Stayed in a place recently. Host has already reviewed me and I'm torn about writing a review. I'd like to hear your thoughts...
Pros: host is a very friendly & speedy communicator
I didn't pay alot bc SH coupon and non-busy dates
Neutral: they have several (<20) listings
they're in a location where real estate is cheap and there are enough high demand dates that they'll be successful financially and otherwise just from existing
Cons: there were things that I didn't think were that great, but a few simple changes would help immensely (thin drapes and blaring 24 hour security lights shining into windows, 1 tiny towel hook: 2 guests/2 days/2 towels, nowhere to sit anything down in the bath other than on top of closed toilet)
the listing was upbeat but lacked some detail about fairly important things. (really difficult parking, proximity to other rooms, shared hallways, construction happening on all sides)
there are only a handful of photos and one of them is of a door hinge
there is construction residue that makes the whole bath seem grimy (I'm sure it was "cleaned" but it wasn't really "clean")
there were things that I didn't think were that great but maybe that's just personal preference (naked box spring, pillows like overinflated balloons, collected art and furniture that felt like garage sale castoffs)
the place is billed a boutique hotel, but it's more like a poorly converted 12x12 room in an office building with a queen bed.
So: we all know that ABB considers a 5* review a floor, not a ceiling. And I was there as a guest, not as a 'your ABB needs some help' consultant. So, I could just 5* review everything (I really want to see what the review process looks like from the Guest side!) and not say anything about the not so great parts. Or I could use the 4s that I think the space merits in terms of accuracy, cleanliness or value but I don't feel good about that. Or I could not review and tell him a few tips privately. Or I could just keep my mouth shut about the whole thing.
Final detail: this block of rooms is the host's newest offering so it doesn't have but 1 review yet, though he has close to 300 total reviews on other properties. On popular dates people will be paying 500+ /night for this space. And this guy just converted a building to a hotel in the worst travel time any of us can remember. His upcoming calendar is entirely blank.