What is the question, "would you host this guest again" question all about?

[Nancy22]

Hello Everyone. 

I just recently reviewed a guest and it's the first time I actually said "NO" to the last question- "would you host this guest again". Apparently the answer only Airbnb sees. I thought it might allow me to elaborate a bit, but it doesn't. I felt a bit guilty clicking that box, but even worse when I could not leave a reason. 

The guest was nice, and I left her a nice review, but I don't think my property was suitable to her, even if she thought it was. I felt I was constantly defending all/any issues that came up- which were frequent. Felt I was always on my guard- don't want that, but otherwise, I am sure she'd be liked by just about everyone, including me.  

So what is that question for? Are they checking to see if the reviews match that checked box?  Because if they are, it's very unfair. 

Insight anyone? 

[Colleen253]

@Nancy22 This is one of those (many) things that Airbnb never clarifies for hosts, so it remains a mystery. Considering that the priority for Airbnb is to encourage bookings, not discourage them, I can't imagine that it has any real consequence for the guest. I would think it might prevent them from being able to instant book your place in the future. They would have to request to book. There is no shame in not wanting to host someone again. Don't feel guilty. Although I get it, I've been there too! It's human nature 🙂

[Sarah977]

When we used to do reviews, there was a thumbs up or down. That was replaced by "Would you host this guest again", so I think it's basically the same thing. As Colleen says, I think it wold prevent the guest from IBing with you, and perhaps even from sending a request.

No need to feel guilty about being honest- you wouldn't want to host her again. And neither the guest nor other hosts ever see that, so no worries. 

@Nancy22

[Nancy22]

Oh thank you Colleen. You know you might be right and to be honest I'm not 100% keen on the ' insta-book" feature either, so suits me fine if they use that as a fliter

Thanks for the support @collen253

[Colleen253]

@Nancy22  I wanted to add that there are diplomatic and polite ways of communicating to other hosts, that which you found challenging about a guest. Just because this guest was nice, doesn't mean I would want to host her. If she was high maintenance, I'd like to know that.  For instance "X was a clean guest who left the house in good condition and treated it with respect. I fear perhaps X wasn't all that satisfied with her stay however, as she seemed to find fault with many things, and I was disappointed that I wasn't able to provide a stay that was up to her expectations, though I did try my best to address all issues.

[James2566]

That is a great way to put it. 

[Kerry440]

I love this response!

[Shelley176]

such a great response. I recently hosted a guest who was nice, clean and followed all the house rules , but I was not able to get a read on her experience because although I answered all of her questions ,my questions about her needs as a guest were generally not answered.   I always feel uncomfortable hosting guests who do not respond  when asked if there is a need or confirm that the Information  I provided based on their request was received . ( like “thank you “) unfortunately It puts me on Defense mode.   I would not vent to host this guest again,  But, how important should communication style weigh in as a reason not to host? It seems unfair to a guest. Total transparency ::: I feel a touch of guilt about the choice.    Not knowing what is done with that information makes me feel like perhaps that “Would you recommend “requires some clarity in the part if Airbnb. Or Perhaps I’m reading too much into this question and the information goes no where . 

[Nancy22]

You know Sarah, when you look at it that way it's a clever tool, no one's feeling get hurt, no harm, no foul.

Thanks for the input. Didn't expect anyone to respond. Couldn't find a single other person asking about it.

Cheers

@Sarah977 

[Nancy22]

@Colleen253 , oh I am pretty good at writing accurate reviews with the true meaning buried a bit, 🙂 but this was a completely different situation. More the location and remoteness that I felt were a challenge for her, yet wouldn't ever admit it. Hard to explain.  

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Nancy22 , a couple years ago they changed the thing to make sure number ratings were double checked against the total review if they didnt seem to match (5* for everything and 4* overall for instance) for both hosts and guests because it seemed like mistakes were happening in the final tally.  I think it actually worked a bit as desired, I have gotten fewer of those since.  I

will say its kinda odd that the ratings go from Worst to Best for the general rating categories but at the bottom of the questionaire  "would you host this guest again" moves from best to worst (yes or no instead of the opposite No  or Yes)  I know that sounds picky but its not a great thing to shift the paradigm mid stride.  Stay well, JR  

[Nancy22]

@Melodie-And-John0  You know I never noticed the yes/no vs no/yes- how interesting.  I sure would like to know exactly what is done with that information, and how it changes future inquires/bookings, if it does anything at all. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Nancy22 

I never felt guilty or bad about not being able to provide a specific reason when answering NO to "would you host this guest again" - because IMO hosts don't need to justify their feelings to Airbnb or the guest when thinking about would I welcome this person back into my home.

I think this line of questioning is similar to something like "would you go out on a second date with this person?" 

[Anonymous]

@Nancy22  It's also kind of like that question they email you about after having a customer service encounter, "Based on this experience, on a scale of 1 to 10 how likely would you be to recommend Airbnb to a friend?"

Airbnb didn't invent that question, of course - it's a bit of misdirection that many companies use to obscure the fact that you're actually contributing to the aggregate performance scores of an outsourced worker who's expected to meet unrealistic speed targets while sustaining a baseline customer satisfaction index. They want you to feel like they're asking "how did we do as a company?" but the data is really just meant for the subcontractor the operation is pawned off to.

The "would you host again?" is a little more straightforward as a data point, as it appears to convert directly to the "_ out of _ hosts recommend this guest" metric. 

[Nancy22]

@Anonymous  Ohhh, how insightful.  Yes, I have seen and understood their objective with the questions following a c/s call.  It is more obvious than ever the pressure these agents are under.  I recently experienced being pawned off, or forwarded 3 times to someone else, I think to ensure the numbers stay sound, because if they spend too much time trying to understand the issue, the numbers go sideways real fast. 

I'd like to see this question, 'would you or will you be considering other rental platforms after your most recent INTERACTIONS with Airbnb"!   HAH!