guest review if they do not review me

Sue185
Level 3
South MacLean, Australia

guest review if they do not review me

Hi All

 

I have already had help from this community this morning and I thank all those that have helped

 

I now have another quetion. I have noticed if I do not review a guest and they review me then their review will still appear on my listing after two weeks, yet if I review a difficult guest to help other future host and the guest does not reveiw me does my review still go onto there profile? or is it like us reviewing with stars, just not point as they do not show up anyway

 

I just want to do a diplimatic review on my current guest as a warning to future possible hosts that this guest is very demanding and very difficult and I want it to go on his profile but feel That he may now not do a review of me as I think he will be sensing that he has been very difficult to please and we have done so much for him

 

Does anyone know how this works if I review and guests do not?

 

Thanks

Sue

22 Replies 22
Sue185
Level 3
South MacLean, Australia

Hi Rob

 

thanks for this and have a lovely day with  your charity work

 

I think our insurance has the bikes already listed but I will check again today. The bikes get us so much business everyone talks about how they book because of them. I will certainly double check with my hubby as I know he talked to our insurance compay about it. Sadly we do not have a local bike hire shop or I would have done that deal for sure

 

I do not beleive I have a bad relationship with this guest I have not met him my caretaker did very beifly when she swapped his bike and my husband drove up to meet him and although very arogant according to my hubby he seemed ok

 

I do have the rating to get super host this April and I still hope to maintain this. That is why I am so concered about this guests review

 

Thanks for you help have a lovely day

 

Sue

@Sue185

 

I know Australia will be different but I am slightly intrigued that a STR Insurer would include Bike Rentals. I have not heard of this being available in the US, not to say somebody put there does not do it.

David
Sue185
Level 3
South MacLean, Australia

Hi David

 

Talking to our insurance company just then they want us to "hire" the bikes to guests with a hire agrement and waiver form they are sending to us

 

we will not not give them a bike lock code until they sign a hire agreement and waiver

 

all very complex but i feel still worth the effort as the bikes are so popular and bring in so many guests to our listings

 

So our caretaker will take the waiver forms and give them the code then

 

Sue

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Sue185

Well here I am back again. I am including @Andrea9 also in this response because I am  sure she could fill in the holes I leave behind!

I worked hard physically all through my working life and I felt something of a 'worthless' individual when I retired Sue! Although I was not drawing a pension off the system owing to our assetts I did feel like a bludger....everyone else had a job and I didn't! This is where Meals on Wheels has been so good for me, it has given me a sense of purpose and the fact that you can help people who can no longer help themselves in the process, makes the experience so worthwhile.

To the bike rental business, if you have it in writing that your insurer will cover not just your bike usage but the entire concept of short term renting, they understand exactly what you are doing and have issued a policy on that basis then great. You have a relatively unique insurer, many will not insure for this scenario! The other thing which has come up is make sure that your local government authority, Strata management (if applicable) are aware and accept that you are short term renting. Any insurance company will take your premium but if you don't have permission and you lodge a claim they will reject it on the basis that you were perfoming an 'illegal' activity! It's a bloody minefield Sue......and @David126 has had many years specifically in insurance, his opinion would be better informed than mine.

Back to your review:

Keep your review brief and, while not ignoring your obligation to other hosts consider your position first and, as you are concerned with keeping your hands clean and protecting the hard work you have done, keep your review very vague!

"Although the guests stay with us may have been coloured by his distance from his home in Germany he did have a disprespect for our house rules and I do not feel he is suited to a home hosting environment"! You haven't accused him of anything Sue so there will be no back tracking when you see his review. And whether he reviews you or not, that will appear on his reviews and there will be nothing in that the would allow Airbnb to remove it if he should complain. There is nothing defamitory, nothing untrue....just your opinion of him so the review will stay.

When his review comes, really study it and then you can give a response that will tell the world what you feel without being bitchy about it....Do not get into a war of words!

"We were disappointed that this guests lack of regard for our house rules caused us considerable concern, particularly our smoking rule. We understand that smoking is an addiction but we do expect guests to abide by our policy because many of those to come after him do not share his addiction. His other concerns we dealt with, although some of them were of the guests own doing which makes all the efforts we go to a bit useless. You cannot protect people from themselves! We do value the review system and guest feedback because it makes us better hosts.  We will always try to control what we can but, hope guests will understand certain things like the weather are beyond our control and to be rated on temperature and whatever insects may be in the area is maybe being a bit unfair. I wish this guest all the best for the future, but based on his stay with us I would find difficulty in recommending him to other hosts"!

There you go Sue, apart from smoking which is a flagrant disregard of your house rules you have not accused him of anything so once again, he would have no grounds to have the review removed.....But more importantly it will make you look gracious and a person of diplomatic character...I would sure want to stay with you based on that! And because you have not made a big deal of it, his review will soon disappear into obscurity.

People say I am too soft with review responses but I think they sell themselves short. There are very few hosts who can't read between the lines....Give it a go Sue!

Cheers......Rob

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Sue185 @Robin4

 

Hi from the chilly regions of the Netherlands 🙂

 

Robin invited me to fill any holes, so I'll give my 2 cents to the review suggestions:

 

>>>  "Although the guests stay with us may have been coloured by his distance from his home in Germany he did have a disprespect ... environment" <<<<

 

I personally would be extremely wary of naming his country - might be misconstrued by some social justice-oriented people as being a tad discriminatory. Just saying.

 

 

 

>>>>  "We were disappointed that this guests lack of regard for our house rules caused us considerable concern, particularly our smoking rule. We understand that smoking is an ADDICTION but we do expect guests to abide by our policy because many of those to come after him do not share his addiction..."! >>>>

 

Actually naming ADDICTION, although it is stating the problem by name would to most be like stating in a review SICKNESS. Knowing Airbnb's extreme sensitivity and bias to a blanket indiscrimation, I am sure that they would see this as enough of a form of discrimination to have this part or the whole review to be removed. Something you wouldn't want with this nightmare guest!

Honestly, I'm German deep down, even if there is a part that belongs to another culture, and even I wouldn't have tolerated this *bleep*head! 

Suggestion: "We understand somebody's need  to smoke, however we do expect guests to abide..... many of those to come after him are repulsed by the smell of smoke..."

 

 

 

Have a lovely day/evening! Andrea

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Andrea9 @Sue185....Thanks Andrea, absolutely knew I could depend on you...... and Sue, Andrea is right, the discrimination thing did not even enter my head, but is very relevant. My only thought was for you to warn the hosting community that this guest had no regard for a non smoking house rule. My personal feeling is Airbnb should be damned if they pulled a discrimination card when it comes to a no smoking house rule and removed a review on those grounds.

As far as the naming the country bit is concerned, once again, good point but I wished to convey that he is from the other hemisphere where as you put it "Hi from the chilly regions of the Netherlands :)" he should have realised when he booked that he was coming to a warmer environment and not canned the host for this 'freak of nature'!

 

Hey Andrea, you are going to seriously hate me for this but, I do have to in no uncertain terms.....rub it in!

 

 Weather forecast.png

 

And they tell us that it is going to be unseasonally hot right through until May.

I am so thankfull I was an air conditioning contractor and have given the cottage a year round 20c environment.

So, thanks for your input from a bloody hot South Australia!!

Cheers.....Rob

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Robin4

 

You're welcome and you may rub it in all you want!!!! ;D

And I won't even hate you for it.

I become a droopy and limp vegetable once the thermometer hits plus/minus 30C!

And there is something quite nice about being able to wear boots, nice thick jackets, a tentative wintry sun.

 

Give me spring/summer/early autumn with varying 12-26C all year long...

 

We're not quite there yet, but for fine noses there is a faint but undeniable scent of spring in the air. And when not there, the chocolate Easter bunny sweets on store shelves will remind and get us back into spring mode, YAY.

 

A

Sue185
Level 3
South MacLean, Australia

Hi

 

Back in my office now so I can reply better but I must be quick again as I am suppose to be celebrating my hubbys birthday wiht him and friends they are waiting for me at our bar

 

i do thank everyone for their time and help and have taken a lot of this on board for this guest and any issues I may have in the future but not putting it out there to every have another difficult guest all my guests have been amazing and a reivew I just got in from a young girl last week said I was her best host every and how much she loved the flat and will be back. she is local I know she will be back she was so sweet.

 

This is what I am thinking of putting as a review

 

I am not sure if xxxxxx got the introduction to a Queensland summer he was expecting. Then to have a breakdown on a bike was unfortunate for him as well. Luckily our caretaker lives close and was able to get round to him fast and sort everything out for him and he was then able to go on and enjoy his Australian summer holiday on the Sunshine Coast. As he said in a message to me “Sunshine Coast is awesome and we had a great time...thank u:)” . He did leave the flat clean and tidy however it was unfortunate to know that he was noticed smoking by our caretaker and the flat did smell of smoke and our house rules along with many no smoking signs do say and show that there is no smoking inside or outside the flat. I hope Robert ensures that in future he carefully reads "house rules" and respects the host's wishes regarding "no smoking" 

 

 

I am sure he will leave the flat clean when he leaves tomorrow as his reviews are good for clean. Even with is "manor" not been what I would normally expect from a guest and been difficult and complaining just could be the way he is.

 

It is more the blatent beaking of house rules and smoking in front of several no smoking signs that really does get to me and I think all guests that break house rules the next host should know

 

I will know for sure how bad the smoke smell is and the condition inside of the flat

 

I have hosted so many internationals all types of people from all walks of live and just love  the variety of guests we get we have not set demogarphic them they all get a little Kangaroo if they have come from overseas.

 

We have had our share of guests not understand Qld summer bugs and most a great when they have them explained to them. it was more this gentlemans manor and that could be just him. I can deal with that to a degree I do not want him to return I like happy guests but lets see. I am happy with the review I have drafted above I wait for my cleaner and caretaker to call me tomorrow and we go from there

 

Have a good night everyone I am off to drink some bubbles with my hubby and friends

 

Sue 🙂