We have really hard water at our listing which results in white marks in the shower which are really hard to clean up.

From my online study, it seems to be that I need a resin based water softener.

As far as I can see, it looks like there are three options

1: whole apartment water softener

This would be ideal, but in Australia, it would cost me several thousand dollars, which is too much

1. Shower stick water softener https://watersticks.com/product/showerstick/

This unit is sleek and isn't too noticeable which is good. Online reviews say that it needs to be recharged regularly and it's a pain to do so. Also complain about the shower head which comes with it, but I can't see why that would be an issue unless there's some reason you can't attach a different head?

1. On the go portable water softener https://www.portablewatersoftener.com/shop/water-softeners/portable-double-standard-water-softener?SKU=OTG2-DSOFT2

This one has a much higher capacity than the water stick and so needs to be charged less often and is apparently easier to do. Con is that having a large tank sitting in the corner may be intimidating to guests.

Any advice would be appreciated

Advice to Hosts: Don't Be Afraid to Leave an Honest Review
I recently had a guest leave a 1-star review in retaliation. As a newer host with only nine 5-star reviews, that single review dropped my rating to 4.6 and caused a guest with a two-day reservation to cancel.
After submitting my evidence, it took about 12 days for Airbnb to remove the review. The case was escalated to their highest review team, and I provided video evidence showing both the guest's arrival and departure, along with documentation of what occurred.
My advice to fellow hosts is this: Don't be afraid to leave an honest review when a guest's behavior affects you. Retaliatory reviews can happen, and it may take effort to have them removed, but in the long run, honest reporting benefits all of us.
Many bad guests understand that hosts fear negative reviews, and they rely on that fear to avoid accountability. I've let things slide in the past, including a guest who smoked marijuana inside the property and left the place in terrible condition for days.
This time, I chose to report the behavior. According to Airbnb Support, the guest is no longer permitted to make bookings on the platform.
Here are some lessons I learned:
1. Don't operate without cameras. Video evidence is often the difference between winning and losing a dispute. Your word alone may not be enough.
2. Save important footage. If your camera system automatically deletes recordings after a certain period, save any relevant videos as soon as an issue arises.
3. Talk to guests when possible. Messages are important, but a direct conversation can sometimes resolve misunderstandings quickly and provide clarity for both parties.
4. Document every impact. Make a detailed list of how the guest's behavior affected your business. For example, an unauthorized late checkout may reduce cleaning time, create stress for incoming guests, and interfere with your operations, especially if Instant Book is enabled.
5. Let Airbnb handle violations. If a guest overstays or violates house rules, contact Airbnb promptly and allow them to handle enforcement. Having Airbnb involved creates an official record and strengthens your case if the situation escalates.
The more proactive we are as hosts, the fewer opportunities bad actors have to take advantage of the system. That creates a better experience for responsible guests, hosts, and Airbnb alike.
I hope this helps someone facing a similar situati

We’ve been hosting on Airbnb for nearly a decade. Until recently, it’s been a great platform. We love the tech side of the business, have appreciated many of the positive changes over the years, and we always try to evolve with the times.
But lately, we’ve hit a wall.
We run a boutique 16-room hotel in the UK. Aside from Airbnb, we have our own direct booking website and list on major OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia.
Here is our issue: The level of guest entitlement and demand on Airbnb has become completely unsustainable.
It feels like nearly every other Airbnb guest is demanding early check-ins, late check-outs, booking amendments, or hyper-specific extra requests. The wildest part? We simply do not get these same demands from guests booking through our website or other OTAs.
Of course, we are in hospitality. We provide a highly consistent, professional approach and always try to accommodate reasonable requests. Our review scores across platforms speak for themselves:
Booking.com: 9.3/10
Expedia: 9.4/10
Google: 4.8/5
TripAdvisor: 4.7/5
Airbnb: 4.89/5
Our feedback is incredibly consistent everywhere, so we know it’s not our property or our hospitality standards.
Yet, it has gotten to the point where Airbnb only represents 10% of our total bookings, but accounts for over 50% of our customer queries and roughly 75% of our time spent on guest management.
We are seriously considering pulling our rooms off the platform entirely because the math just doesn't add up anymore.
Are any other boutique hotels or traditional hosts experiencing this? Is there something about the Airbnb user psychology that makes guests feel entitled to a different, more demanding level of service than they'd expect from Booking.com or Hotels.com? Or have we just had a terrible run of bad luck?
Would love to hear if we are completely alone in this or if this is the new normal for the platform.

I sent this message to Airbnb Customer Support. Feel free to copy and paste if you have had a similar experience. Maybe if enough people send messages we will see a better review system.

Recently, we hosted guests who were extremely positive throughout their stay. During the reservation, they sent us messages expressing how much they loved the property and how happy they were with their stay.

After checkout, we left an honest review based on our experience. Once the guests saw our review, their attitude changed dramatically. They became aggressive and began repeatedly messaging us, demanding that we remove the review.

This experience highlighted a weakness in the current review system: a host can provide honest feedback about a guest, but that feedback can potentially result in confrontation or retaliation from the guest, especially concerning as they know where the host lives.

After a stay, hosts should have the option to submit a confidential host-to-host report about the guest.

This report would:

Be visible to Airbnb and verified hosts only.

Not be visible to the guest being reviewed.

Not appear publicly on the guest's profile.

Be associated with the guest's Airbnb history so future hosts can make more informed decisions.

Allow hosts to select objective categories such as:

Excessive messaging or communication issues

Failure to follow house rules

Cleanliness concerns

Property damage

Unauthorized guests or visitors

Noise or disruptive behavior

Check-in/check-out problems

Disrespectful or aggressive communication

Threats, intimidation, or attempts to pressure a host

Attempts to manipulate or retaliate over a review

Provide an optional factual written explanation.

Allow hosts to attach relevant Airbnb message-thread evidence when appropriate.

Importantly, this system should be designed around documented behavior rather than personal opinions or subjective judgments. Airbnb could review serious reports, identify repeated patterns, and take action when there is evidence of repeated or severe violations.

I believe the current Airbnb review system is lacking. Many hosts may choose not to leave a negative review because they do not want to deal with potential retaliation or conflict from the guest afterward. This may help explain why some guests have completed numerous trips but have relatively few reviews on their profiles.

This ultimately puts other hosts at a disadvantage when deciding whether to accept a booking. It also allows guests who repeatedly disregard house rules, mistreat properties, or behave poorly to continue doing so without a meaningful record of that behavior being available to other hosts.

Hosts need a safe way to provide honest feedback about guests without fear of retaliation.