I used to be like that at first - I guess that everyone was to some extent or another. But what I told myself with less than perfect guests is that as I wouldn’t want them back anyway, why worry about pissing them off?
I read the reviews guests have left for other hosts. If the reviews are nitpicky; I decline the guest’s request to book with me. I assume that guests do the same, so I don’t want potential guests to read reviews I’ve left that come across as nitpicky.
I agree. And I pay no attention to reviews that say ‘didn’t take out the trash’ or ‘left a dirty towel’ or ‘there were a few bloodstains on the sheet’ because those things don’t bother me.
But if a review says ‘talked loudly outside at 3 am’ or ‘left beercan scattered around the place’ or ‘there were inexplicable tomatoes under the ottoman’ (all of which have happened to me) then yes, I would not be happy accepting those guests.
Sometimes, if it’s a lucrative booking and a previous host has mentioned an issue - for example ‘did not leave at checkout time’ then I will address that with the guest on arrival. ‘I see that you have a review that says that you didn’t check out on time. I want to make sure that you understand that our checkout time is firm. I’m sure it was an oversight… etc.’
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t shy away when it’s needed. I’ve written a few deadly reviews in my time but only when warranted. My listing is kind of “Less than perfect” so I’m not going to slam guests for being the same! To me, there’s a big difference between someone who is sweet and friendly, tries to clean up after themselves but doesn’t quite manage it to my standard, maybe leaves a small stain on a towel and someone who doesn’t bother at all to clean up, treats the place like a motel and treats me like a servant always at their beck and call.
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Yes it’s hard to leave a bad review if they are clueless. I usually just put it in the private feedback.
There’s different levels of cluelessness, though, isn’t there…! I left a not so great review for a very nice couple who drove me crazy by leaving their stuff all over the bathroom (like t-shirts on the floor etc), re-arranging my stuff in the front hall so they could accommodate the bikes they decided to hire without telling me. They were lovely but really should have booked an entire property and I said so in the review. Actually, I think I said something like “they struggled a bit with the concept of a shared bathroom”. God, how terribly British 
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Yes terribly English but still got the point across. 
I think guests that did that to you showed very little respect for you. HOnestly Mags, they brought bikes into your home without asking you??!!! That is beyond rude. Added to the other things, well, that’s hardly being clueless. It’s being selfish and disrespectful.
Yes and no. It’s a good example of guests who didn’t mean any harm, just being clueless. The entrance hall was in a bit of upheaval so I guess they thought it was ok to add to the chaos. So I kind of let them off with that. The bathroom capers pissed me off, though, because there was no excuse. I mean, it’s rude to leave your dirty clothes on the bathroom floor in your family home, no? So mega extra rude when you’re a guest.
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There was one occasion that I wanted to pin this one guest to the wall in private feedback. He’s an attorney from Arizona and said he would be having a mini-vacay solo, without his wife for a week. He said they sometimes took separate vacations.
After he left, my housecleaner said he definitely had a female stay for at least several days if not the entire time. The kitchen bin was filled to the max, lipstick on cups and glasses, and the bathroom waste can had days of feminine items in it.
I was ticked they didn’t do any of the required clean-up upon departure but more so that he had someone staying in my condo with him. He didn’t do a review so I had nothing to respond to, and I knew that private feedback would alert his wife to her husband’s philandering. So the opportunity came and went.
In my defense, it was in my newbie days. I’ve grown a pair since then.
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I get being annoyed at extra clean-up but it’s really none of our business what guests do or who they’re with? We’re not here to judge, surely, just take their money and enjoy the nice people, suffer the not so nice.
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But he lied to Sandy. That’s unacceptable. Magwitch you are such a softie, maybe more snowflake than witch!! 
I think actions speak louder than words. Your guests were slobs and disrespected you with the things they did. I don’t know how you can excuse them. Clueless plays only a small part here. Unless they were in their Teens or 20s , who does that?
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You gals have a more generous spirit than I and it is to be admired. I hope to achieve that level of acceptance in others…
…within the near future.
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Yeah, I’m a softie but don’t tell my guests! They think I’m nice but hardcore. They do, honest. I have “that look” and 99.9% of the time they behave. Bike guests were trippy dippy 60 year olds, by the way. They are The Worst Kind of Guests Ever. Give me your so-called entitled millenials any day.
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You hit the nail on the head. I don’t like liars or deceitful people. I’m not like that and it sticks in my craw to come across people like that.
That guy was in his early 50’s and definitely weasel-y.
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I wonder if they were the same hippy dippies I had here, same ones who stole my shampoo and bug spray, she made me take down all my wind chimes and she left me the nastiest awfulest private feedback. They are from Alberta and her name starts with a G. Horrible people, horrible and I had no clue they would be that bad.
It’s true. Despite what I said about being non-judgemental and professional as a host, the stink of a liar is all pervasive.
Agree… it’s not so much that he had an affair… (who among us has always been an angel? Not me! ) it’s that he lied about his sneaky rendezvous and made sandy a party to it by deceit. So if he had said to Sandy, hey I want to discretely rent your place so that I can knock some boots with a gal who is not my wife. Is that okay with you? But noooooooooo, he had to say he was traveling solo. Liar scumbag.
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I don’t think so. They were from Belgium and were nice, they didn’t leave me a review but I’m sure it would have been lovely if they had - probably describing the wonderful cycle routes they’d travelled, the ones they painstakingly replayed for me one evening when I passed them by and asked how was their day. Aaaggghhh!
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Come on, would you accept such a booking request?!
Never! That’s my point! Let him book the No Tell Motel!