go to spend time with my husband and 3 year old. 

I was in private living room about 5 mins and she had knocked on the door to ask to use my back door and I just reaped what I told her before.  

The next day at around 2pm she finally came out off her room with a bag off washing and asked me to put in machine .

I said we don't do this service and you need to check rules off house. 

She replied everyone else has let me use their washing machine.....

Later that night she and her husband got a take away which was left on my kitchen table for a full day and half before throwing.  

The lady never left my house for the duration of her stay either. 

Each time we passed each other the kept wanting to get into long conversations about how's she really struggling to conceive and her ovaries aren't good . 

(I'm sympathetic to this obviously but don't have the time our skills to deal with that ) 

Next day again she never dressed and hung out in her room all day . 

I came home for lunch and she hinted could I give a lift to town to get her food !!!!  I said no as I only have 2 hrs for lunch and I'm going back to work . 

She tried several times to get into conversations but I tried to smile and be polite but stress I needed to eat and tidy house before work .

I took my lunch in my living room and the lady came in !!!!

Lady, can I show a picture of my daughter 

Me , yes of course 

Lady , she's dead 10 years 

Me, oh I'm so sorry 

Lady, ok will you enjoy your lunch. 

I do think she has mental health issues and I found it very stressful and awkward.  

I feel I have so much to do and didn't have time to give her. 

She left the next day,  room smelt off ciggies. 

How do I write a review????? 

[TracieandJason0]

@Vanessa254 I wouldn't go too into detail as a lot of what you mentioned sounds very personal. As I did not host her and can only base on what you have written, she sounds like she could be irritating to some hosts but maybe still an alright guest to others. It's up to you to decide if you want to only provide a honest but somewhat vague review so that this guest has a chance to improve their manners as a future guests to others or if you think you need to warn other hosts against this guest. 

Something along the lines of "This guest needed reminding of house rules and left the room smelling of a cigarette odor" 

A more alarming review would be, "I was sympathetic towards this guest but she was intrusive of my personal space even after reminding of house rules, left food out for more than a day, and left the room smelling of a cigarette odor even though I allowed her to smoke on the front patio. I would not recommend"

[Jeff158]

@Vanessa254 most hosts will know exactly what you've been through with the statement below.

"More suited to a hotel than an airbnb"  give them 3 stars and a thumbs down.

[Helen3]

I think that is rather harsh @Jeff0 It sounds like this woman had some mental health issues.

A quiet word with the husband would have been a much more appropriate and sympathetic approach to try and tackle the situation.

[Kath9]

@Vanessa254, I disagree that you should just say 'more suited to a hotel' as it gives other hosts nothing to go on. Just write something brief, honest and factual:

'X and Y were friendly and communicative. However, there was poor observation of house rules, including leaving food out and smoking in the room, intrusion into our personal space, and requests for services not included in the listing, such as transport and laundry services. X didn't leave the house for most of her stay'. 

Maybe 3 stars for cleanliness, 1 star for observation of house rules and 2 stars for communication, then give them the thumbs down. Other hosts need to know about guests like this.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Vanessa254

When you want to leave a bad review, I've found it's best to be as factual as possible. If it were me, the review would be something like this....... Guests stayed 4 nights. They seemed to enjoy long conversations and were friendly. Unfortunately reminders about house rules were needed several times during their stay which made it very stressful and awkward for me as a host. They asked for laundry service, rides, access to host private spaces - all things that I do not offer and did not clean up leftovers properly after eating. One of the guests seemed to not go out at all during the entire stay. After the guests checked out, the room smelt like ciggies. Based on my personal hosting experience, these guests seem better suited to a hotel.

You can decide how detailed or vague you want to be 🙂 but I think the key is to leave an honest review so that the NEXT host they try to stay with is not caught off guard.

[Helen427]

@Vanessa254@Jessica-and-Henry0@Kath9@Jeff158@TracieandJason0

It's wise to include No smoking. Vaping or Hookah/ Sisha in your 'House Rules' if you don't want those things happening in your homes or on your property.

Prevention is better than cure

@Vanessa254 do remember you have the opportunity to reply to the guest review with Public feedback.

It's important to write accurate reviews so future Hosts/ Guests are aware of potential issues arising and to give the guest/s an opportunity to see where they can improve on there behaviours.

All the best

[Cathie19]

Hi @Vanessa254.

It may have annoyed you that the guest stayed on site all day, but if they pay for the space, they are entitled to do just that; so it is not a negative for your review, and should not be mentioned.

The guests were friendly and communicative, but appeared to not have appreciated what the listing offered, or understand my house rule requirements; even though these were discussed on site. This included not smoking inside, and requesting services not provided in the listing. 

I wish them well in their ventures within the Airbnb community, for shared accommodation may be challenging.      

(Give them no more then three ⭐️⭐️⭐️, so they can’t rebook with you.)

[Jake403]

Tis will obviuosly be useful in the future.

[Laura2592]

@Vanessa254 I just keep mine to a formula. Something nice first and then the 3 categories hosts can rate on. 

"Guests were friendly and talkative. There were some issues with following house rules: the guests may not have been fully aware of everything  posted in the listing with regards to amenities/services/smoking. Extra clean up was needed as a result. These guests were communicative on a variety of topics that some hosts may find personal. Overall not a great fit for our space but would recommend to hosts who were able to clarify rules and expectations well prior to booking."