Bad Review

[Rosehill]

Hello

We received the below review from a guest recently and would like to know if anybody has any tips on how to respond. We have spent a huge amount of time on the property redeveloping it over the years and it’s really disappointing to receive comments like this. Any helpful comments would be appreciated



We have just returned from a week in Rosehill. To start on a positive, the location is lovely. The views are amazing and the local area is great. Now on arrival, I could already see the house and garden were run down from the outside. We walked in and the house is indeed run down and in need of serious renovation inside. The house is damp, without a doubt they are trying extremely hard to mask this but there are damp patches in most corners and they have papered with plain paper and painted many times to try and disguise this issue. The decor is extremely old and outdated, however everything is mostly functional and can be used without issue. I would surmise that the house is owned by a older person, it appears that when they have bought this house, they have either visited every charity shop in the area for cheap furniture or got rid of everything in their main home and the rest put into this holiday home. It reminded me of my childhood in the 1980’s. The carpets are really old and almost threadbare and clearly someone has had an issue (on a previous review) with the carpet not meeting the carpet gripper in the bathroom and cutting their foot, this hasn’t been sorted, they have just shoved a mat over the area. Nothing is plush or appears fit for purpose, eg: the colander in the kitchen is the inside of a salad spinner. The clear motto for this house is ‘it will do’. The bed in the main bedroom is sagging to both sides and we felt we were falling out. There was no issue with the weekly cleaning and change over. The dirt is deep down in carpets and soft furnishings, nothing you can get out with a quick changeover clean. We wouldn’t stay again, however, if dealt with properly, this house could be amazing.

[Old Bill]

I sympathise. We have had occasional bad reviews. They are distressing but you shouldn’t take them personally. I’m sure you have had plenty of good reviews as well.

If I may make some suggestions, first, I think it’s important to reply, not for the sake of the reviewer but for the sake of potential future clients, who need to know that they shouldn’t necessarily believe what the review says. Second, you could say that most of the points made in the review are a matter of opinion (I suggest that you ignore the impertinent assumptions about the age of the owners etc.). However the allegation of damp isn’t about a matter of opinion, and I suggest you should reply to that factually and directly.

[newtimber]

I think you do need to take action on the specific points.

Is the property damp? Are the beds sagging - ie when were the mattresses last replaced? Does the carpet meet the carpet gripper in the bathroom? Guest expectations are far higher nowadays.

As a potential guest, I would trust this review and so wouldn't book.

I appreciate you have spent a lot of time over the years, but maybe get an agent to take a look at it - doesn't cost anything if they think you're going to list with them.

[Rosehill]

Thanks both. The property is advertised by cottages.com who inspect the property annually. The property is prone to a small damp patches on the north side in the winter due to its location on the sea front and being built in the 1930s, hence we close the property during the winter. My thoughts on a response. Let me know if this seems reasonable.



Dear Rachel I'm sorry to hear your stay at Rosehill did not meet your expectations and hope the late autumn storms did not spoil your holiday. We have spent a significant amount of time and money on the property which was in fact completely refitted and refurbished inside and in 2016 so your comments came as somewhat of a surprise. This included and was not limited to a new artificial lawn, decking, a new roof, new carpets and new beds throughout. Clearly at the end of the season there will be a small amount of wear and tear which will be rectified during the off season. As I'm sure you are aware coastal properties are more exposed to the elements in the winter months due to their position close to the sea. Perhaps if you had stayed during the milder summer months you would have had a different experience.

[newtimber]

I think that reply is good.

The two comments I would make are that if the carpets were not top quality, they can last as little as 5 years according to the google searches, and if the cottage is closed up and damp in the winter it won't do the carpets much good. Do you have carpets in the bathroom? And is there really no way to cure the damp which long term can't be doing much good for the fabric?

[J B]

Dear Rachel I'm sorry to hear your stay at Rosehill did not meet your expectations and hope the late autumn storms did not spoil your holiday. We have spent a significant amount of time and money on the property which was in fact completely refitted and refurbished inside and in 2016 so your comments came as somewhat of a surprise. This included and was not limited to a new artificial lawn, decking, a new roof, new carpets and new beds throughout. Clearly at the end of the season there will be a small amount of wear and tear which will be rectified during the off season. As I'm sure you are aware coastal properties are more exposed to the elements in the winter months due to their position close to the sea. Perhaps if you had stayed during the milder summer months you would have had a different experience.

Sensible reply - however, my bold underlined above doesn't really make sense to me

[CSE]

Do not mention the date of refurbishment. It was 6 years ago now and will only date as the years go by.
The guest review never writes about the weather . Keep to the issues. Respond about the cleanliness in which other reviews give you positive feed back. Something along the lines

Sorry you felt the house was a little faded. The majority of of our reviews show that we keep the house to a high standards. fashions in decoration can change quickly so if we renovate one year it can seem dated within a year or so. We are mindful of the environmental impact this would have if we kept updating various details around the house. I am sure you would agree with us that this is not away we should run our business in this day and age. Having said that at the end of a busy season some items may need to be repaired or replaced. If that is found to be the case we will will be undertaking that.

I would not use her name. I would attend to repairs or replacement as promised.

Can I ask why do you feel the need to only answer bad reviews? You have some nice ones I would enough you to respond to some of them too.

I would also suggest you ask professional advise about the damp. It could be something simple like a blocked gutter, though to poorly fitting roof tiles. Or is it in the flat roofed area? Houses should not be damp unless there is a construction issues. I have watched Homes Under the Hammer to understand this.

[Rosehill]

Thanks again for the responses. Very helpful.

There are actually only carpets in the Bedrooms and stairs. The rest of the property has recently restored wood flooring.

I’m quite new to review sites and never really thought about responding to positive messages. Apart from thanking them what would be the reason?

Damp is more common in coastal properties due to the higher humidity. The property is a single skin holiday cottage. It is not really designed for the winter hence why we tend to get worse reviews in late autumn before we close in November. We have replaced the whole roof and installed a drimaster which made a significant improvement. The only signs of damp are very small patches in the living room. It doesn’t affect the majority who visit during the spring and summer so it’s not really worth spending a huge amount of money.

[newtimber]

If you're still getting guests booking in the summer, then the bad autumn reviews don't matter.

If you find that poor reviews in the autumn harm your summer bookings, then you would have to re-think.

[CSE]

Damp is not related to location it is related to constitution issues. It needs to be rectified it will not disappear it will get worse.At worse it is a health issue.

[Rosehill]

Thanks again. See link below on damp in coastal areas

https://damp-proofing.quotatis.co.uk/ho ... d-by-damp/

Actually the damp has reduced significantly throughout our ownership following the improvements I have mentioned above.

It is not noticeable apart from a few spots in the corner of one room. It is also likely that it is due to condensation which can be fixed by simply opening the windows which is not something that guests are willing to do in the autumn months.

[Rosehill]

I would also point out we stay for a few weeks during the winter to clean up after the season and the damp is barely noticeable.

It seems some guests seem to intentionally look around for the smallest issues they can find and it’s usually on the late autumn when the weather is bad and they are stuck in the house

[J B]

It seems some guests seem to intentionally look around for the smallest issues they can find and it’s usually on the late autumn when the weather is bad and they are stuck in the house

As our agent once said to us ...
The autumn guests are always the worse
They wait for the seasonal price drop, then think they're on 'three in a bed' and moan about everything when maybe the property is looking a little tired after a busy season!

[baringa]

I’m quite new to review sites and never really thought about responding to positive messages. Apart from thanking them what would be the reason?

It shows you read them and that you remember the guests (even if you don't!); it shows you care and that you are pro-active; I'm always aiming to get return bookings if they were good guests and had a good time and if they were nice people, I would say that I hope to see them again!

Sorry about the bad review, sometimes guests just feel the need to make a lot of comments and give their opinion, it can be quite hurtful but we have to grin and bear it and respond as positively as we can, and always sounds as if we are addressing any issues.

[Rosehill]

Thanks again for the feedback. We have arrived at the property and everything is as we left it. We cannot understand why someone would make these comments potentially causing us to lose bookings. We even had a damp survey who confirmed the small spots were caused by condensation. We told the damp expert about the comments and he agreed they were vastly exaggerated. As the reviews are reported on Reevo we are not able to remove them.