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.

[Sarah977]

@Kitty-and-Creek0  Wouldn't that be some nice headlines for Airbnb.

"250 home-share hosts, in various parts of the world, have come down with Covid, that infected guests brought into their homes.

The hosts had all been closed to bookings since the pandemic started, to keep themselves and their guests safe, but they felt pressured to start hosting again when Airbnb sent out notices that they would lose their Superhost status, which they had held for many years, if they didn't meet Superhost requirements, which includes at least 10 bookings per year, or 100 nights booked, by the 1st of April 2022.

Airbnb had waived the requirement for at least 10 bookings or 100 booked days in a year since the pandemic began. These notices were sent out the first week of December, just as many countries were increasing travel restrictions, testing, and quarantines, due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

' My husband and I are both over 70, and while we are fully vaccinated, Covid is raging in our area, both the Delta and Omicron varieties. We felt the responsible and safe thing for both us and our guests was to shut down to bookings when the pandemic started, and appreciated that Airbnb had reasonably waived the criteria since April 2020. But now we find we will be stripped of the Superhost status we worked so hard to earn and maintain over 5 years of hosting because Airbnb wants to pretend that it's safe for us to host now', said Kitty, a home-share host from California. "

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Sarah977 @Huma0 @Liv

COVID ALERT FOR

MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

RISK INCREASED

on 12/06/2021

[Huma0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

I just had to reject a booking request from a guest (which would have replaced a last minute cancellation I received last night) because she wanted her boyfriend to stay over from time to time, but when I asked if he was vaccinated, she said no.

Many people do seem to think that Covid is over. I am not sure why...

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Huma0 

Good for you! Agreed...it is definitely not over, alas. 

[Huma0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

Yes, it's unrealistic and also irresponsible. As you say, COVID is very really in some places. Airbnb should not be pressuring hosts to accept a minimum number of bookings in these circumstances, especially home share ones. 

One of the few things that I felt they handled well during the pandemic was to waive this requirement for so long, but now is not the time to bring it back.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Sarah977 @Huma0 @Liv 

Re: Superhost requirements to keep our Superhost status, from recent letter from Airbnb:

I am not thrilled at all to lose Superhost status, which I will, and this booking requirement/expectation is unrealistic. I will not jeopardize the health of our guests, ourselves or the local community due to this requirement. I will not sacrifice public health and safety commonsense practices for my Superhost badge.

 We are hurting financially due to the Pandemic, but that is a necessary evil. Money cannot buy health, sorry to say. We'll open for guests in the new year, Covid permitting, and see what happens. In an other climate, perhaps our listing may attract 10 reservations in Winter. Here we have 4 seasons; with winter snow, ice, rain, road closures, etc. People are not always eager to have that sort of adventure, and activity limitations, obviously. 

The local ER is swamped, and there are no beds in our hospitals. Non emergency surgeries are still waiting after these many months. Outpatient surgery recovery beds are filled with patients. If a guest here requires medical intervention, it would not be so easy.

Restaurants are still closed to indoor dining, and outdoors is hardly viable in winter, here.

Yes, we are resilient. But we’re in a battle with COVID. And COVID is winning. As of this morning, more than 788,000 people in the U.S. and 5.25 million globally have been reported killed by COVID. We are not post-COVID. COVID is now. Families are still burying their COVID dead. Delta is still raging here, crippling our county's medical facilities.  Omicron is already active in nearby counties, we do not yet know what this variant will do to unvaccinated people. The pandemic is definitely not over.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

Yes, I saw that too. The timing seems so off given the current situation. 

I didn't host any Airbnb guests for the first few months of the year (and was closed to bookings for most of 2020). I think the first one arrived in August, when things were starting to feel more 'normal' here. Miraculously, I would have fulfilled the minimum booking requirement anyway, not by number of stays but number of nights as all the stays were long-term. With the way things are going though, who knows if that would have been maintainable anyway? I have no idea at this point whether I will be able to honour my few upcoming bookings or if they will want to cancel (the next guest is already considering this due to Omicron). So, perhaps you're right and I would have lost Superhost anyway along with so many other home stay hosts.

[Pablo629]

@Huma0 Your case its a little confusing, because I see your lowest rate at 4.85. A bad review doesn't affect as much as you refer to in your case. At most will decrease a decimal with the quantity you have. 

Could you give us real numbers or your real  case property to see what you are referring to?

Anyway asking guest can't change the review just clarify the cause at most. 

In resume. 1 bad review cant decrease your rate as low as reported .

Regards 

[Huma0]

@Pablo629 

You are right that this guest's ratings do not have such an impact on the overall rating of the room, which is important as that's the rating the guest sees on the listing. So, that's one positive.

The 4.0 I mentioned is what I am seeing the room rated at for the current assessment period (it was 4.9 something before her review) so I am panicking a bit unnecessarily about that. Thanks for pointing it out!

However, as others have mentioned, this one review does have a big impact on the Superhost status and my overall score (not sure if guests can see the latter?). Having had so few guests this past year and half of them not leaving reviews means that this guest is one of only three scores I have. That's why it brings my score for the year down from 5.0 to 4.3 - way below the 4.8 required for Superhost. 

The CS rep told me I would only need a couple of 5 star reviews to get my rating back up but that's not true. Even if all of the remaining three guests this year all leave reviews and leave them in time (I see Airbnb has changed the goal posts for that too) and leave 5 stars, it would not bring the score close to 4.8, let alone back up to 5.0, because this low scoring guest would still be one out of six, so her ratings still count for a lot.

[Emilia42]

@Pablo629 

The ratings used to measure superhost status only take into account your ratings from the last year. So It is possible to have a 4.9 overall rating but still loose your superhost status if your average rating from the last year follows below 4.8.

[Huma0]

@Pablo629 

So, as I hoped, the remaining three guests I had staying that were checking out in 2021 have all left me 5* reviews. 

That now brings my overall score for the year up from 4.3 to 4.66 stars. I and not sure if the latter is rounded down to 4.6 or up to 4.7, but it doesn't really matter for the Superhost assessment as I need minimum 4.8.

I am not expecting to receive any more bookings with check outs this year, so that score will not change in time for the next assessment.

In summary:

Pre 3* guest: 2 x 5* reviews = 5.0 average

Post 3* guest: 2 x 5* reviews + 1 x 3* reviews = 4.3 average

Post recent guests: 5 x 5* reviews + 1 x 3* review = 4.66 average

On the plus side, my average is at least creeping back up. I suspect that I will lose the Superhost status not just this quarter, but for at least another one. With Omicron and everything that's going on, I'm simply not going to get enough bookings to push it back up to 4.8 for a while.

[Mark116]

@Huma0 Did you decide to reach out to the guest and ask about the ratings or did you decide not to bother ?

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

At first I decided not to bother because I thought that there was no way for the ratings to be changed or removed, and she was such a bad communicator that I was doubtful I would get a response from her anyway.

However after lengthy back and forth with CS, they confirmed that the review AND ratings can be removed if the author asks for them to be.

So, maybe worth a shot after all. I doubt that it would be successful. Like I said, I am not sure she will read, let alone understand, let alone appreciate the message, but I guess there's nothing to lose.

I am just trying to word it now. @Sarah977 's suggestion is great, but it's too complex for this guest to understand. I need to make it as straightforward as possible without seeming too blunt.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

Here's the message I've drafted, but not sent yet, to the guest:

"Hi X, I hope you are well, and everything went okay with your course and the rest of your time in the UK.

Thank you for the nice words in your review. However, I was quite shocked by the low ratings you gave me in almost every category, as well as overall. As you didn’t tell me of any issues while you were staying here and there were no explanations given in the review, I would really appreciate if you could provide me with some feedback.

I am not sure if you are aware, but Airbnb considers 4 stars as very bad for a host and 3 stars as terrible! You need to maintain at least 4.8 or above every year to be a Superhost and can be delisted if you fall below 4.7. Because I host long-term guests, each rating has a big impact. Even though you are the only guest to rate me less than 5 stars in 2021, your review means I will now lose the Superhost status that I have maintained for five years. I have even received a warning about my listing being suspended because of your 3 star review. This is extremely sad for me, especially as I feel that I went above and beyond to help you with many things.

So, when you decide to leave low ratings for a host, it would be really useful if you could provide feedback at the same time. Or, even better, if there is something that you are unhappy about whilst staying at a listing, please communicate this to your host at the time so that they have a chance to resolve the problem.

I look forward to hearing your feedback. Many thanks,

Huma

[Mark116]

@Huma0  This might be a little too straightforward and inclined to make her defensive.

Dear Superhost Score Destroyer:

"Hi X, I hope you are well, and everything went okay with your course and the rest of your time in the UK.  Thank you for the nice words in your review. 

I am always working to refine the experience my guests have at my house, so I wanted to contact you for additional feedback on what I can improve.  I had been under the impression you enjoyed your stay and were very happy with accommodations.  I was shocked to get such a low star rating, and want find out from your perspective what went wrong during your stay that you felt it was deserving of such a low score.

[This feels softer to me]

I am not sure if you are aware, but Airbnb considers 4 stars as bad for a host and 3 stars as terrible!  A host and can be delisted for having any rating below 4.7.   The 3 star review you gave me means I will now lose the Superhost status that I have maintained for five years. I have even received a warning about my listing being suspended because of your 3 star review, even though every other review I received in 2021 was 5 stars. This is extremely sad for me, especially as I feel that I went above and beyond to help you with many things.

[I  just shortened this a little bit to be  more direct]

[I'm not sure if you need the third paragraph, if your goal is to 1) find out why she did it and or 2) gain enough sympathy that she may have the review removed.  It's up to you.  If she answers you, you could put this forward facing message about telling hosts of problems in real time in a final message to her.

That's my two cents.