Review System Needs To Be Revised

[Rebecca181]

New standards for hosts are coming into play this year. Unless I am misunderstanding something, all hosts must maintain at least a 4.7 overall performance rating to remain on the AIrbnb platform. Super Hosts must maintain a 4.8 overall performance rating. Ratings will be based on the lifetime performance of the host (please correct me if I am wrong on this).

Those of us who have looked closely at the new method of rating our 'performance' believe it will result in many excellent, conscientious, well-reviewed hosts receiving warnings about their performance, including threats of having their listing deactivated; Super Hosts may lose their Super Host status. This should be a concern not only to all of us Hosts, but also to Airbnb Guests and Airbnb Corporate (the entire Community, really) for the following reasons:

1) Hosts will feel even more uncertain about how to intervene when guests are breaking House Rules, fearing a retaliatory review.

2)  Hosts will feel even less confident about enabling Instant Booking, as one poorly behaved guest could torpedo their ratings with an unfair / retaliatory review as 'Overall Experience' ratings appear to be calculated via a bell curve methodology versus a weighted average.

3) Competent, experienced, well-performing hosts may be driven out of the system / have their listings deactivated due to unfair reviews - Even one unfair / retaliatory review could cause untold damage to a host's business and reputation; in fact, it appears their listing could actually be de-activated if their rating is brought down below 4.7, even from just one review.

4) Super Hosts may lose their hard-earned Super Host status due to an unfair, retaliatory review.

5) Guests who cancelled are for some inexplicable reason allowed to leave reviews. So someone who never stayed in our listing could give a  host a 4 star or less 'Overall Experience' rating and our listing could be negatively impacted - Perhaps drastically.

6) From what I heard from Hosts who also travel through Airbnb as guests, when guests receive the prompt to review their stay, and their host, they are led to believe that a 4 Star rating is 'Good'; a 5 Star rating is 'Fantastic'. The truth of the matter is, a 4 Star rating is not 'Good' for us hosts at all, and can negatively impact our stats, our status, and our listing.

7) Hosts that have longevity on Airbnb will be unfairly penalized when the Overall Performance rating is determined by his or her lifetime statistics because a bell curve methodology is being used, versus a weighted average. Some hosts who have been listed on Airbnb for years are even discussing the need to delete their listing and all of their hard-earned reviews so that they can start over again with a clean slate. Also, new listings / new hosts sometimes need a learning period; they should not be forever penalized by ratings they incurred when just starting out. 

The other issue is that Airbnb seemingly is becoming more and more guest-centric - to the point where Hosts / Super Hosts fear retaliatory guest behaviors, including 'bad' reviews, for simply doing things like enforcing their House Rules or pointing out House Rules that were clearly stated in their listing, but the guest did not read. Also, guests who may have violated House Rules intentionally and blatantly are still allowed to leave reviews, which is of particular concern if the Host had to intervene when a guest was obviously breaking a rule. Sometimes these unfair / malicious / retaliatory reviews destroy a host's stats and can cause them to receive warnings that they need to 'improve' etc, or even cause a high-performing host to lose their Super Host status. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on all of this before putting this out on Host Voice - Particularly if I am not understanding the new rating system being rolled out in July.  I actually hope that I am grossly misunderstanding something - Maybe it is not as dire as I currently believe! My initial suggestion is that a weighted average be used, not a bell curve, and all sub-categories be factored into the 'Overall Experience (aka 'Performance') rating (currently they are not - I confirmed this with an Airbnb customer support rep and his manager);  I'd love to get suggestions from all of you to incorporate into my eventual 'Host Voice' post (unless another host beats me to it!)

[Fred13]

   To me,  the core problem with the Airbnb review system is that its system doesn't leave enough headroom to compensate for the misinformed (who think 4 is just marvy), nor certainly reviews by the occational lunatic, easily.  

[Ann10]

Rebecca- I called ABB about how far it would go back. 1st off they said there was going to be no change. So, I explained that there was going to be a change.  I wanted to know if it was the life time of hosting and I  got a bunch of I don't know, and I don't if anyone knows. Then I got hung up on. Then I called back, got more I don't know. Then I was involved in this message exchange which also ended in a "hang up" of sorts. Man this company is rude to their hosts. Anyhow, they ended up telling me it would only go back 365 days. For me the learning curve was getting the cleaning person to actually clean, not just go through the motions. That was the biggest challenge for me. Also, Airbnb was parnered w Handy and they would steal my stuff. If you didn't notice right away, too bad. Even if you did, they would say, so and so said she didn't take it. One guest left me a gift card. The cleaning lady went to the apartment before me so she thought I would never know. However, I contacted the guest to find out where they left my discount cards I let them barrow and they said, right next to the Christmas card and the gift card we left for you. It was all gone. I couldn't believe Handy's reaction. Later when I needed my Chi flat iron I realized she took that too. My favorite sweater , Ray Ban Sun Glasses, and my safe keys oddly disappeared and I had to change everything on my safe and put in a new code. Shady company! Anyway, you can see the interaction below. You have to read it from the bottom up.

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Sorry I see who it's from. The message for her is below.

Apr 23, 2018 5:48 PM

Who is this message from?

Apr 23, 2018 5:47 PM

If you have any questions or concerns, please respond to this message. 

I hope you have a great day.

Apr 23, 2018 1:52 PM

Hi Ann, 

It's Mercaydeez with Airbnb. I hope you're feeling better this afternoon. 

I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know your case manager is out of the office on her off days. We're still reviewing this issue and she'll be in touch when she returns tomorrow.

Apr 23, 2018 1:52 PM

That message was for Beth.

Apr 21, 2018 4:02 PM

I wrote you back yesterday.

Apr 21, 2018 4:01 PM

I just wanted to follow up with you, I am leaving the office for the day and will not return until Tuesday. 

I hope you are feeling better, no more fever! As discussed, because of no contact back we will go ahead and close out your case.

If you need any further assistance please feel free to call back in and one of my wonderful colleagues would love to help you!

Apr 20, 2018 3:24 PM

Ok.

Apr 18, 2018 4:00 PM

I definitely understand, I am so sorry you have been sick! I can put your ticket in our 48 pending response box. If we don't hear back from you within 48 hours it will close out. Will that work for you? 

My office hours are Monday - Friday 6 AM - 2:00 PM (PST).​ So if we don't hear back by Friday it will then close out.

Apr 18, 2018 3:10 PM

Sorry, I've been sick and I just woke up. Can you give me a bit more time, pls?

Apr 18, 2018 2:24 PM

I just wanted to follow up and make sure you received my reply to your inquiry from yesterday, Ann.

I hope all is well! Please let us know whether we can still be of help; otherwise, we'll close out this issue for the time being. Have a wonderful day!

Apr 18, 2018 1:46 PM

I see, the only way we would be able to keep the recording or documentation would be if I call you and we are to stop the outbound call recording. If you would like to do that please let me know when a good time for me to give you a call would be.

Apr 17, 2018 3:53 PM

Actually, I was going to say it to you. I don't you to tell anyone that the feed back is from me.

Apr 17, 2018 2:52 PM

ok

Apr 17, 2018 2:50 PM

Hi Ann,

Just to verify, do you mean you want to leave anonymous feedback? 

I am going to get verification on our feedback through our help center being 100% anonymous. I will get back to you shortly with that answer.

Apr 17, 2018 2:35 PM

Hi Beth,

I have more to say, but if I say it, can you promise me that you won't say that the comments are coming from me?
Ann

Apr 17, 2018 1:45 PM

Hi Ann, 

Oh no, I'm sorry you have a fever! That's not good, be sure to some rest and heal up! I hope you feel better very soon!

Like we talked about, we appreciate you sending your feedback in this message, I am sending it to our team for follow up. We're always working to improve our platform. Even if we're unable to accommodate every request, we truly value your feedback — your voice is both powerful and essential. I’ll be sure to pass your thoughts on to the right team. 

Thank you for being the Best Part of Airbnb! Happy Hosting!

Apr 17, 2018 10:07 AM

Hi Beth,
Great talking to you too. I won't be able to get much together tonight. I figured out the reason that conversation wore me out was that I have a fever. One thing, I can say is we really need the calendar back. 

Please stop demoting me because I'm refusing IB, SP, moderate for BR, 48 hours free cancellation 14 days out is unacceptable. All of the above is unacceptable. I was fully booked before you guys started w all this nonsense, and pushing stuff that doesn't work for me. I was at the top of the page. Why demote me for not conforming to things that don't work for me, when I was fully booked before. Back to back bookings all the time. Why ruin that? Why tell me SH make 22% more and then sabatage me? Broken promises, more broken promises! Makes no sense. The guests had no problem w my policies or getting to know me before booking. I have boundaries. That is a healthy feature of a human being because it means I respect others boundaries. I'm not letting anyone, and especially not ABB disrespect my boundaries. I believe a lot of other people feel the same way. I hope they will respect us and respect the community and belonging anywhere which they so pride themselves on. Another thing, don't tell me something is meant to help me and others when it clearly isn't. I don't what works for me. I also know what is going to help more people become SH and it isn't this new criteria. It's going to knock people out. That is what really rubs people the wrong way. Telling us that certain things are meant to help us when in one glace we can see they are wrong, all wrong. It took a little longer to figure out that more people will not be helped w the new SH criteria. The only people who will be helped are the extortionists, and the ill intentioned reviewer. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. You only need to host for a few years. 
Thank you for everything!
Ann

Apr 16, 2018 9:52 PM

Hi Ann, 

This is Beth and I was your Airbnb Trip Experience Case Manager. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with you. I am glad I was able to personally provide you with assistance on your Superhost questions, among other conversation topics. 

As we discussed, we will close this ticket out, you will have 48 hours to respond with any feedback you want to include in this thread specifically. After that time I would definitely recommend sending it through our feedback link. 

Here is a link to our Airbnb Feedback center: www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

We greatly appreciate you being a part of our Airbnb family! 

Respectfully,

Apr 16, 2018 5:15 PM

I was told to ask someone.

Apr 16, 2018 10:06 AM

Hello unnamed trip agent,
Please forward my 2 questions to the team that specializes in answering questions about SH. Please do this so I will not have wasted my time calling the special SH host number. You know this one that you gave me-
Here is the Super Host regional Support number:

United States: +1 888 326 5753
That is the one I called. If you look in the Community Center and on the FB forums you will see there are a lot of hosts who want answers to these and many other questions. It won't be hard for you to contact the correct team. Pls do this. As I said, when I worked w the public saying, "I don't know" was unacceptable. I told to ask someone. How hard is that? You will learn something as well. You might get a promotion some day. Wouldn't that be great? 
Pls help us out!
Thank you! You are the best!
Ann

Apr 16, 2018 10:05 AM

These are the 2 questions-
1. Will the new super host criteria include our stats from the very begining or just one year?
2. Why isn't the new math for the Super Host Status being made public so we all know what the numbers are?

Apr 15, 2018 6:36 PM

PS- I called that number, that's how I got to you. Pls put on your work pants and find out the answers. When I worked w the public, I don't know was not an acceptable answer. Pls find out or put me in touch w someone who knows.

Apr 15, 2018 5:28 PM

Are you kidding me? Pls send my message to the team that deals with this. This isn't about my personal score. We all want answers to these questions. If you don't answer we will call the NY Times and they will call and ask for the answers.

Apr 15, 2018 5:27 PM

Ann, I am a active trip agent and I would be happy to assist you but I am not trained in reviewing Super Host status and this is done by a team that is specialized in this type of thing. 

I cannot answer any of your questions and they would assumption on my part because I am not trained for this criteria and I do not want to give you wrong information so I am deferring you to wait for you next assessment and if there is problem you can appeal their decision. 

Here is the Super Host regional Support number:

United States: +1 888 326 5753

Apr 15, 2018 4:49 PM

PSS-My second question is, why isn't the math being published?

Apr 15, 2018 4:12 PM

PS- Some people only give 5 stars for luxury. They told me so. Pls make sure it's only for the last year. Many people are saying that is from the beginning of your hosting career on ABB.

Apr 15, 2018 4:04 PM

Hi Teresa,
Thank you for checking it out for me. Are you the person I spoke to on the phone. Do you know that on July 1st the math for the SH criteria is changing? Please look at this-See Below. Please scroll all the way down. After you look at this math you will see that it won't be so easy anymore. Right now I'm at 91% and at 4.8. One 4 star review could ruin it for me. Please review the math below. 

A single 4-star rating, you need 4 perfect 5-star ratings to average 4.8

A single 3-star rating, you need 9 perfect 5-star ratings to average 4.8

A single 2-star rating, you need 14 perfect 5-star ratings to average 4.8

A single 1-star rating, you need 19 perfect 5-star ratings to average 4.8


A Host with the following scores:

61 5-Star Reviews 11-4 Star Reviews, 2 3-Star Reviews. They have 82.43% 5 Star Reviews. However, they have a 4.797 Score. 



Reason being that in order to achieve superhost status the following is true:



A host can also have the following:

18 5-star Reviews, and 1 1-Star, therefore a 94.74% 5-Star Rating. However, they will have a 4.78 Average.
13 5-Star Reviews, and 1 2-Star, therefore have a 92.85% 5-Star Rating. However, they will have a 4.78 Average.
8 5-Star Reviews, and 1 3-Star, therefore have an 88.88% 5-Star Rating. However, they will have a 4.77 Average.


And so on. Basically, if you have one bad guest experience, where it is below 4 stars, you pay for it, big time. 

I had 100% 5 star ratings. Then I had one guest who committed libel and breach against me and gave me a 1 for OVERALL EXPERIENCE. This other guest also breached the contract and gave me a 3 for OVERALL EXPERIENCE. She told me everything was wonderful and wrote that everything was wonderful. My contract states that you have to tell me if something is wrong so I can fix it. If you don't you can't bring it up in the review forum. I suspect her 3 OVERALL EXPERIENCE was because they took $50 flights to come and go at 3 am and didn't have much of an NYC weekend. The other lady got her review removed because I told her libel is expensive in my response and boom it was gone. I handled another libelist the same way. Would ABB remove it for me when I could prove w my phone bill that she was lying? Hell no, but whatever the guest wants, right. The 3 OVERALL EXPERIENCE PERSON called in about getting it removed, and they contacted me, but I didn't see the message for a week, and the next case manager I had to deal w no way was going to remove it because I wasn't the guest. So, what was the purpose of contacting me about removing it? So lame, don't you think? I may get back to her about breach of contract so she can call you guys again. You guys will do whatever the guest wants, right? 

Why isn't the math being published? BC says all this stuff is meant to help us, but if you look at the forums on ABB and FB everyone is mad and looking for other platforms. The 48 hour cancellation period is unacceptable. Changing to moderate to be able to maintain BR also unacceptable. How can I get someone else in 5 days at the same price or at all. Same w 12 days. Unacceptable. Business' have insurance. All this stuff is unacceptable. ABB used to get all my business. Now, it has dwindled down to barely anything. I plan to turn off all my listings on May 1 of things don't change and so do many others. You don't have to take it from me. Look at the forums. There are a lot of other things too. Just to many! 

Anyway, pls get back to me. I know all this stuff is not your fault. Thank you so much for your help. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors.
Ann

Apr 15, 2018 4:02 PM

Hello Ann, This is Teresa with Airbnb and I am a case manager with the Customer Trip Experience Team. Thank you for calling Airbnb in regards to your questions and I am going to give you the answer to one of your questions:

Each calendar year is what we look at for Super Host status so once this calendar year ends then everything that happened goes away and you start over and the bad doesn't follow you. The next calendar assessment is July 1, 2018.

Your second question probably has more to do with averages and the one bad rating can be set off by multiple good ratings but we are finding out definitively now.

I will be in touch with you soon.

[Ann10]

I've had people tell me that 5 is only for luxury. They don't understand the system.

[Ann10]

@Ariane7- I had the same thing happen. Airbnb knew blow by blow what was happening. She even told ABB that she thought it was my responsibility to pay her this imaginary missing money, but she would not make a police report. They implored me not to give her the money and told me they had my back. Then they let her give me the bad review she promised if I didn't give her the money. She even demanded that I come and see her in person. I knew the unveiled extortion attempt would come then so I recorded it and even thought they knew every thing that had happen they would not listen to the recording.

As if I suddenly made it up out of the blue. I even recorded her friends saying there was no record of the money ever existing. I also have photos of all the stuff they shoplifted from stores and about 12 wigs they had all over the apartment. I said lets call the police right now. Suddenly, she was like, I'm optimistic the money will turn up( only in that that moment). I should have called the police anyway.  

I had to take legal action to get ABB to remove the review. However, they are still letting her and her friends use the site. Another one that vandalized my apartment and tried to get money from me is also still using the site.

Next time someone does that to you, you should call the police. If it isn't illegal, record them saying it to you.  I had another one that did the same thing. Right away, I told her I had sought outside counsel. Never heard a word from her again and didn't get a bad review. 

[Rebecca181]

@Ann10 Thank for confirming our stats will go back 365 days and not change to lifetime. At least we can all cross off that one possible nightmare from our list.

[Sally221]

we have been very lucky with our guests, they have been lovely interesting people and we  have garnered great reviews. Our current guest & her fellow travelers are from China and their English isn't totally fluent (my Mandarin consists of Happy New Year) One guest asked where one of the party, a young man, the other 2 being young women , could smoke. Ours is a non smoking listing. I said in the driveway and "no butts" . We smelled smoke late tonight, our listing is our house, we run it like a micro bnb with one suite- I sent a text via airbnb's platform reminding the booking guest that we are no smoking. My husband went downstairs and asked the smoker to stop. They then used some powerfully scented room spray or something, it takes a lot for scents to come upstairs- our teens  lived downstairs back in the day & I know. 

I am nervous about what to do next, I sent the help center an email offering to let them out of tomorrows booking so they can find a smoking accomodation- we have folks coming after this group & I'll clearly need to wash curtains as well as the usual. The space is advertised as non smoking and shouldn't have a taint of smoke. If a person smokes in a non smoking hotel room they assess a hefty fine, how does one enforce a non smoking policy, according to airbnb? I don't want smoking at my house or even in my garden, it smells fantastic and that's how I like it. Hosting has been an awesome experience but this could be the deal breaker, if I have to accept smokers, I'll rent out rooms to grad students instead. Sally

[Susan612]

I am not hearing many hosts in this group addressing that the rules regading reviews be enforced. Why is that? Isn’t lack of enforcement of the content policy and terms of service 10.2 stating review must be fair truthful and factual changing in June 2018 to reading review must be accurate,  the root of the problem you hosts face when it comes to a guest leaving a bad review? Facebook now has content reviewers. Air Bnb is like Facebook a Billion dollar business. Would you hosts like to have some overviewing body protecting you all from inaccurate and unfair reviews? 

[Fred13]

   Actually Facebook has a LOT more controls over opinion than Airbnb has, or in all likelihood, will ever have. Regardless of the word or methodology they use, Airbnb's review system is good in a way, BUT it has high-maintenance written all over it, since there will always have to be a 'decision' made on the fairness or accuracy of a review, and as long as Airbnb is the ultimate judge, they will have their work cut out for them, to keep both sides happy.

   Personally, I would change to a 10-star system and ~maybe~ continue to allow the written part, but limited to 100-words or less in length.

[Rebecca181]

@Susan612 I wrote elsewhere that if it is evident that a review was malicious or retaliatory, the 'guest' should be booted off of the platform, and the host's good name and good ratings restored. If that actually happened (and was 'enforced') I bet some guests might think twice before 1) breaking house rules (and other violations , e.g., Airbnb's Terms of Service) and 2) leaving a retaliatory review - If they knew there were a grievance or 'review of the review' process, and they will be removed from the platform if they write an inaccurate / retaliatory review, they wouldn't be so quick to write a bunch of factoids and give the host an undeserved low number of stars. 

As my post title states, the (entire) review system really needs to be revised.

[Susan612]

@Rebecca181 I hear you about the review process but again what about enforcement. Has anyone had issues enforced? It has been my experience that Air Bnb rarely enforces. 

[Rebecca181]

@Susan612 I'd like to hear about this from other hosts as well. My last reply to you was an example of a hypothetical enforcement that might benefit the entire community - Some people are 'better suited to a hotel environment' and should not be allowed to remain on the Airbnb  platform after proving themselves to be of poor character and mayhem-provoking as guests.

[Sarah977]

@Rebecca181   I think it's bizarre that airbnb doesn't realize that if they allow terrible guests to remain on the platform, that they then have so many more "issues" to deal with. If they booted off the platform those guests who leave obviously retaliatory or just unhinged reviews, those who cause damage to people's homes more than once (and if they cause extreme damage, they don't get another chance), those who are always asking for a refund, those who have consistently poor reviews from hosts, etc. etc, then support staff would have far fewer upset, frustrated and angry hosts contacting them, trying to get resolution to a problem with a guest. 

It seems like it would be cost effective to the company to remove bad guests from the platform and have some way of ensuring that they don't just create a new profile.

[Susan612]

@Sarah977 I agree with you. I think one complication is AirBnb is not there to know what really went down so the actions of guests has to be able to be proven somehow. How can that be overcome.

[Sarah977]

@Susan612  It is a problematic situation if the guest refuses to take responsiblity- Then it comes down to a he said/she said situation, and of course some things are impossible to document. So really, airbnb can't really know who is telling truth in some situations. But looking at a guest's and host's history with airbnb would go a long way towards eliminating some of the "issues". If, for instance a guest is new, or has several less than good reviews, and the host has a history of writing and receiving good reviews and has never claimed a guest damaged property before, it's pretty obvious to me who should be believed. And a lot of hassle could be eliminated if airbnb just collected a damage deposit up front, rather than the "idea" of one, that a host has to fight to collect on. The policy of a host having to document and submit damage, theft, or other bad behavior claims within 24 hours of a guest checking out is ridiculous- 8 of those hours is sleep time, and hosts are busy- hosting, duh, and attending to other work and family commitments.

[Rebecca181]

@Sarah977 If I had a magic wand, I would invite both hosts and guests on the community to share their thoughts on the review / rating system. For example, my lovely guests that are currently here let me know they had NO idea that anything below five stars could land us in the proverbial dog-house with Airbnb. I bet after just one 'brainstorm thread' on this, a satisfactory solution to this dilemma would be found. Any guest worth their salt would not want to harm a host by rating them as if the five star system were a hotel system - In fact, many guests would protest themselves if they knew about it. It is not hard to solve. This thread shows how many various ideas and solutions are available just from the community alone. Why not let us help fix this?