In Case You Missed It: 3 product updates to catch up on

[Airbnb]

You’ve told us that we need to do a better job of keeping you in the loop about the changes we’re making to features, tools, and policies that impact your hosting experience. We agree! Check out our new In Case You Missed It series, a regular update that helps hosts like you better understand the improvements that our product and engineering teams are making at Airbnb. This includes changes to the host and guest experience because we know both impact your hosting business. Read on to see what our teams have been working on this month.

A more effective way for guests to compare listings

You might have noticed that we’re testing a new view of ratings in place of the star-based system that guests currently rely on. Guests will now see your overall rating measured by a number with two decimal places (for example, 3.82 or 4.79). This new view doesn’t affect your rating or the overall rating system at all—we’re just updating how your rating appears to guests.

Why the change? Our research showed it was difficult for guests to tell the difference between listings rated with stars. For example, we found that 75% of listings fell between 4.6 and 5 stars. With a star rating that rounded to the nearest half point, guests saw all of those listings as having either 4.5 or 5 stars, which they felt was too vague and left them wanting more details before booking. With our new numeric rating view, guests now have a more accurate way to compare listings—which gives them more confidence to click that “book” button!

Updates to Work and Family Collections

Last year, we launched the Work and Family Collections, groups of listings to attract business travelers and families. To meet travelers’ needs, we asked you to include specific amenities, like self check-in and a laptop-friendly workspace for business travelers, and a TV and kitchen for families. Many of you have since told us that you don’t understand or agree with some of the eligibility criteria for being featured in these collections.

We heard you, and instead of asking you to add amenities that enable you to “join” the collections, we’re now relying on ratings by vetted business travelers to let us know which listings are a good fit. We’re then surfacing top-rated listings based on that feedback. For example, guests can now search for a place to stay when traveling for business by selecting the “Work trip” toggle—results display places with high ratings from other business travelers who were searching for similar criteria. We’re still thinking about how we can highlight the best listings for families, so stay tuned.

The bottom line: Less work for you and no more subjective amenity checklists, but our smarter algorithms will make sure your listing is still getting in front of the right types of guests for your space.

Your new host dashboard

We’re always working to make your dashboard a place that can help you manage your hosting business, coordinate and communicate with your guests, and grow as a host.

Based on your recent feedback, we’re refreshing your dashboard with four key updates:

• Easier-to-find info: Important information, like guest inquiries and requests, will now always appear at the top of your dashboard, so it’s simpler and quicker to find.
• Eye-catching updates: The latest on Airbnb’s new tools and updates will now always be displayed up top to help you stay in the know.
• Clear performance data: A snapshot of your performance (overall rating, reviews, response rate, earnings, and more) is now bigger and more obvious.
• More relevant tips: You now have the option to dismiss the tips we share if they’re not helpful to you. You’ll then only find our tips that matter to you.

These changes are rolling out gradually so not all hosts will be able to access them right away, and hosts using professional hosting tools won't get these dashboard updates at all. We hope these improvements continue to help make hosting easier for you. Happy hosting!

[J-Renato0]

Giving up the star-based system would be a great idea.

A great step for Airbnb, for the guests and hosts 🙂 However it is not enough (IMHO).

The guests will be still confused. To present a number without the scale or reference is nonsense.

From my point of view, and certainly from the point o view of millions of guests the right way to display this should be as following:

e.g. 4.85/5 (24 reviews)

To present the number of reviews is also useful.

[Emilia42]

@J-Renato0 Don't know if you've gotten this update yet but this is how it looks:

[J-Renato0]

@Emilia42 

Yes, I got it.

It still does not show my suggestion (at least today, 09/11/2019)

See in the screenshot (below) what I mean:

[Aaiyn0]

OK -  I had a wave of a season on my island off the coast of Portland, Maine in America - and then I left for Europe - to chill and finding my family roots so have been out of the loop, easily 8 months.  What are these levels I see !?  Thanks ~      

[Mary-Joy-and-Hans0]

to the reviewes:

guests need more explanation from Airbnb like:

price -performance relation ( without taking into account the fee the guest has to pay to Airbnb )

location ( only judge whether it is like described or seen in the pics...only judge below 5 if it was missleading )

every judgement below 5 stars is a negative, bad judgement which leads to a downscoring..

Rg..Hans

[Emilia42]

Thank you for the updates. It is nice to be kept in the loop. 

I agree with the huge majority of hosts here . . .  give up the star-based rating system! The extra decimal points is not doing guests or hosts any favors!

[Lizzie]

Glad you like the update @Emilia42. Thanks so much. 🙂

Can you imagine a life without the star rating system, I don't know what we would talk about here in the CC! hehe. Would you replace it with anything else? 

[Danielle476]

If the host ratings have changed to decimals, the guest ratings should too.  If guests were so 'confused' about 4.5 and 5 star ratings, wouldn't the same logic apply to hosts?  Wouldn't it be pertinent for us to know the true ratings of the people we're sharing our homes with?

[Mark116]

I wouldn't mind the star rating system if airbnb didn't artificially push up the ratings, so that almost everyone is a 4.7 at minimum.  If you allowed it to work more like hotels where a 4 is 'good' instead of a disaster that ruins your rating, then they would be fine.

It would also help  if you would not count the ratings from guests where there is a dispute over damages or other poor behavior.  a 1 star revenge review can ruin someones listing.

[Linda1359]

Or where don't read your listing properly.  I was given a 2 for accuracy because they didn't know if they could bring a dog, yet in my listing it plainly states that dogs are welcome (providing they are vaccinated, flea treated, house trained, etc.) and I also ask to discuss this first.  This woman booked for 1 person and didn't say anything about a dog.  2 people and a dog turned up!!! Yet Airbnb won't alter the rating she gave me when the reason for it is completely incorrect and has always been visible on my site.

[Moira79]

I agree with Linda1359 - Airbnb needs to have a procedure for amending revenge reviews. I lost my superhost status this summer through 3 very poor reviews, which were mainly unjustified (not reading the description is the main culprit). These reviews were so far outside the vast majority of our hundreds of reviews that there should be a mechanism for disputing, or removing were they are so far away from the average.

In addition, the ability to give an overall rating that is not the average of the individual ratings is unfair. I had a few 4* overall ratings with 5* given on each individual item. Unfair.

[Gabriele434]

One thing I’d like to see changed is that a host can see a prospective guest’s picture at time of booking request, not just once the person has booked. 

[Kim2627]

While I understand that Airbnb may want to protect against prejudice,  I had an inquiry from a woman that her photo was from a bar I recognized in the FL Keys for its serious drinking and loud behaviors. We have a small farm and offer a peaceful quiet setting  (no tvs, etc.).  It isn't a color, gender or religious thing but protection of my animals and nature.   We no longer have any say so in protecting our resources.

[Caren115]

I have not used airbnb for accommodation, and I am new to hosting. So far I have issued all 5 star reviews to my guests because I have no complaints about my guests. But I feel this is slightly misleading. If there was an extra ordinary occurrence I believe should give the guest more credit- I have no where to move to. 

Is there a graph/table/guideline that is to be followed when rating guests.

And the same as above for guests who rate me as a host?

At what point does a 5 star rating become a 4 star?

[Paul5931]

I agree.  I always click  5  - 5 - 5,  unless they were poor.   The tendency is to not want to offend.