Guest Ratings.

Answered!
Janet1181
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Guest Ratings.

Hello, Fellow Hosts:

I recently had a positive public review from a guest who had also left me a small gift and was very complimentary in private communication after his visit. Yet, he only awarded me 4 out of 5 stars, marking me down on location, cleanliness and value. In 94 reviews, this is my only 4 star review. I have contacted him asking for details so that I can address those areas but have not heard back from him. I have also contacted Airbnb who can do nothing to help me. Is there any advice out there for when you apparently fail to reach the highest standards yet are not advised on how to improve? Thanks for your attention.

Top Answer
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Janet1181 

 

I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0 . While I appreciate how frustrating this must be, especially given your perfect 5.0 track record, I would just let this one go. If all you got was compliments and positive feedback from the guest, with no issues raised, then it is likely he's just not one to leave 5*. Remember that, although it is not the reality for hosts, Airbnb tells guests when reviewing that 4* = very good. At least you have made the guest aware that it is concerning to a host when they get a 4* rating.

 

However, this should have been done privately only, not in your response to his review, which doesn't do you any favours. Remember that these responses appear on YOUR profile, not the guest's, so it's quite likely Dan isn't even going to see it. I mean, why would he be checking your reviews after posting his? You should always target responses at the actual readership, i.e. potential future guests. Seeing as those guess cannot see the star ratings an individual left you, only his positive review, why highlight this? You are letting potential guests know you got a less than perfect rating when you didn't need to but, more importantly, it might give the impression that you harass your guess for 5* reviews, even though that's probably not the case. Also, because you don't seem to usually respond to reviews, this response now sticks out like a sore thumb. If I were you, I would definitely ask Airbnb to remove the response. It doesn't benefit you in any way.

 

4 Replies 4
Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Janet1181 In my opinion you do nothing. Some people just leave 4 stars because they consider perfection cannot be achieved.

Your response to the review, whilst not disastrous, is likely to be more damaging than the review itself. You could consider asking Airbnb to remove your response.

What did you hope to achieve by saying

'I very much appreciate these kind words from Dan, as I do the small gift he left me. His communication with me after his visit was also warm and complimentary, so I am slightly confused by his 4 star rating, especially when all 94 of my previous ratings have been 5 star.'

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Janet1181 

 

I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0 . While I appreciate how frustrating this must be, especially given your perfect 5.0 track record, I would just let this one go. If all you got was compliments and positive feedback from the guest, with no issues raised, then it is likely he's just not one to leave 5*. Remember that, although it is not the reality for hosts, Airbnb tells guests when reviewing that 4* = very good. At least you have made the guest aware that it is concerning to a host when they get a 4* rating.

 

However, this should have been done privately only, not in your response to his review, which doesn't do you any favours. Remember that these responses appear on YOUR profile, not the guest's, so it's quite likely Dan isn't even going to see it. I mean, why would he be checking your reviews after posting his? You should always target responses at the actual readership, i.e. potential future guests. Seeing as those guess cannot see the star ratings an individual left you, only his positive review, why highlight this? You are letting potential guests know you got a less than perfect rating when you didn't need to but, more importantly, it might give the impression that you harass your guess for 5* reviews, even though that's probably not the case. Also, because you don't seem to usually respond to reviews, this response now sticks out like a sore thumb. If I were you, I would definitely ask Airbnb to remove the response. It doesn't benefit you in any way.

 

@Janet1181 

Sorry to welcome you to the 4-stars-for-no-good-reason club! But in all seriousness, I see 4.99 as a good thing - even better than all 5 stars. Why? When a place has only 5-star reviews, I ask: What is the bias? 

I don't know if Airbnb will hide the link, but you can google the title "Why too much evidence can be a bad thing". https://phys.org/news/2016-01-evidence-bad.html

Congrats on the 4.99 average!

I don't understand why airbnb app doesn’t require the guest to provide feedback when their individual rating is less than 5 star.  When I receive emails to review any type of service any rating less than the highest star requires me to add a description for the lower rating.   I had a guest tell me he loved the place and asked if I would sell it.  I thanked him and said it's not for sale.  Hr gave me a 1 star rating for everything but cleanliness I got a 5 star.  And the overall rating one a 1 star.