Feedback for the new "Value" review criteria

[Sheila262]

I am not sure when the "Value" criteria was added to guest reviews. I would like more information on why it is added. Since it has been added, as a superhost I have been given a 4/5 by two guests.

For my small listing, I believe my rooms are of great value. It is my belief that guests think strictly in the price amount when giving the rating. It is frustrating as the guest know exactly what they are paying for. My listing is cheaper than any hotel in town for two separate rooms with a shared bath. I rent them all together whether they use the second bedroom or not. My rooms are immaculately clean and my beds are of top quality. 

For my most recent guest, I even went out of my provide bleacher seats for the parents to use while they watched their daughters swim meet. I bought a healthy cookie wishing their daughter good luck for her swim meet. I think that is "value". I just feel like this criterion needs to be explored. How many hosts out there have run into this issue? It just feels problematic because guests solely focus on the dollar amount they are playing. I would like to see more of a breakdown definition of what "Value" means. These two ratings brought me to a 4.9 as a SuperHost. We must have a 4.8 to maintain our status. It feels punitive in nature.

What are your thoughts and experiences on this matter? 

[Sarah977]

@Sheila262  You are confused. Value has always been a category guests rate on, there is nothing new about it. 

And it doesn't factor into your listing rating- none of the category ratings do. Your listing rating is not an average of the individual category ratings, it is a separate "Overall" rating that guests leave.

Don't waste your time being concerned with that rating. Plenty of guests leave less than 5* value ratings. Like if it wasn't free, it wasn't good value.

[Ted307]

We just had 2 people in a row leave us with a rating of 4. The categories were all 5 except 4 in the "Value" category, and they gave us 4 overall. It is not free! BAD Value. 😞 This makes people rate lower overall since they are questioned in detail and sometimes that makes them remember that they wish it cost less to go on vacation!

[Kendra114]

Yes, just contacted AirBnb about this yesterday. Got nowhere. 

[Laura2592]

@Sheila262 value has been around since I've been hosting.  But my vote is that it, along with "location" get the axe. Value is completely subjective.  For some, any stay that costs more than free is too much. For others who may be used to a different cost of living or exchange rate value is fantastic.  It's a little ridiculous to rate this. I suspect it's a way ABB pushes hosts to lower nightly pricing so that they get more bookings.

Location is totally beyond a hosts control.  The rating is often code for "not everyone in the neighborhood was white and affluent." I find it shocking that a company as woke as ABB claims to be is so tone deaf over the implicit bias in the Location category. 

[Karla533]

@Sheila262 Location is totally legit and necessary in my view because in my area, hosts write things like "walking distance" to whatever when it's over a mile, which is not walking distance unless you live in Manhattan, where 20 blocks is a mile. Most Americans consider over a mile too far to walk.

The location area given by ABB on my listing is actually pretty far off from my actual location. I am closer to the action than their colored circle suggests. So people who book my place think I am further away from the action.

As for value, I think the only fair comparison when pricing your property is to other ABB properties, not to hotels, unless of course there are only a couple ABBs in your town so you have to compare to hotels.

Hotels are better in many ways and worse in many ways compared to ABBs, in my view. It's just a different accommodation.

I also don't think Super Host status matters one whit to the vast majority of guests. They don't even know what it is. It certainly does not matter where I am, I am booked to the gills without it. If you book 30+ days, as I did for awhile when I started late in 2021, you'll take forever to get to SH.

[Julia745]

I always answer questions about walking distance with screen shots of google maps showing the path and estimated time from my place to where they want to go. I also do this for public transportation, etc. to places they want to visit. 

** generalisation hidden ** 

[Laura2592]

@Karla533 sorry got to disagree with you on the Superhost thing. 

As a guest I only book with Superhosts when I have the option. I have booked with non-superhosts and had cancellations enough times that I no longer take the chance.

As a host, it matters less to me. But if I lost it, I would expect to see a decrease in bookings because most of my competition has that status. 

As far as location, this is what ABB says:

"Location, location, location

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."

To me, this is redundant. The accuracy rating covers this and then some. And in order to ensure that guests understand the description, they first have to read it in its entirety. Which many do not seem to care to do.

[John5097]

@Sheila262 

Maybe if rates were at or below Airbnb reccomened price the value rating wouldn't be averaged into the review? Or there would be a prompt, "This listing was at or below our reccomened rates, do you still want to less than 5 stars?"    

[Sheila262]

@John5097

my rates are at recommended levels. But sometimes in my area Airbnb doesn’t factor in local events when demand is high. It doesn’t factor in Sundance film festival as I l don’t live in Park City. 
Also the hotel options similar to my price range are awful. Local know only transient people stay here.

the next up option is Holiday Inn or two resorts in town. 
my listing is more than fair. 

[John5097]

@Sheila262 I'm a host and subject to the same policy you are. The "value" sub category has been a part of everyone's review process. Many have complained about this for years and nothing has changed. 

There have been a few tweaks and improvements to the review process that has been progress.  My post was just a suggestion. Some progress is better than no progress. 

So far my first 196 reviews have all be 5 star overall. Twice I've received a 4 star in value but five star overall. So in my experience the sub categories allow the guest to express some discontent without marking down the overall review. I think they had contacted customer service hoping for some kind of discount so didn't want to leave a perfect review, and also not mark me down, and just hoping for some kind of discount from Airbnb.  There is also other factors such as quality of linens, mattress, etc that could result in a lower value ratings. 

My opinion is that both value and location ratings are generally not accurate, as some guest just want a lower price next time so mark it down, so don't think its useful at this time. 

I agree that the suggested price doesn't take into account a lot of factors.

Its also doesn't seem to have much influence on protective bookings. 

As I said I'm just a host.

Did you contact the guest to find out why they gave less than 5 star overall? They may have thought a 4 star was great.

There are also many more topics on this issue with other suggestions. 

[John5097]

I also don't increase rates for dates with events. Conversely I don't lower price just to book the place. Often my rates are higher than Airbnb suggested rate. Common sense dictates guest will see they are paying higher rate and lower review, which is why I don't use smart pricing. I just have weekday and weekend pricing, and will likely have seasonal rates. 

One of the recent changes to review process is that if guest leave 4 star overall reveiw and the individual reveiws average is over that, they get a pop up prompt, asking if they want to leave a overall review lower than the individual reviews. 
  

[Loretta126]

@John5097 Your point about wanting a lower price for their next stay is spot-on!  A few years ago, we had guests stay over Thanksgiving (they were Superhosts in New York City) at a slightly discounted last-minute price, and then they left us four stars for Value.  The next year they came back again, asking for a shorter stay than my minimum and a discount.  Their plan didn't work - I turned them down! 

[Lenore22]

Ok-- I'm staying somewhere in the middle of nowhere that costs about $100 more/night than i think it should... But it's the only place in the area that can accommodate our group (more than 2 people)... So i booked it.

Part of me feels like if I choose to book it, I 'm acknowledging and agreeing to the "value." Like-- I could just drive to the next town and stay in a hotel for $200/night less. As a customer, by agreeing to that price & booking, I've acknowledged that value in a way. It isn't like I'm staying in a bunch of other Airbnbs in the area and comparing what they put in their welcome baskets... You know?

[Connie168]

I don't like the 'value' option either.  I had a similar experience as the poster. A family from New York books one of our properties. In the messages going back and forth, they complain they can't find rental cars (last year during COVID rental cars were nearly non-existent and, those you could find, were costing over $3000 a week!)...so I contact some sources and find them a rental car which they book.

I also learn the mother is having a major birthday during the stay. I have a professional chef make a four-layer chocolate cake layered with fresh raspberries, Grand Marnier buttercream, all topped with chocolate buttercream ganache and drizzled with Lindt Dark Chocolate - decorated with chocolate-dipped strawberries.  I added helium balloons saying Happy Birthday with ribbons attached to the table.

During their stay, a family member, a native Alaskan and engineer, spent hours with the group, whose father is also an engineer, discussing the native Alaskan traditions, trails for them to hike that was not on the normal tourist maps, the history of the State -answering all of their questions.  

The daughter was doing school by Zoom so we arranged a special place in the garden where she could take her computer and have her private classes when she didn't want to be in the apartment with her family.

Those were highlights.  They raved and raved about what a wonderful trip they were having, how great we all were to them, how they were going to have to cancel their reservation if I hadn't found a car for them.   

I thought sure there would be a 5-star review on all aspects - but instead, they gave us a lower-Value rating.  I know nothing should surprise me about people anymore but when, during the busiest time of the year, we went out of our way to give them a stay far beyond when is advertised on our listing, they would give a lower rating was shocking.  I asked what was the reason, they never responded.    They weren't even paying our normal high season rates!

Obviously, my definition of value is different than this family.