Hi @Wadulo0!
I took a look at your listing and it is likely the last review is deterring potential guests. Can you respond to the review? I’ve seen other hosts who had negative reviews that address them publicly underneath the said review. They first apologize to the guest for the issues and thank them for bringing up their concerns then usually they itemize it like:
Thank you for your review and we are sorry that your visit was not up to your expectations. We appreciate you letting us know about the issues so we can address them for a better experience.
1) Thank for for letting me know about the safety issues of missing/poor lighting in the stairwells and I will bring this up with management to fix ASAP.
2) Regarding the air conditioning or fan issue - we are sorry that you were uncomfortable during your stay, in our area, it is not common to have air conditioning as we usually have light trade winds that blow through our apartment (or something like this - it is worth noting some listings in San Diego, CA clearly list that they do not have air conditioning but they have a ceiling fan or personal fans in the suite. And they state that most homes in San Diego do not have air conditioning (to manage guest expectations)).
3) We are sorry to hear that you had issues with a few bugs. In our area, bugs are common and we have an exterminator come by regularly, treat when notified if there is a problem, etc. (I grew up in Hawaii and huge cockroaches that fly are common we jokingly called them B-52’s; it’s common in warm tropical areas to have more bugs). We do also leave bug spray under the sink for your convenience (one review mentioned this).
4) We are sorry that there were a few plumbing issues (Did they notify you immediately? Did you respond quickly?) We are having it addressed and apologize for any inconvenience.
Many hosts check in with their guests after one day or mid stay to make sure everything is OK or to address any issues.
You may also mention that the guest at that time didn’t mention any of these issues. As sometimes the guests say it’s fine then leave a bad review.
Another thing you want to consider is retaking pictures without personal toiletries or used towels in the pics. The microwave should have the new sticker removed. The toothbrushes and various toiletries should not be in the picture (only a toothbrush holder, soap, minimal things in pics - store other things in a cabinet for their use), the fridge doesn’t need to be open with half used drinks in it, you can just take a pic of the outside of the fridge. The towel should be hung nicely and look fresh and waiting for a new visitor.
You may want to list the attractions and the distance away and approximate drive or walk time it is to them (ie grocery store, airport, park, coffee shop, restaurants, sightseeing).
When you get a bad review it is best to respond to the review quickly, thanking them for their response and apologizing for the issues and telling them how you are addressing it. It shows that you are responsive and care about addressing the issues to any future guests.
Sometimes if a review was not fair and you can show details in the Airbnb messaging that they didn’t bring this up to you, said it was OK then wrote something completely different, they may be able to assess it and potentially delete the review.
