Rating location--what are your criteria?

[Laura2592]

We had two guests in the last month give us 4s in location. In almost 100 stays now, this has been our fourth "4" in this category. I am always puzzled by this. Can't a guest tell fairly well what sort of location they are booking? If is not described well, wouldn't this be the Accuracy rating that suffers?

Truthfully I think 4 is fair for our location. Its cute, but its not really near anything. I describe distances in the listing and to guests when they ask. Secluded to an extent, but you can see neighbors especially when the leaves are dead on the trees; our low location ratings always happen in fall and winter. Summertime with all the plants in bloom and fireflies in the evening is pretty magical and scores are higher. Our cottage is not a glass-bottomed seafront hotel in Bali or a castle overlooking the Danube or even a treehouse in the deep Maine woods, all of which I could see being 5 in location.

This year I am adding a page to our house guide defining the Airbnb rating system as I am tired of misunderstanding. So how would you define location? What are you rating your location on as a guest? As a host, what do you think people should look for?

[Helen350]

I think the only justification for a bad 'location' rating is something like arriving at your beautiful country cottage, with the stunning view, exactly as described, and then finding there is something on the doorstep which severely damages the experience.

 I once lived & worked at an outdoor centre by the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England. We sometimes went on kayak day trips up or downstream.... All very beautiful & picturesque. However, when kayaking upstream, we eventually came to an isolated animal rendering plant, with the most foul stench eminating, that for several hundred metres you had to stop breathing through your nose and breathe through your mouth, because the stench was so overpowering, it made you feel sick. Any Airbnb plonked next to that would surely be a huge disappointment, for the beautiful riverbank location could never compensate for the smell! THAT would be a 1* location! 

[Helen427]

Good morning @Laura2592

Have you written to those Guests who gave you a 4 for location to ask why?

 You can do that through the msg system.

Better to have kooky guests than lack of guests isn't it?

 You must be doing something right in general terms that you are getting people through.

Touch wood I've been blessed with 5 stars for Location as most guests have read my listing & chosen it for it's location, just like I did when I moved here, hence also the title I choose for my listing...

Central To All Home & Location  

Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand!!!

[Laura2592]

@Helen427 I know I could ask. I did once but it wasn't anything I could act on (ie, I can't move our cottage to the "middle of a farm field.") One guest left me FB that the location was "accurately described. Amenities are only within driving distance." Yes, that is exactly what the listing says. And we had a guest whose cat got out. She was hysterical that the area was not safe for the cat (she is right. There are all kinds of creatures that would fight with or harm her cat in the woods at the back of the lot. And I say there are creatures of all sorts who pass through our property on the listing.) I am sure her 4 was because we are not as safe as keeping a cat in the house. 

I just think its a silly category. 

[Charles224]

Rant time:

A STAR system on LOCATION is simply rediculous.

I am beguiled at the way the original 'controller-muppet' was able to convince the AirBnb team that a star-rating on 'location' could focus a Host on a problem, and then the Host might improve it (like 'cleanliness', like 'communication').

I am actually more disappointed and confused that those who are today getting paid by AirBnb are so very silent over the decent feedback by Hosts over this issue. No responses, bird twittering, leaf falling...

Did that 'muppet' get applauded for it's stupidity?

Location simply IS, it cannot be moved, changed, or improved.

Has the muppett got this amazing brain-fart on it's CV? 

Probably, and it probably got a promotion too. The Peter Principle in action?

Why did no-one in that decision room call it out? So many questions, not enough wine.

The initial idea may have looked good on paper but it was silly; deleting this particular STAR will cause no issues to the Guest while removing some angst for the Host.

Rant over..

@Laura2592 @Helen427 @Helen350 @Ann72 @Anonymous 

[Bronwyn61]

I have leant no matter how hard to try and please everybody, you just can't.

We got four stars for location even though we are 300m from the beach but because we were 10 min walk to the "surf club" they gave us four. Think that was a bit unfair as I never mentioned we are close to the surf club in the listing description but anyway, people are hard to please. 

[Ana23665]

Is there any hope that this criteria will be removed. It's too arbitrary.

[Jocelyn110]

@Laura2592 @Anonymous  I agree with both of you. I think it's nonsensical that the location should be rated. The property is where it is! The only thing the host should be penalized for is misleading information about the location. And the Airbnb mapping system takes you to within what would be approximately 3 city blocks. (Not sure what their actual radius is but it's pretty tight.)

I am SO tired of guests "not liking" things that are accurately described. The issue is that many guests simply DO NOT read all the information presented. I feel that Airbnb should review every review... and compare it against the host's listing, and adjust if necessary, but they don't get involved at all. And they certainly never take the host's side of things.

I put in my listing: if you expect perfection and you don't like nature, this place is NOT for you. And then I go on to explain all sorts of things like power failures, insects, snakes, etc.  Regardless, I end up refunding people regularly who see bugs inside, or who lose power. You are in the middle if the African bush, people!!! Do your research! If you want a hermetically-sealed 5 star hotel room, go to London or Tokyo or New York!!!

So yeah, back to location. Absolutely ridiculous that it's even a reviewable data point.