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How to deal with difficult guests

The topic I am bringing, is not often in our guesthouse but once in a while happen.Difficult guests sometimes come and challenge your system to provide the best ever service.In our experience, we have a wonderful employee that deal with decency and education difficut guests but sometimes the situation goes beyond.

It dependes of the circunstance but my strategy is not to engage in trouble with client.Usually I grant discounts or I endeup not charging the service that they are complaining.

Let me know how you deal with those difficult guests, What is your strategy.

Thanks guys: Juan Carlos


Profile picture for the user m
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michael beeston 4 years ago

Craigmoniecottage..............100% agree.............So hard to believe Airbnb would EVEN take a review from a guest who NEVER stayed ..That is TOTALLY unacceptable !!!! from them. Unprofessional to say the least

I have stopped using Airbnb for a long time now...they were almost a complete waste of time for my properties. Well said.Michael.

I
Inactive user
11 months ago

I marked booking nightly rate +35% on my channel manager, hopefully I get the least amount of guests from this shitty platform.

cheers.

I
Inactive user
11 months ago

@michael beeston well that's bullshit. the only place where people can leave fake reviews even in case of no show is right here. just happened to me. and booking did jack shit about it . they just blindly believe whatever "guests" tell them .

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Craigmoniecottage 4 years ago

Hi Michael thanks for that and I should say that the Airbnb guest apparently (as well as the host) has the right to make a review when the cancellation is on the day which is absolutely crazy and their allowing it just promotes antagonisim. I have issues with all of the OTA's about their practices but I have to say that Airbnb is the best (worst) yet. A global company of that size saying they have no control over their websites never heard such rubbish.

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Shikwari Game … 4 years ago

Our most difficult guest are many of our fellow South Africans. Nothing seems enough for them. If they in our rustic Rondavel that is not but they don't want to pay for the upgrade. If they are in our 4 star graded suites then they moan about the shower being outside, that we only offer a 3 course set menu dinner, that the road is bad and that there is not electricity as we have just had a storm. I sometimes get the feeling they are looking for a refund or a freebie for their next stay. All is communicated in my email to them in point form and it is also on my website so there is no excuse for complaints. Thankfully it doesn't happen often as we usually only have overseas guest who are a pleasure to host. We quake when we realise we have SA's as do many other establishment here.

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Juancsandoval 4 years ago

It is a good point,Shikwari , sometimes I asked myself the same question, what do they look for and it seems, they look for a refund or get extradays.The description in booking of my guesthouse is an republic house from the 1920s, antiques and the decoration is back the 20s.Our phone is a antique piece but some guests complaint that the house is old and now I get it, what they look for.It is an opportunity for us to educate as part of our mission.That is when we talk about the character of the name of the guest house :MAURICIO BABILONIA, is a character full of love, peaceful, he always had butterlfies around him, a character of the novel One hundred years of solicitud by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.Complaints are opportunties to grow.

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Leannemccarty23 4 years ago

Hi Martina
Most of our guest are young and they love staying with us, but we have had a couple of old folks and they mark is bad because they are annoyed with themselves for not reading our blog, they rock up thinking we are a motel and we are a bed and breakfast..... not our fault that they are lazy and just looking for a bargain ?

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Weigelt 4 years ago

I find that "difficult guests" constitute only about five percent of the total. 40% are "normal". 55% are a pleasure to host. Now, about that 5%. One can either look at them as a pain in the rear and simply endure, or the host can see them as a challenge and try to make them "undifficult". It's a worthy challenge and unfortunately seldom works, but when it does, it's a source of satisfaction.

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Karen Holmes 2 years ago

Great strategy!  
So much better to rise above vile guests with politeness.

 

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Craigmoniecottage 4 years ago

Hi Katerinka

Trip Advisor allow restaurant reviews whether you haved dined or not so probably they allow reviews of accommodation that way as well

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Craigmoniecottage 4 years ago

Catriona

It is a bitter pill but you will learn from it - ensure your house rules etc. just like Ian detailed earlier are clear and have to be accepted prior to booking. Get your neighbours on side and give them your contact number so that if there is a problem at the property you might get advance warning and then you can deal with it immediately. It will also maybe give you a good relationship with the neighbours.

It is always good to state how many the property accommodate and that this cannot be exceeded also maybe you should consider not taking party bookings. When the word Party is used then perhaps you should investigate what the occasion is and the type of party. I don't take hen/stag parties and do not allow anybody on the premises that is not accounted for in the Booking. If they want a place to gather they can do that in a pub or restaurant.

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michael beeston 4 years ago

Hi everyone.have been reading the very interesting comments.................................I guess we have NO REAL control over someone who wants to write a weak or bad review (maybe that's the 5% )we all talk about...Just keep smiling I think, and hope the next guest is not one of the 5%.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Smiling hosts...smiling guests...keep on smiling guys...it reverses back...Michael knows best...
Don’t worry be happy...

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Clivestewart 4 years ago

Yes, I agree. Is it time to stop agreeing with each other or can I agree again later? :-)

I think I read somewhere that each comment written here gets a point in the micky mouse competition.

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Clivestewart 4 years ago

No that was just humour. HUMOUR - a word used by English speakers all over the world.

Happy Easter and may the Lord bless all of you.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

I love Mickey Mouse competition...he...he...he...
Helping Mickey Mouse survive you actually help yourself...
Keep on smiling...

m
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Madclaridge 4 years ago

Michael Beeston re airbnb - I have not had a problem with airbnb yet and what I like about them is they pay you the day after guests book in whereas with booking.com you wait a month for your money. However, I do get more bookings from booking.com.

Have a great day!

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michael beeston 4 years ago

Hello Madclaridge.....I have stopped using Airbnb entirely..we never had many bookings from them and the people we had any problems with were from Airbnb ????.........We have had about 140 bookings in the last 2 years with Booking.com versus maybe 10 with Airbnb so I stopped using them

Why do you wait one month with Booking.com ???..I use a Westpac (Australian) credit card machine with the following steps.

1. When a booking comes in from Booking.com I charge a 30% deposit within 24 hours on the guest credit card. (refundable if cancelled 14 days before the booking date)

2. When the guest arrives ..say 2pm (or whatever time )..I charge the remaining balance the morning they arrive on the credit card, this way I receive my money even before they check in.!!!!!

3. It works so so well and we very rarely have any issues, to be truthful None at all.

4. When I do the initial 30% deposit, if the credit card is declined (and it has happened) I send a message through Booking.com to the guest giving them 24 hours to fix the problem/change the credit card details , otherwise I cancel the reservation. (Not worth the hassle)

It works very very well and I would not change this method...Hope this helps..Regards Michael.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

In Greece we have elections in a couple of weeks.... In this forum I vote Michael !!!
Thank you again for your kind contribution...
Take care....

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michael beeston 4 years ago

hahaha Thanks "M"....just trying to help and give some useful information for us ALL.

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Indish Cnx 4 years ago

Good and Bad are the part of every community, Try to be nice with a smile to your best but you were never born to please everyone.

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Madclaridge 4 years ago

Thanks for all the advice.

You will never satisfy everyone.  I have one guest who will give me a 10 rating for coffee and another will give 5.  You cannot expect to keep 10 different coffees in the kitchen as it is a self catering apartment I have anyway.

I do agree I have more bookings through Booking.com but just had a difficult guest through Booking.com who arrived with six people iso four and the apartment only caters for four.  They abused the no smoking policy and smoked inside even though there was smoking facilities outside.  They used the tooth brush cup from the bathroom as an ashtray and as it was plastic burnt holes in it.  They put their dirty dishes back inside the cupboard.  Thank goodness I check these sort of things.  Absolutely disgusting.  Booking.com need to publish reviews on guests like airbnb does so you have some idea of reviews from other hosts on the guest.  Just saying.

Have a good day ....

 

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Benita Cyster 4 years ago

Dear Juan 

like @katarinka said difficult guests few but they blow all your right buttons for wanting to engage in a quick kangaroo kick towards them and send them flying to their homes, but .... Yes usually  as mentioned in the past I would refund them in order not for them to make a hoohaa on social media, but not anymore,,,,  i have learnt that the world out there is aware of  some of the moaning guests  will be unhappy wherever they go in order to score a freebie, etc...   i just make sure that all my correspondence, my website and offerings across the board are crystal clear  and correct and have grown in character to stay calm, stick to my value system and "you either pay up or leave"  or I immediately contact BDC to assist and all have been dealt with perfectly  I have read and learnt quite a bit on this platform and are making a few changes to my T&C especially let BDC handle all payments and sort fraudulent cc out like that .... less stress and also much safer for our business and staff - no handling of any cash ( as most internationals prefer to pay cash at our establishment )   

lovely to be back on forum....   does take up a lot of personal time as my hubby thinks i ditch work.... and play on the PC

God bless all

Benita 

I
Inactive user
4 years ago

Thank you all for your inspiring messages. We are actually confronted to an even more difficult topic: the new review system that hundreds of partners are suffering from already. The new system includes a terrible flaw where guests can make the mistake of adding a general review manually. This means they can give you a 10/10 review for everything but give an arbitrary total of 2/10 as result. If you weren't informed about this, here is the link to the pages: https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/community/booking-advice-and-updates/did-you-know-we%E2%80%99re-changing-way-guest-reviews-work?page=3 Thank you

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BrookAve 4 years ago

Hi all, plenty of laughter moments and common shared issues above.

 

Like most I too have had the occasional issue with a bad rating after they leave, despite nothing reported during their stay, so I will call them on their ***.

 

I leave no room for interpretation,  and cover off on everything, and evolve my auto messages, printed info etc

They literally have no leg to stand on when they try to make false complaints,  and unconstructive rating and feedback comments.

 

Be clever with auto messages from first reservation message, to set out expectations,  and must read everything, 

 

Important to put at start or end something like:

These house rules and policies are subject to change. You should make sure to review all listing features, amenities, messages, notices, policy, and signs on site. As not knowing the rules and policies is not an excuse.

 

A firm but fair approach for a homestay.

 

Had an Italian 30s couple recently , the man decided he couldn't wait for the shared bathroom toilet so used my coffee maker glass jar. This was recorded by my amazon blink cameras,  which he had seen earlier that first day, starring up at it.

He also took food items from the private fridge and press, marked.

I waited a day and reported it to his wife, girlfriend,  she replied, apologising. 

I barely saw them during their visit. They had the kitchen to themselves etc.

Yet 4 days after their visit she had the neck, the gaul to both:

1.Complain to BDC that my homestay listing is not marked owner occupied 

2.owner uses the shared bathroom and kitchen as them.

3. Owner is constantly monitoring cameras 24/7, we dont want a b&b that is big brother.

 

My initial reaction to this was, wth!

1. Owner occupied is hilarious as it's a homestay so of course the owner is there and uses the bathroom and kitchen.

2. The cloud based cameras gave been a godsend. I've learned so much quickly that I could simply repudiate silly things by then printing out sign and notices like:

Take off shoes; clean up after yourself; bathroom upstairs; towels in bathroom; guest fridge; free tea coffee in here; 

Of course the cctv is blatantly marked on both listing and categorically highlighted in my concise succinct reservation, arrival auto messages. 

I literally covered my ass using all these automation messages, and condensed everything, scenario I predicted and experienced since August. 

I work in IT so I am very familiar with writing policy,  managing wifi, automation.

My house heating, lighting and inside front door is all smart tech. So I literally do not need to be home for a new guest to arrive, stay, and leave.

My concise info on everything from where to find x, to transport locally to, local shops and online delivery services cover everything. 

Other than me I have one long term renter, and then 2 downstairs double rooms on BDC.

There is only kitchen and shared bathroom, which are maintained with in reason, and weekly housekeeper visit for full cleanup.

It is never in a bad way,so when I see rating on cleanliness is bad, I know its ***.

 

I have had to quickly learn, adapt, and even bite my tongue when replying to bad feedback.  I'm getting better at it.

 

I had 3 people independently review the complaint and the bad feedback from that italian today and they all responded,  ' what the hell is she playing at'.

The lazy , inconsiderate *** I see them doing when I review the porch cctv or kitchen can be infuriating.

Not pulling up the handle on outside door despite the blatant symbol and text indicating it. And then another a4 poster in 5 main languages asking , did you pull up the outside door handle? Further into the hallway.

 

I could go on but I'll stop there, lol.

My cleaner thinks I'm a saint for putting up with the nonsense.