Making reviews more fair for hosts

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Making reviews more fair for hosts

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 Many of you have asked us how Airbnb can protect hosts from one-off bad reviews. When this question came up at the most recent Host Q&A, we told you we were working on ways to make the review process more fair for hosts. Specifically, we made 2 promises:

  1. We committed to launching a tool to detect outlier reviews—or one-off bad reviews. A common example is when there’s a discrepancy between the overall rating and the category ratings provided by a guest (when a guest gives a host 5 stars for cleanliness, accuracy, and the other categories but a 2-star rating overall, for instance).
  2. Based on your feedback, we also committed to exploring ways to help guests better understand that the location category rating is meant to be objective. The location category rating doesn’t impact your overall rating (or Superhost status), but we know it’s important to you, and we want to make sure the whole system is as fair as possible.

 

Today, we’re excited to announce two improvements to the review process that directly address these issues. Since these changes have been introduced, we’ve already noticed a tangible uptick in more accurate, fair reviews for hosts, and we hope they solve some of your pain points. Here’s what’s new:

 

One-off review alerts

We’ve added a step to the review process for guests when they give a host an inconsistent overall rating. For instance, the guest may have given 4-star or higher ratings for all the categories (cleanliness, accuracy, etc.), but then give an overall rating of less than 3 stars.

 

The new pop up screen asks guests: “Is this right?” And goes on to explain that they rated their overall stay lower than they rated it in specific categories. It gives guests an option to either change the rating or ignore the alert.

 

This new alert has led to higher overall review ratings for hosts. Since we launched, we’ve seen a 2.8% drop in 3-star reviews and a 3.9% drop in 2-star reviews. While these percentages may seem small, they’re driving real improvements in the accuracy of our review system, and hosts are benefitting.


Location, location, location

We’ve heard from you that the location rating can be particularly frustrating because some of you have experienced guests dinging you in this category, unexpectedly, after great stays. This category is tricky. It gives valuable information to prospective travelers, which we don’t want to lose. At the same time, we hear your concern that you’re being graded for something you can’t control: guests’ opinion of your location. This opinion is inherently subjective—one person’s “rustic rural retreat” may be another’s “too far from public transportation.” So we made it more clear in the review process that guests are rating the accuracy of your location description, rather than the location itself.

 

Now, when a guest goes to rate you in the location category, if they give you less than 3 stars, they see an explanation: “Was the listing’s location not described accurately?” So far, this has led to a 0.8% increase in the average rating for location.


While we were working on this, we also made similar improvements to the value category. If a guest gives you less than 3 stars there, they’ll see this message: “What would have made this listing a better value?” This has led to a 0.25% increase in the average rating for value.


These changes were designed to begin to address your concerns around unfair reviews, and to help make sure that guests understand what ratings mean. We still have a journey ahead of us to keep making the review system better, and you’ll continue to see updates from us on this throughout the year. Thank you for hosting!

1,283 Replies 1,283

@Katie---Sean0  I'm so sick of the phrase "We hear you". That's fine if it's accompanied by corresponding action, but most often it's a totally meaningless platitude. It's like "thoughts and prayers" in lieu of sane gun control. 

@Sarah977 – I didn’t mean I’m literally waiting for Airbnb to literally say “I hear you“. I don’t expect them to either hear their hosts, or do anything to take better care of us. And strange comment, bringing gun violence into the conversation.  I get where you were trying to come from but maybe pick a different comparison. 

One hundred percent well said.

 

A guest who spends 200 euros on her credit card should not be put on the same level as a host who invested * hundreds of thousand * in a property, goes through all the legal and fiscal hoopla,  and then puts it at risk to renters on airbnb.

 

Recently had a guest who brought cleaning inspection equipment with her and proceeded to attempt to extort me because she found a grain of sand and a hair or two (in the bin, in the broom, in the utility closet), and stains on the towel (which we have established were made by her son).

 

I have to say CS reacted in an exemplary way but the whole experience was dreadful and entirely unreasonable to expect a proven Superhost to undergo this level of scrutiny from one isolated person with a history of similar extortion attempts.

 

 

 

 

 

Lee150
Level 4
Philadelphia, PA

Apparently according to places where Hosts gather . There are people who lie and write bad reviews specifically to get refunds.

I live here
I live in a middle of a field
I allow pets some of who have **bleep** on my living room rug which is private space
My house is clean but as I have said a million times why am I rated like I am a hotel ???

I am not
And everyone knows why we no longer see guests faces until they are booked.
What about MY guests who are spew hate and racism ? ( I have had two )
Why do I get rated if I have to DECLINE guests that ask for ridiculous things ahead of time?
Why can't I use the flag so I don't have to decline guests who want to play lets make a deal with my prices?

@Lee150 – I always decline guests who try to make deals. If they are behaving that way before they have even booked, they are trouble and I don’t want them. 

I agree

I wish I could ignore instead of having to decline

Its not fair

As for guests who demand ridiculous things ahead of time - update your house rules, call Airbnb CS and get them cancelled - on the phone - with CS.  You will not be penalised if you do it on the phone with them not unilaterally by yourself.   The trick is to get the guest to show his unreasonableness and lack of compliance with house rules, in your communications on the app.

 

Use the "house rules" section to put everything down!

 

You can say there, for example:  "if you are planning to complain or ask for a refund because there is a bug or insect on the property please d not book my place".

 

 

Chris-and-Yoko0
Level 4
Nerang, Australia

Unfortunately,we all get undesirables. And we never know until they leave us a bad or poor rating,even though they seem very friendly and nice when they are here, and make no complaints to when they are here. !!!! What drives these people to s..t on our hospitality and effort to make all their stays enjoyable when they pack up and leave,usually leaving garbage behind, filth on the floors and dirt and stains on the bed and blankets.And then complain there wasn't enough pillows?????? How many do they think is enough????

Judith71
Level 2
Cape Town, South Africa

The OVERALL rating should be an AVERAGE of the other ratings, not a subjective rating. One of my guests had a bad experience in the street, she left things unattended in her car and someone broke in her car and stole her things... totally unrelated to her experience in my home and she gave me a low rating. 

 

Do you state in your house documentation that people should not leave things in the car?

 

I know, I know.

 

But here it is:  put in your house rules, amenity limitation, "other things to know", welcome pack, house documentation, that people should not leave things in the car.

 

If it's written 5x maybe CS will be supportive to get the review removed.

 

Having said that I had a guest who parked in the street without paying the parameter, complained for 3 months to me wanted me to pay her fine.  Was explained clearly in house rules.

Shariff0
Level 1
Gatineau, Canada

I am sorry to say but this doesn't change anything to the review system. I am a new Airbnb host with nine 5 star reviews except one. That one is from a guest who left me 3 star for cleanliness, a 3 star for value, a 5 star for accuracy, a 5 star for communication, a 5 star for location and a 5 star for check-in which is an average of 4.33 BUT an overhaul review of 2 stars. Airbnb has refused to remove her rating. I know for a fact they do not average their superhost status this way so why is this type of review rating acceptable? 

@Airbnb   

When are outlier reviews going to be excluded from the overall average star rating?

Even with a majority of five stars now (expanded rule book, messages to guest before they come, reiterating the description and limitations, stating the obvious, common sense, common courtesy and a slew of necessary improvements by Airbnb - its own learning curve) ratings from years ago that were petty and dishonest, even Airbnb agreed with me but refused to remove them, will always keep my average rating down even if I get 5-stars 100% of the time.

 

And to another point, what is the point of improving, updating, adding amenities when years old ratings will always dog you?

Surely the average should be based on recent years so that improvements etc. are honestly reflected for both guests and host.

I am not suggesting that the bad review be deleted (even if it is definitely more honest to do so when it is petty and retaliatory) I am just suggesting that there is a cut off point for the years factored into what is presented as the current stated average on a listing.

 

 

Thank you, Ange for speaking about Airbnb. I completely agree with you. I have personally experienced 1 rogue guest, Pavel Sapronov. He books 39 nights with 10 nights for his wife to visit him. After 2 weeks staying, he pressured me to give him deeper discount from 15% to over 20% and not pay for his wife's stay for 10 nights for another 50 nights booking. When I refused to accept his demand, he told me that he would pay me personally but only with 60% discount on his wife's extra guest fee. The guest proceeded to sabotage my home. I reported to Airbnb. Airbnb did nothing. I finally had to make the decision to shorten this guest's stay because I have another group of guests checking in the same day. I want to provide the utmost comfort and safety to my professional guests. Airbnb is looking out for their interest of the paying guests. Sadly, they don't care about the hosts !!! What they don't realize is that the hosts provide products for Airbnb to sell !!!!! Very sad !!!!!
Naturally, the guest gave me an unfavorable review which is abnormal because I have 21- 5 star and 1 – 4 star reviews and no reviews less than these.

@James01201

The FB group Airbnb Guests Blacklist ia a wealth of information...

Lee150
Level 4
Philadelphia, PA

1. There are Youtube videos on how to get free stays including writing false **bleep**ty reviews
2. The "star" system is completely unfair especially for Homeshares. I had a guest give me a bad review
because my refrigerator had fingerprints on it ( his )
3. Because of where I am I avoid tourists and one night stays because then they complain of where I am
I am not the ONLY host that declines people ahead of a bad review because of location . We should be able to opt out of reviews and for the millioneth time shouldn't be reviewed like a hotel