Holly Thomson’s luxury farm lodge, called The Barn at Summerhill Farm Stays, in Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, had a five-star rating — until a tourist was unhappy
A property owner is furious to lose her perfect rating on Airbnb — after a grumpy guest complained about “noisy” sheep.
Holly Thomson was baffled to read the review, in which a visitor claimed earplugs “didn’t quite block” the bleating out during their stay at The Barn at Summerhill Farm Stays, in Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway. Yet, the lodge is located in the middle of a lambing field containing 100 sheep and is advertised as “offering a taste of farm life”.
It didn’t quite prepare one guest enough as, after their stay, they left the scathing critique online — and Holly saw her five-star score tumble. Speaking today, Holly, 36, said: “It is ridiculous. We found it quite funny as well. What are you expecting? You can’t stop animals being animals.
“It’s very much you come because you want to experience country life. We’re very remote and that’s a selling point and is why we wanted to do it. It’s great for people who want to get away from it all.”
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The miffed visitor also described the clean and modern interior as “a bit lacking in character” in his three-star review. Holly had previously received multiple five-star ratings, and so her cottage was classed as “one of the most loved homes on Airbnb” until recently.
Holly has complained to Airbnb about the nature of the whinge in the hope the firm removes the post. Her ownTikTok video, recorded inside the property and in which she makes a dig at the tourist, has been watched more than 750,000 times on the platform.
But the mum of two, who herself lives in Castle Douglas, added: “What we’ve quickly learned is how important reviews are for our business. As we’re new to it we read every single review we get. We’re not going to get it right straightaway.
“I checked my emails and had a notification from Airbnb that I had my first three-star review. This girl had written a review saying that the sheep were too loud and she wore ear plugs and that didn’t stop the noise at night.
“It’s in the name of our business so I’m not really sure what she was expecting. That’s part of the experience that you see sheep. If you look where we are you would see we’re in a rural part of the country.
“They can lodge a complaint and I had a notification that a complaint was made due to ‘unexpected noise’. I was gutted. We’ve poured our heart and soul into these holiday lodges and it’s been a big risk for us as youngish farmers diversifying.
“She’s brought my overall rating down which means we don’t rank as high on Airbnb which means we potentially lose out on customers. It’s a very unfair complaint. You can’t please everyone and maybe country life isn’t for everyone.
“People don’t really understand how hard farming is I think and being able to see it firsthand it blows my mind that she would then criticise the poor sheep.”
The three-star review in full
“The location brought a real sense of peace and serenity – at least when the nearby sheep weren’t being too noisy (even earplugs didn’t quite block them out at night).
“That said, the shower lacked water pressure, and the interior, while clean and modern, felt a bit lacking in character. It would’ve been ideal to have a BBQ area for outdoor cooking, and there wasn’t much to do in the nearby surroundings.
“Overall it was a pleasant getaway – peaceful, well-equipped.”
But many TikTok users replied to the viral vid in support of Holly. One wrote: “It’s not fair you get marked down for something that is clearly stated in the property listing.” Another commented: “As an Airbnb owner this is extra super-duper hilarious.” One wrote: “I would book for the sheep noises.”
Airbnb’s response
Airbnb said they have a strict reviews policy to help ensure feedback is authentic, trustworthy and useful to the community.
The platform said reviews are only removed in limited circumstances where users are found to have violated the reviews policy, however users can respond publicly to a review – including if they disagree with it.
Following an internal review, Airbnb said the guest’s review didn’t violate their policies and was based on personal experience, which included both positive feedback and areas for improvement for the host.
