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.

Erm I thought you could only see the review once you had submitted your own review? To stop tit for tat review wars??

You sound bad guests in terms of late checkout and calling the cleaner unfriendly. Maybe she had places to be and was worried to see you there likely wondering if you weren’t about to go.

However on the Netflix issue it’s entirely their fault if they left themselves signed in. If they’re going to leave themselves signed in and allow guests to use it then create a profile for ‘guests’ and leave it signed into that profile. Otherwise I’d just assume it was ok to use.

Next time don't bother with the extra cleaning, as long as the rubbish is in the bin and the dishes are clean, that's enough IMO (and have never had a negative AirBNB review).

I think complaining about minor amount of dog hair is v silly if you have allowed a dog. If Netflix was logged in, I would have used it, I've not read the previous Mumsnet Netflix AirBNB etiquette manual! £10 for a broken bowl is fair. I'd take this one on the chin though and move on.

But the OP didn't delay the cleaner they were just leaving as she arrived. So yes they left late but didn't hold anyone up. You are supposed to be out by 10 and the cleaner in by 11 - covid change over timings. These have changes, got closer over the last few months but OP took the hour that the house should have been empty. Sounds petty, but it is what it is!

And yes, don't clean, just tidy up, unless the house file has different instructions.

Last year we were asked to put a specific list of things in the dishwasher as we left, so we did. We got a 5* guest review as we did what the house file said, no more, no less. T

This year we have been sent an entirely different check out list, different property, and will again to exactly as it say, no more, no less. It's someone elses routine, so I do what they ask.

@starfishmummy

holding up the cleaner for a whole 40 minutes (probably more as she had to wait for you to go, and unload her stuff from the car- is just not on.

Being pedantic, they didn't hold her up for 40 minutes. The cleaner didn't arrive until 10.40 so was only delayed by the amount of time from 10.40 until the OP got out which sounds pretty quick after cleaner arrived.

Although I do agree they should have been out on time.

The cleaner may well have arrived earlier and driven round for a bit to allow OP to vacate.

After 40 minutes was then thoroughly pissed off and showed it.

@BrisbaneandGone

Sounds like OP would have left on time if she wasn't so careful about leaving everything tidy. I have never hoovered on holiday

Then she should've got up earlier

No, she should've stuffed the bloody hoovering! It's her holiday and that's what cleaning fees are for.

Teens are not an excuse for being late. My mum insisted we all pack up the night before except for the next day's necessities (she checked!). We usually had cereal or a sandwich on paper goods so no/minimal dishes in the morning. She had it down to a science!

If we were lazy on departure morning she cleaned up around us and if we weren't up, dressed, and ready to go we had a ride home in our PJs with our day-bags tossed in the back of the car.

@icedcoffees

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.

If you insist on doing that, you need to get up earlier. If they own multiple accommodation and all the guests are out late, that throws the whole day off and makes them late for the next lot who are arriving.

^this. Start cleaning earlier so you are out in time. Breakages & Netflix I don’t think is a huge deal but leaving late is inexcusable and, if they commented about dog hair, you didn’t clean very well anyway!

Oh op don’t lose any sleep over this.
She’s a grabbing cow and was probably due another guest.
£1000 per week!!!
No ones perfect. 😇

Friend of mine manages air B&B for the rich owners.

It’s a nightmare when people are late. The cleaners usually don’t just have one place. They have 5 to get round. She says even 10 mins throws their day off.

I think YABU.

I have an Airbnb rental, and if the guests don't check out on time it isn't just keeping the cleaner waiting - no big deal. It might mean less time for cleaning before the next guests arrive, so they don't get such a nice place. Or maybe the cleaner has a life, so had other plans for the day that you've interfered with. My rental is in a rural area and to make something approaching a decent living my cleaner has to drive around from property to property so she needs to plan her day meticulously. A late guests ruins that - if she's running late she has to call for back-up from another cleaner so she will lose income. I think you sound pretty thoughtless tbh.

OP - hope you've learned a lesson to leave the cleaning to them. They don't appreciate it beyond what the host upthread has said (dishes/bins/tidy).

You shouldn't have mentioned the cleaner. If you'd left on time you would never have met the cleaner!

@JackieChiles

We are much worse guests than this and we always get good reviews!

Yep, me too. Last time I broke a plate and a light switch, immediately emailed owner and offered to pay for it all, she said these things happen don't worry. I can't understand people who are jumping on the OP saying she should have cleaned more, cut a pound of flesh off on the spot or given up her first born to placate the arsey owner whatever; some owners are making a mint out of holiday makers and enjoy sticking the knife in afterwards.

I've been looking at lots of holiday lets that allow dogs recently and lots expect dogs not to be left unattended so saying the dog may have got on the sofa while you are out is not going to make the matter any better. I don't think just because you allow dogs means that pet hair on the sofa is expected. Many places expect blankets to be used.

managed to get all of our stuff out of the house and by the car by 10.40

Soon becomes

We had got all of our stuff out of the house by 10.00

Changing your story because things aren’t going your way?!

Actually I think maybe you should have left the day after you arrived and paid 50% more. You sound like you think you were on holiday or something ...

@shouldistop

You mention you left the dog in the air bnb when you were out. Even the most dog friendly places I've stayed say they can't remain there unsupervised.

Yes, we take our dog to self catering places a few times a year and there has always been a rule about not leaving him alone

The title of this thread could be "AB&B guest who shouldn't have met the cleaner complains about cleaner".

The broken bowl and netflix are only mentioned by the OP, not the owner, who only complained about moved artwork and the dog hair.
And, yes, OP, dogs will climb on sofas they are banned from when they are alone.
It is a good idea to take a blanket for the sofa, as another pp has mentioned.

But, I wouldn't dwell on it, OP. Most places and most guests will end up having one or two poorer reviews for all sorts of reasons.
If another host reads those reviews I bet they won't consider them too much of a problem.
Being 40 min late in checking out, on the other hand...

YABU. You need to be more considerate of leaving the place on time. That being the requested check out time and not your own time. Everyone breaks stuff, I doubt that would have been a sticking point but Netflix and the conversation with the cleaner might have.

With respect OP, why the hell are you cleaning these places?? Was it part of the agreement? I use Airbnb regularly (haven't had any bad reviews as a guest) but not once have I started cleaning and hoovering before check out. Leaving the place tidy yes, absolutely, but nothing more when they have cleaning services coming right after I leave 🤷🏼‍♀️

Its like competitive misery: make your holiday as inconvenient as you can through the need for ridiculous amount of cleaning, to pre-empt petty complaints from AirBNB owners. Someone will come on in a minute and say they always redecorate and buy new furniture before they leave (at 10am).

If they are using their property as a business on AirBnB but leave their Netflix logged in that's their own silly fault. I wouldn't faff around with accounts in a hotel so I wouldn't in an AirBnb.
They're were also ridiculous about the dog.
And why were you hoovering anyway? Did they not charge a cleaning fee? That's unusual these days, and even if they didn't I'd say hoovering is above and beyond a quick tidy up.

With being 40 mins late YABU.
I clean holiday lets and on check out/check in days we have several properties to do in a short time. So being 40 minutes late leaving will throw the timetable for the day..
Everything else is pretty standard I'd say, always get a broken bowl etc and a few dog hairs.

I look after a holiday cottage.... THE most annoying thing is when you turn up and the guests are still there.

It's almost like you're saying your time is more important than mine. So so rude and entitled!

You know the time you have to leave by sort yourself out, set an alarm and be gone by then it's just common courtesy!!

I generally avoid AirBnb these days. IMO they get inflated positive reviews with many guests only remarking on the good side and ignoring the bad points as they kind of feel like they stayed in someone's house and so should be generous. Which of course isn't the case. AirBnB owners are running a business and most treat their guests accordingly. Much prefer the anonymity and more realistic reviews of standard booking sites, Booking.com, Hotel.com etc.