Upset by a negative Airbnb review. Should I do anything?

[Daddyjammy]

AIBU to be upset by the bad review we've just been given as guests? Worried it will impact on being able to rent other places.

Our family's always had great reviews from our hosts in the past and we try to be as considerate as possible, so this has quite upset me.

We had a lovely stay (won't mention where but in the UK) and left a glowing review of the place, which, to be fair was pretty immaculate when we arrived.

Checkout was supposed to be 10.00 which is at least an hour earlier than we've ever had before and we did try to get up and out in time but with two teenage kids we had managed to get all of our stuff out of the house and by the car by 10.40 and I was just doing final checks, cleaning kitchen and hoovering when the cleaner arrived. She was very curt with me as I was still on the drive but she was able to park on the road just 5 yards away then virtually threw me out of the house before i could even grab the (tied up) rubbish bags to put in the bin and recycling. We had hoovered the night before, cleared away all of our breakfast and generally tidied but apparently didn't put everything back in its right place, "moved artwork" (absolutely no idea what this could be) and left so much dog hair on the sofa it took an extra hour to clean (the dog, which we had checked was ok in advance, was banned from the sofa when we were there but may have got up there when we were out but we certainly didn't notice much hair).

Turns out the cleaner was the owner's mum so I'm guessing I caused offence by mentioning that she was "brusque" with us and maybe they're upset that we broke a dessert bowl, although I left a tenner to cover for this and offered more if I hadn't left enough, or that we accidentally used their Netflix account rather than our own (is that really bad form?).

Genuinely not sure if we sound like really bad guests and need to up our game or if we've come across a particularly picky host who expects too much from guests paying over £1,000 for a week with one bedroom and a sofa bed in a (quite nice) little house.

You'd think in the present circumstances they'd be glad enough to get any guests - especially at that shocking price.

"In present circumstances"? You mean the circumstances that have meant that UK holiday destinations have been super-busy and booked to capacity all summer?

Right now, there is more demand for UK holiday accommodation than there is supply. Holiday let owners can be a choosy as they like.

The OP sounds like she was not a great guest. 10am is a normal departure time, and it doesn't sound like she left the place in an amazing state. Also, insulting their cleaner rather than apologising for being in the cleaner's way wasn't a great idea.

I don't get what the OP has done wrong on the Netflix. It's completely routine to have subscription accounts available at higher end rentals - if it's logged in when you get there then it's natural to use it. I'd only bother changing to my own account (if I had one) if I wanted to keep track of where I was on a box set.

But the lateness is a big deal and then complaining about the cleaner's brusqueness is really bad form. Holiday let cleaners aren't there to be friendly - they're never meant to come into contact with you at all, because you should be gone by the time they turn up to do their job.

I am also afflicted with recalcitrant teens who frequently make me late so I do feel your pain but that doesn't mean you get a free pass to cause trouble for other people without suffering consequences.

I'm another who doesn't get the Netflix thing. If it's there I use it. Never had any complaints from the "hosts". It's often mentioned in the advert as being provided.

So you left the dog unattended whilst you went out? That’s enough on its own to warrant a bad guest review from many owners.

Add on being very late leaving, which messes up the cleaning schedule and we wouldn’t have you back either

Lots of hotels would charge you a full day for being 40 mins late to check out... lucky all you got was a bad review.

@Payproblems

No... Things happen people are late sometimes.. They weren't still in bed with the cleaner actually set back waiting it was just a few moments... And op had cleared up.

It was a small mis step. I can't imagine a hotel doing this.

A hotel would charge them for a late checkout, plus they'd charge OP's credit card to cover any breakages.

@Nixandwotsit

I'm another who doesn't get the Netflix thing. If it's there I use it. Never had any complaints from the "hosts". It's often mentioned in the advert as being provided.

I'm not sure the bad review mentioned the Netflix, I think OP is just surmising that she shouldn't have done that?

Which she shouldn't and it wasn't an "accident"

@Daddyjammy

Lots of replies here, thanks. No idea what a "reverse" is, by the way.

Can take all of the points about being late. We had got all of our stuff out of the house by 10.00 but I was still cleaning. Points all noted for being a future guest - the reason we are sometimes late leaving is that we're trying to leave a place as clean as we found it and all other bookings I've had have never given us grief for this. I do get the covid points, though.

Then you should have gotten up earlier.

Are you saying you left a dog alone in a rented house?

Absolutely forbidden.

@VickyEadieofThigh

Are you saying you left a dog alone in a rented house?

Absolutely forbidden.

As is allowing a dog on the sofa, as is being 40 minutes late checking out!

I can understand the cleaner being brusque because they were surprised to find anyone there, couldn’t park where they usually do and may have been on a tight timeline to get several places cleaned. Also, you can’t know if the cleaner drove by earlier and kept going since you were still there. I suspect you received a worse review because of the brusque comment.

YABU for being late just because you have 'teenagers', there is no excuse for not being out on time when you knew in advance that was the departure time. YABU unreasonable for using their Netflix unless this is officially a part of the deal. The rest seems fine.

I would be annoyed if you were not out on time though. I suspect she gets it a lot hence her cold manner.

YABU for not getting out on time, and having teenagers is not an excuse

YABU leaving the dog so it can get in furniture and then not checking

We take indoor kennels so if we go out without the dogs they get popped in one. Causes them no harm, we know they are safe and no damage to anything

So basically they were not giving you a bad review, just stating the truth, so what can you actually say?

Bloody hell, op! We were out by 9 the other morning (with teenagers who are used to sleeping in late during the summer) because we wanted to get ahead of the worst of the traffic. Why were you cleaning? Surely leaving it tidy, having kept on top of the surface cleaning during your stay, is enough to then let the cleaners do the professional clean when you leave.

I've rarely stayed anywhere with a later check out than 10. You don't sound like the best of guests, I'm sorry.

If you can't guarantee keeping your dog off the furniture you really need to take throws with you to place on the sofa so hairs don't get embedded. Certainly never leave your pet unattended in the rental accom. How can you guarantee your dog will behave itself in an unfamiliar setting? They expect some hairs about the place but not like you left it, clearly.

These rules are usual set out in the T&C's but are common sense to me.

And you let your dog on the sofa 🤦‍♀️

We have booked a selection of Air BnBs for later this month as we drive around various places for our holiday. I’ve just checked and each one has an 11 am check out except one that is 12 noon. Where are these places with 9 am check out? I wouldn’t book them.

I think your biggest mistake was letting the dog stay in the place unattended. We take our dogs with us and every place has been very specific about no unattended dogs. Although dog fair use to be expected in a place that allows dogs.

I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths with cleaning. A quick wipe of all surfaces, wipe around the bathroom sink, put things such as books, board games, etc away and wash up your dishes, strip the beds if asked.

All this talk of extra cleaning “because of COVID” is just an excuse. Places should always be thoroughly cleaned between guests. And when we stayed at an Air BnB over Christmas to visit the in-laws we were given a whole lecture by the owner about cleaning and so on “because of COVID” and the toilet had skid marks when we arrived…

So to be clear.

You checked out late. Broke something. Didn’t clean up properly. Allowed your pet on furniture when you were asked not to. Then you were arsey about the ‘brusque’ cleaner. Has it occurred to you that the cleaner may have a life/ another job and you not only possibly made them late via the late check out and additional cleaning they had to do.

And YABVU to blame teens for this. Get your teens out of bed the same way the rest of us do. So that they learn by example why respecting Airbnb’s/ hotels (I.e not your home) looks like.

@Daddyjammy

I left them a glowing review. Only mentioned the cleaner in personal comments. Chalking it all up to experience

They wouldn't have seen your comment about the cleaner being brusque until after they left their review, so it's certainly not a tit for tat. I expect they were harsher in their review because you were so late leaving. As an owner that really pisses me off. Check out time is there for a reason and if my cleaner has to wait for 40 mins until you decide to leave then it messes up his whole day!

I think people need to get a grip on the lateness. It's not like OP was in bed when the cleaner arrived. The bags were all packed and in the car, OP was just doing THEM a favour by hoovering.

And if you allow dogs in a property, you need to prepared for dog hair, so put a throw on the sofa!

YABVU.

I agree that 10am is often the standard checkout time in SC accommodation. We've had cleaners standing in the hall waiting for us to leave at 9.55, so 40 minutes late is very late indeed. Having teenagers is not a good reason either. We've been away on group breaks with several families so 8 or 9 teenagers plus a couple of younger ones in the house and we still checkout on time. Nowadays I often book an extra day so we can leave the night before and not feel rushed.

@takehomepay a hotel would charge you for this late a check out.

Secondly the rules of Airbnb’s can vary and there is a clear list of what is required. In the recent Airbnb I stayed in we needed to strip beds / towels and place them in bin bags. Bins emptied. Dishwasher loaded and running. All surfaces wiped clean and floors clean.

The place I stayed in before that was identical (and actually stipulated a charge of £100 if the place was not left to those standards).

There’s no ‘favours’ involved here. A lot of places expect their property to be left in a state where all that is needed is a light clean and beds dressing.

I hate air BnB. How is this a holiday?

Honeymare I was thinking that.

@takehomepay

I think people need to get a grip on the lateness. It's not like OP was in bed when the cleaner arrived. The bags were all packed and in the car, OP was just doing THEM a favour by hoovering.

And if you allow dogs in a property, you need to prepared for dog hair, so put a throw on the sofa!

No she really wasn’t.

My cleaners will be re-hoovering ( is that a word) as most guests don’t do it well enough as well as re-cleaning the rest of the cottage. Then they’ll be going over all the “touch points” again with a viracidal cleaner in line with anti Covid cleaning protocols.

As for dogs on sofas….well we provide some lovely throws but many guests with dogs don’t use them. I dread the heavy shedding breeds!

We need guests out on time.