Airbnb Answers: Guest information and flagging guest behavior

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Airbnb Answers: Guest information and flagging guest behavior

You asked: Can Airbnb share more information about guests, like their ratings, full name, etc.? Can we get the ability to flag bad guests and make this information visible to other hosts?

 

More guest information

 

We're taking a close look at what additional information we can share to help you feel confident about the quality of every guest, every time you host. Currently, before confirming a booking, you can see a potential guest’s prior reviews and profile information (including hometown, education background, hobbies, and languages spoken). But in order to protect the privacy of both hosts and guests, we don’t share last names until after a booking is confirmed. If you don’t feel comfortable accepting a reservation with this set of information, you may message guests with additional questions. We don’t share guests’ home addresses because that information is not relevant or required to make a booking.

 

Every guest is required to provide their full name, date of birth, phone number, email address, and payment information to Airbnb before being allowed to book a reservation. As a host, you also have the option to require guests to provide a government ID before booking your home, which is just one feature of our ongoing effort to build trust in the community.

 

Flagging guest behavior

 

In the coming months, we’ll be adding more ways for you to report guest behavior that we might need to address. Stay tuned for more, but know that host reviews of guests remain the most powerful flagging tool for the community.

 

More than ever before, we’re using your reviews to signal both excellent and not-so-great guest behavior. We’re developing a Superguest program that will help you identify experienced travelers with excellent ratings. And for the rare occasions things don’t go well, your reviews will help us identify poorly behaved guests, issue more specific and strict warnings, and remove those guests who do not improve their behavior.

 

Be assured that when guests get negative reviews from hosts, Airbnb follows up. We make sure guests receive warnings about unacceptable behavior, and in some cases they can be blocked from booking entirely. We take the safety of you and your guests very seriously, which is why we require everyone in our community to uphold our community standards. Your reviews of guests are essential to establishing trust in our community, and we’re dedicated to taking action on your behalf to help ensure high quality experiences every time you host.



In the latest Host Q&A, CEO and Head of Community Brian Chesky answered top-voted questions during a livestream event. For questions he didn’t have time to address, we’ve introduced Airbnb Answers. Want to ask more? We’ll invite hosts to ask their questions before the next quarterly Host Q&A. We’ll keep you posted in Airbnb Updates.

 

436 Replies 436
Jamie217
Level 1
Napa, CA

I have instant booking, is it possible to cancel a reservation and not be penalized if we feel a renter isn’t a good fit with this new rule?

Ina-and-Richard0
Level 2
Springfield, VT

We are superhosts for quite some time now and most of our guests were really nice. I noticed, that guests who require extra work in advance ( a lot of questions about the property ( everything is explained in the listing) where to do what, even though we have a guide; extra late or early check in; more than one pet;... are mostly the ones who make the most problems and give the worst reviews. I looked up all the cheap skiing possibilities in our area and the savingsdays and so on ( took me more than an hour) but was never appreciated.

Guests do not read the whole listing and never the house roules. They ask, whether they can cook a meal in the kitchen ( listing says full kitchen with stove, oven, microwave and big fridge with ice maker and there are at last 3 pictures of the kitchen as well). We ask in our house roules to please let us know when they leave for good ( we live in the house on the other side of the road) either by saying good bye in person or give us a ring, so we can go over and shut down the heat and start stripping the beds...  80% leave without notice. When we see that the car is gone we sometimes have to send an email or call them to ask whether they are gone for good or will return to pack or whatever.

Also the star system is too close to the hotel rating system, why don't they chose hearts or houses or something instead of stars, because we had guests who left a letter how much they appreciated everything and they loved their stay but then they gave us 4 stars , thinking I guess " everything was great, but a 5 star hotel has golden faucets or something so 4 stars should be plenty".

Also I think Airbnb should do it like they do the judgement in figure skating: out of 10 reviews the worst and the best one should be scatched, that way one bad and unfair review would not stay with you forever and lower your ratings for years

 

Nancy115
Level 5
Mills River, NC

I'd like a way to inform hosts of guests who give inappropriate reviews. Possibly a flag that only hosts see. For example I recently had a bad review due to location even though the accommodation description is very clear. 

Larry92
Level 2
Toronto, Canada

My biggest beef with Airbnb is allowing new users to request a booking without first completing a profile- no photo, no details about themselves and obviously no reviews. I end up having to explain to them that this is my house and I cant consider the bookings without a complete profile. I have complained to Airbnb that it shouldn’t be up to me to educate first time users. It should be simple. You can’t request to book until you have a completed profile. 

Daf0
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

 I find your comment very worrying. 

 

In the past month, tens of thousands of guests have been warned and thousands of guests have been blocked from booking entirely.

 

Are there really that many bad people out there ?

 

 

Ina-and-Richard0
Level 2
Springfield, VT

I fogot: why doesn't airbnb scratch a bad star if it is obvious that something is the guest's and not the host's fault: we had customers giving us  4 stars for location explaining it with "hard to find at night" even though we are on a state road, had the lights on ( with a sign BnB),  gave them explicit directions and described the property but we are in a rural area without street lights , they arrived way past our check in time , we waited for them and my husband noticed a car going by very fast and told me that he thought it was them and 10 minutes later they arrived from the wrong direction and told us that they could not find the place right away.

Donna-Kay0
Level 2
Raleigh, NC

I don't know if this will be of help but it is what has worked well for us. We price our small cottage on the higher end. This leads to fewer guests but the guests we have had are excellent and care for it well. We do not charge a cleaning fee. When we did, guests did not clean (and who can blame them - they are paying extra for someone else to do it).  Without a cleaning fee they are generally considerate and clean up after themselves. We have external video cameras on the property and guests are made aware of this. It helps that they know we will have some record of any problem behavior or people who are not guests coming and going. We do not accept guests who do not have reviews from other hosts unless we have had some discussion with them and are comfortable. We had a couple of bad guests which led us to go back, review our rules and re-write them. We are very clear as to behavior that will lead people to be asked to leave immediately. We also provide a succinct but clear copy of the rules lying right on the bed. Despite the fact that we screen guests heavily and ask a higher rate, we get a lot of guests. In a year and a half of doing this with many months at 75% occupancy we have only had 2 bad incidents. The overwhelming majority of our guests have been incredibly respectful and caring of our property. We decided our tolerance for risk and positioned ourselves for the guests we felt could keep us within that limit - have maintained this limit even in months when business slowed down - and it has worked well for us.

Kathryn186
Level 2
Marfa, TX

It’s not fair if guests can’t be held accountable for their actions but we do. Not only are we held accountable and lose our status but then we have to foot the bill for broken items or stained sheets or even smoked in homes. Hotels charge $200+ for a room that is smoked in but we’re not allowed to charge guests for this unless we have either withheld a deposit or they actually send money when requested. I recently had a guy break a vintage glass and he said he would pay then never did! And guess what he didn’t write a review so my review wasn’t visible! Not fair!! Guest need to be held to the same standards we are!

Paula354
Level 2
Saint Louis, MO

I am a new host ( for 7 months now) , and  have seriously considered quitting Airbnb. I have had 2 bad reviews (2 stars),  one from a guest who cancelled because they didn't like the air mattress in the second bedroom (clearly stated in the listing as such), the second bad review was done completely out of spite considering the same guest had left 3 previous 5 star reviews.  

There does not seem to be any recourse for host when a guest does something strictly out of vengeance or spite. We should be able to report these guests to other hosts,  so that they don't have to experience the same problems. 

As a host I feel I have all the responsibility to list my place accurately, but I find that guest don't seem to have the same level responsibility. They book a place then proceed to complain about things that are clearly listed, then they want to cancel or get a discount.  Airbnb doesn't provide real support for host, I am looking into other rental sites for my place. 

Sion2
Level 10
SF, CA

It can be scary that a guest knows not only where I live but the layout, contents of the house, my schedule  and I do not have anything like that on them. I fear retaliation and therefore don't always review accuratlly to protect my family and property.  I want guests trained a bit, like showing up when they say they will and learning to not slam doors.  Many are outstanding, had a few this month I think should lead a guest training seminar!  I am tired of the hits to my value score and when I ask why, ever single one of them and some are hosts themselves say its because my city is expensive compered to theirs... unfair and they need to take responsibility for picking the city and my home at its price!  Maybe a little suggestion next to rating catagories as to what the words actually mean and how to make a honest assement?  I have a big personality and can cold read people so mostly I feel safe, but I can see how many might not. Friends who have considered hosting, all cite these fears as to why they won't. I also want to be credited for being pet friendly and for taking many first timers in. 

Lisa1095
Level 2
Ann Arbor, MI

Here's the thing about leaving a less than stellar review about a guest-- if the guest doesn't review me, my review of them won't be posted! So, how exactly will other hosts see what happened at my home, if the guest knows they may be poorly reviewed, and doesn't review me???

Niki41
Level 2
Leiria District, Portugal

We have been hosting with Airbnb for 7 years now, until recently we could not really fault the system or the company itself. Recently however, our good feelings have slowly been erroded. 

The system now, is far too heavily weighted in favor of the guest. The host gaurentee is really pretty worthless in a lot of situations.

Airbnbs system relies on both guests and hosts painting an idylic picture, where everyone gets 4 or 5 stars, guests can do what they like, as owners fear negative ratings. If a guests are penalised by airbnb, they are are very unlikely to use Airbnb again. If hosts suffer, Airbnb are not particularly concerned (they do a good job of saying they are), most hosts cannot afford to leave, as their income suffers. This is what happens when one company becomes big enough to dictate to their suppliers.

Charlie-And-Rob0
Level 3
Victoria, Australia

Agree with most of the things written here.  Generally, we have no issue with our guests but find that when we do, we are better off to suck it up (extra cleaing, broken items, etc.) as any indication to the guest that we are unhappy (seeking $ or clarification for breakage, stains, etc.) will be met with a scathing review.  

 

The current model is one that more often than not, punishes the host with a negative review, when a guest behaves poorly.  The scenario below must play out thousands of times per day:

 

1.  Guest breaks/stains something

2.  Upon finding said issue, the host immediately logs a request for $x and/or seeks clarification from the guest thru Airbnb with all relevant documentation

3.  If guest hasn't already left a review, they immediately leave a scathing review, which is far more damaging than the $x necessary to fix the issue in point 1

 

Hosts are forced to EITHER hope the guest leaves an immediate review and then lodge the request for additional $ to address the issue OR simply absorb the issue and leave a negative review of the guest in hopes that the guest will still leave a positive review.

 

Timeliness is key for reviews, issue resoution, etc.  The current model is one in which the guest holds the majority of the leverage and hosts are disincentivised to report issues beyond a poor review.  A real world example from our home:

 

Guest stays 2 nights.  Host/Guest have numerous messages back and forth indicating how happy he and his family are with the property.  Guest leaves and sends yet another message saying how much they enjoyed the property.  Cleaner walks in to find the property trashed.  Requires an extra 2 hours ($60) of cleaning.  Host immeidately logs a request for the $60 with Airbnb with all required evidence and description.  Guest does not dispute that they left the mess but is not happy about the request for money.  He is forced to pay by Airbnb.  Afterward, he posts an exceptionally negative review with a host of issues that are absolute fabrications.  Host appeals to Airbnb to look at the timeline, message history, etc. and to remove this review 3x but is told they can do nothing, even though they agree that the guest is likely leaving the negative review due to the request for money.

 

A simple solution to this would be that any guest with an issue logged (i.e. a request for money) could not leave a review if they are found at fault.    

As hosts providing the best possible service we can we usually have 90% of times one or more of only 3 major issues:

1. People do not read the listing. Someone suggests to hava a basic listing to avoid that. I strongly suggest the other way around. Put as many information you can in your listing. It does show professionality and care. Besides if the client complaints about something that is listed and he skipped it just reminding them that is their obligation to read thec listing is enough to avoid arguments. If than they badly review you on that you can answer back making them look like idiots. 

Nobody think of himself as an idiot so when the potential client read your answer they say Oh that is not me and they book.

2. People do not pay attention. They think that just because they pay they can do what please them most. Now we all know that in vacation we try to plug it off so a bit of flexibility is required, but when they do things against the common sense and the rules of the house go back to point one. Put everything in the listing to avoid issues.

3. Some people are just trash. We can not change their culture. Unless you want to have a damage fee or a cleaning fee that most of the time refrain people from booking, just breathe deeply close your eyes and clean their mess. Than report on the stars to be given in cleaning section.

 

The most important thing is to respect the customer even if is an idiot and make that clear in your review. We must use their own weapon against them. So instead of a wall to wall answer that leaves the potential customers confused on who is right and who is wrong, a great sense of humour is helping a lot always sticking to the listings content. So for example I love to say to my clients complaining that they found dirty dishes that we don't babysit our clients and there is a posted rule on the wall clean your dishes if you don't read it is your problem not mine. In this way l force the next client to respect the rule without offending anyone. If an idiot comes in I call him in the review a genious astro phisic and so on. Release the tension and make people smile. Plenty of customers told me that they loved my answers helping them to secure the booking and come to my place.

Is never easy anyway.

 

Federico

Marianne196
Level 2
Saugerties, NY

I am happy to see that Airbnb will be cracking down on unruly guests. I have been hosting for over 5 years and for the most part have been lucky. I do live in the house I rent so every time I rent I hold my breath till I return. I did have an incident where guests abused my home they were drinking spilled drinks on my wall ruined my rock wall garden and moved furniture across a hardwood floor and scratched it. I lost the resolution to get the floor fixed, it was expensive because of the way it was scratched, but I was very disappointed that I didn’t even get their deposit. I don’t like that Airbnb has control over our deposit money

On the other hand I have had other experiences with Airbnb that were positive, when it came to helping me as a host.

I do not do instant boom and I always ask questions of my guests. 

Pits a great way to earn extra money, but at what cost to us. I look forward to taking reservation with ease that guests will respect my home!