Review the star system - revolutionary simplicity!

[Sandra126]

Replace the individual star ratings with a simple thumbs up or down, as in would you recommend/not recommend this guest/host? Eliminates all the issues with getting a 4, or 5, or only a 3. Was is good? Thumbs UP!

Very very simple and streamlined.

[Sandra126]

@James217, I think that what needs to improve is best spelt out, and there would be a box for that. ''What could be improved on''. It is there now, and should stay. Someone ticking a three in something and a four in another doesn't really mean much anyway, and they are not prompted to say WHY they did.

As far as brutality I think it is more like'' would you recommend this place?'' or not. A yes or a no. Not ''would you say it is slightly less good than something else we cannot hope to measure against?'' which is kind of how it goes right now.

I am not saying this suggestion is going to be the best way to move the rating system forward, but it is a start for debate. Thank you to all who contribute!

[Cormac0]

Where I'm doing my hosting in Krakow Poland I've met two separate couples that were paying circa Pln 2,000 for a three night stay in a hotel that did not include breakfast! While my offering is Pln 151 per night for four people in a 55m2 apartment which I own I may add… my gripe is that the Star system is pushing standards to a point were no money is being made when you take into account the amount of time some guest expect you to spend on their requirements, for example I had a guest change their arrival time four times before they put in an appearance which tied me up for the whole afternoon, in addition to this is the petty theft of towels and spoons and sink stopper yes a sink stopper and then there’s the consumables soap, toilet rolls, bedlinen, coffee, tea, milk, heating, electricity. the pricing methodology drives the price down in low demand without any reference to the costs involved.

Please put some common sense into the marking system as Guest are marking on what they find and in allot of instants I think that many hosts are sharing five start quality accommodation with their guests at bargain basement prices.

I would say based on the prices and photo I seen they can’t be making any money unless there only in it for cashflow.

[Andrea9]

@Sandra0, only saw this now, and yes, the best suggestion for review rating I've seen. Cutting host anxiety over this whole 5-star ('mandatory') system would probably also add on several months (or years!!) longer host life expectancy. Cut the negative adrenaline and bring back more genuine joy to hosting without the disappointed feeling later of feeling let down even by an otherwise pleasant guest. (When I do my best for a guest who sucks up all that effort, yet leaves me a lower rating and then ever wanted to book again in future, I would actually feel it fair to ask them if they really wanted to risk my place again because I really can't afford another lower rating from them!)

[Mary-Ann0]

@Andrea0, exactly huh?  

Yes like really, ...... you say you liked my place and it was a good price but then you give me only four stars?  Fine then please book yourself the five star place next time and leave my place free for a guest who will show appreciation for all my efforts and extra amenities.

[Jennifer178]

I fully support the need to revamp the the rating system.  So many things are subjective and each person has a different level of expectation.  So many hosts get marked down in categories because the guest did not read the details of a place.  I got 4 stars for location once because the guest could not see the river from my house.  I described the guest room as being down the stairs from the living room with natural light coming down the window well.  A cool feature, I think.  Another guest gave me 4 stars for location (5 stars overall experience) because he could hear the hum of the highway.  He did not write that in the public review and I was fine with that. Nobody else has complained.  Some people are just more sensative to sound, light, smell, etc. He came and stayed again and gave me 4 stars again for location even though we joked about the fact that I cannot move the road.  Why stay again?  He is coming back in 3 weeks. 

Stars for hosts and not for guests is not fair.  Airbnb is supposed to be a fair and honst interaction between people while at the same time being a business.  The star ratings means different things to people from different cultures.  If you want to know the opinion of hosts or guests you need to ask generic questions or simply just do a thumbs up or down. There have been a number of good suggestions. PLEASE CHANGE THIS SYSTEM.  

[Sandra126]

@Cormac0, has taken me a long time to answer, but yes good idea to have a cleanliness thing still, but we could keep the categories (except location) and say Cleanliness thumbs up or down, Communication up or down whatever. And anyone giving a thumbs down would have a pop up follow question saying Why? So it is not a random thing. So, all the same as before but no stars.

[Mary-Ann0]

How about just 2 categories - cleanliness and accuracy with a thumbs up or down.

We can’t do anything about our locations and we can only have good communication when we get good communication back - that is a two way street. And value is subjective too.

So the only two things that are completely on us hosts are cleanliness and how accurate our listing is.  That’s all we have complete control over and so those two things are what we should be judged on …. and that’s all.

If a thumbs down is given an explanation needs to go with it.  If the guest does not participate in the review game then it goes on their profile that they book and stay but don't leave reviews.

[Sandra126]

@Mary-Ann0, exactly. Value depends on where they have stayed before, what comparisons they are able to give. Price anyone can see upfront, value is a wisp of fog, intangible.

[Dee42]

I personally would love to see a review of the rating system that is used by Airbnb as I feel it is definately slanted towards favouring the guest and punishing the host.  

It is particularly harsh, that the guests get to give you a lower star rating with no explanation.  I personally find it the worst part of being a host as it seems to be a way for the guest to list their complaints.  

There is not question there that asks what did the host do right? 

I think Airbnb need to remember that these are personal homes that are being rented and not Hotels and therefore this needs to be reflected fairly in the rating system.  

[Dee42]

I personally would love to see a review of the rating system that is used by Airbnb as I feel it is definately slanted towards favouring the guest and punishing the host.  

It is particularly harsh, that the guests get to give you a lower star rating with no explanation.  I personally find it the worst part of being a host as it seems to be a way for the guest to list their complaints.  

There is not question there that asks what did the host do right? 

I think Airbnb need to remember that these are personal homes that are being rented and not Hotels and therefore this needs to be reflected fairly in the rating system.  

[Mary-Ann0]

Yes, I think so too and maybe this is why this issue is such a hot button with hosts here in the community center.

Value is a figment of a guest's imagination.  You know the old saying regarding used garage sale items - "one man's trash is another man's treasure".  And in comparison, a good "value" to one guest could be considered something very different to another guest.

This star system is awful and so very precarious; it’s like a moving target - with every guest the target you are aiming for moves in a different direction because every guest is a different person, with different ideas on how a place is supposed to be for them.

[Michelle140]

If nothing else, I think guests should be REQUIRED to explain anything lower than 5 stars (or in this suggestion, if they give a thumbs down). I have only been hosting for five months, and my biggest frustration is definitely the rating system! Most of the time, I have no idea what I am doing wrong to warrant lower ratings. When they do explain, it's often things that I explain fully in my listing and/or things that are not listed as being included =P Sigh. I have gotten VERY frustrated =( I do try my best, but this is not a full-time job for me, it is my house that I live in, and I don't know what people expect from me... =(

[Annette33]

@Michelle140, guests should most definitely NOT be required to explain why they give less than 5 stars, that's their prerogative! the fault lies not with the guests, but with the system the way it is set up. 

[Mirta5]

I totally desagree with what you are proposing (thumbs up or down) is a temerary simplification of reality.

[Lannie0]

Some of these stories are alarming. I guess on some level they are also reassuring that so many hosts are having some of the same issues with guests that we have had.

Before I go any further I have a suggestion: Let's all state in our own listings something to the effect of " due to Airbnb rating issues if you have any suggestions/complaints it is your responsibility to have a conversation with your host(s)". Then, in our review of our guests we can report whether or not there were any conversations if we want to.

For example, the 4 star rating for location. Really? Our home is in one of the most sought after in our town.

We just had a guest who, when we returned home, told us that they looked in every drawer and cupboard in our kitchen. This comment by the guest left us wondering where else they poked their noses into as we had described upon their arrival which areas are private.

They left us a 2 sentence review. The first was about how 'welcoming' we were. The second sentence stated that our portal (room size and furnished with antiques) was messy so they couldn't use it. NOT. What a joke. The only time they would have been able to use it would have been after they returned in the evening when, as it was fall, it would have been too cold. (7K altitude).