how to honestly and fairly review a guest

Question

We just launched our first STR and our second guest accidentally melted the siding with the grill. There were some other little things that I didn't like about how they cared for the place. But, the main issue is the grill. She told me about it after they left and did apologize. She said tell me "what to do next", so I assume that means she's offering to pay for repairs. First of all, is it worth making a claim with AirCover (this booking was through Airbnb)? Or should I just let it go and eat the cost? Secondly, how do I leave a review? It seems they did try to clean before they left and follow all the house guidelines.

I want to be fair and honest.

Thanks in advance!

I want to be fair and honest.

Thanks in advance!

Dave Stokley · Answer

If she’s willing to cover the cost of repair just have her Venmo you! That’s way easier than going through air cover.

IMO all hosts and guests have a responsibility to leave fair and honest reviews. As a guest I don’t want to hurt another host’s business, but I also don’t want another guest to have a bad experience. You owe it to the community to be fair and honest. Reviews are inherently suggest so just do what you think is right and move on with your life.

Finally and on a personal note, PM me! I love meeting other hosts in the cleveland area.

🍻

Ruben Kanya · Answer

@Amy Greenwood if she booked via airbnb definitely do everything through the platform for visibility, I've done it multiple claims they're good for it. Request the claim and take pictures on the platform, Guest will have 72 hours to respond/pay the claim. Make sure you do this BEFORE another booking, they're very strict on the timing. Take pictures and provided the estimated repair cost to fix or replace item.

If she doesn't do this, Aircover will pay for it. And then you can then write the review based on how cooperative she was in the process. If she immediately pays and addresses the issue, it's actually worth praising her for it in the review at a high level without going into detail. Its good for another host to know that when and if a mistake happens in the future, she's the type of guest to own it and address it (that's all we can ever ask for right?).

If she ghosts you then it is fair for the community of hosts to know that she's the type of guests that will ghost when things go wrong. If it gets to that point the review can be as simple as saying "we were disappointed not to have heard back from "x" when it was time to fulfill her claim to cover the damages that occurred during her stay"

Happy hosting!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

If she pays for the damages, then I would leave a great review. If she didn't, then I would share that in my review.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

I would ask her to pay for the damage she caused. I wouldn't trash her in a review, maybe just say there were 'some issues'.

Would you rent to her again? If you wouldn't, then maybe another host shouldn't either........?

Michael Baum · Answer

I would definitely put in a claim no matter what. If she pays, then you don't have to worry about it. Get some bids and I bet she might balk once she see's it will be a couple thousand dollars maybe.

Don't wait.

Andrew Simms · Answer

@Amy Greenwood to me, sounds like 2 issues: (1) yes, they should not have left it unsupervised. Thankfully it was just some melted siding. But more importantly, (2) you need to make sure you have stupid proofed your place.

Amy Greenwood · Answer

Turned it on and left it unsupervised. We have moved it to a new place, yes!

Mike Dymski · Answer

How did she accidentally melt the siding...did she move the grill? If so, you may want to secure it in the proper/desired location.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Stick to your guns and good luck!

how to honestly and fairly review a guest

how to honestly and fairly review a guest

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