Why houses here get bad reviews
For owners · · 4 min read
Read enough reviews of vacation homes on the South Pacific coast and the same complaints repeat. Almost none of them are that the house was bad.
They are that something was different from what the guest expected. That is a listing problem and a communication problem, and both are fixable before anyone arrives.
The drive
Someone books a hillside house, rents the cheapest car at the airport, and arrives in the dark on a road they were not warned about. Whatever the house is like, that review is already written.
Say it in the listing. Say what vehicle is needed and in which months. Send directions before arrival that describe landmarks rather than trusting the map application, which is confidently wrong in places here.
Wildlife, which is the reason they came
Guests want toucans and monkeys. They are less prepared for the insects that come with a forest, or the gecko in the bathroom, or something on the roof at five in the morning.
A house that is treated on a schedule and a guest book that explains what lives here turns most of that from a complaint into the story they tell at home.
Heat and rain
Somebody books in October imagining February. Rain in the green season is not a fault in the house, but it becomes one if the listing sold clear skies.
Similarly, air conditioning in bedrooms only is fine, and it is fine because it was stated. Not stated, it reads as something broken.
The response time
Most problems during a stay are small. What turns a small problem into a bad review is nobody answering.
A guest who reports a pool problem at eight in the evening and gets a reply in minutes, and someone at the house the next morning, usually mentions it as a positive. The same problem met with silence overnight becomes the whole review.
What this means for an owner
The instinct is to present the house as flawlessly as possible. It is the wrong instinct. Every awkward fact stated in the listing costs a few bookings from people who would have been unhappy, and protects the rating that determines whether anyone finds the house at all.
A house with an honest listing and a number that answers will outperform a better house with neither.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I mention the bad road in my listing?
- Yes. It costs a few bookings from guests who would have arrived unhappy, and protects the rating that determines whether anyone finds the house at all.
- How quickly are guests answered?
- Around the clock, in English and Spanish, usually within minutes. Most problems during a stay are small; what turns one into a bad review is nobody answering.
- What do guests complain about most here?
- Access roads they were not warned about, wildlife they did not expect, and weather that did not match the listing. All three are set by expectations rather than by the house.
Tell us about your home.
Message the team on WhatsApp, or send an enquiry, with where the house is and how you use it. We answer in English and Spanish, usually within minutes.