How to Spot a Guest Who Will Leave a Bad Review Before Arrival

Reviews are the primary currency in the short-term rental industry. Even a drop of a few tenths of a star in your average rating can noticeably reduce bookings and a property's revenue.

Most hosts in Croatia focus on perfect cleaning and check-in, but the problem often starts weeks earlier. High-risk guests almost always display specific behavioral patterns shortly after clicking the book button.

Recognizing these patterns early allows hosts to prepare or, in extreme cases, cancel the reservation before damage occurs. Here are the red flags to watch out for and how to react.

— 01Profiles Without Reviews and Incomplete Data

A guest profile with no previous reviews, profile picture, or verified phone number is the first signal for caution because it complicates background checks. While many new users are completely harmless, many hosts find that incomplete profiles more frequently result in property issues.

Platforms like Airbnb now require identity verification, but Booking.com still allows instant bookings with minimal data. If a guest books a seven-day stay during peak season in Split, yet has zero previous reviews or a verified number, the risk of a last-minute cancellation rises dramatically.

When encountering this type of profile, a professional approach requires sending a standardized welcome message requesting confirmation of arrival details. If the guest does not respond within 48 hours or the phone number is invalid, the host has the right to contact customer support and request a validity check on the reservation.

— 02Strange Communication and Price Negotiation

Guests who aggressively negotiate prices before booking or demand discounts outside of regular promotions often leave worse reviews. Paradoxically, when a guest pays less than the actual market value, their expectations of the accommodation grow disproportionately.

Strange communication does not stop at price. It often manifests through asking dozens of questions whose answers are already in the first paragraph of the listing description. This indicates that the guest does not read the terms and will have unrealistic expectations upon arrival.

The most common examples of high-risk communication include:

• Requesting a free early check-in (e.g., arriving at 8:00 AM instead of 3:00 PM)
• Complaining about destination prices before arrival (e.g., complaining about ferry prices to Brač or Hvar)
• Demanding additional services that are not advertised (free breakfast, private parking on a public street)
• Refusing to communicate via the app and insisting on phone calls

Using dynamic pricing tools, such as PriceLabs (a monthly subscription per unit), eliminates the need for manual discounts. The price is then always optimal, and the host can politely decline negotiations by explaining that rates are automatically regulated by software.

— 03Ignoring House Rules and Questioning Policies

Attempting to bypass clearly stated rules, such as those regarding pets, party bans, or mandatory registration, is a clear indicator of future problems with a guest. A guest who actively questions the rules before picking up the keys will almost certainly break them during their stay.

In Croatia, registering guests is a legal obligation: every guest must be registered in eVisitor, the official Croatian guest registration system, within 24 hours of arrival ^[1]. Registration is based on the identity document the guest shows on arrival, so a guest is not obliged to send a photo of their ID weeks in advance — and you should be careful about collecting and keeping copies of documents yourself because of data protection rules (GDPR). The real red flag is a guest who says they will not show an ID on arrival or asks not to be registered.

The Hospitality and Catering Industry Act (Zakon o ugostiteljskoj djelatnosti) clearly prescribes the obligations of hosts ^[2]. If a guest insists on breaking the law, the host is obligated to protect their business. Yielding at this stage sends a message to the guest that other property rules, such as quiet hours, do not apply either.

— 04What to Do When You Spot Red Flags

When identifying a high-risk guest, it is crucial to keep all communication on the official platform and request a booking cancellation if the guest blatantly refuses to respect the listing's terms. Never take the risk of resolving issues outside the system where the reservation was made.

If suspicious behavior is noticed, the protection process involves 4 concrete steps:

• Stay professional — do not enter into emotional arguments with the guest
• Keep the conversation on the platform — ignore requests to switch to WhatsApp
• Quote your own rules — send a screenshot of the house rules from your listing
• Involve customer support — report the behavior before the guest arrives at the property

Booking.com charges a commission on every reservation (typically around 15%, depending on your contract and programmes such as Genius), and customer support is part of that service. If a guest refuses to show an ID for registration or announces they are arriving with a pet at a property where pets are not allowed, support can mediate and, if the guest is breaching clearly stated conditions, cancel the reservation without penalties for the host — but the decision is the platform's, so document everything.

— 05Example: Handling a Problematic Booking in Split

Imagine a host in Split whose guest refuses to pay the damage deposit clearly stated in the property's conditions on Booking.com. This scenario shows why it pays to spot problems early and stick to the rules.

A guest books the apartment for five nights in July and immediately starts complaining in messages about the 200 EUR security deposit, saying it is not something they usually accept.

The host does not get drawn into an argument. Through the platform's messages, they politely explain that the deposit is a condition of the booking and contact Booking.com support. Since the condition is clearly stated in the listing, support can contact the guest and, if the guest still refuses, cancel the reservation without penalties for the host. Note: on Airbnb, most hosts are not allowed to require a security deposit at all — on or off the platform — so this approach does not apply there ^[3].

This frees up the calendar for a guest who respects the rules and reduces the risk of a dissatisfied guest leaving a bad rating as revenge for the deposit. Timely risk detection is the best tool for maintaining a high rating long-term.