4 star review: should I respond to the guest?

[Dale16]

This is such an annoying scenario. I had a guest book for super cheap last week, he didn't end up staying, just had a very expensive 4 hour nap and shower. £12 a night, and booked for two!  He left a one line review saying "it was a pleasant stay", and yet everything was 4 stars.  He left **bleep** marks on my toilet, hairs in the shower. And didn't respect the 2m social distancing rule I have.  I'm livid!

To add insult to injury, he called at 10.30am asking if he could check-in at 11am? My house rules state that i) it takes 3 hours to sanitise the room, according to the Airbnb enhanced cleaning schema! and ii) guests must inform me of their intended arrival time.  He broke that rule by expecting to check-in at 10.30am, so already alarm bells before the guest arrives.

He then has to suddenly leave in the early evening, to which I'm surprised. I contact Airbnb, to check if I should cancel it or if he should. Turns out he should, but it was non-ref anyway, so he didn't.

My question: should I respond to his review?  I don't think travellers can see the individual ratings from guests can they?

[Anonymous]

@Dale16  Of course not! Nobody but you can see the guests' individual ratings, and nobody viewing the listing has any reason to think this was anything but a positive review. You only shoot yourself in the foot if you undercut a positive comment with any kind of negativity.

With all due respect, this guest sounds about on par with what you can expect if you're selling your space for less than a hostel dorm bed. You can be the cheapest crash pad in town and keep the room constantly occupied, or you can attract discerning guests who respect and value your home. But you can't do both at once.

[Dale16]

@Anonymous  I've increased the rate two fold already today, on the advice of other experienced hosts. Airbnb has just agreed to delete the review on the basis of relevance and that it doesn't add anything to guest's opinion when looking at the review!

Over the moon!

PS With regards to the rate, if I have a random 2/3 night bit between long bookings, I put the rate low so that I have it filled. I have bills to pay, otherwise I'm homeless, so occupancy must be at least 80%, which it is usually more than!

[Emilia42]

It is really interesting that Aribnb removed that review. You lucked out on that one!

[Laura2592]

Don't respond. 

The only reason to respond to a review is if it is negative and this is not, no matter how much Airbnb tries to brainwash hosts to think so. 

It always stings when you have a P I T A guest who then dings  your space for no real reason. I am sorry this happened. I would suggest raising your prices a bit  🙂

[Tommy150]

Surprised they removed it! Lesson: you get what you pay for, but in reverse... if you make your rates too cheap, you get some undesirable guests. Don't undervalue your space or self-comfort!

[Stephanie365]

I feel you. I just had an amazingly persnickety guest leave me a 4* review. While her written review was, "Nice place, not too far away", this woman wrote an entire book of nothing but petty criticisms without anything positive to say in her private feedback. It was a one night stop over stay, not a vacation, but the wife was definitely the type who went out of her way to look for things to criticize. Her husband was no better.

The biggest part that arsed me was when she knocked me down for communication. Bitchin' Betty put her wrong phone number as a means of contact. I sent her a message on the app notifying her that I would be sending her a link to my Yoo Toob video that walks you through the check in at 2 pm and to please let me know that she received it and was able to access the link. 

Naturally, because she put her land line number down, she didn't receive the link. But she did receive my message asking her to confirm receiving the text. 

My check in time is 6 pm. At 5:45 she sends a message through the app telling me she hadn't received a text and they were 5 minutes away.  My phone was on the charger and I had stepped outside to get something out of my car and to get the mail (I have a long driveway), which took several minutes. 

They drive up while I'm in the driveway, and park. I meet them and they inform me they never received the check in video, so I just checked them in personally. I then went and grabbed my phone and reached out to the guest to show them I did try to send the link (to avoid getting marked down for poor communication). I asked if this was the correct number and was informed that was her home number.  But they said "It's all good, we're here and checked in".   I graciously let the wrong phone number thing slide. I regret doing so, because she gave me 4* for communication because I didn't answer her message that she was 5 minutes out.

They gave me 4* across the board and 4* overall. And everything they bitched about was clearly mentioned in my listing. 
In addition to being dinged for communication... 
I was marked down for cleanliness because they insisted I turn on the heat even though it was nearly 80 degrees outside. Well, it was the first time the heat had been on all season and we all know that smell of first time heat. I even told them, "I haven't had the heat on because it's been so warm." ~Ding
I mention in my listing that because the HVAC controls the whole house and not just the guest suite, guests do not have autonomy over the thermostat. I asked them what temp they would like the heat set at, and I set it to that temp. I also make it clear I am happy to adjust the temp for guests. Instead of asking me to adjust it, they "suffered in silence" and bitched in the review. ~Ding
Hubby was "extremely put off" by the old cars in the driveway. I make it clear we restore cars. Every car runs and drives and is registered. ~Ding
My place is a working farm. I make it clear our landscaping isn't perfect. They were put off by the leaves on the sidewalk and the plants that are starting to go dormant for the winter. In late October. I'm so sorry. I will have a talk with my plants. ~Ding
And finally, she "felt pressured" to leave a review. Um, ok? That's part of AirBNB. But don't put that on me. 

Had they gone over my listing information with a fine toothed comb like they did my apartment, they would have realized my place would not be to their liking.

A lot of people say the younger set are the problem children, but I swear, my nemeses are the Geritol set.

My response to her review was, "Thank you for everything! Please remember to provide your correct contact information and phone number in your profile for future hosts so they will meet your communication expectations going forward."  

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Stephanie365 , most of the few 4 stars I get are like what yours is, blah blah blah and somewhere in there they say something about how they really didn't read the listing thoroughly or they would know that there arent any bars within walking distance, streetlights or buses out in the boondocks where our "Bearpath Lodging" suites and Glamper are located ....   Things that make you go hmmmmm....  Stay well, JR

[Emilia42]

@Stephanie365 Regardless of when this review was written, I might call Airbnb and try to get it removed based on their new relevance clause.  "Nice place, not too far away." Not too far from what? Not very relevant. If Dale can get "pleasant stay" removed, it should be worth a try.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Dale16 , I wouldnt respond if you had the review removed, move on.  I also lower my price to fill so I understand your situation, stay well, JR

[Tony-And-Una0]

For some people 4 stars is a good score to give, and they only ever 5 stars if it's really exceptional

It's only Airbnb that has decided four stars is not good.

Look at the quality of many four star hotels. This is what many guests compare us to.