“Well, No One’s Ever Complained”

Most people are just fine. Yes, there are a few weirdoes in the world and a few strange folks but if you operate a short-term rental you’ve no doubt found that most people are are perfectly fine human beings. This is why, more than likely, when I’ve heard hosts say (usually quite defensively) “well, I’ve been doing it that way for months and no one has ever complained” my first thought has been ” hmm. so that makes it right somehow?”

You see, most people don’t complain. Of course, in some situations, most people would point out bad service. For example, if you’re in a restaurant and ordered your appetizers half an hour ago and there’s still no sign of them, you’d call the server. 

But as a rule, the majority of people just aren’t complainers. (Yes, I know, there are some serial complainers but they are a minority.)

It’s perfectly possible that you’ve had guests who haven’t been completely happy with every aspect of your hospitality but “they’ve never complained”. Think about it – you might have even been in that situation yourself. I know that I have.

And I’m even less likely to complain if I’m having a great holiday or really enjoying my business trip. Why spoil things by having a moan-session to the host? Let it go. Okay, it’s really not good that the host had or hadn’t [insert problem here] but is it really worth me getting upset? Of course, it isn’t.

So okay, the host didn’t supply any drinking glasses but I have to go to the store to get the wine anyway so I can pick up a couple of cheap wine glasses. No problem. And remember that in recent years people have been getting more and more afraid of confrontation, or choosing to be passive/aggressive rather than confront problems head-on.

There’s another reason why your guests might not complain. If you use an OTA, Airbnb or similar,  then you’ll know that both parties, you as host and your guests, can leave an online review.

Some guests might think “well, it’s not good at all that the advertised internet doesn’t work but if we complain the host might give us a bad review…”. Yes, people are so concerned these days about getting bad reviews.

So, if you ever hear yourself thinking ‘but no one has ever complained about [insert issue here] just stop yourself and wonder why? Is it truly because ‘it’, whatever ‘it is’ has never troubled your guests, or could it be that they just haven’t wanted to rock the boat? You decide.