Guest deceived me about her age

Gloria shared on Hosting 911 May 2014

www.airbnb.com/groups/content/content-90847

Guest deceived me with her age. How do I review her?

Firstly, my guests rent the entire place. Guest stated in her introductory message that she was 43 years old and was there an even cheaper rate for one person staying (it was 30% off for two persons at the time).
I decline and at check-in, guest appears to be (at most) 26 years old and her boyfriend is staying too. I forget to ask for her passport and walk away thinking,' there will be seven people staying.' 'They better not treat my place like a hostel.'

I return to find my place in good condition. No rules broken. But still feel a bit deceived that she said she was 43 when they are in their twenties.

I cringe at typing any negative reviews and sometimes think silence is golden. But then I feel responsible for protecting other hosts. How do I go about this gently? Or tacitly?

Any comments or advice greatly appreciated.
15 comments
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Gloria
Gloria2 years ago
'treat my place like a h$o$s$t$e$l' sorry remove the dollar signs for the word

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Carrie
Carrie2 years ago
If they left your place in good condition, and the only violation was that the age was not stated - and you neglected to say anything in person, I'd let it go.

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Andrew
Andrew2 years ago
Did this guest's name match the one in the profile? Is she the person depicted in the photo? Or is it possible that she is a different person altogether?

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Fleur, Dan and kids
Fleur, Dan and kids2 years ago
Maybe she has a awesome plastic surgeon? Haha

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Julie and Eric
Julie and Eric2 years ago
Did you request her age, or did she offer it? I would be more concerned about the extra guest that was unannounced, but it sounds like they took good care of your place.

Although the system does not use the star ratings for guests (to our knowledge), you could give her lower stars for communication. In the review, sandwich the facts between two nice things, like she and her boyfriend were pleasant people, then mention that she looked quite young for the age she stated, there was a slight miscommunication about the number of people staying, but otherwise she left the place in great condition, you recommend her, etc.

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Nicole
Nicole2 years ago
Unless you checked her ID and you know for sure she was lying about her age, I wouldn't mention it. Some people just look a lot younger than they are. On my 30th they refused to sell alcohol to my dad because I didn't have my ID and they were convinced he was purchasing alcohol for a minor. I have had more than one issue purchasing alcohol since then too, as people think it's fake. I would mention the extra guest lightly, but word it so it's a good overall review. If they didn't cause damage and were low maintenance they were good guests, IMO.

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Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
I wouldn't mention anything about the age issue in a public review -- I agree with Nicole. I am not clear from your post whether or not the guest didn't tell the truth about the number of guests staying. I would mention these things to the guest privately (perhaps after the guest has done their review of you) but not in a public place.

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Jana
Jana2 years ago
I wouldn't even mention it to the guest privately. Guessing someone's age can be very tricky and is not a good idea. Unless the guest told you that she's one age and then you find out for sure that's she's another, she didn't lie to you. Your assumption could be totally wrong. People assume that I'm much younger than I am and and I always, always shock people with my age. I'm not talking occasionally, but every time I tell people my age they cannot believe it. I am older than my husband and most of my friends and I always get ID'd and they don't. And honestly.....who cares if she lied about her age?

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Danny
Danny2 years ago
As long as she was over the age of 18, what does it matter? Are you upset that YOU agreed to a 30% discount?
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scott
scott2 years ago
Gloria, I think you might need some bigger things to worry about.

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Leah
Leah2 years ago
I would not worry about not looking her age. If anything, she showed up looking younger vs saying she was 43 and looked 70. No offense to any seniors. It was just an example :-D

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Gloria
Gloria2 years ago
Thanks for your comments

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Julie and Eric
Julie and Eric2 years ago
I think it's important if Gloria asked for her age to make sure she wasn't a teenager and the girl flat out lied to her. For instance, if Gloria had asked if she's over the age of 25, and the girl was 24 but lied to get in, that's a problem. Also she was trying to get an even bigger discount for one person, booked for one person, but two people showed up – I would have the same reaction – this girl lied to me, there's going to be a party, and I'm going to have to clean up a giant mess.

But we don't know the whole story.

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Serafina
Serafina2 years ago
And the 43 could have been a typo that the woman either didn't notice or was embarrassed to correct.

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Maya
Maya2 years ago
I'm with Serafina- typo all the way. Plus, as long as they left it fine, no worries! I've had 19/18 year olds stay for long time stays and be great, and 60+ that were horrible and disgustingly filthy and rude....age isn't the defining mark of a good guest.