If We Eliminate the Guest Review System?

[Shan3571]

Keywords:  "rating system" and "review system."

Reference:  Facebook, Amazon, and Michelin restaurants

There has been much debate about the guest review system. On the one hand, there are disputes between hosts and guests; on the other hand, Airbnb needs to invest significant resources to manage these disputed reviews.

A rating system represents an objective fact, like 1+1=2. It's an unchanging truth, unaffected by personal preferences. It doesn't become 3 just because you like it, nor does it become 4 because you dislike it. No matter how you feel, 1+1 will always equal 2.

However, a review system reflects subjective feelings. For example, my property has a skylight. Guest A loves it because they can see stars and the moon at night. Guest B dislikes it because they can't sleep with the moonlight shining in. This is a clear difference in subjective feelings. In other words, for the same fact, A and B have completely different perceptions, which are directly linked to an objective rating. Guest A gave me a five-star rating because they liked the skylight, while Guest B gave me only two stars because they disliked it.

As a host, I know that once you get a shallow score, it takes a long time to recover.  New guests will see this low score (objective), but this low score is actually derived from a subjective impression. This is the biggest fallacy: transforming a subjective impression into an objective judgment.

It is the biggest problem or paradox: combining subjective feelings with objective facts. I believe this is irreconcilable and cannot be merged. These two systems should not be placed together.

Guests should not be able to give an objective rating based on their subjective feelings! This is the core issue I want to discuss: Airbnb should remove the rating system, but guests can still express their subjective feelings.

Subjective feelings can only circulate within a subjective ecosystem, and objective scores can only circulate within an objective ecosystem. Subjective feelings cannot intersect with objective ratings.

Ratings are objective facts, like taking a math exam. Each score is an objective fact, regardless of whether you like it or not.

This is the biggest difference between Amazon and Facebook, and it raises a deeper question: Is Airbnb more like Amazon, selling products where customers can give one to five-star ratings, or is it more like Facebook and Instagram, a social media platform where users give likes/favorites?

If we must rate a house, I suggest we can refer to the existing hotel star rating system and establish a unique Airbnb rating system, similar to the current Superhost system.

Another important example is Michelin restaurants. Customers can leave comments on Michelin restaurants, but Michelin doesn't let customers rate the restaurants again.

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In my opinion, Airbnb is a fusion of multiple models. It's both a marketplace for selling properties and a community where people can communicate and interact as we are doing here. It emphasizes both renting properties and fostering communication between hosts and guests, but this communication is more subjective.

The fundamental issue is that hosts are unfairly penalized due to a rating system that disproportionately emphasizes subjective guest experiences. New guests, seeing a low rating, may make hasty judgments without considering the underlying reasons. This is analogous to the legal principle of the "fruit of the poisonous tree," where evidence obtained illegally taints subsequent findings.

Since Airbnb's inception in 2008, 16 years have passed, and I believe it's time for some changes. This would also save Airbnb a significant amount of manpower, as we can see that many disputes between guests and hosts require manual intervention.

I have expressed my core views, and I believe more hosts will offer their suggestions and ideas. I also believe that Airbnb will have some thoughts on this matter already. There are many more topics to explore, but due to time constraints, I will stop here for now.

Many thanks

Shan

[Helen3]

Your example of the sky light is easily solved add a blind and guests that like the stars can see them and those that don't just shut the blinds.

According to your reviews you have more fundamental issues than sky lights which are leading to a number of poor reviews @Shan3571 .

Do you not analysis guest feedback and use it to improve your listing?

Issues such as a lack of cleanliness noted by many guests across your listing, a lack of amenities, and not enough facilities for the large number of guests you accept are easy to address.

[Shan3571]

Hi Helen,

I appreciate your response. The core of my discussion here is to delve into the effectiveness and suitability of Airbnb's rating system, rather than scrutinizing my guest reviews, as I haven't raised any questions about existing guest reviews in this post.

The skylight is just a metaphor. I could even say I hung a painting on the wall. Some guests might like the painting and then be given a 5⭐, while others might hate it, especially if they're in a bad mood and given 1 ⭐. So, my point isn't about the specific example I gave, but rather about the rating system itself.

[Prue0]

The review system is essential and that it is two way is invaluable. 

But it needs to be clearly explained to all people who join Airbnb- both guests and hosts. 

This is my explanation: 

Reviews
Airbnb has thousands of diverse places to stay at a wide range of prices so the star system is based on meeting guest expectations given the online information and the price. Whether your accommodation was simple and basic or beautifully luxurious, if it was as good as (or better than) you expected, it has earned 5*. Anything less than 5* is seen as a failure to deliver. If it was almost as good as expected, 4* while 3*is pretty poor but could improve. It has to be utterly awful to deserve 2 or 1.

If Airbnb were to implement this simple step it would greatly improve things. I would add that guests rating a property at 3 or less would be asked to explain why they had done so. 

The guest rating system is more difficult as it is essentially rating a person more than a building. My feeling is that the fairest way would be to average out the marks and require that hosts state a reason for a mark less than 4 with photos where applicable. 

AS HOME HOSTS WE NEED TO FEEL SAFE. THE REVIEW SYSTEM HELPS US TO FEEL HAPPY TO HOST AND REWARDS US WHEN WE DO WELL. 

It is not always fair. Today I got 3* from a newbie although he said nice things and had obviously enjoyed his relatively inexpensive stay.  I am not the Savoy or the Waldorf Astoria so I was 3*' The review should award suns or flowers so that we are not as easily confused with the hotel star system. 

[Shan3571]

Thank you for your response.  an idea from your comments: Airbnb could implement a feature that allows hosts to view the historical review data of their guests. For example, if guest A gave host X a 3-star rating, host Y a 4-star rating, and host Z another 3-star rating, then host K would be able to see all of guest A's previous reviews.、

Currently, the system does not support that function,  that unbalance, guests like A can see all the reviews about hosts (X, Y, Z, K), but hosts cannot see the reviews that guest A has given to hosts X, Y, and Z. This prevents hosts from making informed decisions about whether or not to accept guest A as well. As you mentioned, "the star system is based on meeting guest expectations given the online information," but this should be a two-way street.

This would also align with your statement, "As home hosts, we need to feel safe."

While providing reasons for ratings and even adding photos is helpful, it doesn't address the fundamental issue of subjective biases influencing an objective rating system.

I'm uncertain whether you agree that two separate systems, namely "rating system" and "review system" could coexist.

I'm not suggesting that guests shouldn't be able to provide feedback; however, I believe that the weight given to these ratings in determining future interactions should be carefully considered. The key point I'm trying to make is that the power to leave a review shouldn't automatically equate to the ability to make a rating.

The problem is, as you said, they might give you a very positive review but still give you a low rating. My point is that guests should be able to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction, but this subjective feeling shouldn't be directly linked to a numerical rating. Once you've written a review, you shouldn't have the power to assign a rating.

To illustrate my point, let's compare Amazon and Facebook. Amazon sells products, and users can rate those products. on Facebook, which is a social media platform, you can't rate other people's comments. You can only like or dislike them. This is because your reaction to someone's comment is subjective and influences how others perceive that comment.

It is like, I am replying to your comment, but I cannot rate your comment.