Are Difficult Guests Really the Problem?

Question

Many hosts say “difficult guests” are one of the hardest parts of managing a rental. I strongly agree.

But sometimes, it’s not just the guest it’s how communication is handled from the start.

Late responses, unclear instructions, or missing details can easily lead to frustration on both sides.

On the other hand, when communication is clear and timely, even “difficult” situations tend to be easier to manage.

It makes me wonder; Are difficult guests always the problem, or is it sometimes a system or communication gap?

I will be sharing more about communication because of its importance in every business.

Stay Tuned.

Curious to hear your experiences

John Underwood · Answer

My few difficult guests always seem to be part of the Airbnb crowd.

Luckily for me 95% of my guests come from Vrbo

Michael Baum · Answer

We rarely get "difficult" guests. Sometimes they have a lot of questions but only once or twice would I say they are difficult.

The ones that are are usually trolling for a discount or partial refund. So far I haven't done that as my communication is top notch. I am on it, doggonit!

Like @John Underwood, I get the best guests from VRBO. I will say that we are at about 50/50 right now for the season. Last year the AirBNB guests were pretty solid so I think things may be balancing out?

Bill B. · Answer

I was going to agree with John. 90% of the “difficult guests” plan in being difficult before they arrive. I don’t know if you could “solve” them with anything short of a 2 paragraph statement in your listing saying…

Normal guests please ignore the following statement:

This is a regular house, it’s probably cleaner than your house, but if you move appliances, search in attics, get on your hands and knees to search, you might find dust. There will be no full or even partial refunds for discovering dust. Please don’t book if you been offended by your friend’s home, every hotel room and every restaurant you’ve ever been in. Thank you.

Andrew Steffens · Answer

As a PM difficult owners are just as bad if not worse than guests!

Maria Molu · Answer

This got me laughing 🤣. This paragraph may work for "7 review earners"

Danae Pitcher · Answer

I think busier times of the year exacerbates the amount of guest complaints, for sure.  Property managers can assuage some of the issues by clear and concise communication before, during, and after the guest experience.  Another really effective element is fast response times to guest complaints.  If they feel heard, that really seems to go a long way.

Jon Martin · Answer

Most can be filtered out with proper pricing and accurate marketing of your property. Then clear messaging and systems that answer questions before the arise.

otherwise, I think some of it is social media related. I had several different guests in a short span of time shake me down for discounts for cleaning issues you would have to search for and oddly, the problem wasn’t so bad that they wouldn’t leave in exchange for a full refund. I imagine there was some kind of video about it how to do this that went viral at the time and/or rhetoric that made hosts the bad guy.

Veronica De La Puente · Answer

Agreed! In my experience, difficult situations usually stem from a system/process issue. If guests are confused or upset about something, a lot of times it could've been avoided by better communication or having better systems in place.

Are Difficult Guests Really the Problem?

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