Making reviews more fair for hosts

[Airbnb]

 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!

[Katie193]

@Steven65 I completely agree! I read that Airbnb would be eliminating outlier reviews, however I have been messaging for months about a retaliatory review and they keep telling me they can't remove it because it does not violate their review policy and it is the guest's experience. I have been a superhost consistently for 4 years, but because of a guest who partied in my room for 3 days straight and THEN complained it was not clean and booked an extra day than she thought she did - left a day earlier than her booking (the day she thought was her check out day) and had the audacity to request a refund for her last night because the room was not clean, I will not be a superhost this time around. I reimbursed her cleaning fee to try to appease her but not her booked last night. All her messages to me were positive saying she was glad she picked my place and had a great time. Then she gave me a 2 star review. In 4 years of hosting with 164 reviews, I have 14 4's, 3 3's (which I have stories about too, but have accepted the loss) and this one 2. All the rest have been 5 star reviews. I have a 4.9 star review overall. And yet because of this one scammer guest during this superhost window, I will not make my superhost status this time around - first time in 4 years! Even if she had given me a 3, I would still make superhost but the unfair untrue 2 star retaliatory review ruins everything. This is simply not a good business practice for the people who your business counts on to keep it alive. I am beyond frustrated and angry with Airbnb for this unfair practice, especially after reading that they were going to remove these outlier reviews!

[Helen511]

I completely agree too. Unfortunately as hosts we see the guests as they are and I know it's hard for you at airbnb to really assess people but honestly, some can be even quite nasty. For example an Australian lady who actually turned her nose up at the flat when I was showing her in the door, moved lots of things around and was very rude as it was not to her taste whatsoever,she said.  I can't remember her review but she did say in part of it how dowdy the flat was. Yet we have had so many people reviewing it saying how cosy it is and they love it. Surely hers not a correct review, it's just the opinion of one unfortunate person who can't appreciate things for what they are. Another girl reviewed the  flat as cold but kept the windows open. I think like Sarah, I had caught her out by asking her to abide by a rule of the flat. 

We really are in quite a difficult position and I wish we didn't have to have a review system in an ideal world. I am glad you are trying to make things better airbnb and hope you can. 

[Greg483]

You tell em Sarah. 2

[Tam50]

Yes, I totally agreed.  We recently had guests that caused damage to the house and we had to get Airbnb involved to have the hursts paid.  As such, the guests retaliated by giving a bad review which was inconsistent to other 5 star reviews we got.  I called Airbnb to see if the review can be deleted and was told “NO” as the review did not violate their “content policy”.  I am really disappointed and offended at the same time.  There has to be a way where owner can deleted the review in such as these cases as this is not guest experience when the guests/travelers retaliated against the owners.

[Darien5]

Well said Sarah. I think more practical consideration needs to be considered by the Airbnb staff to guard the hosts from these "rogue reviews" from guests. Unfortunately there are some people out there who are nasty and underhand and they are the ones who should be getting the bad reviews. It is obvious that when every other guest has shown that they have been happy with their stays and one comes along and gives a bad review , then there is usually something wrong with the attitude or behavior of the guest. Why should a very good host suffer from the result of a "rogue review" . Something needs to be sorted in this regard to safeguard the hosts and subsequent hosts.

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@Sarah977 wrote:

@Airbnb   Thank you. This is an admirable beginning to addressing the outlier review issue. I can see that it would definitely help in cases where a guest has star rated something accidentally, or simply doesn't understand what accuracy or location refer to.

However, it doesn't address one of the most distressing things about outlier reviews- guests who purposely give bad ratings and inaccurate reviews simply because they were called out on something by the host- asked repeatedly to follow house rules, which they ignored, or caught sneaking in unregistered guests and requested to pay for the extra guests, or requested to pay for damages they caused, for example. Those types of guests will still be able to do this and they certainly won't change what they have to say because of a pop-up screen. And Airbnb still lets reviews like this stand, insisting that it's a reflection of the guest's "experience".

A tool to detect outlier reviews which only prompts a guest to change the review or ratings, but doesn't alert Airbnb to look at the review in question, claiming that the listing was filthy, when there are 100 reviews which say that the place was spotless, for example, leading to Airbnb deleting it, or asking the host if they wish to delete what is obviously not a truthful review, is not that useful, IMO, as it only addresses the reviews of basically good, but confused, guests and ignores the reviews of bad guests with an axe to grind.

So, a decent start, but still leaving the entire process to the guest's discretion. Hosts want to be able to have reviews deleted if they are obviously at total odds with the rest of their reviews. Those types of reviews do not, in fact, reflect the guest's experience- they reflect the desire of the guest to harm hosts and their listings.

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[Tracy200]

I completely agreed. I had a group of x5 guests stay who arrived in my home while I was out.  When I returned home they all had their shoes on and every single lights switched on in the 4 bedroom home.  I asked them to please remove their shoes after showing them a kind greeting.   They acted quite put upon.  They also stayed up very late socialising after returning from a wedding.  I had gone to bed with earplugs and woke up at 1.30am and found them still awake with every light blaring.  I asked them all to go to bed explaining they had agreed to the household rules of no late night socialising and that my neighbours would be disturbed.  They gave me a 1 star rating and wrote so much awful stuff about my home.  Airbnb would not do anything to assist me even though the guests were completely in the wrong.

I've also had guests bring other people into the home when they are going to weddings.  These people get very upset (the guests and their visitor's) when I explain that no visitor's are permitted.  

[Priyanka7]

Yup! This seems to be a common experience: a guest agrees to abide by your house rules when booking and then when you try to enforce the rules they get annoyed/ leave you a bad review! I’ve even had guests go so far as complaining about things that are listed in the listing description e.g: I have a two year old cat and there’s a photo of her on my listing page as well as a note in the “things you must acknowledge” section. Additionally, in my bio I say that I have a cat. The last guest I had left me a review with a 3 star rating because I didn’t tell him there’s a cat in the listing and his girlfriend was “terrified” and that he didn’t appreciate me telling him to please put the lights off when he wasn’t in the room and had left to go out.... like these are such silly things and completely his fault as I also ask guests to conserve energy and water. Airbnb won’t remove it because their review policy is too narrow and they don’t care that bad guests compromise our listing ratings.

[Scott-and-Sarah2]

I agree, Sarah!

I just had a guest this past weekend, 4 days.  He asked to have a FEW friends over on Saturday..I said yes...28 arrived that day!....6 cars, smoking, drinking, loud music, a little child in the deep end of our pool without a safety vest! A couple with a dog arrived..All restricted! Arrived at 2...at 5, told guest they were welcomed to stay til 7.. .He gave a review saying we were intrusive, and this was not a place to come if you want privacy. He wrote BEWARE! All other reviews glowing.. His is the last review recorded! Thankfully, he said the place is nice..but the intrusive piece was inaccurate. I had to defend myself in my response.. it sounded a bit bitchy, which I am not..most of the time. 😄

Perhaps if we show 15 excellent reviews, then a disgrunted review, obviously disregarding rules.. they could move that review down the line for that month? Or, better yet, after seeing the complaint is not matching the host's MO...delete! 😊

[Katie---Sean0]

@Scott-and-Sarah2  -- I read the review and your response. I wanted to offer feedback that as a potential guest I would not be put off by one review so obviously different from all of the others, especially as the reviewer sounds frankly vindictive and unhinged.

As to your response -- I would normally say keep it as brief and "to the point" as possible, but in this instance you are obviously responding with the truth to what is raised in the review, therefore to me you don't sound "bitchy" but like you have been forced to defend your reputation.  

I know how upsetting it can be. I got one bad review one time and it floored me. Fortunately I was able to have it removed by the reviewer, after careful negotiation. What a nasty and vindictive piece of work he was to deal with, I had to really stay calm.

[Marjan53]

How did you negotiate it to remove it?

[Nicola226]

Excellent point and one that should be addressed.

I am of the view that negative Host Reviews are more detrimental than negative

Guest Reviews.  Most people look at Host Reviews only. 

I suggest there be a pending period for such above mentioned Reviews.

Airbnb should send a notice to the Host outlining the guests issue for comment.

This will bring the scales more into balance, Nicola Jamaica

[Sandi65]

Could Airbnb not look at any negative review in relation to all the other reviews left by guests to determine whether this should be taken into account?

Most of us who almost consistently are left positive reviews I feel should not have one negative change the overall 'score' & therefore outcome as some guests may leave a negative review for a number of reasons.

These may include - the guests fell out with each other; it was raining; they were poorly; their expectations did not match how the property was marketed as they didn't read the listing information properly; they brought sand into the property; found a spider or a cobweb etc.....

[James1201]

Thank you, Sarah for speaking truthfully 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 form 15% to over 20% and not pay for his wife's stay for 10 nights.  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 !!!!!  

As a result, like you said in your post "So, a decent start, but still leaving the entire process to the guest's discretion. Hosts want to be able to have reviews deleted if they are obviously at total odds with the rest of their reviews. Those types of reviews do not, in fact, reflect the guest's experience- they reflect the desire of the guest to harm hosts and their listings.".  Thank you for your great conclusion.

[Esther13]

As a host, you rate someone basically based on following rules and taking care with your place.  When you get a bad review, its too late for the host to let other hosts know about this guest.  To me, this is the biggest problem.  I recently got a review that is so blatantly false, anyone can see through it.  This is an example of when airbnb needs to put these people on notice and remove them from the community.  This guest is out to harm my listing and it is obvious.  So obvious, I had to laugh when I got to the part about accuracy.  The guest gave a 3 for accuracy because of the photos.  These are airbnb photos.  Airbnb goes to great length to ensure accurate photos in the instructions to their photographer.  Yet, these same photos resulted in an accuracy rating of 3.  If airbnb doesn't get the message on that, they are hopeless. Other obvious signs of intentional harm: lights on cars being a bother at night when there are room darkening curtains on all road facing windows and bedrooms; check in a 3 because brochures in desk were not organized.  When a member makes it their mission to harm a host or the host's listing, they need to be removed from community.  If that can't be done, then they should be publicly flagged as problem.

[Lee150]

The rating system is totally unfair especially for hosts that home share.

I have said this till I am blue in the face that I am not a hotel, don't want to be one and I shouldn't be rated like one.

I have so many rules now and ask so many questions BEFORE I accept because the only reason tourists stay with me is I am budget friendly. AND the ONLY hotel near me is almost 3 times what I charge AND its not all that great

If Airbnb wanted to do a real solid they would allow hosts that home share the option to opt of reviews . I tuned off insta book because of getting people who only wanted a cheap hotel

Also since guests see OUR faces before they book, I am starting to feel like they think I am an older female they can push me around . And that includes complaining about some of the most ridiculous things ( for money back )