# What Happened to Talking to Each Other?

One of the things I’ve noticed increasingly in short-term accommodation is a change in the way some guests handle problems.

And I want to be clear from the outset: complaints aren't a problem.

In fact, good operators want to know when something isn't right. If the heating isn't working, the shower isn't right, something is missing, or the property simply isn't meeting expectations, please tell us.

We can't fix what we don't know about.

What I find much harder to understand is when a guest stays for several days, says nothing at all, checks out — and then raises a list of problems, sometimes accompanied by a request for money back or the suggestion that a poor review may follow.

And I find myself wondering: why didn't we have the opportunity to put it right while you were there?

If something genuinely affected your stay, surely the fairest approach is to communicate it at the time.

Give the host or property manager the opportunity to investigate. Give the cleaner the opportunity to return. Give the owner the opportunity to fix the problem.

Sometimes we can fix it immediately. Sometimes we can't. But at least there has been a conversation.

Instead, we seem to be developing a culture where the review can become a bargaining tool — and where a complaint made after departure carries more weight than simply talking to the people who could actually have helped.

And I think the short-term accommodation platforms have a role to play here too.

When a guest hasn't raised an issue during their stay, hasn't asked for it to be resolved, but can then raise it afterwards and potentially receive compensation, what incentive does that create?

Are we unintentionally encouraging people not to communicate?

Because that can't be good for guests, owners or the industry.

A complaint should be feedback.  

A complaint should be an opportunity to improve.  

A complaint shouldn't become a weapon.

And this isn't about saying guests should keep quiet. Quite the opposite.

Please tell us when something isn't right.

We would much rather receive a message saying “Hi, there's a problem with the heating” than discover after checkout that someone has been uncomfortable for three nights.

We want our guests to have a great experience. Owners want their properties cared for. Managers want to solve problems. We're all ultimately working towards the same thing.

Perhaps we've just forgotten the simplest part of hospitality:

Talk to each other.

And perhaps, before we reach for the review button, the refund request or the threat of a poor rating, we could pause and ask:

“Did I give them the opportunity to make this right?”

Because behind every holiday home is a person, a business or an owner who cares about their property.

And behind every booking is a person who has saved, planned and looked forward to their holiday.

Neither side needs to be the enemy.

Things go wrong. That's life.

Kindness doesn't mean accepting poor service.  

Fairness doesn't mean staying silent.  

And good hospitality starts with giving people a chance to put things right.

### And perhaps this is a conversation worth having…

I’d genuinely love to hear from other property managers and accommodation operators.

Are you seeing the same thing?

Are guests increasingly raising issues only after they've checked out, rather than giving you the opportunity to resolve them during their stay?

How do you think the booking platforms should handle these situations?

And importantly, how do we encourage better communication without discouraging legitimate complaints?

Perhaps this is something we should be talking about as an industry — not as hosts versus guests, but as people who all want to see a healthier, fairer version of hospitality.

So, fellow property managers: what are you seeing?

Let's have the conversation.