Usually I have Fab guest. My last ones not good!
Is there a feedback for a potential guest where I can see if they are good or bad guests! I don’t want a repeat of this weekend. I store toilet rolls, laundered towels and my laundered and ironed bedding, I have around 5 sets for each bed and store around 20-25 towels in bedding boxes..
my place sleeps 3 in a king size and tiny double I advertise sleeps 3.. neighbour called and said an awful lot of people are going in. I phoned the Roumanian gentleman staying and asked how many were there.. he said 4 so I let that go! so I go in to help the cleaner
every set of bedding used, every towel bar 3, and 20 odd toilet rolls all in the waste bins used, tge bins full to the top.. either they had the Coronavirus or they were used for something else..
There was no profile, I could check no picture his phone didn’t work at least the number and email he’d given! Am I missing there’s a button you can used to specify ages and translates to translate my rules into Roumanian or whatever ... sorry for the rant I’m a bit miffed?
Find the reservation in your extranet - in the right hand column is a button to "Report guest misconduct"
There isn't really anything you can do to verify idendity or quality of guests before they come. Booking.com don't care about property owners - they don't trust property owners (that's what they say when you tell them you want to take online payments or damage deposits).
Great thought Isle of Wight,
Quite recently we asked the BdC support team if a Host has the right to reject a guest's reservation if he/she arrives at the premises in a completely intoxicated state,-or in an unethical attire,- that would interfere with the comfort of other guests, and staff. ( we did not get a reply )
Has anyone come across any specific policies from BdC that refer to a situation like that?
In stark contrast with Airbnb policies, BdC hosts have no power of defence when it comes to guest reviews, except to respond to a review that contains a comment. The BdC Host's response to an insulting review is utterly useless, ( in our view ) as it would not change the review writer's position and would not alter in any way the review writer's rating.
There is no Accountability from the side of the review writer, in particular in cases where the review was posted under the umbrella of anonymity.
Airbnb are paying much greater respect to their Host's rights than BdC.
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Airbnb-Updates/Strengthening-our-commitment-to-community-standards/m-p/1182183
We would suggest that all BdC Hosts deserve the same rights that Airbnb are considering to extend to their hosts.
Kind regards and Greetings from bali
Reinhold and Raghiel
You are running a business and it is your property. If a guest is breaking the law, it is for you to contact the police. If a guest is badly dressed, that is their choice, unless you have strict rules on dress codes etc, and if a guest breaks those rules, it's for you to deal with at the time. A guest may have been drinking, but who judges whether the guest is actually drunk? And if the guest is drunk but doesn't disturb guests, do you need to do anything at the time? It's not right to say "he *looks* drunk and he *might* disturb other guests" - but of course, if he is absolutely ratted and singing or smashing things up or whatever, he's causing a nuisance / disturbance, so you may need to contact the police.
Have you noticed that I haven't mentioned the OTAs? It's not really anything to do with the OTAs. They may have rules in their booking contracts that guests must comply with local laws - and in some OTAs, you can have your own booking contract that specifies various requirements - but the OTAs are only interested in getting their commissions. They will always side with the guests because they want the guests to keep booking again and again and again.
And I can promise you that AirBnB has no more respect for hosts than Booking.com does.
I agree 100%
OTA are interested in getting their commission and we are interested in getting paid and have excellent reviews so more guests are attracted.
Respect is earned not demanded....
Well it is kinda fair statement though.. not all property owners are honest angels.
@Sallie This will happen in future again for sure (but quite rarely). This is just part of the industry we are in.
I woudn't store those things in a place for them to access. Some people just dont care. Fortunately not majority of them.
If possible take damage deposits on the arrival.
Create a custom message template for your House rules. Let them know about the rules also on the arrival.
I receive pre-paid bookings and if my apartment accepts max 3 persons and they would come 4 people I would not accept them. I tell them that I suggest to cancel their booking and in case if we receive another booking for booked dates we would issue a refund. If thay act "stupid" I advice them to contact Booking.com about this matter.
Guests often go to easy with no consequences with "hidden extra persons, babies, children" that's why it became a common practice in regard to save some money.. Well not (anymore) at my place. And "cheap" guests are usually not the best.. Those are more likely to use all your towels, linen, toilet paper and leave a mess..
No, it is NOT fair for Booking.com to treat all "partners" as if they are criminals. I know you like to be controversial and always take sides with Booking.com, but it simply is not fair or right for Booking.com to do what they do.
It's not being about controversial.. It may look like that because lots of hosts don't agree with my presented facts. That doesn't mean I take a side. If possible I preffer not to look at things from emotional perspective like many do.
The way I see it I just think you often overreact on negative things.
Booking.com treat all partners as if they are criminals - overreacting. Booking.com don't trust property owners - overreacting.
But I understand.. I was the same in years 2009+ while hosting on BDC and dealing with their strict & limited system.
Believe in the Power of Positive Thinking!!!
Salute!!!
Good day Isle of Wight
We sincerely agree with you on this one.
The BdC Host's position appears to be "Guilty, until proven innocent" when it comes to review scores and guest's comments.
Unfortunately, hosts are not given any tools to defend themselves ,-they are utterly left to the review writer's whims and moods at the time of their writing the review.
cheers
Reinhold and Raghiel
The best thing is to remember that this is business. We are not doing this for the joy of the praise we get in reviews. We are doing this for money. Naturally, we want our guests to be happy and to book again or to recommend us to others. Even better if they leave a good review. Never good when a guest is a bad guest, disturbs others, leaves a mess or causes damage, and always bad when we get false / bad reviews. We just have to get up and get on with it. Apologise to anyone disturbed by a bad guest. Clean up mess. Fix damage. Rent out to the next one. Keep that money rolling in.
Good advice, Isle of Wight and Pibomarco- cheers for that.
We guess everyone of us has their bag full of accumulated guest experiences, most of them good, with a few not so pleasant ones thrown in.
The "hidden, extra person" practice is a very common situation here in Bali, popular mainly amongst Indonesian guests.
As to the subject "cheap guests", we have learned that guests who book the lowest cost accommodation with us fairly often expect the most .
The word "cheap" has got a totally different meaning here in Bali, where B+B places and Guesthouses like us offer rooms ( including VAT, Breakfast, Free Internet , Air conditioning , Towels and Bed Linen , free drinking water and free parking < plus the agent's booking fee ,- and house-staff costs not to forget) from 8 ( eight) Euro pro night for 2 guests.
Nevertheless, we still get the "odd-one-out" who believes that the cost vs service balance is leaning towards our side.
Just a thought
cheers
Dear Sallie Stuart thank you for posting in the community!
We are really sorry about the bad experience that you currently had with the guests. Hopefully, this will be a one-time situation that you have experienced. We will advise in the future to set up a damage deposit that you can collect from the guests. You can find the information here: https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/help/policies-payments/how-can-i-set-damage-deposit
Good Luck!
Why don’t booking.com ask guests to verify who they are? With passport, driving licence, I’d cards.. I had to be in my apartment to verify who I was and that my apartment was a genuine one! I am fearful of these people now, I’m having to change my locks. It would be helpful to owners knowing that booking.com had verified guests. please make it a safe place!
Good thinking, Sallie,
Airbnb have incorporated guest screening into their system, it could work for BdC a well.
cheers
Verified guests is an excellent idea...but does this solve the problem???
Verified guests can also be untrustworthy...and have bad experiences having them...
I believe in better communication from the beginning of the reservation till the end of the stay and strict policies to avoid mischievous manners.
Cheers!!!
I wouldn't trust AirBnB any more than I trust Booking.com. Both systems worship guests at the expense of hosts. AirBnB allow fake profiles, false names etc. With Booking.com, we can set policies to require verified phone numbers and we can get guest addresses - we can't get any of that on AirBnB. Hae you looked in the AirBnB community?
Sallie, so sad that you had such a bad experience.
Very few guests create such problems but to be safe maybe you should take damage deposits.
I agree though with you that we owners would feel better if guests were verified.
Wish you great guests.