Honest reviews

[John65]

As a host I don’t expect anything but honest reviews for my listing. Why when traveling as a guest myself and using Airbnb I’m expected to give 5 stars for the public to see and private message any criticism? I’ve been asked this at several properties, is this a new thing? I think it important to be honest so guests know what to expect and won’t me disappointed. Recently, my family stayed at a place and gave a good review but it wasn’t 5 star on all fronts and the owner got really upset and annoyed and wondered why we did what we did to the public and anything negative could and should be in private. I think all hosts need to allow guests to write what they want any not hide it. Do most hosts agree? 

[Sarah977]

As a host yourself, I'm sure you realize that the star ratings are used quite harshly against hosts by Airbnb. So knowing that, unless there is really something wrong with the place, i.e. it's dirty, or it wasn't described accurately, or the host wasn't good at communicating, I would always tend to give high star ratings. But when it comes to the written review, I certainly like to see those being as informative as possible. And I don't see any reason to give that feedback privately- other guests need to now what to expect. 

There are some things which I think it's considerate not to mention in a public review, and mention privately to the host, particularly if it's something that can be easily corrected. For instance, one of my guests mentioned in private feedback that there was a lot of cat hair on the outside patio cushions. I thanked her for bringing that to my attention and was very appreciative that she didn't put it in the public review. 

Because the fact was, that cat was a stray who had quite recently been making herself at home on my patio furniture- it really wasn't my cat, I kept chasing her off, and I actually hadn't noticed the cat hair. After that, I finally did adopt that cat and start feeding her, but I'm very aware now to keep those cushions vacuumed. Had she mentioned it in the public review, it might have appeared to future guests that my place simply wasn't particularly clean, which it is.

I would never be a harsh judge of another host's place- as long as it was evident that they were doing their best, I don't expect anything to be perfect. For Airbnb to work well, both hosts and guests need to cut each other  little slack. 

@John65

[Ann72]

@John65  I understand what you mean, and to answer your question, yes, it's a thing for hosts to come right out and ask guests for those stars, because as @Sarah977 said, Airbnb is much tougher on hosts who dip below 5 than they are on guests.  Not being able to get in at check-in time, no wifi, plumbing issues, anything of that nature should be raised immediately and privately with the host first and then, if the guest finds the host unresponsive or rude, in the review.  So yes, I would definitely prefer hearing first from a guest of any issues so I could sort them out than to be blindsided in a review by things I could have remedied if I'd been given a chance.

When I use Airbnb, I review based more on my experience than on any objective factor.  I stayed at a flat in London last year.  Upon walking in I noticed the cream carpet was dingy, the sofa in the living room was worn, the bathroom was old.  Upon walking out I remembered what a nice nap I'd had on that worn velvet sofa, how comfortable the beds were, how easy it was to get everywhere in London from that flat.  I gave all 5 stars and didn't mention the carpet.  Why bother saying anything?  If the next guest couldn't enjoy herself because the carpet (though well-vacuumed) was old and worn, was it really the carpet, or was it something in her life?

[Lorna170]

@John65   I once rented a whole house for 6 guests where the owners were new to the whole vacation rental business.  The house was clean, amenities were as advertised, and was totally functional for my stay.  However,  there were exactly 6 plates, 6 cups, 6 forks spoons and knives,  1 pot, 1 pan and 2 wooden spoons, so cooking was inconvenient and I had to wash everything after every meal or snack.  There were no extra towels for the pool, so the (6) bath towels had to do double duty.  (I worried about using new bath towels, but had no options and was careful to launder properly) I could have dinged the host in my review, but it was better to email her separately and gently suggest that she stock her kitchen and linen closet with a service for 12, more pots, pans and cooking utensils and some pool towels.

[Lisa723]

@John65 in a sane review system you would be right. But Airbnb's review system is not sane; any rating of fewer than five stars is a vote for Airbnb to deactivate the listing. I request direct feedback for anything that could use improvement, but I don't explicitly ask guests to exclude such feedback from the public review or to leave a specific star rating.  I do block any guest that leaves four stars or under from booking with us again-- why would I want to host someone whose rating indicates dissatisfaction to the extent that Airbnb should delist me?

[Anonymous]

@John65  In my opinion, few host behaviors are more cringe-inducingly tacky than groveling for 5 star reviews and treating them like an entitlement. As a host, you're pretty well aware of what the stakes and consequences are, and how much Airbnb annoys you with warnings and threats when you don't get a perfect score. But I can't say I quite agree with @Lisa723  that there's a straight line from an imperfect rating to getting de-listed. Considering how many active listings there are with horrific reviews and rating averages in the 3-star range, the actual consequences tend to be overblown by host chatter.

That said, there are a lot of hosts out there who don't want bookings from fellow hosts because they have a reputation for being too fussy and critical, and it's not a dynamic I'd want to encourage. My baseline for a 5-star rating is that the experience delivered what the listing said it would, and that efforts to communicate with the host were successful.  If there's a problem during the stay, it's only fair that you at least report it during the stay and give the host a chance to fix it before surprising them with harsh criticism. 

If you're referring to the review you left for Trevor's listing, I'm afraid you've done both the hosts and prospective guests a disservice, because your critical point ("lacks a couple of basics") is too vague to be useful. How on earth is anyone supposed to know what you consider "basics" to be? Were listed amenities missing, or just things you expected to find in the cupboard? Did you attempt to resolve the matter with the hosts or just spring it on them in the review?  By not publicly specifying what you felt was lacking, it's impossible for a future guests to know whether that detail would be something important to them. 

[Lisa723]

@Anonymous yes, it's true that Airbnb doesn't consistently follow through on its threats, including the threat to deactivate any listing that doesn't maintain a 4.7 rating. (On the other hand, it has been known to deactivate listings with ratings above 4.0. ) I don't freak out when I get an occasional 4-star rating. But given the fact that this is Airbnb's messaging, any guest that doesn't leave a 5-star rating is effectively letting me know they either don't know/care about the fact that this means "unacceptable" in Airbnb parlance, or really think the listing should be taken down-- so I have no wish to host them again.

Of course, it's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723  I agree that it's ridiculous, but I don't necessarily see participating in the score inflation as an effective solution. As a guest, the only reviews that I've regretted in hindsight were all 5 stars. I think of one case in particular where there was a major issue - a bathroom door that couldn't be opened from inside - that I chose to address only in the private comments because I genuinely believed that the host would get it fixed before the next guests arrived. But I looked at the subsequent reviews and realized this never happened. Last time I checked, the property was still listed but with abysmal ratings from increasingly dissatisfied guests. 

I should have given a lower rating as well as a more candid review at the time, rather than censor the public comments out of generosity to a relatively new host. I no longer accept that this would have made me a mean and callous person who didn't care about whether the listing got taken down. I found the hosts to be nice people, and I want them to improve and succeed. But when people take critical feedback as an act of emotional violence, they're far less likely to improve and succeed than those who accept it as a learning opportunity and strive to do better. 

[Lisa723]

@Anonymous I could not agree more with your final sentence. I don't take anything that guests do or say personally, and yes it's important to accept and seriously consider critical feedback in business and in life in general. We've made many improvements to our spaces over time in response to guests' suggestions. My disinclination to rebook guests who leave four stars isn't because I have a grudge against them, or think they are mean or callous. I just think it's a rational response to an irrational system. I'm not trying to solve the problem, though-- just work around it.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723  I don't think I'd want people who left a 4 star review back as repeat guests either, since it's much more fun to host someone who truly loves the place. But some of the more critical guests have made some helpful suggestions that ultimately contributed to happier guest experiences later on, so I'm grateful for those too. But considering that most hosts begin as novices, I wish Airbnb would recognize the value of honest feedback in the learning process instead of defaulting to punitive language.

[Sarah977]

The wording in that written review you left for Trevor also jumped out at me as it did for Andrew. To say "lacks a couple of basics" is a strange thing to say without qualifying it by saying what those were. Not enough towels or pillows? Minimal cookware? No soap? It isn't helpful to either the host or future guests to say something like that without making it clear what was lacking. It's pointless and I can see where it would be disturbing to the host to read that.

The scathing review you left for the other host back in Dec. 2019 was likely well deserved, as she had several other reviews which also mentioned the shabbiness and dirtiness of the listing. Although it's one of those listings whose reviews are a head scratcher, as she also has lots of glowing reviews. 

@John65