Making reviews more relevant and useful for our community

[Airbnb]

Many of you rely on reviews to grow your business—they highlight your amazing hospitality. They’re also a helpful way to get specific feedback on what you’re doing well as a host and where you can improve. But there are times when you feel like a review may be misleading or irrelevant to future guests, and we know that can be painful both personally and professionally.

It’s tricky. Guests and hosts need to be able to share what they feel is important about their experience, so we don’t want to limit what people can and can’t say on the platform. However, it’s also essential that reviews reflect a guest’s stay and that they provide useful information to future hosts and guests. As part of our ongoing journey to get this balance right, here are some of the changes we’re making:

Introducing our updated Review Policy

With our updated Review Policy—effective December 11, 2019—we’ve addressed two types of reviews that we know can be frustrating: irrelevant reviews and biased reviews. The updated policy clarifies our expectations and ensures our customer support agents are equipped to remove these types of reviews.

By updating our policy to cover irrelevant and biased reviews, we’re strengthening our commitment to building a community of trust. These review updates build upon our existing Content Policy (which outlines the kind of content that is never allowed on Airbnb) and our new Guest Standards Policy, which will introduce a system for tracking bad guests. Under our updated Review Policy, guests and hosts who repeatedly leave certain kinds of biased reviews may be removed from the platform.

Let’s look at irrelevant reviews and biased reviews in a little more detail:

Reviews that are irrelevant

This policy covers situations where a review contains information that’s irrelevant to you as a host or your listing—and isn’t useful to future guests.

Here are a few examples:

• A guest accidentally leaves a review on your profile that was meant for another host
• A guest never checks into your space (for a documented reason unrelated to you as the host or your listing) and leaves an irrelevant review about their experience. For example, a guest never shows up, due to a canceled flight, but leaves you a review that complains about a dirty couch.

Under the updated policy, both of those reviews would be removed because they contain only irrelevant info.

There are also times when a guest comments on issues outside of your control, or unrelated to the service you provided. Those types of reviews may be removed if they only contain irrelevant content that isn’t useful to future guests. Here are a few examples of irrelevant content that could result in the removal of a review:

• A guest leaves a comment about your appearance
• A guest leaves you a bad review because they were frustrated by public transit in your city
• A guest leaves a review about the type of people in your neighborhood

These comments have nothing to do with your listing or the service you provide as a host and aren’t useful to future guests. So, under our updated Review Policy, our customer support agents would be empowered to remove both the review content and star rating.

Reviews with biased information

Our community benefits most when reviews share an unbiased view of the member’s experience. Our updated Review Policy covers the removal of reviews with inappropriate bias—this may include situations where the reviewer is attempting to extort the person being reviewed, has a conflict of interest, or competes with the person being reviewed. Here’s a closer look at three types of biased reviews that will be removed under our updated policy:

• Extortion: This is when a guest tries to use reviews to get something they want—for example, if they threaten to leave you a bad review unless you give them late checkout. Any attempt to use reviews or review responses to force a person to do something they aren’t obligated to do is a misuse of reviews, and we don’t allow it. People who use Airbnb also aren’t allowed to tie positive reviews to promises of compensation.
• Conflict of interest: We appreciate how much hard work goes into earning a positive review. As a result, we will not allow hosts to unfairly boost their ratings by accepting fake reservations in exchange for a positive review, using a second account to review their own listing, or providing something of value (like cash or a late checkout) in exchange for positive reviews.
• Competition: We’ll remove reviews written by hosts of competing listings or experiences where that person (acting as a guest) leaves negative reviews for competitive listings, or where we determine the content is intended to dissuade others from booking those listings or drive business to other listings.

Guests and hosts who repeatedly violate our updated Review Policy may face consequences, including account suspension and removal from the platform. We’ve also invested in retraining our customer support agents and improving our workflows, so hosts will receive better support in instances when irrelevant or biased reviews happen. As with our new Guest Standards Policy that tracks bad guests, our updated Review Policy includes warnings and education that can lead to suspension or removal of people who repeatedly leave biased reviews.

Updating our Review Policy is another important step in our journey of supporting guests and hosts like you who rely on relevant, useful reviews.

Your top questions, answered

What kinds of reviews will be removed by this updated Review Policy?

A healthy review system is one that respects and protects our community’s genuine feedback. For that reason, we take the removal of any review very seriously and only remove reviews that clearly violate Airbnb’s Review Policy. You can read the updated Review Policy in full, but, in short, this means a review is only removed if:

• The review is in violation of Airbnb’s Content Policy,
• The review is biased, or
• The review is irrelevant to the author’s experience on Airbnb

Guests and hosts who repeatedly violate our updated Review Policy may face consequences, including account suspension and removal from the platform.

What kind of documentation should I have under the updated Review Policy?

We can’t emphasize this enough: Always aim to communicate with guests through the Airbnb platform. If conversations happen off-platform, be sure to keep a record of those conversations too. That way, if you ever need to report a review to our agents, they’ll have—at their fingertips—the information they need to make the right decision. That said, even when you don’t have this preferred documentation, we encourage you to report any reviews that violate our Review Policy because we may be able to identify other evidence or patterns of behavior regarding that guest. 

Will all irrelevant review content be removed?

If Airbnb determines that the review contains no relevant information about a host or guest or listing, the review will be removed. Reviews that contain mostly irrelevant information are also subject to removal, but only where the relevant information does not meaningfully inform community members.

Where a review contains information that is unrelated to an experience as a host or guest, or is focused on something beyond the control of the person being reviewed, our team will determine the relevance of the review by considering how useful it is to our community of hosts and guests. To do this, we’ll look at two things:

• Does the review recount the reviewer’s experience and provide their personal perspective?
• Is the review helpful to other members of the Airbnb community? Does it provide essential information about a host or guest, listing, or experience that would help others make more informed booking decisions?

What’s the difference between extortionary and retaliatory reviews?

It’s considered extortion if a guest attempts to use reviews (or review responses) to force a host to do something they aren’t obligated to do. So, for example, if a guest threatens to leave a bad review if you don’t allow them to bring additional guests, that review would be extortionary and would be removed under the updated policy.

Then there are times when a host may feel that a negative review is made in retaliation. This is when, for example, a host doesn’t allow the guest to bring additional guests, and the guest goes on to leave a review about how inflexible their host was, or even writes a negative review about cleanliness or location. However, without evidence of a threat to leave a negative review, this would not be considered extortionary and would not be removed under the updated policy. If this happens, we encourage hosts to use their public response to politely address the issue.

Why aren’t you removing all retaliatory reviews?

While we understand how frustrating it can be when you receive a review that feels retaliatory, we don’t have a crystal ball to tell us what a person’s true motivations are. So, without a documented threat to leave a negative review or other evidence of a biased review, Airbnb won’t intervene. Here’s why:

• As a marketplace, we often don’t know the truth about what took place, and our review system is a critical feedback mechanism for our hosts and guests. That means we want as many reviews as possible to remain intact—so our community can put them to good use.
• Most guest reviews contain honest feedback about their experience and useful information for hosts and guests.

To reiterate, as outlined in our updated Review Policy, Airbnb can—and will—intervene where there’s evidence of a threat, promise of action that’s dependent on the review, or other conflict of interest and/or competition. Additionally, we will continue to intervene when a guest leaves a review that violates our content policies—including discriminatory content or a violent threat.

For more information, read the updated Review Policy or learn more about how we moderate disputes of our Review Policy in our Help Center.

How we’re tackling inconsistent reviews

Sometimes, a negative review is less about the guest’s experience in your space and more about them not understanding how reviews or the platform work—they can even be the result of an honest mistake. Earlier this year, we built a tool to help address these types of reviews by automatically detecting inconsistencies, and then interrupting the flow to give guests a chance to correct them. So, for example, if a guest gives you 4 or 5 stars in every category (cleanliness, accuracy, and so on) but then a 1-, 2-, or 3-star rating overall, a pop-up will ask if they’re sure about their overall rating.

Similarly, if a guest leaves a low rating for something like location or value—two categories we know can be interpreted differently by guests—a clarifying question will appear.

• For location, we’ll ask if the location was accurately described in the listing
• For value, we’ll ask what would’ve made the stay a better value

These interruptions force guests to think a little more about the rating they’re giving, which they can then go back and correct. As a result, we’re already seeing more consistency between the category scores and overall scores. Improvements like these help ensure that guests’ ratings align with their experience—better ratings are more useful to guests and reward the hard work of hosts.

There’s still more to come

Reviews are the backbone of our community—they help hosts grow their businesses, and they help guests gain the confidence they need to make the booking. We have a dedicated team doing lots of thinking around how to make our entire review experience better for hosts and guests. We’ll continue to improve the review system over time—please keep sending us your feedback about improvements that you’d like to see. In the meantime, we’re excited about these changes and hope you are too.

[Joe322]

I take a flexible approach regarding check-in/check-out time if asked. I expect my guests to understand that they may have to use the living room until I have had a chance to clean and freshen the bedroom and bathroom. If a guest becomes difficult I take an inflexible approach and simply say the room isn't available until 3:00 pm. Check-out is different. They can leave their luggage in the foyer and return to pick it up anytime. I do not ask for anything extra. But, I do ask that they consider my attitude a courtesy and not something I must do for them. 

I only had two guests since joining as a host who presented problems. They wanted a problem where it didn't exist. They took pictures of a room where I was working on the house (hanging pictures, installing door knobs and locks and repairing some equipment). They requested a full refund. I refused. They stayed in a comfortable bed in a clean room and had exclusive use of the bathroom (as promised in my listing). I have no patience with that kind of thing. Otherwise, I don't see any problem with the new policies. 

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the comments above. I have had the same issue, fortunately once only, regarding time of arrival at the airport and checkout of previous guest. my checkout time is fixed. The check in time is "flexible".I once had a guest arriving  at the airport almost  hours before the check in time, leaving me little time to clean my studio. It takes me only 2hrs at least to do so.

 i was again fortunate that my incoming guest's plane was delayed. So I would suggest that any arrival for such situations  should after check out time, if possible.

Thanks.

Rajambal, Mauritius

[Doungduan0]

Why don't you try giving Thailand a real number to call rather than one that says you need to contact Airbnb this service is not  available . This is the number your customer care give . And your bot.

And then a call centre in the Philippines that  closes a case when they cannot find a pree loaded message close to what your asking about 

 forget the reviews there irrelevant  all the things your claiming you will now do 

Are a lie because it's based on your customer care team doing it.

Cannot get anything done . 5 days I'm still waiting for a reply from the worst bye far the worst customer service experience in the world , Airbnb needs to fix there customer service before they loose all there hosts and guests  .

Fight a review that lists stuff it should not bahahhaa good luck with that . Whoever wrote this should try calling there customer service or even better use the message service like we have to do in Thailand .

See how far you get before you start tearing your hair out and give up . 

Everybody 

knows customer service is what keeps a business running and you have cheaped out on your customer service and now we your clients are the ones that loose out 

[Gérard79]

Bonjour 

Il ne faut pas a mon sens confondre le principe fondamental de l'hospitalité avec une certaine faiblesse ,les voyageurs qui viennent ne seront jamais des amis intimes . Le principe doit être réciproque .

[Evren4]

I am have been a host for a little over two years. There are a couple of things that really concern me how you manage the review process. For instance, the guest canceled over me on 02/01/2020. He said that there was an emergency and he had to cancel the reservation which is understandable and have no problem with canceling. However, the problem is arising because the system give both the host and the guest to review the stay. I believe this is not fair since the guest or the host has no idea about what to review. The people with bad intentions might use this to give bad reviews. At this point, I don't know what to do. Last year, I had the same problem and Airbnb did nothing to protect my rights. The guest was planning to check-in at 3 pm and I went to the house around 12 pm to clean the house but due to weather conditions outside water line was interrupted and the whole block was out of water. I have contacted with guest to let them know. He said that he will talk with Airbnb and find a solution. Eventually, Airbnb found a place for the guest. However, after a couple of days, I got a 1-star review about location, cleaning and other things. The guest never came to my house or saw the location and yet reviewed me. Is this fair?

Another issue is that I am a pet-friendly host but I charge extra for cleaning after guests with pets. Because it is really hard to clean the house compare the guest without pets. The system should give an option to guests whether if they are coming with pets or not and add the fee accordingly.

Best,

Evren Karabacak

[Mark116]

I guess it is something, and maybe some of these issues are more widespread than they would seem to be, but these seems a bit odd, and 'irrelevant' is another hugely subjective category that I predict will only create more problems.  Why can't airbnb create policies that rely on more objective criteria?  And, the main problem for hosts, which is guests leaving retaliatory reviews after being called out on bad behavior or asked to pay for damages, is unchanged.

Also, I'm not sure why guests should be prevented from commenting on the neighborhood, there certainly are sketchy type areas that appear dangerous or run down and that would be information that future guests would want to know.

[Anonymous]

@Mark116   As a guest, I consider it my responsibility to research the destination and utilize the vast amount of info freely available online to find a suitable neighborhood. An individual person's view that a neighborhood is "sketchy" or "dangerous" is not relevant or useful, since it's impossible to know what personal biases might have contributed to that impression. 

[Mark116]

@Anonymous  Eh, an individual can have all kinds of biases, their view of whether an airbnb is well decorated, whether the stove was adequate, if the sheets were nice or not  is equally as subjective as their views of any neighborhood.  Reviews are by their nature subjective opinions, so eliminating comments on the neighborhoods seems pretty silly and dare I say 'irrelevant' to the major issues facing hosts and guests. 

[Anonymous]

@Mark116  But the decor, stove, and sheets are all things that the host can control. Sure, the opinions are subjective, but hosts can grow and improve from their guests' feedback on the features of their home. But if someone finds your neighborhood "sketchy," what are you supposed to do with that? All it tells me is that the person did a poor job planning their trip.

On the whole though, I agree - none of these changes address the main issues that hosts have been bringing up, and I think we'll have to grimly accept that all the anxiety caused by guest ratings is a feature, not a bug.

[Sally523]

This is kind of true. My listing has it clearly stated, with a photograph, that it only has a kitchenette, NOT a full kitchen. Yet, I still get the periodic complaint, inevitably by some one staying only one night, that it's not a good value because I don't have a full kitchen! It's clear that I don't. There is a picture of the kitchenette. So they shouldn't be allowed to criticize me for it. I have a fridge, microwave, toaster, kettle, dishes, cutlery, glasses and coffee equipment and provide free coffee and tea.  All that I would personally need for a short stay.  I don't take long stays for this reason.  Also what about stupid people? I had a criticism about the fact that there were no large towels, only hand towels.  I clearly state on the email welcoming them, on the documentation clearly visible in the entry, that there are plenty of towels in the bathroom IN THE DRAWERS.  I've had someone leave a bad review because it didn't occur to them to look in the only two drawers in the bathroom that only contain clean towels.  And another bad review because they couldn't figure out how to use a lock box.  There is a 2 paragraph detailed description in the email for that.  It seems ridiculous that I should have to suffer a bad review for this type of guest.

[Kelly305]

I have had this happen to me for a number of reasons. It's so very frustrating. I live in Upstate NY and it can get extremely cold here. In the winter time I used to put out flannel or plush sheets so that my guests were more comfortable. I had a guest say "these aren't sheets" even though I went in and showed him that they were in fact, sheets lol. I've also had people put in reviews or just ding me a star or two for not having silverware, even though I have more than enough along with cooking utensils and such. They were too ignorant to open the correct drawer and gave a bad review instead of asking. Now I put in regular cotton sheets, keep the silverware drawer open and also put a welcome list and FAQ sheet on the fridge. This of course doesn't help when today's folks do not read. I explain in my listing and in messages, it doesn't always help. Also, I post how I am available to answer questions and encourage people to ask, and that I'm right across the breezeway, yet I just had a guy say how he couldn't voice a concern because he didn't have a smartphone. How about knocking on the door, or calling from your non-smart phone? How does one account for this hold my hand at every turn, entitled, me me me society? We as hosts can only do the best we can but I don't feel we should be penalized when a guest is too stupid to get out of their own way.

[Steven532]

My favourite are guests who complain about the location ie: it is not where they thought it was or it is a bit quiet.

As others have noted, a guest should research the location and/or where they want to be. If the guest gets to be quite pushy about it, my response has been "My villa has not moved and has never moved, it is where I said it was, perhaps you didn't research properly" 

I have hundreds of guests a year and must note that the 'bad' ones are a very low percentage. This week a guest sent me a triumphant email advising he had "found" a power socket not working and the gate was a tad "hard" to open AND he had also advised my local team. Made my day...  Of course I thanked him for the notification and rolled my eyes (from a distance of 4000km).

In summary, thank you AirBnB for the 'pop up' about the location review. I have noticed a drop in issues.

[Ryan1824]

LOL Steven  , 

 We had the same comments on location and its says twice  we are 1 mile ( 9 blocks from 1st street )   what the heck  we are on 10th ? and left a review of misleading on location ...and a map? Best is ...I wish the windows opened up review … Reply... I am sorry I did not show you the cranks on the base of the windows. ... ok 1 more ….. We have 2 doors up stairs 1 to a salon and 1 to the Airbnb .. What door do I go into upstairs ( 20 feet apart)?  Reply ..  The only one with a keypad on it 5R properties not the one with Salon name on door ( like in directions ) 

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@Steven532 wrote:

My favourite are guests who complain about the location ie: it is not where they thought it was or it is a bit quiet.

As others have noted, a guest should research the location and/or where they want to be. If the guest gets to be quite pushy about it, my response has been "My villa has not moved and has never moved, it is where I said it was, perhaps you didn't research properly" 

I have hundreds of guests a year and must note that the 'bad' ones are a very low percentage. This week a guest sent me a triumphant email advising he had "found" a power socket not working and the gate was a tad "hard" to open AND he had also advised my local team. Made my day...  Of course I thanked him for the notification and rolled my eyes (from a distance of 4000km).

In summary, thank you AirBnB for the 'pop up' about the location review. I have noticed a drop in issues.

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???? I wanted to say … something else …. good times

Ryan

[Ann24232]

Animals Everywhere! 1 star'Entitled' guests can drain the energy, hopefully the knowledge that we all cop our share makes it more bearable Kelly.

Our home (and wildlife orphanage) occasionally receives guests that dislike animals!

Some newbies expect a 5 star hotel and obviously don't read the listing prior to booking.

We've copped some ridiculous ratings but try not to dwell, those awesome guests with that good old-fashioned Airbnb mindset are coming .... keep the spirit alive, don't let the

mongrels get you down 😉

[Narelle14]

Totally agree with this 

We have had some guests that you wonder how they survive sometimes with the phone calls you receive during stay asking really silly questions or stating things are broken so we have done the right thing and arranged electrician straight away to find there is no problem except user ….. then have to pay call out fee..... very frustrating