[FESTIVAL] Passion Vs Profession: Lets flip the reviews to create a positive ripple.

Dr-Jayanthi1
Level 10
Coimbatore, India

[FESTIVAL] Passion Vs Profession: Lets flip the reviews to create a positive ripple.

Love to have guests book and stay at my Airbnb. I do sincerely strive in every time for the coveted five star review. Clean spaces, fresh linens, amenities in use, comfortable check ins, guest aids on  local cuisine, attractions and anything else that fits into my ability are definitely my cup of hosting.  Generally accepted as a proactive host, however after every guest check out - I adorn my detective hat and step in to sneak if everything is in order. 

 

Mr and Mrs Madhu had booked for a 6 night stay. Mr Madu was on a business trip and his wife had work from home. I was all enthused to host them. My bad, on the day of their arrival, there had been a maintenance issue at the housing society and the water supply was disrupted. My heart was pounding, yet my guests had patiently waited for 4 hours until the water supply was resumed. They volunteered to follow it up with the maintenance team as well. The scenario seemed different than usual. It was obvious that I’m in for a surprise with the couple. Their stay went on with occasional greets and my style of checking up with guests that days were comfortable. They were quite independent and had no other issues to report. 

 

I am usually skeptical after every guest check out. I keep vigil to look for details on how guests have used and left my home. Yet my positive intuition was strong on Mr and Mrs Madhu. I walked in as a cool dude. I was overwhelmed. What I found in their room wasn’t just cleanliness but an incredible display of respect and thoughtfulness. The bed was made, the towels were hung neatly to dry, and every item in the room was in its rightful place. It was as though the room had hardly been lived in at all. This couple, who had patiently waited for the water issue to be fixed upon their arrival, had also discreetly mended the WiFi router themselves. Oh my - is it real??!!

The act of responsibility - not to leave stuff unattended was quite an inspiration. Their actions spoke volumes about the kind of guests they were. These are simple acts of concern and gratitude of guests in return to hosts who have opened up their doors to strangers. It was a clear reflection of the care and courtesy that Mr. and Mrs. Madhu embodied to their host - Me. I was touched.

 

All throughout my hosting journey, I place myself as a professional and consider it a privilege to make my guest reviews black and white. My academician expectations impose stringency on, up keeping of mentioned house rules, rarely willing to negotiate on check out timelines, expect neat orderly spaces to be left back after the stay. I am a voice on explicit guest reviews , majorly describing on staying away from my expectations. I am confident that guests like Mr and Mrs Madhu was instrumental in highlighting the Passion part of my hosting journey. I was excited to reach out to them and express my elation as a host. My review for the couple was filled with positivity. I had taken it up noticeably to the community centre discussions as well. I described how Mr. and Mrs. Madhu were the epitome of ideal guests—courteous, considerate, and genuinely appreciative of the space. I knew that my enthusiastic praise would not only attract future guests who shared their values but would also set a clear expectation for others about what it means to be a great guest.

 

In the end, it was clear that happy reviews like the one I left for Mr. and Mrs. Madhu didn’t just reflect my appreciation—they also helped create a cycle of positive experiences for both the guests and myself. Mr. and Mrs. Madhu’s stay reminded me of the power of courtesy and the impact that even small gestures can have. As I continue to welcome new guests, I carry with me the lesson they taught me: that by appreciating and openly acknowledging the good in others, I can help create a space where everyone feels at home. This story not only highlights the exemplary behavior of Mr. and Mrs. Madhu but also emphasizes the importance of mutual respect and understanding between a host and their guests. By sharing such experiences, you're not just telling a story—you're setting a standard for the kind of interactions you value, which, in turn, can help attract guests who share those values.

9 Replies 9

Hi @Angelo-Aurelio6 appreciate your words. Helps me to love what I am doing. Happy hosting.

Lorina14
Top Contributor
Bellevue, WA

@Dr-Jayanthi1,

 

Thank you for sharing your sweet story about Mr. And Mrs. Madhu! It’s always a pleasure to host such great guests and to have warm interactions with our visitors as well!  It shows that you have a high standard in hosting and you also are open to seeing how you can improve with each guest visit. It’s always a delight to read your comments in the community center - I especially loved your commentary on the history and fragrance notes of the aromatic jasmine 💕

Love to you @Lorina14 . Always a happy host. Jasmines are truly my favourites. Elated on your acknowledgement.

Anna14038
Level 3
Krackow, Germany

Sometimes it doesn’t work unfortunately. I had a guest who spent one hour at my place (they arrived at midnight, woke up 10am, left at 11:00) and despite of me trying very hard to please them left me 3 star and the tirade with the list of things he didn’t like. I checked on them? They are private and didn’t like it. They were cold in the room, but didn’t utter one word about it. I accepted the very late check in, left the lights for them leading them into the apartment. No thank you. I was nice but the place wasn’t what they imagined and didn’t relate to photos (lie), despite of having a big garden for themselves and the lake on the doorstep they were not having enough privacy. Perfectly laundered cotton sheets and ironed by me, washed in my own washing powder with a touch of sandal wood essential oil, not special. Free tea and coffee was nice, the rest rubbish. Whatever he thought of was wrong. There were 3 of them and paid 55 euro for the night and it was too much. And the smell was awful. I mixed cinnamon in my floor washing liquid but I give it to him, not everyone likes the smell of cinnamon, so I will stop it. The guest after them gave me 5 stars. The guest after gave me 3 stars again. It was too cold, the place is beautifully located, the host is lovely, too expensive, check in got 4 stars. I was crestfallen. I waited for them in the street, they were arriving on bicycles, took them to the apartment, explained about the lake and told them (after my not so distant experience of 3 stars), that if anything is not up to standard they must text me and I’ll be there to remedy. The next guest gave me 5 stars. These were first 3 stars ratings after 2,5 years hosting. My average dropped to 4,91. I wrote to both of them explaining myself and explained to the bicycle woman about star rating on Airbnb but she is using Airbnb for 11 years, so am sure she understands the system. Is it some sort of karma or bad luck? I love hosting and tell everyone that 99,9% of my guests are wonderful and then get those 2 lame ducks in the row. So, sometimes we jump through hoops but it is still not good enough.

I forgot to add that it is a great pity we don’t see how our guests are rated by other hosts. It might have explained the mystery of my low stars. Maybe they are low rafters. But then,  I would not accept low raters, so Airbnb must protect them. I wonder if there is any way to check them by ourselves?

True @Anna14038 I try to come to my own consensus to what could be the reason on a poor rating for a guest. I had a request for two nights from a guest who was rated 3/5 by her previous host. The host had also mentioned that she was a student, stayed over a month and the kitchen was filled with grime. I was in a position to reason out the situation. It's so true that as a student she would have not been able to concentrate on cleanliness and its obvious to have grime in the kitchen /stove top after a long stay. So I ignored the poor rating and accepted her booking request. I was happy that I could rate her 5 star when she left. May be she matured after her poor rating or she is a different persona at present. It's also important for the hosts to describe situations on poor ratings and as hosts we hold the responsibility to reason out with conditions or situations. Every stay is unique. It could be that guests step in to our homes after a bad day and they vent it out on yes. All in the game. Lets be consistent in our compassion and enjoy keeping up our good practices. Happy hosting.

I never had a guest with lower than 5 star rating.  I wonder if in Germany lower ratings are hidden.  Maybe. Thanks for answering me Dt Jayanthi.  I will just plod along hoping for more sympathetic guests.

Hi @Anna14038 I do hear you on your experience with guests who do not relate our sentiments of opening our homes for their travel needs. Of course we have monetary benefits yet we are not a commercial entity. I have also shared a note on what could be the difference between hotel stays and airbnb. I was an elated super host and one guest ripped me off it unnoticed with a 3 star rating. He had no complaints during his stay still choce to hit the 3 star after staying for 9 days. I had to work an year and a half to get back my superhost status. That experience was the crux  as to why I wanted to write about Mr and Mrs Madhu. May be our guests will think twice before accepting that we are not routine commercial entities but simple people who open up their houses just because we love to spread love through hospitality. Wish you meet souls who can reciprocate to your love for hosting and hospitality. Happy hosting

Laurelle3
Level 10
Huskisson, Australia

@Dr-Jayanthi1 all I can say as a Host we try our best to give our Guests the best. But sometimes the Guest doesn't understand the Airbnb system of ratings. As we all know, as hosts communication is important but sometimes we can't please everyone. 

I know from my first low rate it made me feel upset. I kept going over in my mind how could I do better next time.

For me the Guest hadn't read all the information describing that our property was on a shared property. So I wrote our description again pointing out they pick the keys from the main residence with the red door. Then saying you go down the side gate down the path and you will see the cottage walking through a shared garden. Pointing out that they have their own private garden when I show them the gas hot water system. 

As you know from the APAC summit, there was a lot of conversations relating to reviews from Guests.. 

Happy Hosting Laurelle from Downunder.