…scurried + ants = pun 
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Clearly you should have used four kinds of cheese, and was the thyme organic?
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I live in one of the most expensive zip codes in the entire country near a world class tourist destination. The “Bay Watch” beach is at the end of my street. My price is 1/4 the daily rate of the closest hotel. Even though I’ve been an Arbnb superhost for all but one quarter, some idio…I mean guests still rate me down for value.
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Justice (great name btw 
) I got marked down for dust because dust fell from the time they checked in until the time they left. Yes really!!!
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La, I am next to some of the most outstanding snorkeling In Hawaii. I just checked the reef on Saturday to make sure it was still stellar after some bleaching during El Niño. It’s absolutely outstanding. Zillions of fish of every stripe and color… looks just like Palau without the dramatic coral (too cool here for that)… this beach is one minute from me and always totally empty.
The closest alternative is the hostel for $89 with shared bath and kitchen.
And yet… some people are not happy and mark me down for location and value.
There’s no winning.
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This is what I sent to my last guest just before checkout.
“It would be a great help to me if you could write a review telling others how you found your stay here. On Airnb, 5 stars means your stay was good and the place was as advertised. If you have suggestions on how I can improve, please put them in the private feedback, or leave a note in the guestbook.”
As a result she wrote a great review, 5 Stars, and she left a long note in the guest book thanking me and advised me that coffee maker basket was missing. I had checked the coffee maker, but missed that the basket wasn’t there as it’s the same colour.
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Oh wow sounds like a nightmare and not much you can do. I’ll send a crate of wine over!! Haha
Thank you, Louise. I’m going to try this. 
Yes,Yes we’ve got all
that, and a 4 star review!!
And I add “If you find something out of order while you are here, please call me and we will do our best to put it right.”
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I rent my whole house and do not meet guests but email a detailed booklet for house operation. I then call them one day after their arrival to make sure everything is okay and encourage them to call with ANY issues.
So one woman wrote that they didnt have enough towels and had to buy some (all she had to do was call me???). Another wrote that tv in one bedroom did not work (this happens often because older guests do not know how to switch sources from cable to tv. I have simple instructios taped to remote.)
Another wrote they couldnt use pool because there was a dead squirrel in pool (all she had to do was call me and i could have sent pool guy!!!)
I have all 5 star ratings and 1 4 star.
If these people were in a hotel, they would not hesitate to call the front desk so why do they hesitate to call me!?!?
Thanks for allowing me to rant
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Reading all these posts makes me feel better. I got my first 4-star review on Airbnb because they felt unsafe in the neighborhood; we’re in Hollywood–where there are tourists, there are homeless people (which was pointed out in the listing, but some guests tend to overlook that part). In addition, they recommend the place for people who don’t intend to cook (kind of obvious since photos are provided of the mini kitchen, but whatevs). In the private feedback, they said there were several ants in the bathroom. Throughout their long stay, they never messaged us about this. When they checked out, my co-host asked them how their stay was, and they said it was fine–no mention of ants or any problems. 
At first I was disappointed since we all work so hard to make sure that guests have a great stay. However, now that I’ve thought it over, @TognBee is absolutely right: [quote=“TognBee, post:93, topic:14969”]
We can never be all things to all people. All we can do is our best. If you did your best then there’s nothing more you can do.
[/quote]
I’ll continue doing my best and I’ll try to further highlight the parts in my listing concerning the area and how guests won’t be able to cook (tons of food options, cheap and pricey, literally a 1-min. walk away), then seal any cracks where ants may have been able to get through. I’m a long time lurker, but I needed to get this off my chest. Thanks for reading. Onto the next guests!
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Oh get real people! Ants have a yearly cycle. They swarm. They invade. They go away. We used ant gels this year since I was petrified that an AirBNB guest would complain, and even worse? Get their money back, from me.
Anyone was has done even a modicum of research on Hollywood would understand that it isn’t glamorous everywhere. It is a city with a distinctive personality. And some of that personality is homelessness.
You can certainly seal cracks, but in my case it won’t make a bit of difference. Fieldstone foundation… how can you seal every mortar seam?
I have exactly one 4-star review, but I have a French family in August, so I figure that I will have at least one more this summer.
Sorry to babble, but you are right. You can only present your space as it is, offer a warm and hospitable welcome, and some things, you have no control over.
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Thanks, @smtucker. You’re right about the ants and most especially on: [quote=“smtucker, post:114, topic:14969”]
Anyone was has done even a modicum of research on Hollywood would understand that it isn’t glamorous everywhere. It is a city with a distinctive personality. And some of that personality is homelessness.
[/quote]
Exactly! And yes, we gotta just do whatever we can do. 
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I have received all five star rating, except for three of the last four guests. I am new to AirBnB and find this really frustrating. It makes me wonder if people saw all the five star rating and were expecting more.
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Well I got my first 4 star of the season, the guest marked 5 for every other category but overal experience, so I think she just ranked me as a hotel, what can we do about this? nothing at all…
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I had the exact same rating from a guest last week. She gave 5 stars on everything except Overall criteria paired with a glowing public and private review. Left me scratching my head. Doesn’t even make sense!
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I’m in Long Beach, very near you. Get lots of ants every year, especially with the hot days. I keep everything very clean and trash removed immediately. But even still I get these thirsty ants showing up in the weirdest spots.
The gel baits work well but not immediately. In any case, only had 2 picky guests mention them in 3 years. Can live with that.
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The All-good-except-the-rating was a real problem for us. We amended our house manual to include as the second paragraph, right after the internet connection stuff, an outline of the AirBnB rating system, how it does not work and it really is a thumbs up (5) or thumbs down (4) system where 4 meant there was some issue, and 5 meant it was not 5 star hotel but that the guest was comfortable and not inconvenienced in any way. We ask that they tell us about any problems rather than simply include it in a review (not always successful) and we advise that a 4 is rather damaging to hosts and that AirBnB are prone to complaining to us about 4’s
So far this has been entirely successful in that we have had no Good-Words Bad-Rating outcomes. We did get a five then some AirBnB feedback that the shower and bathroom were not clean! Well we thought they were clean since everything gets scrubbed between guests and all other reviews have praised the bathroom facilities but anyhow since then we decided to take a little more time on the shower just in case they found a hair in the shower or something shock horror! So to us that was an annoying but good outcome since the stars remained at 5 and we got some idea that they had an issue we could do something about. I think this outcome was down to that paragraph in the manual. The party even wanted to come back but we were booked… just as well I would not have had time to renovate the bathroom.
Interesting. I tell my guests something similar, but verbally, at the end of their stay. But I’ve been vaguely considering adding something to my guide too. Or possibly my feedback/suggestion form. Would you care to share your wording? And do you have a feedback/suggestion form? I think they are useful for hosts.