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We are coming into our second year as hosts, and I feel like we’re finally experiencing the full variety of things that can go wrong.
Current guest booked for her and her mother, and she just messaged me that her mother doesn’t like the apartment is in our home, her mother wants to be downtown, her mother is allergic to pets, the apartment is cold, etc. This is the same guest who asked two days ago if we would refund her for shortening her stay, as her plans had changed.
Of course it’s all throughout our listing that the apartment is within our home and the square footage. It’s fully documented in photos. It’s also 77 degrees here and Seattle and there’s heat inside the unit if necessary. Not boasting, but for historical info, we are Superhosts with a 5-star average and around 50 reviews.
I reminded her that our cancellation policy is moderate, and she is welcome to see what kind of refund she will get if she cancels. Apparently it’s not much. We are holding firm and we’ll leave it to her to cancel.
Any other advice in this situation from those who have been there? It’s documented in the Air message system that her mother wants to be downtown, also that she wanted to shorten her stay.
Ughhhhhhh, I just hate this sort of situation, and I don’t envy the tension you will have for three more nights. Just try to do your best and keep telling yourself it is not forever. Reviews work both ways of course. You can review them fairly as guests who didn’t read your listing and then complained when they got there.
Thanks @konacoconutz. I appreciate the moral support! We are already somewhat walking on eggshells, making sure they don’t encounter the dogs in the yard which, BTW, we say right in our listing that guests may and we ask them to be dog-friendly. As for my review, we already know the guest did not read the listing prior to booking.
I would just say in your review Attention all Hosts , these guests are best served by staying in a Hotel . Nothing more or less . You won’t look bad as a Host and it is the truth , the Mother wanted to be in a Hotel downtown . She knew that before they even arrived !
I agree with @konacoconutz, that the mother probably was not comfortable with an Airbnb in the first place.
I hope they don’t leave a poor review, it would be unfair.
I’m sure that’s true. As an aside, the daughter seems rather naive and the mother overbearing.
In an update, I awoke to a message sent to me at midnight about some odor in the bathroom, asking how to deal with it with one fan, the outtake fan. These people are nuts. We put a fan rated for 800 square feet in this 50 foot bathroom. We refinished the place last year and nary a complaint.
Based on other wise advice on this forum, I’ve already opened a ticket with Air to let them know the guest is trying to get out of the reservation with a refund.
I disagree. I think that without any further explanation, the “best served by staying in a hotel” sounds really patronizing and does reflect badly on the host. I think one at least needs to explain why a guest would be better served in a hotel.
I agree with Gut. Give specific reasons why they are not good guests. Saying they are better suited for a hotel seems too general and a bit of a cop out. You’ve got some great review fodder there… let us help you write the mother of all reviews! Bahahah.
Good grief! They left for the day and left all the windows open. This is against our house rule which roughly states that, for security, close windows and lock door when you leave for the day.
Now I can’t leave for the day because there’s a security issue. On the phone with Air. Also concerned about going in there even with their permission because next they will claim something’s missing.
Under the circumstances, I’m tempted to boot them for violating our rule.
SuiteinSeattle, I thought I was the only one with the very same issue that you have. I just had a guest like you…wroww…
My calendar is blocked for the next five months, no more, had enough!
Sorry you have to go true this!
You already stated that the guests did not read the listing prior to booking. Now why would you expect them to read the house rules?
Experience has shown that there are some guests (quite a few, actually) who are functionally illiterate. Which basically means, while they might be able to read, in theory, they are not likely to do so. At least, they are not going to read what is important to you as a host.
Sometimes, talking to guests slowly and using easy language, on arrival, will help, in these cases.
Do you mean “repeating yourself more loudly” as in “quarrelling” or “shouting”?
I guess you should make a difference between how you treat your spouse, and how you treat your guests. I wouldn’t want to be that intimate with guests.
Fortunately, they are here for only 3 nights.
