Reviews are pointless

[Kelly149]

So, just got a new request. Guest has a 5* rating and 2 reviews, one of which (I'm paraphrasing) says: Best AirBnB guest Ever!!!

Hey, so that's great, this is a real person who has been rated well by other hosts.....

Except: that Best AirBnB guest Ever!!!  is what this host writes for every review. Every one (ok, I reverse looked up 7ish~... so maybe not Every, but still) Ugh! Totally useless! So this Host is always super happy, or these guests really were great, or this Host is scared to write anything bad or they think they make themselves look better by being complimentary. Whatever, totally useless.

[Wendy684]

@Anonymous I've no clue what an IB or non-IB host is but I cannot see star reviews on guests only written reviews. Nor can I give a star review on my guests. So I'm confused by this entire thread. And don't think they can count for much. 

[Sarah977]

@Wendy684  IB means Instant Book. And I do't understand what you mean by you can't give a star review on your guests- that's the first thing that comes up when you go to write a review- the page where you click on the stars for Cleanliness, Communication, and folllowing House Rules.

[Emilia42]

@Wendy684 You can't see the star ratings for guests because you do not have instant booking enabled. That is one of the perks. 

[Wendy684]

@Emilia42 I do have instant book enabled. I just didn't immediately comprehend what the other posted meant by IB an non IB hosts. I guess I'm just not looking properly or paying enough attention. Which says a lot. I pay most attention to what is actually said. 

Having said that i have been fortunate to have no 'bad' guests. Awkward prima donnas but no really bad ones. 

[Robin4]

@Kelly149  @J-Renato0 @Lisa723 @Anonymous 

This is what I have been banging on about for the last couple of years.....Why do we have a review system? There is nothing honest about it. The sole reason we have a review system in it's current format is, it will help the Airbnb platform secure more bookings! The more good stories you can throw up the more prospective guests will trust the platform.

The review system is useless to hosts, honest guest bad reviews get removed, and honest host bad reviews get removed. There is one US host who is the subject of the most vitriolic guest outbursts, pages and pages of them.....but still manages to remain a Superhost, even to this day! But you won't find any of these 'vitriolic outbursts' on the Airbnb site and all of those guests have complained that their reviews 'disappeared'!

In fact the review system probably tells us the exact opposite to what we need to hear, and it's getting worse all the time. If you want to know about genuine guest and host experiences you consult http://www.airbnbhell.com

I can honestly say I have not looked at one guests past reviews on them booking in the past 18 months.....there is no point! All that looking at their past reviews will do is try to influence what my gut feeling is telling me, and re-assess that initial message that came with their booking. I have become relatively successful at picking good guests from bad ...and all the review system would do is...... muddy the waters.

The company demands that we use it, just don't take any notice of it!

Cheers.......Rob

[Sarah977]

While of course I agree that that the review system is fatally flawed and needs to be scrapped as it currently functions, I don't find reviews to be useless or untrustworthy across the board. As a home-share host, I do read the reviews of all my guests when they request to book. I pay no attention to generic reviews, or one-liners,  but have read many reviews that are in the same vein as the reviews I leave for my guests- it is obvious that the host had interaction with the guest, and they have given some thought to the review they left, and it reads in a personal way. Those reviews do have value to me and I've not ever found them to be wrong.

[Ansel0]

my listing is set to instant book. If i have questions about a guest, i ask them. I've cancelled guest before. Peace of mind is worth more than lost revenue