Post by High Priestess on Dec 30, 2015 4:19:22 GMT
Shared by Ernest on Anecdotes and New Hosts Forum: Dec 29 2015
Ernest
One guest complaining about another. What would you do?
For some background: We list three of the five bedrooms of our shared single family residence here in SF on Airbnb. Last night, two of the three rooms were booked, with one of the three remaining vacant.
This morning I received the following message from one of our guests:
"Good morning! There were a few issues last night with another guest that we felt the need to address. I am not one to complain, but after stepping in urine this morning next to the commode, I could not hold my tongue any longer. As I recall in the house rule section, quiet hours after 10pm were established, and it was a bit frustrating when the new guests did not follow these. After this time, the couple was arguing (yelling in their room) with each other, then one of them proceeded to sing in the shower, and do their laundry in the bathroom sink leaving the entire sink and floor soaking wet. Each time a door was closed, it was slammed shut with quite some noise. The first night here was absolutely lovely, calm, and private, and the other guests were very respectful and friendly. Last night was a bit frustrating with all the noise, and this morning, stepping in someone else's urine was quite distasteful. Rather than address the guests directly with any form of conflict, we felt it was better to share our concerns with you, to handle it in a more diplomatic way. Thank you for sharing your space with us, and have a great day."
What would you do if you received this message. FYI, I was in our kitchen last night around 9:30pm and the offending guests were in the dining room having a discussion that escalated into what I can only perceive as an argument. Because they were speaking in foreign language, I can only surmise that the conversation had turned argumentative by the pace and tone of the spoken language, I have no idea what was being said. I did find it peculiar that these guests would argue in front of me, but I figured that to argue in front of others may be a cultural norm for them, I've really no idea and thought little of it as I was not disturbed. It appears as though their argument continued and escalated to the point that it became a disturbance to the other guests.
Additionally, the offending guests have been storing food in their bedroom in direct violation of the rule that states: "Absolutely NO FOOD is permitted in the bedrooms as this encourages the local ant population to move in. Please use the dining room to consume your snacks/meals should you decide to bring them in. We have a designated food storage area in the dining room for your convenience. Guests do not have access to the kitchen. A refrigerator and microwave have been provided for your convenience in the dining room." I have seen them carrying food from their room to the dining area, but until now have not said anything. I will leave this information in the review.
When we check-in a guest(s) we also emphasize that if they consume or store food on the property that we ask them to do so in the dining area and we show them to the refrigerator and microwave available for thier use and instruct them that they are free to use any glassware, dishware and silverware.
How would you handle this uncomfortable situation? The two groups of guests are both booked through the week and both are set to check-out Friday morning.
4 comments
Follow
Like
helga
helgaa day ago
Ernest, you have an uncomfortable situation at hand. I think people having arguments in front of others is not a cultural question but a kind of exhibitionism . Maybe they don't give each other enough attention so both try to draw others in to demonstrate how badly the partner treats them. Childish behaviour and very annoying for the affected strangers. I'm afraid you will have to step in otherwise they will escalate it. But as they are foreigners, you can tell them that unfortunately the cultural norms are differently and they are involuntarily offending the other inhabitants. And then pass on to bathroom norms and finish with the ants as least controversial problem. - maybe offer the free room cheaper for a night or two so that everyone gets some sleep?
Reply Like 1 like
Jeannette
Jeannettea day ago
See if AirBNB will cancel the noisy guests and move them to a self-contained unit, because they are unsanitary and loud.
Reply Like 1 like
Clare
Clarea day ago
Hi Ernest , you certainly have a dilemma on your hands! As I have entire home I don't have these problems but I feel your pain!
Reply Like 1 like
Rose
Rosea day ago
Go to them & tell them that last night they were quite loud and disrupted other guests. Tell them the rules of the home were to have quiet after 10pm. Also, when using the bathroom you noticed water left behind so please be sure to wipe down the counters and around the toiled as needed. And supply cleaner for them. I would ignore the food issue for the review. But try to keep the other guests happy and take care of what is most important.
Reply Like 2 replies•2 likes
Deanna
Deanna14 hours ago
I like Rose's solution. Bummer that the decent guest will probably give a mediocre review. However, that is the risk one takes when booking a single room in a home with multiple room listings. You have so many great reviews, at least you know it will get buried very quickly. It will be much harder for your loud obnoxious guests, who I know will get an Honest Review!
helga
helga13 hours ago
One of those, Ernest claims they write them themselves ;-)
Deboraha day ago
What I would do...
First I would definitely speak to the offending guests about both the food storage issue (rule violation) and the issue of the noise and mess in bathroom that bothered the other guest. I would do this ASAP after receiving the complaint from the first guset. I would make it very clear that the food in room issue was absolutely not allowed, and ask them to remove the food immediately. I would also make it very clear that they had disturbed another guest with their violation of quiet hours. I would also state that they had left the bathroom in a messy state, which showed a lack of courtesy for other users of the bathroom. I would ask if they felt they would be able to follow the rules, and depending on their response, I would go in one or two different ways. If they did not accept responsibility for these things, I would be inclined to ask them to find antoher place to stay right away. IF they said they would try harder to follow all rules, I would give them another chance. But I would want to see the food brought out of the room immediately.
I would then communicate with the first guest and explain that I had spoken to the problem guests, and ask the first guest to please let me know if she experiences any other problems caused by the couple.
Reply Like 6 likes Delete
Fiona
Fionaa day ago
Agree with Deborah and would add that I'd make Airbnb aware there is a potential eviction in the offing. They don't have to do anything now (unless you ask them also to communicate with the singing guest) but you don't want them saying later on that you missed some deadline for notification.
Reply Like 1 like Delete
Rosanne
Rosannea day ago
You cant wait and put all of this in their review. You must deal with it now!!
Reply Like 2 likes Delete
Ernest
One guest complaining about another. What would you do?
For some background: We list three of the five bedrooms of our shared single family residence here in SF on Airbnb. Last night, two of the three rooms were booked, with one of the three remaining vacant.
This morning I received the following message from one of our guests:
"Good morning! There were a few issues last night with another guest that we felt the need to address. I am not one to complain, but after stepping in urine this morning next to the commode, I could not hold my tongue any longer. As I recall in the house rule section, quiet hours after 10pm were established, and it was a bit frustrating when the new guests did not follow these. After this time, the couple was arguing (yelling in their room) with each other, then one of them proceeded to sing in the shower, and do their laundry in the bathroom sink leaving the entire sink and floor soaking wet. Each time a door was closed, it was slammed shut with quite some noise. The first night here was absolutely lovely, calm, and private, and the other guests were very respectful and friendly. Last night was a bit frustrating with all the noise, and this morning, stepping in someone else's urine was quite distasteful. Rather than address the guests directly with any form of conflict, we felt it was better to share our concerns with you, to handle it in a more diplomatic way. Thank you for sharing your space with us, and have a great day."
What would you do if you received this message. FYI, I was in our kitchen last night around 9:30pm and the offending guests were in the dining room having a discussion that escalated into what I can only perceive as an argument. Because they were speaking in foreign language, I can only surmise that the conversation had turned argumentative by the pace and tone of the spoken language, I have no idea what was being said. I did find it peculiar that these guests would argue in front of me, but I figured that to argue in front of others may be a cultural norm for them, I've really no idea and thought little of it as I was not disturbed. It appears as though their argument continued and escalated to the point that it became a disturbance to the other guests.
Additionally, the offending guests have been storing food in their bedroom in direct violation of the rule that states: "Absolutely NO FOOD is permitted in the bedrooms as this encourages the local ant population to move in. Please use the dining room to consume your snacks/meals should you decide to bring them in. We have a designated food storage area in the dining room for your convenience. Guests do not have access to the kitchen. A refrigerator and microwave have been provided for your convenience in the dining room." I have seen them carrying food from their room to the dining area, but until now have not said anything. I will leave this information in the review.
When we check-in a guest(s) we also emphasize that if they consume or store food on the property that we ask them to do so in the dining area and we show them to the refrigerator and microwave available for thier use and instruct them that they are free to use any glassware, dishware and silverware.
How would you handle this uncomfortable situation? The two groups of guests are both booked through the week and both are set to check-out Friday morning.
4 comments
Follow
Like
helga
helgaa day ago
Ernest, you have an uncomfortable situation at hand. I think people having arguments in front of others is not a cultural question but a kind of exhibitionism . Maybe they don't give each other enough attention so both try to draw others in to demonstrate how badly the partner treats them. Childish behaviour and very annoying for the affected strangers. I'm afraid you will have to step in otherwise they will escalate it. But as they are foreigners, you can tell them that unfortunately the cultural norms are differently and they are involuntarily offending the other inhabitants. And then pass on to bathroom norms and finish with the ants as least controversial problem. - maybe offer the free room cheaper for a night or two so that everyone gets some sleep?
Reply Like 1 like
Jeannette
Jeannettea day ago
See if AirBNB will cancel the noisy guests and move them to a self-contained unit, because they are unsanitary and loud.
Reply Like 1 like
Clare
Clarea day ago
Hi Ernest , you certainly have a dilemma on your hands! As I have entire home I don't have these problems but I feel your pain!
Reply Like 1 like
Rose
Rosea day ago
Go to them & tell them that last night they were quite loud and disrupted other guests. Tell them the rules of the home were to have quiet after 10pm. Also, when using the bathroom you noticed water left behind so please be sure to wipe down the counters and around the toiled as needed. And supply cleaner for them. I would ignore the food issue for the review. But try to keep the other guests happy and take care of what is most important.
Reply Like 2 replies•2 likes
Deanna
Deanna14 hours ago
I like Rose's solution. Bummer that the decent guest will probably give a mediocre review. However, that is the risk one takes when booking a single room in a home with multiple room listings. You have so many great reviews, at least you know it will get buried very quickly. It will be much harder for your loud obnoxious guests, who I know will get an Honest Review!
helga
helga13 hours ago
One of those, Ernest claims they write them themselves ;-)
Deboraha day ago
What I would do...
First I would definitely speak to the offending guests about both the food storage issue (rule violation) and the issue of the noise and mess in bathroom that bothered the other guest. I would do this ASAP after receiving the complaint from the first guset. I would make it very clear that the food in room issue was absolutely not allowed, and ask them to remove the food immediately. I would also make it very clear that they had disturbed another guest with their violation of quiet hours. I would also state that they had left the bathroom in a messy state, which showed a lack of courtesy for other users of the bathroom. I would ask if they felt they would be able to follow the rules, and depending on their response, I would go in one or two different ways. If they did not accept responsibility for these things, I would be inclined to ask them to find antoher place to stay right away. IF they said they would try harder to follow all rules, I would give them another chance. But I would want to see the food brought out of the room immediately.
I would then communicate with the first guest and explain that I had spoken to the problem guests, and ask the first guest to please let me know if she experiences any other problems caused by the couple.
Reply Like 6 likes Delete
Fiona
Fionaa day ago
Agree with Deborah and would add that I'd make Airbnb aware there is a potential eviction in the offing. They don't have to do anything now (unless you ask them also to communicate with the singing guest) but you don't want them saying later on that you missed some deadline for notification.
Reply Like 1 like Delete
Rosanne
Rosannea day ago
You cant wait and put all of this in their review. You must deal with it now!!
Reply Like 2 likes Delete