How one guest destroyed five years of Superhost status

[Huma0]

Hello everyone. Firstly, sorry for being away from the community for so long (due to a number of reasons). I wanted to share my recent experience and ask for your opinions. Apologies if it's a bit long...

I have been a Superhost for the majority of the time I have hosted in my current home. I have three guest rooms which were pretty much fully booked pre-pandemic and, since then, I've managed to keep things going with bookings on and off. Things were finally starting to pick up again in the latter months of this year. I've maintained my Superhost status every quarter for the past five years and have been at a 5.0 rating for about two (prior to that, mostly fluctuating between 4.9 and 5.0 as you know how long it can take to recover from the occasional 4 stars).

My dilemma is this. I recently had a guest who unexpectedly left me a 3 star overall rating (and 3 or 4 stars in every category bar location). She never complained while she was here and seemed to enjoy her stay. Although her English was limited so something may have been lost in translation, she left me a positive review and a nice private note and there is absolutely no negative feedback explaining the low ratings. I also feel that I went above and beyond for this guest in many ways, so it's pretty confusing.

Anyway, as a result of this, my rating has gone from 5.0 to 4.3 and I will definitely lose my Superhost status at the next assessment. Even if all remaining guests leave 5 stars, that only brings me up to 4.66, not the 4.8 required. I have even already received a warning email from Airbnb that my listing may be suspended. It will be a long time before I can significantly bring it back up.

I already called Airbnb about this but, as expected, the CS rep said there was nothing he could do about it, especially as the guest had not mentioned anything negative in the review that I could contest. His only advice was to keep up the good work.

I know that a lot of hosts feels that being a Superhost makes no difference. However, I would say in my experience that it does. When I first started hosting, most of my guests had no idea what a Superhost even was. In recent years (since Airbnb started promoting the scheme a bit more), I have found that many guests mention they booked with me because of it. Once guests are aware of it, they often specifically search for Superhosts. Even if you forget about that, my rating for that listing has dropped to 4.0. and I know I wouldn't book an Airbnb with that rating!

My questions are these:

1. I would like to message the guest asking for feedback. Perhaps she did not understand that her ratings were actually very low, rather than 'good' or 'very good'/'as expected' or 'better than expected' as it is sometimes represented by Airbnb. Or, perhaps she was too shy to tell me that there was a problem and it would be helpful to know what that was, regardless of whether Superhost status matters or not. How best to phrase this message without seeming like I am harassing her?

2. This guest instant booked. I only turned on IB because I felt I must (once Airbnb really started to push it, my fully booked listings dropped to the bottom of the search results, which is disastrous in London where there are so many Airbnbs, and only recovered when I turned it on). If this had been a booking request, I would not have accepted it without the guest answering all of the pre-booking questions, which she hadn't. So, should I turn it off and risk my listings disappearing again? I'm tempted, but not sure that's the best idea given that her rating may already have an impact on bookings? A very low percentage of long-term guests IB, but the rest might not even see my listing if I turn it off, so I am not sure that would be to my advantage.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

Thanks so much! It's nice to be back chatting to you all. 

I like your approach and I think it's the best tactic. I drafted a message to the guest already but didn't send it as that is exactly what I was worried about, i.e. it coming across as critical. 

I have occasionally used the free cancellation on an IB, but have reserved these for the ones where there were bigger red flags or the guest was really unresponsive. There were some red flags with this guest (and I certainly would have gone for the other guest if that had been straightforward), but not enough to make me cancel her booking. She had several great reviews and a 5.0 rating in all categories, so I put it down to a language barrier. People can take longer to respond if they don't instantly understand the messages. 

I will certainly be more vigilant in future, but if a guest leaves positive reviews coupled with low ratings, we have no way of seeing this. I have used the AirReview Chrome add on before to make it easier to see the reviews that guests leave, although it does seem quite glitchy and often doesn't load, but that still doesn't show you the ratings they have left.

I do understand though why Airbnb scrapped showing each guests rating of a listing alongside their review. I think most hosts prefer it that way.

[Ann72]

@Huma0  Welcome back!  I've looked for you here these last couple of years.

I would 100% feel blindsided by this, and I agree you should write to her, if only to get some clarity.  I totally agree with @Mark116 that the guest's cultural background will be an important factor in how you word things.  However, it's my understanding that even if she gets her review removed, Airbnb won't remove the stars.  You might want to look into that.

Whenever I have a guest I didn't like for whatever reason, I archive the message thread so I don't have to come across it and be reminded of them.  

As @Branka-and-Silvia0 said, you will bounce back.  Please post some pictures of your latests projects so we can all drool and get inspired in the meantime. 

[Huma0]

@Ann72  How are you? 

So nice to hear I've been missed! I have popped by every now and then but, you are right, I haven't been around much these past couple of years. 

That's a very good point about Airbnb not removing the stars. In that case, there is really no point in the guest asking for the review to be removed. The review itself is completely positive and, as I've only had three of them this year, may as well stay put.

It's strange because they absolutely did used to remove the ratings too once upon a time. I've only had a 3 star review three times, including this one, but the first time, Airbnb removed both the review (retaliatory) and the ratings having examined all the correspondence, the listing, rules etc. and concluding the guest was lying through her teeth.

So, it's not impossible for them to do it, but at some point they decided no longer to do it. The rep I spoke to said that they could remove a review (not in this case as there was nothing negative in it) but couldn't touch the ratings:

"The thing about our published star ratings is that once they’re out there, no one can edit them. Not even us. This is one of those situations where our systems automate the whole process and we can’t touch it."

So, if the ratings remain even if the guest asks for the review to be removed, the only benefit in messaging her is to get some feedback. The only benefit to me that is. But maybe, just maybe, she's been leaving low ratings for many of her hosts not realising the meaning of them and it will make her think twice about doing that in the future.

[Emilia42]

“once they’re out there, no one can edit them.”  I take this as, the review and star ratings cannot be edited (which they can’t) but they can be deleted altogether. If the star ratings aren’t removed with the written review then why aren’t all those hosts who were successful at getting the retaliatory reviews removed in an uproar?

[Huma0]

@Emilia42 

Another very good point.

How often does a guest leave a terrible review and great ratings? Not often I guess. I don't remember ever experiencing it anyway.

So, what's the point in removing the review if you can't remove the ratings?

None of it makes sense. If Airbnb agree that the review is inaccurate, egregious, revengeful and a downright lie, why would they let the ratings remain? Why would they design a computer programme that overrides their decisions about said false ratings? 

Of course it's nonsense, but it's easier to claim, "computer says no."

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huma0 

you said, "But maybe, just maybe, she's been leaving low ratings for many of her hosts not realising the meaning of them and it will make her think twice about doing that in the future."

I think she is realizing very well how low ratings impact the host and that's why she is doing it. She is retaliating for not getting the discount she wanted and for charging another night for an extra person. I have a gut feeling she is a passive-aggressive type and you contact her now about it you will just make her happy and prove her plan works. I wouldn't give her this satisfaction.

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

You may be right. Many long-term guests ask for discounts but rarely push it any further once I explain there is already a long-term discount in place. Those that do push it usually don't book as I don't budge on that. The only time I would give an additional discount is for a returning (and 5 star) guest, but otherwise no.

I don't think I've ever had someone get a third party to contact me rather than asking again themselves. That did feel a bit passive-aggressive to me.

Also, Miss B rated me 5 stars on location, so it's highly likely she knew the difference between a 3 and 5. Then again, perhaps to her the location was 'far better than expected' and the rest 'as expected' or a bit 'better than expected'. Isn't that how Airbnb phrases it?

Even if I do message her, I may still never get to the bottom of it, but I'm far less stressed about it now. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huma0  I am glad you are less stressed now 🙂

I think Airbnb changed the verbiage and doesn't use " expected / less than expected..." anymore. I think now it is just excellent, very good, good.... at least that's how it was when we last used ABB for travel, last summer

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

That's good to know. I did stay at an Airbnb not that long ago (mid October) but can't even remember now whether that section was still there. I will take your word for it though as I was super hectic at the time so probably not paying enough attention.

In that case, it's likely that the guest intentionally left lower ratings.

[Huma0]

@Ann72 

As for the latest projects, I've just had the shower in the large bathroom spruced up with new tiles and fittings. The wood work now needs stripping and the whole room repainting, so I will certainly post about that once it's done. 

I'm trying to think what else I've managed to do, but it isn't much. It seems like the last year or two has been focused on battling leaks, broken pipes and terribly boring stuff like that. The most exciting thing to happen next week is my new dishwasher 😞

[Ann72]

Well, a new dishwasher is very exciting, @Huma0 🙂  My year was all about trying to get things fixed, too.  Will you do the woodwork yourself?  I'm looking forward to the result, whenever it happens!

[Huma0]

@Ann72  I am not sure but I doubt I will do the woodwork myself. I don't mind the painting but the stripping is going to be very laborious as we're talking about a lot of detail on large Victorian panelled sash windows and cornicing. 

I have actually paid to have that woodwork repainted twice already and it just peeled straight off again after a short time (seems they never prepped and primed it properly), so it's tempting to have a go myself instead of paying another person to do it incorrectly. However, I know my limitations. I am not that great at stripping woodwork and get frustrated and give up quite quickly!

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  I used to think it was just an issue here in Mexico, but it seems to be true all over now that you pretty much have to watch those you hire like a hawk to make sure they do things properly. A good work ethic and pride in one's work seems to be going the way of the dodo.

I end up doing so much myself that I'd just as soon pay someone else to do, but if I end up having to stand over them almost the entire time, it just seems like I may as well do it myself. But I would definitely not want to strip paint.

One thing I've learned is not to let workers or contractors be in charge of supplying the materials, because they'll cheap out. You basically have to go buy the primer you want used and make sure they use it.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

I totally agree. I try to always be here as much as possible (whatever my work schedule can allow) when I have contractors in. Otherwise, things can easily go wrong. I had very good tradespeople in recently to redo that shower (used them before and they are very professional) but, inevitably, mistakes and accidents happened. If I hadn't been here to deal with those, some could have ended in disaster.

Stripping paint. I hate it. It's one of the worst jobs and I am no good at it. In my late teens, I volunteering to strip my parents' staircase and ended up giving up after quite a long effort. It would have taken me a lifetime!

You are right, I did not supply the materials the first two times I had that woodwork done and I have learnt my lesson. The main problem though, is that I don't think they actually primed at all, even though that was specified as part of the job.

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  I had some outside drain grates made a few years ago. I was very specific with the welder that I wanted a certain type of primer used. Oh yes, for sure,  was the response.

Then during transport, one spot got the paint dinged off and I could see immediately that he hadn't used any primer at all. That metal primer is bright orange, so quite easy to see if it's been used under the paint.

Treating one's clients like they're stupid or clueless is a really good way to never be hired again and  have the client warn all their friends not to hire them.