Guest review? Leave 5 stars on none?

[Douglas353]

Just had a guest leave who left the place extras messy.  Food crumbs on the kitchen, living room, and bedroom floors and in the couch.  Then in the kitchen it looks like the dropped a container of yogurt, spat on the floor.  (No attempt to clean it up.)  The somehow caused small stains on the towels, sheets and pillow case.  It took an extra hour and a half to clear for the next guest. 

Fellow hosters, would you leave 5 stars for this guest and a nice review?
Not give any review/zero star review?

Or give somewhere between 1 and 4 stars saying the guest left the place a mess? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Douglas353 When one of our guests left all the rubbish and recycling for us to clear out we left a 4 star review for cleanliness as the rest of the place was fine. More important is the honestly worded review as some hosts would be happy with this, others horrified.

[Elaine701]

What? You charge us to stay here, and you expect us to clean up our messes too? You don't even have a maid or room service! What kind of cheap hotel are you running here? 😲

[Douglas353]

Not sure how you reply addresses the question being asked or what it has to do with Airbnb.  This is Airbnb NOT a hotel.  There is no maid service.  I hope this is a language issue. 

Thank you for your reply. 

[Lisa723]

@Douglas353 , @Elaine701 was making a joke.

[Elaine701]

@Lisa723 @Douglas353 

Yes, well we've had those types too. "Clean? What? I paid good money for this place!" (this kind of thing usually comes from those who pay rock bottom low season rates). 

No, it's not a hotel. But I'd be more than delighted to recommend one to you. Otherwise, I just can't say what a pleasure it's been to host your stay. Let me know if you need that hotel next time. Have a pleasant trip home. 

[Sarah977]

@Douglas353  It was satire.

And I don't understand asking if a guest who left a mess should be rated 5*s.

[Douglas353]

Guess I don't understand your how your satire answers my question.  It's probably a cultural thing.  I've found people have left 5 stars for cleanliness when the property has bed bugs or rodents in the kitchen.  That doesn't seem like the proper thing to do, but people do. 

The reason I'm asking is because Airbnb seems to have rules.  My fear is leaving a low star truthful rating will penalize me as a host.  They have already threatened to suspend my account for denying stays to people who don't read or follow House Rule when booking.

Companies like eBay suspend accounts when people leave less than 5 star reviews.  Airbnb might be doing the same.  This is why I'm asking.  

[Lisa723]

@Douglas353 as far as I am aware, the only person who is penalized in any way for a lower-than-five-star review is the person receiving it.

[Douglas353]

This is why I'm asking.  Airbnb makes the rules and they could have some gotcha rules when for hosts who leave less than a 5 star rating similar to what they do when a host does not accept a guests who is trying to break house rules.

[Lisa723]

@Douglas353 there is no reason to believe that. AIrbnb's policies about penalties for declining booking requests are well-documented and known (to anyone who reads the rules). There is no such documented policy about penalties for leaving low-star reviews.

[Anonymous]

@Douglas353   A dishonest review is worse than no review at all. 

A 5 star rating for cleanliness would be an outright lie. Why on earth would you even consider that?  I see no point in giving a perfect rating to someone who made no discernible effort to be a desirable guest. However, the written review is far more important, because hosts can't tell from a mere star rating what the host's standards were or how serious the offense was. 

Miraculously, you've already written the exact sentence that would make your review useful to future hosts, albeit with a one letter difference:  " It took an extra hour and a half to [clean] for the next guest." 

That's it. No need to go into detail about crumbs or yogurt. And of course you can also include positive and neutral observations, if the guests were otherwise acceptable.

[Douglas353]

I like your response.  The stars mean nothing, but the words say it all.  Thank you. 

[Laura2592]

@Douglas353 this is the scale we have developed for ourselves. 

5 stars in any (or all) categories-- great guest, no issues, obviously made an attempt to have a good stay and left things nicely cared for/communication was friendly/understood and followed rules. We would love to have them back. External review will be glowing.

4 stars- they were a bit messy (left some crumbs or a greasy stove top for example) or they pushed a boundary on a house rule like moving small items and not putting them back for example. Maybe were not ultra responsive but responded to messages. Overall a good guest,  thought not a great one, we would still have them back. External review will be good. 

3 stars- not careful with cleaning at all. Messes left that could have easily been taken care of.  At least a half hour extra of cleaning needed.  Did not respond to communication except before check in or maybe very terse responses that did not address all questions. Had some trouble with house rules. We might not want them back but they could be okay, depending on what happened. External review will be neutral and mention some of these issues. 

2 stars- left a mess. At least an hour of extra cleaning needed. If this is the rating in communication, did not communicate or was rude. For house rules this means snuck in extra people or in other ways flouted major house rules. We don't want them back. External review will be negative and factual. 

1 star-- everything at 2 stars only worse. Trashed the place. Clearly didn't care about rules. Terrible communication. We absolutely never want these people again. External review will be negative and factual. 

[Douglas353]

You reply is very well thought out, but that's the problem, it's YOUR scoring system.   Airbnb should adopt your guidelines and publish for hosts and guests.

But here's the problem and why I'm asking.  Not so long ago I was contracted in an emergency by a ABB guest staying at another property.  The guest was stayed 1 night and the next morning had bites all over their legs and back.  (Was later found to be bed bugs.)  Turns out guests were leaving 5 star reviews even when their was a bed bug infestation.