“Avoid at all costs
Terrible fee structure - ended up getting no money as a host. Total scam and won't be using again.
Any new customers, please avoid!”
“Ripped off 300 pounds , they simply take your deposit like it is their money, I will complain to the ombudsman . I was ripped off, sent emails, tried to call and nothing back ... do not use this company ....avoid at all costs, many people in my position , shame on you HelloGuest for ripping people off ...I will not use you again...stay away from this company , poorly run...”
“I would never book a property owned by HelloGuest again. We used booking.com to book a property in London managed by HelloGuest. When we no longer needed to stay at this property, I enquired if we could receive a refund after the cancellation period. Booking.com said this was entirely possible providing HelloGuest accepted this request. Unfortunately, they did not. As soon as we realized we made an error in cancelling the booking before HelloGuest responded, we immediately tried to rectify the situation through dozens of phone calls, emails and texts. We also requested to be re-instated but were refused. Be forewarned that it is impossible to directly communicate with an actual customer service provider at HelloGuest to resolve what should have been a simple misunderstanding.”
“Not very professional and rarely transparent. Poor booking/yield management not very effective in generating good yields for clients' properties. Clients are attracted with an appealing "12% only" management fee, but a number of sudden and inexplicable "emergencies" emerge at the flat along the way generating loads of fees and charges by Hello Guest that reduce clients net revenues and boost Hello Guest income. We would suggest you choose some other provider who is able to reduce the number of "emergencies" and to manage same more efficiently”
“Avoid this company at all costs! I couldn’t be any clearer. AVOID! Background: I have sent countless emails and left voicemails where they have not got back to me and never once called me!! I had to step in on several occasions with guests requests for information which Helloguest did not respond to. Helloguest provided guests with incorrect information on several occasions which I needed to step in to clarify even though info was all provided to helloguest. They have a phone line which simply does not work. No one at the company can be contacted by phone. Ever.
They did not set up their fee correctly and asked for this retrospectively, which I had to pay at full price even though they did not warrant the full fee. They charged an onboarding fee when they never sent me any documentation. They lowered my flat £45 per night!!!! without my consent!!! when min winter nightly charge agreed was £95! HG claim they can adjust to whatever level without owners consent. No, honestly paying this company was literally like paying money for old rope. They were literally the worst company I’ve ever dealt with. You’re better off elsewhere. Do your research and forget about them.”
“Oh my goodness! Just received a callback from these people after enquiring to use their services. A woman on the phone, Polish accent(?), very abrupt and rude. Dismissed my enquiry, very unfriendly and put the phone down on me before I had finished speaking. What??? Never ever spoken to a business who was so unprofessional. Makes me wonder how they stay in business if this is who they employ. I am so glad I dodged a bullet with this company as I imagine there would be no pleasant customer care. Be careful with this Company folks”
“AVOID HELLOGUEST AT ALL COSTS
As an agent for a family member property owner, I had a dreadful experience with this company. Avoid at all costs - there are many more professional companies out there. They refuse to notify you when placing guests which can results in double bookings if the property is unavailable. They then feel it is their right to bill you for their own cancellation fees, which is absurd. My client paid to onboard them, including their photography fees and all their other cleaning fees etc, but refused to pay them for their own cancellation fees. They then took ME to court without notifying me - and they know I live overseas - and I don't even own the property. I ended up having to pay their cancellation fees AND legal fees to avoid a County Court Judgement which had already been illegally lodged in my name. I have now referred them to my lawyers to take them to court for this illegal action on their part. AVOID AT ALL COSTS for your own peace of mind whether you are an agent or owner. They are completely unprofessional.”
“DO NOT USE!!!!
They are absolutely abominably run, and seem not to know what is going on.
I had multiple issues with them so can’t write all of them down, but will show an example of two of the worst:
1) There was no booking for a certain week. I arrived to the flat and thee were guests there. I contacted HelloGuest who said it had been booked in. I sent them the calendar which clearly shows there was no booking. They refuse to acknowledge this so I had to pay for 2 nights in a hotel. They refuse to refund and completely ignore the fact that there was no booking in the calendar!
2) Guests arrived when I was still there having not cleaned yet. They specifically told me a cleaner would arrive at 5.30. I assume if they told me this the guests would not be scheduled to arrive until at least an hour or two after this. The guests arrived at 5pm and I was then told my HGelloGuest that that was their schedule. Again they refuse to take any responsibility. They cannot even apologise for their own mistakes, and refuse to acknowledge of any wrong doing.”
“She have rented flats in he area for 20 years. This was our worst experience. Flat 2, 69 Marchmont St compared unfavourably with other flats we have rented. Shower head was broken, one electric outlet didn't work, no tea or coffee pot in "fully equipped" kitchen. Shower head repaired in four days. Outlet never fixed. Told there was a kettle and we could go buy tea-coffee pot if we wanted one. Television has no easy access to UK main channels.Extension cord draped across a wall. The seam of a cushion on the small sofa was slightly torn on arrival. The tear was more pronounced after we sat on it for five weeks -- our stay. Told it was our fault and charged the full deposit. Booked for 8 weeks, we had to cancel the last three on account of a proveable medical problem. We were denied any refund. The carpet in the stairwell was torn (could be dangerous) and discoloured and the wall plaster was cracked. There was no contact with a live person either onsite or by phone. Not recommended.”
“I have travelled extensively around the world for work for the past 30 years and I have never before felt compelled to write such a review. I have used both Airbnb and Booking.com in the past and due to the current pandemic was happy to recommend to my son and his friends that they should opt for self-catering rather than a hotel.
They found what they thought (from the photos) a nice centrally located apartment. On arrival the found that the apartment was actually lower ground floor (not advertised as such) which in itself would not have been an issue but the fact that the flat was dirty (hairs on the floor, in the bedding and shower), soiled Ben linen and a rotten tomato and chicken bone on the kitchen floor made it completely unfit for purpose and certainly in breach of the contract they had entered into with Booking.com. The property was “managed” by Hello Guest who would not respond to numerous calls. My sister based in London managed to speak to a representative from Hello Guest (Veronica) who requested that we sent an email. This was done and the implication was that a cleaner would be sent to rectify the matter. However nobody turned up (they waited from 1 pm - 9 pm approx) despite trying to contact again, Hello Guest’s representative did not reply or send a cleaner and they were therefore obliged to book a nearby hotel that I had used on previous visits to London.
When Hello Guest finally did respond they offered a 50% on the cleaning charge - ludicrous particularly as no cleaner appeared for some 8 hours.
I would strongly recommend NOT using HelloGuest for any booking! Simply abominable”
“I used Hello Guest to fully manage my home as an AirBnB let when I wasn't there. It was a total disaster. They engaged a cleaning company that did an awful job, and worse still, they tried to blame them for everything, and the cleaning company tried to blame HelloGuest. Do not fall for Veronica's charm on the initial phone call. The whole thing is a mess, to the point of being a scam. Guests arrived to dirty front step, shower not clean, bed not made properly, insides of old toilet rolls on bathroom floor, bins not emptied. After 3 guests, I arrived back to find all the laundry balled up in a cupboard on top of my belongings. HelloGuest changed my AirBNB account to their bank details (how foolish I was to let them). At the end of a month out of £600 earnings, they are paying me £150, plus I had to refund £75 to a guest because the flat wasn't cleaned properly. HelloGuest refuse to take any responsibility and worse still, they 'gaslight' and pretend it's my fault. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!”
“Stay away ! Terrible experience - Completely disdainful of your property. Ended with more damages than revenues
I contacted them among a number of other short-term letting agencies.
I was ultimately captured by the friendly and reasonable manners of her front-office manager Veronica. She's very amiable, and was reasonable in negotiating a couple of adjustments I wanted to make to the agreement.
Trouble started when their operating representative got to my property. This lady comes in to check the property, note where things are, do inventory, and ask possible particular requirements. In the case of my property this is particularly relevant, because is a warehouse conversion with some special features that need to be known.
Note - the lady doesn't even have a piece of paper and a pen, nor she has a phone out or something to take notes on.
When I ask if she is not taking notes, she asks me for a pen and paper, which I provide, and for the rest of the chat she just writes down two half-sentences without even completing one - visibly just to address my concern and pretend notes are being taken.
So - ZERO NOTES OF THE DISCUSSION / PROPERTY DETAILS TAKEN.
When I go for about a month, they manage to find 4 tenants. Hard to judge performance under this point of view. Seemed reasonable - not impressive nor disappointing. It was plain high-season, and in my experience another agency managed to do better in a less favourable time of the year, although hard to compare - as it depends on a number of factors.
The real trouble comes when I am back
- My two large windows of the living room are broken
- The kitchen electric black stoves are heavily scratched
- The bedroom carpet has coffee and shoes marks in multiple places
- The tenants fully helped themselves with house supplies (which to an extent is fine) but here they drank 3 pretty expensive wine bottles I had, they took away the perfume of my girlfriend and a full pack of toothbrushes...
- On a big mirror I have, I had a pen drawing of an artist friend of mine (the portrait of a lady) which I specifically mentioned to the operations lady I wanted to keep and preserve. When I get back I find it wiped out, and the blue colour of the pen has been dragged on the white wall next to the mirror, which is now stained
Anyways
I don't make any scene, I just mention the facts and I only ask for the damages to the windows and the stoves - that are pretty clearly visible as soon as you step into the living room. So I contact Veronica again and this Naushad dude pops up out of nowhere. He is entirely unaware of the circumstances or the property. He just immediately says that
"damages are are part of the cost of rental"
That starts to irritate me. We have a first exchange, I point him to their agreement, and he agrees that that statement was stupid. So he now says that
"it's difficult to spot damages if they are not visible"
Said by him who doesn't even know what property are we talking about, nor has he ever been there or asked for images. This is just another attempt to refuse responsibility. When I show the pictures of the damages - which are so damn obvious - then he changes version again, and now
"they can't check all properties because different housekeepers check the properties in and out"
Which essentially makes doing the inventory completely useless, and means that they just DO NOT CHECK properties for damages as a standard practice, in fact he adds
"a housekeeper will not be able to check the flat as this would require carrying out an inventory which is not economical or viable in short lets"
So they don't check property for damages because it would cost too much to them (?!). At the end, he just keeps adding more and more offensive excuses and refuses to pay damages. I end the relationship and ask for my keys to be sent back. They even lose the keys and takes 3 months for me to get them back.
Bottom line
By trusting them I ended up with more damages than revenues, and a painful and offensive treatment.
Don't fall for the friendly manners of Veronica - the operations behind her are plainly and simply set up to be ENTIRELY DISREGARDING of your property, and they will refuse to pay the damages they procure up to the point of being utterly ridiculous and frankly offensive.”
“Booked end February for stay in June 2020. Paid £155, 50% deposit. When lockdown happened in March I contacted them to check what would happen. I was told I would have to wait to nearer the time, if I cancelled would lose £155. Contacted as requested 2 weeks before stay. Told only option was to have credit for stay in another property, not confirmed the one I booked up to 31/3/21. This was unacceptable for me so they did not refund the £155. I claimed on the credit card who declined to refund me as the place was available, even though I could not get there and it was illegal to travel. I appealed, citing CMA advice that the contact was frustrated and Covid legislation overruled contract law. I was prepared to go to court but the credit card gave me the deposit back plus compensation as they did not respond to my appeal in good time. A lot of stress and time wasted. I now book with AirBnB, their service fee is worth every penny for the peace of mind.”
“I booked this company as a place to spend Christmas 2020. When the government put tier 4 restrictions on London I contacted the company to cancel. They debuted the refund a lot we are unable to travel home for Christmas. Absolutely disgusting! Never use again”
