Posting star rating review guidelines for guests -- a good idea?

[Hal3292]

Hi - we've hosted our place for a little over a year but didn't realize what a valuable resource this Host Circle is until recently! I appreciate all the guidance and feedback available here from hosts who take time out of their busy lives to help others. We recently stayed in an Airbnb at Oak Island, North Carolina (booked by our daughter and son-in-law), and found this ratings "advice" on a magnet affixed to the refrigerator. I'd never seen this list before.  Is this something everyone else knows about but is just new to me? Do you think it's a good idea to post this or something like it?

[Charles224]

@Hal3292 I love it, my wife hates it..

[Sarah977]

@Hal3292  There have been many discussions on this forum on the topic. Some hosts maintain that it is unprofessional to mention anything about star ratings to guests, some do it successfully. As a home share host, I've sometimes gotten into a chat with guests, in the course of other conversation, and found that most guests think they are giving a rating a host will be pleased with by leaving 4*s, because Airbnb tells them that means "Good". And in a sane system, no one would consider good to mean bad. My guests have been shocked to find out what ratings Airbnb warns hosts over.

So I think guests can benefit from a little education about it, but it's important to convey the info in a non-coersive way. Anything that feels like the host is shilling for a 5* review does come across as tacky, coersive, and could totally backfire. What you posted above seems fine to me, as it's done with a sense of humor, and doesn't come across as "I want a 5*review". The info is conveyed and the guest can do what they like with it. 

[Ann783]

As a guest, I wouldn't want to see this posted. If if was in the house guide… fine...

[John2406]

@Sarah977 Thanks for a great reply to @Hal3292 's fascinating post, especially as I had never heard of a "Rentals Review Guidance" before,  nor of "Ratings 'advice'", altho' my eyes have been opened a little wider this evening!

Perhaps we've been very lucky, as I couldn't imagine anyone giving a low rating when nothing's wrong with a place, whilst I've never thought about "inviting" Guests to give us a five star rating! Indeed, I'm of the opinion that "soliciting" for something better is 'dangerous', inasmuch as if one receives a rave review, but the next couple of guests' leave genuine, more truthful reviews because they hadn't known that there'd been a   "Rentals Review Guidance" poster, as it had fallen off the notice board, and slipped behind a cupboard!

OK, so it is really lovely to get 5stars for every topic, and we'd all love to be rated that way for every booking/every Guests' stay, BUT, honesty counts for far more, whilst continually having a score of "5" I would imagine would make many Guests suspicious.

Recently my wife and I stayed at a great Airbnb  for just the one night, and to be perfectly honest, it was exactly what we needed, even though we only booked and stayed for 1 night.

Almost as soon as we'd left the next morning, I received a message thanking me for our stay, and for all my Comms, and saying that they'd left us a 5 star rating, and that they hoped we would leave a 5 star rating for them!

I must admit to being  taken aback by the request, as although I had already determined I was going to say lots of positive things about the place, and I had been going to give 5 stars without being asked (yes, the property was excellent for us and everything was there, plus the host had gone way out of his way to help us) - it was the "asking for 5 stars" and the way it was that - "I've given you 5 stars, so ..." - that didn't quite "cut the mustard" for me.

OK so I realise that I'm a strange'un at the best of times, and I frequently don't see things the way others do, but surely having truthful reviews is far better than turning up at a place and not finding it to be as others' have said?

We all depend to a certain extent on what others think and say/write, but for a moment just imagine the descriptions painted about Ann of Cleves to King Henry VIII, but what he thought and said when he actually saw her!

All in saying is to be careful, as one day someone - when asked - may well decide not to play ball with the requestor, and what then?!

[Sarah977]

@John2406  Exactly. When a host shills for a 5* review, it can be a real turn-off for guests. Saying that you've left a 5* review for a guest is a not at all subtle coersion tactic that could result in a guest giving a lower star rating than they otherwise would have and negates the entire system of reviews being blind. 

I may be somewhat unusual in that I have never agonized over star ratings or reviews. I have a home share listing, have gotten wonderful guests who have all left nice reviews and 5*ratings. I just be myself, try to make my guests feel welcome and comfortable, and it all seems to flow.

But because I often have a lot of interaction with guests, chatting over coffee or a bottle of wine, the whole subject of Airbnb will often come up. They might talk about previous stays they've had, they might ask questions about hosting (some guests consider being hosts, so they want to know). So the subject of reviews will come up. 

Because my interest in the review process doesn't center around wanting a 5* review, what I have to say about Airbnb reviews concerns the disconnect between what Airbnb leads guests to think and how they apply those ratings in their dealings with hosts. I hate the hypocrisy of it. And when I make that known to guests, they actually feel the same- nice guests have no intention to tank a host's ratings or business and are irritated that Airbnb would mislead them into thinking 4*s was "Good" if a host would lose Superhost status for it, or get warnings from Airbnb to pull up their socks.

A couple of guests have thanked me for the information- they said they had given 4* ratiings to places they totally liked, the host was great, and they would book there again. They just had no idea of how Airbnb views ratings when it comes to hosts. 

So if a host is conveying this info with the objective of getting the guest to give them 5*s, I think it may often backfire and turn a guest who was pleased with the stay into being taken aback, like you were.

If we convey the information because Airbnb doesn't make things clear to guests as far as what those ratings actually mean, and are coming from a place of just wanting guests to understand that Airbnb doesn't give them any real guidelines for ratings, it's a quite different thing.

[Laurelle3]

@Hal3292 I am not sure that I would put this sign up as to me it could help or hinder because the person could be having an off day/holiday and will give negatives. I am relying on positives, good communication, items provided, cleanliness, price, and what our cottage provides. If my score goes down it means something is wrong so fix it. 

Yes l did get a low on location and when reviewed the person had questioned me on how far the cottage was from the main residence before arrival and other questions. This sent up a red flag.

After review, I  added more instructions about arrival picking up key, going down side path and have added photos of the cottage distance and repeat we share the garden between the properties and they have their own private garden with photos. Another has been value which I don't understand because they were a young couple maybe they thought the price was high but they didn't have to book. I did comment to husband at the time they looked like us when we travelling in our younger days and we watching our pennies. But the rest of the review was very positive no complaints.

Our daughter in NZ has an Airbnb and has stayed in another Airbnb she noted that there was a laminated note on the table that said, we will leave you a 5 if you leave us a 5 review. She thought this was a bit rude.

[Sarah977]

@Laurelle3  The value rating is weird. I've always gotten 5* value ratings, but I know many hosts don't, who have perfectly reasonable rates for what they offer, sometimes even lower than what comparable rentals in the area go for. It's like guests think it's too expensive if it wasn't free, or the price of a bunk bed in a hostel room shared with strangers. 🙂 

And also they are thinking about the total price they paid, without taking into consideration that the service fees and taxes have nothing to do with what the host receives.

[Anonymous]

@Sarah977   If you're searching listings as a guest, it's impossible to get any useful information out of the "Value" rating, because you don't know how much previous guests spent. 

As far as I can tell, there are only two possible reasons for this data point:

1)  Nudging hosts toward lower prices because they know this detail is rated

2) Teaching the "smart" pricing AI where guests' optimal price ceilings lie

[Anonymous]

@Hal3292   To me, this thing looks like a sad, desperate attempt to put a thumb on the scale. If I were the guest, I'd feel that these "guidelines" only undermined the hospitality. I can't imagine giving a 5-star rating to a host who thought it was perfectly OK to manipulate me into it, so it's easy to see how this pathetic approach can backfire.

[Elaine701]

Hmm.  Airbnb rating system is somewhat laughable, but I think any mention is a bit tacky. 

IMO, it's better to just do your best to deliver a 5 star experience, and hope for the best. There's always somebody who won't fully appreciate it. If you always deliver 5 star, you get 4.8. If you go 4 star, you get 3.8. So, just keep the standards high, and you get higher ratings. It's work, but if it's your business, take it seriously. If not, then take your chances. 

[Susan990]

I think this idea is a very good response to a flawed rating system, which ABB refuses to fix. The fact that Hosts have been struggling with it and devising their own home grown fixes is testimonial enough that it is necessary to protect our business and lively hood.  It will all go away when ABB revises its review rating system to conform to the international hotel standard which similar platforms like VRBO follow in crafting their own  personalized system. Check it out sometime.

[Colleen253]

@Susan990 "It will all go away when ABB revises its review rating system." Yeah, if only. Airbnb will never revisit or revise, because their rating and review system suits them perfectly. It keeps hosts in a constant state of angst, and more likely to be giving in to guests at every turn. Precisely as Airbnb wants it.

[Stephanie365]

I have read about hosts who basically bombard their guests with "subtle" (roll eyes) hints everywhere about leaving 5*.  They have pens with " 5* at [name of their place]!", their Wi Fi Passwords are "Five_Star_Review", they have napkins printed with "5 Stars!".   

I'm surprised they don't get TP printed with "We want to earn your 5* review!"

Because AirBNB's review expectations are so.... ridiculous, I do want guests to understand the implications of a less than 5* review. But I don't want to come across as shilling for it either.

So, I printed out a 1 page article from Forbes Magazine written by Seth Porges about how the review process works. It's not >ME< telling my guests about the review process but rather a reporter from a rather well known magazine writing about it.  My hope is that because this is a published article and not something I wrote and printed out, they won't feel the information has a host bias that is trying to influence their review.  This article is included in my Welcome Manual so that guests may read it if they choose, but it's not in their face constantly with kitschy doodads throughout my home.

If you are interested in the article, here it is. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethporges/2016/06/29/the-one-issue-with-airbnb-reviews-that-causes-hos...  

If ABB has blocked the link above, simply google "Forbes Magazine AirBNB Reviews Seth Porges". It will come up.

[Susan990]

@Stephanie365   Thank you for sharing the Forbes Review post!!! I have copied it and will keep on hand for emergency use.  Hope  to see more ABB reporting from Seth Porgen going forward.  As a business news publication Forbes might be following the  ABB stock valuations trends and its relation to product providers retention and expansion i.e. Host Listings. If stockholders start studying the data and examining the management policies of ABB which are negative to  $$$ earnings growth we might see some changes to the good coming our way ~  My  2022 New Years Wish ~