How to Handle Difficult Guests

What to do when problems occur

Most guests will enjoy their stay and leave your property with positive feedback — but occasionally, issues can arise. Difficult guests can be stressful, especially when they affect communication, property rules, or the overall hosting experience.

This guide provides practical steps to help you manage challenging situations calmly, safely, and professionally.

Keep communication on the platform

For all Airbnb and Booking.com reservations, we strongly recommend keeping all communication on the platform's messaging system.

This is important because:

• Both Travelnest and the booking channel can view the messages.
• It provides a clear record of events if we need to file a misconduct report.
• Channels rely heavily on message history to assess disputes.

For bookings made through other channels, such as Expedia, Vrbo, Holidu, and HomeToGo, platform messaging is not available, so communication must be carried out via email instead.

In all cases, if a guest begins showing difficult behaviour, please avoid moving communication to private channels such as SMS or WhatsApp. Keep all correspondence strictly on the Travelnest messages platform or via email for all other channels. This ensures there is always a clear, traceable communication record should we need to support you.

Stay calm, professional, and clear

De-escalation is key. When tensions rise:

• Keep your tone polite and neutral.
• Acknowledge the issue without assigning blame.
• Re-state your house rules clearly and consistently.

Remaining calm helps prevent the situation from escalating and provides strong evidence should we need to report the guest.

When Travelnest can step in

Depending on the situation, we can report the guest to the platform the booking was made through. This could include issues such as:

• Abuse or harassment
• Refusal to follow house rules

However, it’s important to understand limitations:

• Booking channels cannot physically remove a guest from the property.
• If a situation is serious or presents any risk to your safety or property, the police should be contacted immediately. Channel support cannot intervene in real-time emergencies.

If you feel uncomfortable giving check-in information

If a guest becomes abusive, threatening, or makes you feel unsafe before arrival:

• Do not send check-in instructions.
• Contact our Customer Support team.
• Provide screenshots or evidence if the conversation happened outside the official messaging platform.

We will raise this with the booking channel and advise on next steps based on their policies.

Concerns about damage or cleaning

For guidance on damages, cleaning issues, and security deposits, please see our article here.

Handling review issues after the stay

If the situation ends in a negative review, you can find advice on how to respond professionally here.  

We’re here to help

If you are dealing with a difficult guest or need to raise a concern, please contact our Customer Support team with:

• The booking reference
• A description of what happened
• Any evidence (screenshots, photos, or message logs)

We’ll review the situation and guide you on the best course of action.