NEW REVIEW PROCESS ( Resulting in fewer reviews from Guests )

[Dennis234]

I have been a host through Airbnb for two years now and as a *Superhost* have received a 5 star rating from the majority of my guests who stay for a day or a month. I have had people stay from all over the world and we cater to our guests with plenty of little extras to make their stay more comfortable. Breakfast, protein bars, chocolate and longer bookings, a bottle of wine. Recently due to the new review process which takes longer to complete I have had no reviews from many of my guests recently.  I questioned a few guests and they indicate it was the length of the review questions and they quit before the end of the survey.

Last week I travelled to Eastern Canada and booked myself into an Airbnb for the week. The accomidation was excellent and when I left I actually experienced the new review process with many new questions about my stay. Now I realize the length it takes to complete the review and kept thinking as i was answering the questions, how long was this going to take? No wonder reviews have gone down and time consuming in this day and age when most people are extremly busy with their lives.  Even thou it was a simple process no one has the time to click all the features to a question asked.

Has anyone else experiened the same trend and what did/can you do about it? I assume this will hurt our *Superhost status* if this trend continues that we have worked so hard for as hosts.

[Fred13]

I know, whoever of those 5 guest writes a review and forces me to stay SH, I am going to write them a 'nasty' review - "The guest had to spoil things and write a review and now I am stuck being a Superhost and only seeing half my icon for 3 more months!", That response will surely confuse Airbnb to no end. 😄

[Brianne12]

This is so frustrating. With the new review process, guests can also rate 5 stars for all six categories and then 4 stars for overall experience which makes the review 4 STARS. Like, how am I supposed to improve? And how is that even fair? If I leave a review with everything 5 stars as a guest, and a 4 for Overall Experience (which makes no sense if I'm happy with everything else...) I would think I'm leaving a 5-star review. I would feel horrible knowing that was really a 4-star review. Ughhh. 

[Jesus73]

Hola a tod@s! 

Es muy loable por parte de Airbnb, recabar toda la información que transmiten tantos huéspedes como anfitriones, creando nuevos métodos o procesos para hacer las diferentes reseñas, elogios, comentarios, etc., pero es evidente que este nuevo proceso de reseñas de los huéspedes, va totalmente en detrimento hacia los anfitriones, por la no finalización (por pereza, desidia o  falta de interés) del mismo en su totalidad.

La única manera para que se pueda llevar a cabo y un buen porcentaje de huéspedes se animen a finalizar en su totalidad lo que se les pide o solicita, es que la plataforma incentive con algún descuento o bonificación para proximas reservas a quien lo lleve a cabo.

Es sencillo, generoso (todo el mundo aporta su grano de arena), gratificante, y la cadena continúa a buen ritmo.

Saludos desde Málaga.

-Jesús-

[Victoria567]

Good idea Jesus,

but would Air bnb risk denting their bank balance by giving away discounts to guests who write a review for hosts?

my suggestion is for no reviews for the guests from the hosts should be made public until the guest also completes a host review.

this would place the responsibility back firmly with the guest, as many guests need reviews to make them attractive to potential hosts.

[いずみ荘--Izumisou-0]

Airbnb rating system is strange as hosts all over the world know.

Just never mind and no problem lol.

[Mary1173]

Hi

I have just returned from an Airbnb trip through the UK and encountered the new review process from a guest point of view for the first time. For sure, that question about meeting expectations was definitely a hard one to deal with. I selected my hosts carefully, choosing to pay more for a well-presented place than to risk something that might not meet my expectations. All but one of my hosts deserved a five star rating but my honest answer was that the places all met my expectations. Also, the length of the questionnaire was excessive and I found myself impatient to get to the part where I could actually write a review that came from the heart rather than moulding my response machine-like to someone else's view of my experience.

I would suggest that now that we've pinpointed the shortcomings of the process we put together what we WOULD like to see reviewed in order to receive constructive feedback from our guests.

[Victoria567]

To paraphrase A.E. Houseman “ three minutes thought would suffice to find this out, but thought is irksome and three minutes is a long time”.......so why are Air bnb changing to a lengthy reqpview process from guests?

[Lilis0]

I have an apartment in Airbnb Jakarta with most guests are locals and other  SE Asians and  2 cottages in Bali with most guests are foreigners. I wonder the cultural habit of some peoples like SE Asians (Indonesians included) also affect the review writing rate. It seems that the SE Asians guests  don't care much about writing a review. Only 10% of all my  Indonesian  and other SE Aseans guests wrote a review when leaving compare  to 83% do  from more advanced countries who stayed at my cottages in Bali. No matter how hard I try to tell them that review is so important for my airbnb listing, most of them just left without any trace.  Does Airbnb consider cultural aspect too?

[Sarah977]

@Lilis0   I couldn't tell you if it's cultural, as I've not yet hosted any SE Asians.

But here's an idea- tell your guests not only that reviewing you is important for your listing, but that if you don't see that they've left a review, that you will not bother to leave one for them. And that hosts look at guest reviews before deciding whether to accept a booking, so reviews are equally important for them as guests. They may not care about what's important to you, but they are much more likely to care about what might affect them.

[Lilly28]

@Cor3@Sarah977- Thank you! I am all the time worried that something is not as it should be.  

[Cathie19]

I’m quite sure that a lack of reviews, from “very happy” and “responsive” guests will affect our ratings. I’ve had guests since the new system was implemented who did not review. It’s all too hard for them!

Another issue for me is that guests can go “off  the grid” literally, after leaving Darwin. They go driving and camping across long and remote distances. They can also not have a local SIM card with data allowance, hence the new review requirements are TOO LONG for an international guest with expensive global roaming or next to no free wifi and time! 

Remember, if you get some wifi, you are more likely to upload a Facebook status with a couple of images then follow Airbnb’s demands. The loser here are the hosts who have gone to the trouble to review a good guest, with nothing in return.

I don’t care how much it cost to implement, it was funded on our rentals. Therefore, it’s still a POOR / lousy SYSTEM that urgently needs to be trashed! 

😞

Cathie

[Maria912]

Victoria is right, guest today think that they are renting a hotel when they are renting a room in a house. 

I m also getting fustrating about some guests, they never read about the listing, they dont know what they are renting or where they are going. 

There most be a kind of READ and AGREED click space, so we are sure that the guest know what we are offering them. 

[Victoria567]

Excellent idea @Maria912

There SHOULD be a a tick for read and agree they have read each section of the listing.

I had 2 entitled women check out yesterday without paying for the use of my washing machine and electric drier.

They state they did not know they had to pay and have flatly refused to pay up so Air bnb went through my listing and saw I’ve clearly listed this service was to be paid for.

Air bnb have themselves paid the laundry service fee.

[Victoria567]

Hello again @Maria912

This is the review alive left for Julie from Utah in the USA....I’m waiting for it to be published soon.

Hi Julie
Thanks for reaching out and declining to pay for the use of my washing machine and electric tumble drier
I love feedback whether it is positive or negative. I especially like feedback like this so others can see the “entitled” guests I sometimes have to deal with.
There is a large element of trust in being an air bnb host and I feel that trust has been eroded by a guest who does not care about honouring the £10 fee clearly stated in my air bnb listing for use of my laundry facilities in my family home.

Yes.....it’s my home, not some hotel or large corporation such as Hilton or Google who can forgo the odd Ten Bucks.
In fact it is the home of a retired senior, a woman in her sixth decade.
Particularly galling, as this gullible senior, also waived her Strict cancellation policy and let you change your booking from 2 nights stay to a 1 nights stay ( at your request, a couple of days prior to your arrival) FREE OF CHARGE and this senior also lost £62.50 in payment into the bargain!

I appreciate any guest who chooses to spend their money in my family home until they act like like this and tries to make it up to me by promising to write me a nice review.

You can pen whatever review you wish and I won’t lose a second of sleep over it.
The only thing I have lost this season, is trust in the “ entitled” guests that seem to be increasingly using the air bnb platform for a cheap deal, rather than being genuinely part of the sharing economy.

I shared my beautiful modern home with you, I also gave you fresh grown organic fruits of apples and plums to eat on your onward journey ( as part of my warm hospitality) but Im afraid I do not wish to be part of any deal!....whether bartering down a price for my accommodation or getting your money’s worth or even getting a good review as quite frankly I’m quite appalled by your attitude.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday in Scotland.

[Susan151]

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@Victoria567 wrote:

Hello again @Maria912

This is the review alive left for Julie from Utah in the USA....I’m waiting for it to be published soon.

Hi Julie
Thanks for reaching out and declining to pay for the use of my washing machine and electric tumble drier<snip>

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You are really going to leave this review in a public space for any potential guest to see? I, for one, would never stay with you based on this review alone. I am afraid that you sound a bit unhinged.

[And what does being over 60 have to do with your hosting or their entitled nature?]