But you can leave a response! Both parties can. I do agree that host has far more to lose from a bad review than a guest but that’s inevitable, surely?
I’ve used that word in a review. I really liked the guest in question, I found him funny and interesting but I know many people wouldn’t. In fact, some family members who met him briefly thought he was plain weird. I think my wording was ‘I found him delightfully quirky’ but that doesn’t seem to apply in your case!
I guess I don’t have it clear in my noggin because I was under the impression that when guest and host each leave a review, the contents are unknown to the other until published, and once published, neither can respond to the other’s review. If that’s incorrect, please enlighten me because I would love to be able to counter whatever the guest wrote, if necessary.
I always thought the same.
You can go to Profile → Reviews. For a short time [maybe within that original 14 day timeline] you can post a response to your guests’ review.
This. There are actually quite a few threads on here about how to. or whether to, respond to guest reviews. I’m a bit surprised that you didn’t know this, to be honest! Some of my favourite Airbnb browsing moments have been reading hilarious replies to guest reviews from hosts, wish I’d saved them now to share.
2 Likes
And I always respond, but I haven’t had a negative review so I might not in that case.
Thanks ~ I do recall seeing obvious responses from hosts and I would wonder, ‘how’d they do that?!’ I guess by the same token, a guest can also respond to a host’s response within the timeline…and that we are each given just one shot.(?)
It’s curious I haven’t come across this particular allowance. What I recall reading wa-ay back is that one can modify their review until the other submits their review, at which time they are both published and no further changes are allowed. So it must be at that point that the response rule comes into play.
No, I haven’t had a negative review yet either but I was on the verge of submitting one, knowing that the guest would have…but I missed the deadline and the guest didn’t submit a review. Just as well. I can keep editing it in my head to my heart’s content. (ha!)
Oh yes…you can respond, for maybe two weeks or so. But you must weigh whether doing so will make things better or worse for you. When composing the response, walk the fine line between explaining your side of it and sounding overly defensive, while still reassuring future guests.
I think for a bad review it might be best to refer to the guest in the third person.
For example, recently I wrote something like…
This guest was reimbursed and refunded for her inconvenience, we took extra steps to make her comfortable.
Because she made it sound like she was abandoned with her problem and no one helped her which was BS.
This is just me. Maybe it’s from being from the south. I’d use eclectic instead of quirky.
Quirky: characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits.
Eclectic: deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
Maybe splitting hairs…if so I can tell the joke about the southern lady and finishing school.
Can the word “eclectic” be used to characterize people’s personality? 
Eclectic or diverse don’t imho have quite the connotation as quirky.
https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-phrase-she-is-an-eclectic-person-by-nature-mean
If you want the review to sound negative use quirky. If you want to dance around it, use eclectic or diverse. Since the op wanted help with a negative review quirky is probably the word. I read between the line and possibly mistakenly thought time and distance had softened that objective.
Eclectic does seem more positive but I’m not sure it fits her. Maybe. I am still working on the review. I’ll let everyone know what I settle on.
Not violation of rules: Asked for a discount, asked to check in early, burned incense. These don’t seem like a big deal to me. You had the choice to decline or allow and she complied with your requests.
Violation of rules: spilled juice, didn’t wash her dishes. Stains and attracting insects are serious problems. This is where I think your negative review should focus.
I’m not quite seeing the “negative and demanding yet needy” or inconsiderate. These are subjective judgements that I think are best left out of a review.
You have a feeling she is going to leave you a bad review. Have you checked the reviews she left for the hosts who gave her good reviews?
3 Likes
Personally, I wouldn’t write anything negative about her personality. At least not in this case. If she was loud, rude, arrogant, and obnoxious - and just didn’t care…that would be different.
If this person already is a bit socially awkward…it can be extremely hurtful to read something on the public internet about your personality.
7 Likes
I’ve read this so many times on this forum and I’ve never really understood it. A bad review will happen to most hosts at some time for a variety of reasons. Some guests will leave ill-considered star ratings, also for a variety of (often strange) reasons. It’s really not worth worrying about because a bad review will soon disappear onto page 2 and most guests are sensible enough to think that it has been written by someone a bit bonkers if all the other reviews are good.
No… Eclectic is not a word used to describe people in general. It’s more of word you’d see describing things. Cities, tastes, style.
This guest wasn’t eclectic. She was odd and demanding. Or, if you will, quirky.
Actually as an adjective it’s used to describe things but as a noun it’s used to describe a person. If someone were to call my personality quirky, like Cabin says I’d be hurt. Similar meaning but somewhat nicer are eclectic or diverse.
Maybe being from the south I ponder these things too much.
Exactly what I was thinking. English isn’t my mother tongue, so probably I’m not well positioned to comment, but being called quirky would bother me much less than being called eclectic.
Or maybe being fro the south, you have a different opinion as to whether or not a word has a positive or negative connotation.
I wouldn’t give a hoot if someone described me as quirky…because I am. I also wouldn’t think negatively of someone who is described as quirky but perhaps quirks of a feather…
1 Like