There are lots of different types of guests that will come to your Airbnb – tourists, students, locals, business professionals, retirees and a whole lot more. But in my experience, there are trouble guests that can be avoided, and believe me – you’d be better off with no guests at all.
What is a problem guest?
Problem guests are the types of people that feel entitled to as much as possible, for as little as possible.
These are the guests that will give you a 2-star rating just because it rained on the day of their stay. Or because their Uber driver got lost on the way to your property. Or because their phone went flat and they couldn’t contact you with their last minute questions.
They’re the guests that are likely to leave a mess and then deny they made a mess while giving you a review about being a bad host because
What attracts problem guests?
Some people love to complain, they just LOVE it! Everyone has problem guests occasionally, but those with a really well-written listing description and professional photos tend to see far fewer problems.
There’s a saying that I love – “How you do anything is how you do anything”. This basically means, if you have perfect, professional photos, then you probably do everything else perfectly too. Problem guests love to complain and if it looks like you do everything perfectly, then they probably don’t have much to complain about.
Furthermore, if it looks like a host does everything perfectly, the problem guest knows they’ll have a hard time pulling the wool over your eyes to push for a refund.
The other thing that attracts problem guests is a price that is too low. Problem guests, more often than not, will go for the bargain. Don’t let yourself be the bargain, value your Airbnb and your time, don’t be the cheapest around!
How to avoid a problem guest…
LOOK LIKE AN EXPERT
Something I remember from school – People that pick fights are normally pretty nice to people that are bigger than them.
PHOTOS – Get professional photos taken and make your Airbnb listing look better than all the other Airbnb properties in your area. If you were running a hotel, it’s cost a fortune to look better than your competitors, but here it doesn’t. Everyone is on a level playing field. An expert photographer will show your property in it’s best light, it sets the expectations. When your guests show up, there will be no surprises, they won’t find anything better or worse than what they expected.
WRITE A GREAT DESCRIPTION – Helpful and professional. “How you do anything is how you do everything”. Write a description that accurately describes your property, including its main downfall/s. Including at least one downfall is important, guests will respect your honesty and it shows problem guests that you have nothing to hide.
RESEARCH YOUR GUESTS – Just last week we had a guest request a property for 8 nights. They asked an unusual question and they had just joined Airbnb with no feedback at all. That is an Airbnb guest that someone else can deal with, we don’t need to risk our things for a guest that we know nothing about. Research your guests before accepting them.
STAY 1 STEP AHEAD – If you have guests asking about something, put it in the description. If you have guests complaining about something, fix it, or put it in the description. Anticipate the complaints and fix the issue before they affect your ability to be a Superhost.