Whether you’re renting out your home or your spare room, having guests can be an enriching experience. It is also important to know how to avoid bad Airbnb guests. It can also be a taxing one — especially if they’re the wrong kind of guests. Bad Airbnb guests are the type that is taxing because they disrupt your routine, are prone to causing problems, or just leave a bad taste in your mouth after staying with you. Learn how to deal with bad Airbnb guests effectively!
You probably don’t think about it much as a host, but being an Airbnb host can be almost as stressful as being an Airbnb guest. It’s not just that you have to clean and tidy up your space; there are lots of other things you need to think about in order to make sure each guest has the best experience possible staying in your home. That includes making sure that the guests you accept are people you’d be happy to have stayed in your home.
Because while it may seem like a small thing compared to ensuring the house is clean and tidy, uncooperative or annoying guests can quickly make hosting feel like more trouble than it’s worth. Given how competitive the market is these days, there are plenty of places where you can find great deals on amazing properties from friendly hosts who will go out of their way to help you feel at home. But there are also plenty of other hosts who will demand additional cleaning fees if anything is less than perfect, charge for amenities that should be standard, or let substandard guests continue staying because they don’t want them bad-mouthing them on review sites.
How to Deal With Bad Airbnb Guests?
Bad guests start off as people who just don’t know any better. In some cases, they may not even realize they’re being inconsiderate. So the best way to deal with them is to set boundaries from the start and make it clear what is and isn’t acceptable.
How to Deal With Loud Airbnb Guests?
- Make it clear in your listing that you don’t want noise, mess, or excessive guests and that there are consequences for breaking the rules. Bad guests aren’t malicious people, they just don’t think about the people they’re inconveniencing. They’re likely staying with you because they’re on a budget, so it’s a good idea to make it clear that they can save money by not bringing guests over when there are guests in the house, for example.
- Expect guests to read your listing, so don’t feel bad about listing the consequences for things like loud noise, smoking indoors, or leaving messes behind. It’s important to set boundaries from the start so you’re not left having to deal with the fallout after the fact.
If you’re lucky, you’ll only ever encounter polite, friendly guests during your Airbnb hosting career. But even if you do manage to avoid bad guests altogether, there’s no guarantee that you’ll never be the one who ends up on the receiving end of terrible treatment.
To avoid being caught out by bad guests, spend a little time researching the people who are looking to book your space. If you have a smartphone, you can do this by using the app itself. On the laptop or computer, you can visit the Airbnb website and perform a risk assessment on each person.
Don’t Let Bad Guests Ruin Hosting for You
Bad guests will happen from time to time. It’s impossible to guarantee that you won’t get any, but there are some things you can do to reduce the likelihood of it happening.
1. Be specific about your rules. – If you ask guests not to smoke inside and they do it anyway, it’s easier to just tell them they’re not allowed back rather than risk a bad review.
2. Have a policy on making guests pay for damages. – You can’t expect every guest to be responsible and respectful at all times, and there are bound to be some who are careless. Learn more about how to charge Airbnb guest for damage.
Having a policy in place, even if it only applies in exceptional circumstances, makes it easier to deal with.
Remember, hosting isn’t just about letting people stay in your home for a few nights. You’re letting them into your home. The comfort and enjoyment of your guests is your responsibility, as is making sure that they feel as safe and happy as possible during their stay.
What you choose to do about a problematic guest situation will depend a lot on your relationship with the company. If you’re hosting with Airbnb, you have access to 24/7 customer support. If your hosting company doesn’t offer this level of support, you may want to consider switching to another company.
Check Guests’ Reviews Before Accepting
The best way to avoid getting a bad guest is to screen them thoroughly before accepting their booking. You’re unlikely to be the only host trying to book the same guest, so you can use their review history to help you decide who to accept.
Even if the guest has no reviews, you can use the other parts of their profile to help you decide.
Read the information they’ve filled out about themselves, and look for information in their profile that might give you some insight into how they’re likely to behave as a guest.
Hosting websites like Airbnb invite guests to create an account and leave reviews of their own stays as well as write reviews of the hosts they stay with. Use these as an opportunity to get ahead of any potential issues.
Before you accept a booking, be sure to check the prospective guests’ reviews. If they have none or only one or two reviews, that might be a red flag. If they have several, you can use those to help inform your decision about whether or not to accept the booking.
Make Clear Rules and Communicate Them Clearly
Although the majority of Airbnb guests are polite, friendly, and respectful, there will always be a few who aren’t. As a host, you can reduce the number of problems you encounter by making sure your guests know what is and isn’t permitted during their stay.
If there are any house rules that you need to make clear before accepting a booking, be sure to include them in your Airbnb listing.
Once guests have accepted the booking, send them a courtesy email reminding them of these house rules, and the consequences of breaking them. If there are any other rules you need to make clear, do so during the conversation you have with your guest before they book. For example, if your home has a pet, but you’re only allowing the guest to have access to the backyard, let them know that in advance, so there are no surprises later on.
Ask to Speak With Your Guest Before Booking Is Confirmed
It’s not uncommon for guests to accept a booking and then disappear, never to be heard from again. Fortunately, you can avoid this by asking to speak with the guest before they book the place. You can do this at any time before they book, but it’s best to do it as early as possible. If the guest doesn’t respond quickly, they may have found someone else and you don’t want to be left in a situation where you’ve accepted a booking that you can’t fill.
Before guest books your space, be sure to ask them a few questions to help you get a sense of who they are.
- What brought them to your listing?
- How long are they staying?
- Where do they currently live?
- What brought them to your part of the world?
What you’re hoping to gain from this type of questioning is a little more information about who your guest is, and how long they plan to stay. If the guest is traveling on business and staying for a short period of time, for example, you’re less likely to have issues with them than if they are traveling as a family on vacation and planning to stay for a longer period of time.
Don’t Hesitate to Ask for References
If you’re dealing with a new guest, it can be helpful to ask for references from past hosts. References can give you insight into the kind of guest you’re dealing with, and make it more likely that you’ll be able to weed out any bad guests before they accept. It’s important that you use references appropriately, though. You can say something like,
“Thanks for booking with us. We want to make sure your stay is as great as possible. Can we ask for your host recommendations?”
Don’t just ask for references from anyone who ever hosted the guest. Instead, only ask for references from hosts who have hosted them in the past year or so. You can also ask hosts who give negative references if they’d like to offer suggestions on how you can avoid ending up with guests like the ones they hosted.
If a guest refuses to provide references, or if their references don’t check out, don’t book that guest. If a guest accepts your booking and then doesn’t provide the references you’ve requested, cancel the booking and find another guest for the dates in question. When you need to turn down a booking, let the guest know why, and explain that you’re unable to accept their booking.
If you ask for references and the guest refuses to give them to you, that’s another red flag that you should heed. Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to accept a booking from a guest who is unable or unwilling to provide references.
Take a Deposit and Have the Final Payment Due at the End of the Stay
Many first-time Airbnb hosts worry about getting bad guests and ending up with no payment. The best way to avoid a situation like this is to take a deposit from the guest. You can also ask them to book the place with a payment plan. Taking a deposit from guests who have no reviews or references helps to mitigate the risk of getting a bad guest. It also makes it easier to be firm and demanding if the guest does something unacceptable.
Before guests book your space, be sure to let them know that they’ll need to pay a deposit to hold the booking. The amount of the deposit will depend on the booking website and how many people are booking the space. Airbnb, for example, requires a deposit of 10% of the booking.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the deposit in advance. If a guest refuses to pay it, they may decide to book another listing instead.
The guest’s ability to pay the deposit will help you determine whether or not you should accept the booking in the first place. If you take a deposit, make sure to hold on to it until the guest has checked out of the space. The guest should either return the deposit to you or offer a legitimate reason for why they don’t plan to return it. If the guest doesn’t return the deposit, you can use it as a basis for issuing a bad review against the guest.
Don’t Be Afraid to Say No When You Need To
If a guest has no reviews and no references, and you don’t feel comfortable accepting their booking, don’t feel bad about saying no. You can tell the guest that you’d like to review their profile and references before accepting the booking, but don’t feel bad about declining a booking if they don’t comply. It can be tempting to accept every booking you get, but you don’t want to risk having a bad guest stay in your space and ruin your reputation.
It’s better to say no and decline the booking than to accept it and potentially end up dealing with some very unhappy guests.
Can You Reject Guests on Airbnb?
If something about a guest makes you uneasy, don’t be afraid to say no. There are few things that will kill your hosting business more quickly than accepting guests who make you feel uncomfortable. When you feel uncomfortable accepting a booking, don’t be afraid to say no. If the guest is rude, belligerent, or in any way makes you feel uneasy, you have a right to say no to their booking. If a guest has a poor reputation, or if they’ve been uncooperative during the booking process, don’t be afraid to say no. You have the right to accept or reject any booking you want.
How to Respond to a Bad Airbnb Guest Review?
Unfortunately, it happens. You do everything you can to make sure your guests have a great experience, but then they leave a bad review. First, don’t panic. It’s important that you don’t respond emotionally. Just like you screened guests before accepting their booking, you should also screen your response.
It’s tempting to fight back or try to defend yourself, but it often doesn’t end well. Instead, try to take a detached, non-confrontational approach. Stay calm and try to understand where the guest is coming from. Obviously, if they’ve made an inaccurate or false claim, you should correct them, but otherwise, try to see where they’re coming from.
How to Avoid Bad Airbnb Guests Review?
The best way to respond to a bad Airbnb guest review is to apologize sincerely and make a sincere effort to correct the situation. If you or your property were not at fault for the bad experience, don’t be afraid to defend yourself. When you feel as though the complaint is valid, apologize sincerely and promise to make the necessary improvements. If you feel as though the complaint is unwarranted, respond politely, but don’t let the guest bully you into making changes that aren’t warranted.
Don’t respond to a bad review until you’ve had time to cool off. If you respond while you’re still angry or upset, your response is much more likely to come across as defensive and combative than if you respond after you’ve had a chance to think things through.
Preview |  |  |  |
Title | |||
Star Rating | |||
Price | $19.99 | $13.44 | $16.10 |
More Information |
How to Report a Bad Guest on Airbnb?
Unfortunately, bad guests happen, and it’s important that Airbnb hosts who have had a bad experience with a guest know that there are steps they can take. Airbnb has a clearly laid out process for reporting bad guests, and it’s important that hosts know about it and use it if necessary.
You can report bad guests in two ways.
- First, you can use the in-app “Report Guest” function and choose from one of five different reasons.
- Second, you can go to your Airbnb host dashboard, click “Manage Bookings,” and then click “Report Guest” to report a bad guest via email.
If you have a bad experience with a guest, report them to Airbnb as soon as possible.
You can do this directly from your Airbnb Hosting account. If you report the guest within 48 hours of the end of their stay, Airbnb will try to mediate the situation on your behalf. If the guest doesn’t respond, or if they refuse to make amends, Airbnb will ban them from using their platform. If you report a guest after 48 hours, Airbnb will still investigate, but they can’t guarantee that the guest will be banned.
Bottom Line: How to Deal With Bad Airbnb Guests?
The best way to avoid being caught out by bad guests is to spend some time researching the people who are looking to book your space. If you have a smartphone, you can do this by using the app itself. On the laptop or computer, you can visit the Airbnb website and perform a risk assessment on each person.
The more information you have about the potential guest, the better you’ll be able to make an informed decision about whether or not to accept their booking. The ideal situation is to come to an agreement with the guest before they book that you both agree to follow through on after they’ve stayed with you. When dealing with any potential guest, it helps to be as transparent as possible so you can avoid misunderstandings later on.
In some cases, you’ll find that it’s difficult to get in touch with the individual you’ve accepted as a guest. There may be a few reasons for this. They might have a number of accounts on different websites, and any one of them may be their primary one. They could also have disconnected their profile from their Airbnb account, so you can’t reach out to them directly.
If you can’t get in touch with your guest, it’s important to remember that you can always report any issues you’re having with them when they stay with you. This helps other hosts who might find themselves in similar situations! Learn more about how to start a successful Airbnb business.