A simple question

George1803
Level 2
Betws-y-Coed, United Kingdom

A simple question

Here’s a question not one person at Airbnb seems willing to answer “I have had 41 guests in total of which 40 have left 5 star scores  for my check in procedure. If 1 guest out of 41 then leaves me a 1 star score for our check in procedure complaining the cottage was “hard to locate and instructions unclear” having received exactly the same instructions as the 40 others who have given 5 me stars - how can that review be authentic and adhere to their review policy? Answers on a postcard please 🤣

5 Replies 5

@George1803 . I don’t think it’s matter of not“willing” to answer. It’s a matter of “guest will be guest”. Unfortunately, that’s how some of them are. I have had 5 stars for over 2 years, and here came “that guest”, that although checking in at security has nothing to do with me. They gave me one of the best reviews ever, then gave me a less than 5 star because security didn’t let them in fast enough because they wanted to thoroughly check them, even though that’s the reason they wanted to stay in a secured community. So go figure. Lol

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@George1803 If you stress about the odd review that isn't perfect or fair then I suggest you will never be happy hosting on Airbnb.

To be fair to Airbnb it is entirely possible that a host has forgotten a guest was coming or wasn't available to check them in or forgot (as I did once) to turn on the hot water. This doesn't make them a bad host - just a human one but it does explain why a review might be entirely fair even though all previous reviews were perfect.

Airbnb (or any company) is not capable of determining if a review is fair so they decide not to rule on truthfulness. This is understandable otherwise it would be too easy for a host to let down every 40th guest and get away with it.

George1803
Level 2
Betws-y-Coed, United Kingdom

That would make sense if that’s what happened. If a guest can blatantly lie (which can be proven using the portal and text messaging) and Airbnb do nothing about it that’s no way to treat a host. Why assume the guest is right regardless of facts, are hosts not customers too? After all, we are also Airbnb guests occasionally as well.   Not ruling on truthfulness as you say, only undermines trust and encourages & emboldens scammers. What if I turn up at your property and you are late, that should be fine for me to score you low on your check in but is it fair if I score you low on the cleanliness of your property because you have upset me by being late? That’s my point.  It’s been a learning experience and fortunately it’s never happened before but I no longer trust Airbnb  even though I even own some shares! It’s a machine without a human touch but I appreciate all of the booking agents are, they are a necessary evil, and why getting returning guests to book direct next time is so important - this is my takeaway! May I ask which booking agent is your preferred one? We are on all of them and get mixed results - each one attracts a different type of guest which is why I find a mix works quite well. 

@George1803 we are lazy I am afraid and only use Airbnb. We have about 70% Airbnb guests and about 30% who come through word of mouth.

We tried VRBO and got no bookings, a small UK operator was just as bad so we decided eggs in one basket was the way to go.

The small UK operator was nothing like Airbnb - There was no connection whatsoever between the host and guest which we really disliked. 

George1803
Level 2
Betws-y-Coed, United Kingdom

I would reluctantly recommend booking.com they seem to get bookings for hard to fill dates and lots of international guests. I say reluctant as they are hard to deal with too. I maybe wrong but I think it pays to be on as many as possible to cover all bases. It’s a bit of an admin nightmare but I think pays dividends in the end. All the best