Our goal with this property is to offer an affordable rental property with a beautiful pool and great entertaining area, so guests can have a great, relaxing stay.
Unfortunately, from the beginning Jasmine hasn’t been happy. She was offered to check out and get a full refund, so she could book another place, but she declined. In stead her party left bad reviews on the host business page, damaged property and requested a full refund AFTER their stay.
It started with her not reading / seeing the check in instructions that every guests receives prior to their stay. Many of our messages are automated and all our guests receive a welcome message with wifi code, check in instruction, a neighborhood guidebook etc. which Jasmine received as well.
Jasmine arrived, didn’t read the check in instuctions and called the host. The host called her back 7 min. later, but in the meantime a neigbor, gave her access to the property.
Then Jasmine called the host to inform her the wifi wasn’t working. Upon checking, it turned out she she entered the wifi password with a capital letter, which didn’t work.
Jasmine then called again, to inform the host that the yard was dirty. The host came right away. There was one soda can in the bushes ( not multiple) and cigarette butts in an empty planter, which were missed by the cleaner. This is not how we want to represent our house, so we apologized, cleaned it up and offered her a credit for the inconvenience. Jasmine insisted on a full cleaning refund and then also complained the pool wasn’t clean. Hosts have weekly pool service, and the pool was cleaned 1 day pror to her arrival. This is an open pool with some (palm) trees around it for privacy and shade, and sometimes some leaves fall in the pool, which is what happened. We removed the leaves and turned the pool vaccuum cleaner on, so she wouldn’t have to worry about new leaves falling in the pool.
Jasmine then insisted again on a full cleaning refund.
At that point we offered her 2 options.
1. She would get a cleaning fee refund. This would resolve her unsattisfaction and she continues with her stay. She also already received a $25 gift.
2. She would check out and get a full refund.
Jasmine informed us she preferred to stay and we thought she was happy.
The next day we didn’t hear from her and we checked in around 4pm to see if she was happy.
The message we received then was shocking. ( She didn’t communicate or express any concerns all day) She listed a bunch of broken things and a dirty pool. She hadn’t been able to swim according to her. We immediately went to the property again, and Jasmine requested a refund for an additional 50% of her nightly rate on top of the credit for the cleaning fee. If not, she told us she would leave a bad review. ( which she clearly did) The weekend of Jasmine’s booking, the weather wasn’t great. But we checked the security camera’s to see what was going on with the pool. Upon reviewing, we saw Jasmine and her kids had been in the pool for hours. On top of that, we saw that her guest broke the hammock, which she mentioned in her review that was broken.
We have weekly lawn and pool service, the pool is always sparkling blue. Some leaves may blow in the pool, but there is a net, so guest can either remove those or contact the host.
This is a manufactured home. Everything works, as stated in the listing. Ofcourse it’s possible that a light bulb brakes, but in the rare occasion that this happens, it will be replaced asap. I think we showed with our actions that we care a lot about our guests and do everything we can to make things right if a guests expresses an issue. In Jasmine’s case, she was requesting refunds and making threats to leave bad reviews, but when we were at the property the first night, she told us everything was resolved and she was happy and until we messaged her, she didn’t express any issues. The next day Jasmine requested a FULL refund. This was offered to her on Friday, is she checked out, so we could allow other guests to book our place, but she refused. That night she decided to leave bad reviews on the hosts real estate social media page, which is not how we (hosts) resolves issues.
The front screendoor shuts with a lock, which is also visible in the pictures. We would have gladly instructed Jasmine on how to operate this, if this was an issue for her.
There are curtains in all rooms. The specific room that Jasmine is referring too, is a room that has an office area behind the bedroom. There is a doorway in between the rooms, which does have curtains. This office space isn’t counted as a bedroom. Again, we would have gladly helped her, if she had discussed these issues, but Jasmine didn’t mention these things during her stay.
The holes in the wall Jasmine is referring too, are not holes, but some scuffs were paint is missing. The patio furniture in the screened porch has been replaced recently and the pool furniture outside is very durable PVC furniture. Nothing is falling apart and our pictures are very accurate. The seats are a bit faded, but we like the lounge chairs. We have many other seating options, so there is always a seat for everyone :)
Weather related issues ‘ it was rainy and cold’ is unfortunately not in our control.
Our guidebook shows exactly the location and how far the beach ( 20 min), Orlando and many other places are. We think Jasmine was mainly dissapointed by the weather. We are always willing to help guests, but making threats and posting bad reviews on a hosts social media business page, is unacceptable.
We have helped guests with buying birthday cakes, watched their pets etc. We enjoy hosting people and hope to welcome many more guests to our tropical pool stay