Confusing Review......all 5-stars except the overall rating, that was 4-stars

[Peter1354]

Dear Fellow Hosts,

Curious about the how I ended up with a 4-star overall rating when everything was 5-stars. Maybe someone can explain, as I've no idea. I attached a couple of screenshots for reference. 

Maybe I'me being judged against some mystery criteria, like the time I was criticized for the sun going down too early, and the house casting a shadow on the pool in the early evening 🙄

Airbnb should get rid of the Overall Rating, as I don't think many people know how to use it and in cases like this are detrimental to all the hard work we, Chih and I, have put into making this a really nice Airbnb. Honestly, you give people more than 4-5 choices and they automatically go into decision constipation which leads to just picking random answers, anything to be done 🤣

Cheers,
Peter

[Ann72]

@Robin4  That explains it.  I got a 4 for accuracy this week because, in the lead-up to rolling out 100+ new features, Airbnb checked A/C as an amenity at my place.  A guest checking in messaged me to ask where he could turn on the A/C.  After the dust settled I looked over my listing and discovered it was checked.  The guest had booked not long before the trip and must have noted that when he booked.  It shouldn't have been a problem in that it was in the 60s during the days and the 40s during the nights he was there.  But he expected to find A/C and when he didn't, he marked me down on accuracy.

I do not have air-conditioning and never would have checked that.  I can only surmise that a bot had found that one guest had mentioned air-conditioning (as in "you don't have air-conditioning") and decided I had air-conditioning.  

I messaged the guest about it just to clear the air and we had a friendly back and forth.  He offered to call customer support but I knew that was a fool's errand and didn't want him to waste his time.  I am just sucking it up and moving on, but.  A review system with input from hosts and guests is one thing, a review system based on mistakes made by a ghost in the machine is another.

[Robin4]

@Ann72 

Ann, you will note that the top option is 'Extremely accurate' !

If you check that option all you get is, 'Next'.....there is no option boxes to say what was good, what impressed you as a guest, what you would like to praise the host for.....a big fat ziltch, move on com padre!

We have been at this company for years to let guests tell us what we did right......but sadly the options for praise are getting fewer and fewer each year. The company steadfastly refuse to let guests classify us as competent......there always has to be something wrong.

I was absolutely appalled as I filled out this most recent review just a couple of hours ago! The host and property were great and we had a wonderful stay but there were a few things lacking like shower/bath soap, toilet paper, some of the cupboards were dirty (Crumbs and insects not cleaned out).....some of those things we travelers regard as necessities......but there is no way I was going to mention these things in the review process....I didn't want to cane this woman who turned on beer, champagne, chocolates, gave the kids pony rides, let them round up the eggs the chooks had laid the previous night. 

This host did so many things right Ann, I didn't want to let Airbnb cane her for the few things she didn't!

Every year Airbnb alienate their hosts just that little bit more, you cannot believe a single word they say about host protection and support....there just plain isn't any!

I have screenshot every step of the current guest review process and to look at it reduces me to tears.....I don't know what we have done to be treated like this, all I have ever done is represent the company to the best of my ability, but by God, we are fighting an uphill battle Ann!

Cheers.........,Rob

[Christine615]

Okay - so I just stayed at an Airbnb. I gave the new host all fives because that man went well above and beyond the call of duty to accommodate international guests who also wanted our space. We booked first, they booked the days before our arrival and he moved them up into the main part of his house (we were in town for the same international bike race).

But here's the rub - It took more time to fill out the review than it did to book the place. Airbnb asked all kinds of questions about whether the unit was accurate, whether the host was who they said they were, long lists to verify what amenities were at the apartment, etc.

That's great if it worked - but one - most guests aren't going to have the patience to fill out a PhD dissertation. Verification is important, but make it simpler.

But then there it was - five stars for each category (I'd have given him 6 stars our stay was so good) but then there's the 3 "as expected", 4 a bit better than expected, 5 much better than expected overall rating.

What the heck? His attentiveness during the race (he provided emergency support to the international guests, then stuck around to help with the race) was definitely a 5. But in general, host support like that isn't normal (We did something similar for our first guests). So if the listing is accurate and clean and new, then why wouldn't it be 3 "as expected."?

The rating system is a joke! And I was a guest long before I was a host and it was NEVER like this before. So management needs to hire people with experience to manage this side of the business.

I am reminded of the old Fedex commercial about the new hire with the MBA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcoDV0dhWPA

Don't hire an MBA - hire a host to revamp the rating system.

[Peter1354]

@Christine615 Hello Christine, thank you for chiming in. Yes, the review system is a joke, a complete joke. However since Airbnb only consider us disposable products and not people, people like see you next Tuesday Cresky and Powell making the decisions, we will always be treated like total "ES-H-I-TEE". Products are disposable and from Airbnb's standpoint there are as many opportunities for new to people to host, as there are people on the planet: in their minds they will never run out of new products and the gullible 

[Peter1354]

@Christine615 @Robin4 @Sarah977 

I posted this on the FB page....hidden within a minute.  

[Franco-and-Suzanne0]

I totally agree with you. I have received a few 4 stars review recently where they gave 5 stars in all categories. The annoying thins is that they have given 4 for things that are clearly stated in the description or explained before letting them book (e.g. there is no Wi-Fi, the lfat is in the historic centre so there is no parking, etc). I do not think this is fair, as they agreed to the features of the flat at booking. It is like buying a Panda and then complaining because I would have preferred a Ferrari. If Airbnb rates hosts on those categories, those should be the only ones allowed removing the general rating; any other notes can easily be communicated to hosts in the free text comments section. I feel this is important because it affects superhost status

[Danette1]

I am still so confused about how these “ratings go”. I'm not quite sure why rate the location of a place when guests chooses the location on a map. They have time to research the location, if not happy with the location then look somewhere else.  I do not think its fair to be rated on a location of when it is the guest preference. Guests chooses a location because the price is appealing to eye.  

[Breighana0]

I contacted airbnb about mine and they said mine was 4 stars because the guest left the category "respects house rules" blank...

[Helen744]

@Breighana Let me explain it to you .YOUR GUEST gave you four stars overall . Ask them as they are the only one who knows . H

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Breighana0 the last thread on this was shut down for going off topic. As was explained there - Customer support often give poor/wrong advice. Until you ask the guest if they left you 4 stars the most likely explanation is that they did!

[Breighana0]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0

The guest was reviewed and verified to have left 5 stars in all categories including "overall."

I hope this clarifies the situation. 

-Brei

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Breighana0 wow - new information magically appears - Strange it didn't come out in the original thread.

I am wondering how, if the guest left 5 stars, it only registered as 4 on the output you published before............

[Breighana0]

Actually @Mike-And-Jane0 that was one of the only things I was trying to drive home.  Whether or not you read it (as many times as I stated it) is on your end, not mine.  I apologize if this was not clear. 

 

[Huma0]

@Breighana0 

But did Airbnb CS tell you the guest left 5* overall or did you actually ask the guest? What we keep trying to explain is that you can't always trust what a CS rep tells you. I know you said you were told this by multiple reps, but you also posted screenshots where the rep was totally contradicting what you are saying. Are you sure you were talking to nine different people?

I have now had responses about this from three different CS reps, all of which confirmed that the information you have been given is incorrect. The last one told me she had checked and double checked this with colleagues/the appropriate teams and could 100% confirm that you had been misinformed. She even called me up to go over it with me as well as responding to my messages. 

I won't post screenshots of the written conversations as I can see that those are getting removed, but she said:

"You may disregard that previous information given to you, as it not accurate and not part of the process as to how Review works."

When I asked her, in that case, to please explain the screenshot you posted (the one with the black background), she told me:

"The main reason as to why it is showing on the screenshot submitted is because we have the same interface either for guest or Host, and that is our internal tool that we are using."

So, basically, what she is saying is that the interface is the same for either host or guest reviews (from Airbnb CS's end - she also said the rep should never have sent you that screenshot as it's just confusing) and that is why the 'respects house rules' category shows up in either case, but it's not an actual category for rating hosts so makes no difference.

I hope that clears things up. I could ask again and again, but have chosen to close the CS case as I think they have explained it to me enough times. There is not once where they confirmed that the information you were given was correct - quite the opposite.

Why not just ask the guest themselves?

[Breighana0]

Additionally, one of the admins deleted my image showing such, which left other hosts open to repeated comments of their misunderstanding.  The deletion of that proof alone caused waves of miscommunication and hostility.

I DO apologize.