Guests hide behind reviews

For everything specific to B&Bs as opposed to holiday rentals.
Frenchlady
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Guests hide behind reviews

Post by Frenchlady »

We are new to B.com this Summer and are becoming amazed at the way people are nice to our face when they leave and then go and hide behind their computer giving us odd comments. Most of the reviews have been 10 out of 10 but a couple have given us 7.5 for facilities. We are only a 2 bedroom B&B and we think we have given every facility we can to make people comfortable. We do not have TV in the rooms and we do not have a guest lounge as the house (our home - which they forget) does not have enough space. We do have a lovely sunny terrace with an amazing view, seating in the rooms, hair dryers, tea & coffee facilities etc etc. I have now written to these people asking what facilities they think we are lacking. Will be interesting to see if they have the "balls" to reply. One just commented that we did not provide enough info - our house book is packed with info and tourist leaflets and we always tell our guests what fetes are going on during their stay. Just makes me feel like giving up.
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

Quite agree. We have had a few who gave us 7.5 out of 10 for value for money. We have just one B&B and we are one of the cheapest in the area at 55€ per night. The guests have free bottled water, tea, coffee & beer, private kitchen, TV, large swimming pool, outside terrace for eating, etc. all indicated in our advert. Beats me what they expect before coming.
Honi soit qui peu y boit
petitbois
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Post by petitbois »

French guests very rarely score you 10/10 as they do not think anywhere can be perfect. Location is the one we get marked down for, which annoys me as they chose to stay in this location!! watch the TV1 series Bienvenue Chez Nous - French guests are super critical.....just the way they are.....
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Whow Petitbois you offer a lot for the money you charge. Must be very annoying when you get knocked down. Value for money winds me up because if they had come direct we would have been cheaper (as we have just explained to one guest).

Petitbois, that confirms my thoughts that the French are quick to find fault. Sometimes I wonder if they choose an English B&B just to test us out. One of our rooms is not ensuite - it is just one step from the bedroom. It clearly states on the advert that the bathroom is external. and it is private. But, they had to comment. They chose to come here knowing this.

When guests leave in future with the smiles and "yes, we were very comfortable" comments, perhaps I should say "right stop now and tell me to my face what you are going to complain about and what you did not like". So easy to hide behind a keyboard. Still waiting for the guests to reply to what facilities we are lacking .... odds on they don't reply.
newtimber
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Re: Guests hide behind reviews

Post by newtimber »

Frenchlady wrote: Most of the reviews have been 10 out of 10 but a couple have given us 7.5 for facilities. We are only a 2 bedroom B&B and we think we have given every facility we can to make people comfortable. We do not have TV in the rooms and we do not have a guest lounge as the house (our home - which they forget) does not have enough space.
I think you need to look at it a different way. Would you be happy if you ran a B&B down the road and offered TV in the bedrooms and had a guest lounge and you were given the same rating for facilities as another place that didn't?
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

I think one of the factors that affects B.com is that it was started for hotels and now every Tom, Dick and Harry, including me, add their B&Bs. B.com still treat us owners as if we are a hotel. We have just one B&B in a separate wing of the house, with its own entrance, en suite shower room etc. When anyone looks at our advert, it states "Last room available" when we only have one anyway.

We recently had a 3 night booking from a French couple who arrived, settled into the room and half an hour later I received an email from B.com saying that our guests due to arrive that evening want to cancel - do I accept free of charge? I went to see them, they appeared embarassed, and said the room was smaller than it appeared in the photos on B.com and they wanted to move elsewhere. They hadn't yet paid but I said I would not allow them to leave without paying, which they did, in full for the three nights, and then left.

We are also with ABB at a cheaper price because of the considerable difference in commission compared with B.com. Our ABB guests have a completely different attitude as they don't expect hotel service and generally give us glowing reviews.

Despite the difference in price, we receive twice the number of bookings via B.com compared with ABB so we are not grumbling too much and happy to put up with the less than glowing reviews from B.com if they bring us guests.
Honi soit qui peu y boit
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Oasiscouple I think you have it all spot on. We have been with Airbnb for 2 or 3 years now and have had positive reviews on the whole. Only been with B.com since July and yes we have had a good number of bookings when we would otherwise have been empty. We have had to put our price up quite a bit to cover the commission and we still receive below our normal room rate. The guests of course do not see this and expect more for their money. Although Airbnb guests are also paying 12% commission but when we have pointed this out they don't seem to mind. All rather odd nowadays. How strange your couple who wanted a larger room. Good for you to get payment, we have it in our terms that if they reduce the number of nights after arrival, full payment is due. Will have to accept these reviews I guess and like you say, take the bookings. Although my OH is getting very tired of the whole tourist industry now and I think our days will be numbered.
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cleanforum
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Post by cleanforum »

Especially galling when they mark you down for things which are out of our control, like location, when they themselves choose it

or when they don' t bother to read or print directions (even after many communications telling them they are essential), get lost, call you up in the middle of the night to sort it and then after all they give low marks for the check-in process....!! :x
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

FL I would love to give you an appraisal on your situation, but you hide the property details on this forum. If we could see them then maybe just maybe there is a way that our comments could help a wee bit better than just to say we are sorry. Which in reality is not helpful at all.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

casasantoestevo wrote:FL I would love to give you an appraisal on your situation, but you hide the property details on this forum. If we could see them then maybe just maybe there is a way that our comments could help a wee bit better than just to say we are sorry. Which in reality is not helpful at all.
To be fair to French Lady, she may not be looking for an appraisal, just to let off a bit of steam, and to know that she's not the only one who gets this from BC guests.

You're not alone, FL... this year in particular has seen us (and lots of other local hotels) have a much higher proportion of unreasonable reviews on BC. I just wonder whether, with the general lack of money around, that people are getting more precious about their holidays and increasingly, are expecting something for nothing. They tend to forget that the b&b owner also has to make a living so champers on the bedside table just isn't going to be possible for (a very reasonable) 55€ a night!
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

Sometimes it is the good reviews which make up for the less than good ones. Just received this from a French couple who left yesterday:
“Très belle maison au calme avec une superbe piscine. Très bon accueil et relation avec les hôtes! Nous recommandons vivement!”
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Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

I am really not sure why casasantoestevo you always seem to attack people who comment on this forum. Perhaps it is just your way. I am not looking for sympathy just pointing out that we do our very best to make people comfortable in our home which is a 2 bedroom B&B and they knock you down on facilities or say some stupid comments. I really don't know what else we can give them unless they are looking for massage facilities or a hot tub!!! I have asked the guests what they think we were lacking and of course have not had any replies. They obviously did not expect me to come back at them, but it would be nice to hear why they have scored the way they have. I also agree about the location, which they choose to book. With GPS and google maps/earth etc there is no excuse now to book somewhere you don't want to be. I just hate the false smiles as they leave the house and then the comments that come later. We had 2 French guests who gave us feed back whilst they were here, one complained that the room was too bright first thing in the morning (I used to put the "youngsters" in there to get them to wake up and come down for breakfast!!!). We remedied that straight away by putting up a blind. Much better than 2 faced guests.
newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

Frenchlady wrote: They obviously did not expect me to come back at them, but it would be nice to hear why they have scored the way they have.
I think the problem is that the review system wants you to rate everything but doesn't explain to people what the ratings actually mean and how they are supposed to be used.
As a guest, I would not give a campsite the same rating for the facilities as a 5 star hotel however wonderful the campsite was. As a guest, I would imagine my review would be used to help future guests decide where to stay. If someone wants to search for the properties with 5 Star facilities all-mod cons, they don't want to be shown a campsite. This is what as a guest, I would imagine what the ratings I give would be used for. Similarly for location, ambience whatever. Obviously, those wonderful places may be too expensive for my budget, so I'd then search for lower rankings for facilities/location etc. at a lower price and not be paying for those extras that I didn't require.
I do not think that a score of 7.5 for facilities is bad and it would not put me off at all as long as it had those facilities which I needed. Similarly a campsite with a score of 2 if that is all I wanted would be fine.
africanpenguin
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Post by africanpenguin »

In terms of getting feedback, I wonder if you could leave something in the room asking for feedback? I think a lot of guests just don't feel comfortable giving it face to face, especially at the point of departure, and not all hosts are really looking for it! But you could leave a short note in the room saying something about the history of you/your property, and how proud you are of providing a nice place to stay in a beautiful area at a reasonable cost (or whatever you think is appropriate). And then go on to say that you always appreciate feedback and suggestions for improvement, and you would love it if guests would discuss any suggestions with you or note them down on the form/drop you an email. Then that gives them more opportunities to do it without them feeling they have to have a discussion about it.

I think that the ratings are very subjective and inconsistently applied. Especially for location, I think that guests rate against their internal picture of where they would like it to be located!
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

africanpenguin wrote:In terms of getting feedback, I wonder if you could leave something in the room asking for feedback? I think a lot of guests just don't feel comfortable giving it face to face, especially at the point of departure, and not all hosts are really looking for it! But you could leave a short note in the room saying something about the history of you/your property, and how proud you are of providing a nice place to stay in a beautiful area at a reasonable cost (or whatever you think is appropriate). And then go on to say that you always appreciate feedback and suggestions for improvement, and you would love it if guests would discuss any suggestions with you or note them down on the form/drop you an email. Then that gives them more opportunities to do it without them feeling they have to have a discussion about it.

I think that the ratings are very subjective and inconsistently applied. Especially for location, I think that guests rate against their internal picture of where they would like it to be located!
I'd also add to that; the price breakdown....so they can see exactly what you're being paid verses the commission (and tax?). I think that would be very powerful.

Mousie
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