How does star rating work?

[Fabiana310]

Hello community, I recently had a very difficult guest.  Without getting into the details, she left me a 1-star review dropping my rating from a 4.97 (102 reviews) to a 4.93.  

Does anyone know how many 5-stars does it take to increase a few points....at this rate I would be happy with a 4.95!!!!!

Appreciate any input.  

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Fabiana310 Be happy with 4.95. It will take a few hundred five star reviews to move the needle on your current score.

[Alicia753 · Accepted solution]

Hi Fabiana,

Dealing with a difficult guest and their impact on your overall rating can be really frustrating. Let's break down how you might estimate the number of five-star reviews needed to improve your rating.

Airbnb calculates your overall rating by averaging the star ratings from your reviews. Given your current drop from 4.97 to 4.93 due to a single one-star review, it sounds like you're looking to figure out how many additional five-star reviews you need to reach a target rating of 4.95.

Here’s a simplified way to calculate it:

Current Total Score Calculation:

You had an average of 4.97 with 102 reviews.

The total score contributed by these 102 reviews was approximately 102 reviews × 4.97 = 506.94.

Impact of the One-Star Review:

Adding the one-star review: Total score becomes 506.94 (previous total) + 1 (one-star review) = 507.94.

New average with 103 reviews: 507.94 / 103 = approximately 4.93.

Target Score Calculation for 4.95 Average:

Desired total score for a 4.95 average with more reviews (say, 103 + x): (103+x)×4.95(103 + x) \times 4.95(103+x)×4.95.

Set this equal to your current score plus 5 times however many additional reviews you get:

507.94+5x507.94 + 5x507.94+5x.

Solving for x:

         (103+x)×4.95=507.94+5x

           509.85+4.95x=507.94+5x

          x≈192 additional five-star reviews

However, the actual number might slightly vary depending on how the averages are calculated internally by Airbnb (e.g., rounding differences).

Additionally, if you believe the one-star review was unjust or violated Airbnb’s review policies, you could consider reaching out to Airbnb to see if there’s a possibility for it to be reviewed or removed.

Keep up the great work, and don't let one difficult experience overshadow your overwhelmingly positive feedback.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Upfish management

[Fabiana310]

@Alicia753 Wow, my head is spinning, thank you so much this helps to understand.  So I'm riding the 4.93 (as long as I get perfect scores).  

It sucks, I did reach out to Airbnb as this was a retaliatory review.  She broke my house rule of inviting friends over....these guests and their friends were very disrespectful.  Unfortunately Airbnb said that without proof (pictures) there was nothing I can do.  I do have her confirming she had friends over in the review AND in text messages between us, however,  AIrbnb said they needed pictures, or I should have sent her a "resolution form" to charge her an extra fee for her friends - which is ridiculous! 

This guest is now stalking me, she left me 2 reviews on my Google Business profile (she has 2 accounts in Google), and brought my Google rating from 5 to 3.8.  I am not really bothered about Google, it's Airbnb that really frustrates me.  

Thanks again!! 

[Zheng49]

Looking on the bright side, 4.93 is still not that bad. Actually I think that's still quite good!

One of my listings have a 1* review from when I first started, and it is indeed quite hard to bounce from that. On that note, I can (finally) understand why some people feel the need to create a duplicate listing when they get a 1* review for example (just so they can start from scratch). 

Unfortunately, when you have a terrific rating like 4.97, it can very hard to keep it as just one 1* review can bring it down a few notches. 

[Fabiana310]

Hi fellow Torontonian!! thanks for the response.  

I was actually thinking of creating a duplicate.....maybe...eventually.  

Thanks!! 

[Denise519]

I would continue to follow up with Airbnb support.  I had a similar incident, my guests broke the rules and then gave me a two star review.  (Also make sure you do a public response review you only have 30 days for that.)  I got 6 nos from support before someone actually listened to me and read all the threatening messages my guest left me and they took her review down.  Perserverance might pay off.  I really didn't think anyone would listen and they finally did.  If they don't that public response is everything!

[Fabiana310]

I actually don't have many text as proof other than the text that was already reviewed by Airbnb where I ask them to not give the remote control for the gate to their friends....long story. 

My friend, who also is on Airbnb, is telling me to talk to Airbnb and tell them what she's done to me on Google, I just don't find Airbnb has the Hosts' back.  

I don't have it in me to fight this with Airbnb.   But thank you for your feedback.