Star level ratings no longer showing on reviews

[Ryan2352]

Hey all,

Anyone else seeing this?  When an inquiry comes in for a booking it no longer shows the star rating of the potential guest's reviews.  Just "X Reviews" and when you click on that it brings up the review wording, but no rating.

Why is making it even harder for us to pre-screen guests?

Ryan

[Lenore22]

I thought star ratings are visible if you've enabled instant book. Did you recently disable instant book?

[Ryan2352]

Since I started in July, I've always had them displaying.  One house (my first) has NEVER been on IB and my other listing has only been IB since late August/early September.

[Sarah977]

@Ryan2352  I have never been able to see guests' star ratings. That is a feature for IB bookings, it hasn't ever been visible for inquiries or requests, to my knowledge.

[Ryan2352]

Wow!  Up until today I've always been able to see the overall star rating and ratings on individual reviews.  That was part of my review process on one yesterday.  Last week I denied someone because they had a 3 star rating and bad reviews.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977 @Ryan2352 @Lenore22 

I think there's a glitch (surprise!) in the system that does let some non IB hosts see the star ratings, at times. It comes and goes. There have been times I've had IB disabled and the star ratings have been visible.

[Kelly149]

@Colleen253  Same

[Ryan2352]

I'm not doubting a glitch or unannounced test.  It's odd though, because I've ALWAYS had the star ratings (since I started in July) and this is on homes that have never been IB and one that has only recently been.

[Colleen253]

@Ryan2352 “odd” is a great descriptor for many aspects of this platform. It’s a rare and magical thing, a glitch that favors the host. This is the only one I’m aware of. Let us marvel at it, be thankful for the time we had it, and quietly hope it doesn’t go away permanently, now we’ve drawn attention to it. 😉

[Ryan2352]

Yes, odd is a great descriptor.  So many problems with this platform.  Absolutely unconscionable that they expect us to accept bookings and open our properties up without any means of doing due diligence on the prospective guest and then penalize us heavily and fine us if we cancel. 

Now the average nightly price no longer updates in real time (or the algorithm has changed considerably in the last 2 days). 

[Michelle53]

@Ryan2352 @Colleen253  I can see an overall star rating along with number of reviews on the reservation details.   If I click on that link, I see the average grades under each of the categories - overall, cleanliness, communication and observance of house rules. 

I do not see star ratings next to each review. I don't have IB switched on. 

I'm not sure if it's a feature or a bug, but it does help. 

[Ryan2352]

That's what I used to have, though I'm pretty sure it used to show an aggregate star rating on the individual reviews, I remember a review in particular recently was 1 star.

Wish they'd turn that back on for everyone.

[Sarah977]

@Ryan2352  "Absolutely unconscionable that they expect us to accept bookings and open our properties up without any means of doing due diligence on the prospective guest".

The whole point of Inquiries and Booking Requests is that the host has the chance to read a guest's reviews and communicate with them before deciding whether to accept them or not. That is how you do due diligence, and I would argue that the star ratings are of little value compared to those vetting methods. 

You have no idea why a host rated as they did, as there is no explanation attached to the ratings, and what one host might consider a 3* guest, another might consider to be a 5* guest.

Plenty of hosts have had guests that were just awful, who had a history of 5* ratings.

I have never used IB, never seen guests' star ratings, and have never had a bad guest. Communication and written reviews are a much more reliable tool for vetting guests than arbitrary, unexplained star ratings, IMO.

[Ryan2352]

See, I've always had the benefit of the star rating during inquiry and booking requests.  That is the first factor I use in judging a potential guest.  I'll also look at the age of the account and number of reviews as well as the age of the reviews.  A bad rating 10 years ago is less impactful to me than one two months ago.  And yes, I'm well aware that host and guest accounts can be bought and sold online, so ratings may not mean anything at all in some cases.  It's also surprising how many profile pics are of cartoon characters, dogs and skylines.

I've had phone calls and messages with prospective guests too to discuss bad reviews and I've allowed people to book based on their description of the review.

The problem is we don't get names ahead of time or even profile pics so you can't do a dive into social network accounts or court records to see if there are any unlawful detainers filed.  I do this in my long term rental property management business.  Just wish we had more tools available in our tool belt to have a proper risk management procedures.

[Susan990]

@Ryan2352  I had no idea that user accounts can be bought and sold!  How do you know this? How does this practice square with ABB verified identity protocols? How can you tell if you are dealing with the actual person in the Profile page?