So why do we get 'warnings' from Airbnb for 4 STARS?

[Rachael26]

As Hosts we are all working towards satisfied guests and lots of bookings. And using Airbnb means we also have to be concerned with the Review System - and the dreaded pressure to achieve 5 Stars. Not only because some of us may want to achieve SuperHost (the jury is still out for me as to whether there are any significant benefits to being a SuperHost - the increased expectations from guests v. a dedicated phone line and a $100 travel credit - hmmmmm, still not sure!) but also the pressure to keep above a 4.5 average, because when you dip below that number Airbnb start to send warnings of suspension and all sorts of negative things. As if the pressure of hosting wasn't enough!

So my question is this - is it fair for Airbnb to have such a high average standard (above 4.5) which basically makes anything lower than an overall 5 Star 'Bad'....... but the email they send to guests after a stay doesn't point this out. It actually reads like this (see below) and I believe this is sending one message to the guest - while sending another message to the Host.

'How was your stay at Fred's place?

Terrible

Bad

Okay

Good

Great

Share your experience while it’s still fresh. Your review will help Fred improve and tells future guests what to expect.'

SO IF FOUR STARS ARE CONSIDERED GOOD - and Airbnb sends this explanation out to the guest with the review request - then why such an unsupportive reaction from Airbnb when Hosts get a 4 star review?

Wouldn't most people booking a place to stay to save money and somewhere cheaper than a hotel - wouldn't they be happy with a 'Good' place? And delighted, but not expected, if a place turned out to be 'Great'? So why is it so bad from Airbnb's point of view to get a mix of 4 star and 5 star reviews?

I also agree with the suggestion that Airbnb should wait to send the warning emails until a host receives an overall 4 star review three times in a row. That would be more indicative of below par performance than the occasional 4 star overall that some guests just seem determined to give to be difficult or whatever reason they have in their heads.

This email message from Airbnb to the guests (showing 4 stars to mean 'Good' and 5 stars 'Great') is not helpful if Airbnb continue to use a different measuring stick for Hosts (meaning 4 stars is not 'Good' but you are failing as a Host).

[Huma0]

@Sandra856

Sorry, I was trying to figure out how to explain it clearly, but am struggling!

What I meant to say is that, under the Progress/Ratings tab, you see a list of your reviews with the individual star ratings under each one (like you said). However, if a guest doesn't rate you in a particular category or even in any sub category (and no, they don't have to. They can pick and choose), it automatically comes up as 5 stars even though it is not!

If you look at the overall breakdown of ratings for each category, you will see percentages for each. I keep track of these and therefore can tell when a guest has left a rating for one of these or not. A recent guest left me 5 stars overall, but the only sub category that changed percentage was location, so I can see that she only rated me for that one and not the others. Still, under her review, it misleadingly suggests she gave me 5 stars in every category.

Sorry to hear you are having an annoying guest. I feel like they come in waves. You get a bunch of great ones for a stretch and start to feel all is well in the world and then that annoying one comes in to shatter your illusions!

[Sandra856]

@Huma0 I'm sorry for my late reply. 

I had absolutely no idea that it was so complicated.

I really wish for more transparency.

Most hosts like me I think just assume that the stars shown is correct. 

The guest I had thought he had booked an entire apartment instead of just my room (I really don't understand how he could make that mistake?).

When he realised that he told me it was a problem because he also wanted to bring a friend (a girl). It was all a little suspicious because in our very long correspondence prior to his arrival he never mentioned a friend or extra person. 

I think his intention was to sneak her in if it had been an entire apartment. 

In the end he decided that my place didn't suit him and then wrote to me that it would be fair if he got a refund. I wrote to him to tell him why he couldn't get a refund. That it was his choice to leave and his mistakes and that he had blocked my dates so no one else could book and that I actually rely on the money at the moment. I declined his request when he send it Friday afternoon. Then yesterday I wrote to CS. They called him and he cancelled the reservation but then again he actually had the nerve to send another request stating that it was fair he got half of his money back. Ohhh my...

[Huma0]

@Sandra856

I have absolutely no truck with guests wanting a refund because they didn't read the listing details or cancellation policy. As long as the details are clear, then the responsibility rests on the guest, not the host.

As we all know, many guests do not read or even understand really basic stuff in the listing (I have also had guests thinking they are getting the whole house to themselves rather than a private room in a shared property - I don't know who they thought fed the cats!). My impression is that very few read the cancellation policy unless they decide to cancel and, even then, some still don't read it.

I had recent guests tell me they were going to cancel just hours before check in and that is only because I chased them about their arrival time. I am not sure if they were even going to mention it otherwise. They were under the impression that they would get a partial refund. I have a Strict policy on that listing, so that wasn't going to happen. Perhaps because it was a last minute booking they thought the 48 hour grace period still applied.

Then they asked me to give them a full refund if I got another booking, which I would normally be happy to do but in these circumstances it was impossible. Apart from the fact that there was no way I was going to get another booking with only a few hours left (also I don't accept same day bookings), they didn't actually cancel the reservation so it was blocked to other guetss anyway. It just goes to show how little guests understand about these things.

I agree that your guest should not have got a refund. It's not only that he mistook it for a self contained unit, but that he misrepresented the number of guests staying. I would not back down in this case.

[Sandra856]

@Huma0 He actually just left me a review a couple of hours ago. 

His review : 

A very good host and sweet. Very helpful!

His private feedback :

“I gave you a good review because I think is the right thing to do even though it wasn't so right from you to not accept the request..I believe doing good is the best thing to do.”

But the stars he left me was bad. I'm not sure he is aware that it is possible for a host to see them.

I wouldn't mind if he had just left me a review he thought was fair. It would give me an opportunity to comment, tell my version of the story and also thank him for the very few stars he left me. 

As you I'm actually not usually that rigid with my cancellation policy and are eager to find a solution. But he most definitely tried to cheat me with not telling me about that extra friend of his and then afterwards just assume I would give him a refund. 

This is the review I left him :

I really wish I didn't have to write this review but so many things about this reservation has been akward and I have felt quite uncomfortable. Somehow Salvador thought he had booked my entire apartment and not just a room in my shared apartment. I can't imagine why because with just a minimum of research prior to the booking it should be clear that it would be quite impossible to rent an entire apartment in Copenhagen for the price of my budget priced room. He didn't notify me about it when he arrived but wrote to me afterwards that it was a problem because he also wanted to bring his friend (a girl). He never mentioned any extra people in our communication prior to his arrivel and I don't know if his intentions was to just bring his friend without at least telling me or paying for her if it had actually been an entire apartment. I did tell him that he was welcome to bring his friend for coffee for an hour or two and asked him if that was what he meant. Later that night he wrote to me that he had decided to find another place to stay and that he would do the check out next day. In the same message he asked me to refund him! Well I tried to explain to him that he was the one who decided to leave. His choice. That the dates were blocked and that it with such short notice would be impossible for me to rebook. The day after he checked out I had to contact airbnb's customer service in order to get help and advices on what to do and for the reservation to be cancelled. After the cancellation he send me another request to refund him! It seems to me he doesn't really understand (or read and respect airbnb's cancellation policy) or why I won't give him a refund. He thinks I should pay for his decision to leave and seem to have no idea of the akward situation he puts me in when he asks me to pay him back. The whole situation seems to me to be a bit immature.

Thank you for your reply huma! It is so nice to be able to exchange stories with fellow hosts 🙂

[Solange22]

@Sandra exactly, I had a bunch of very good well behaved guest, and just when you get used to the fact that guests are educated nice people an individual comes along that you really don't want anywhere near you. They make you forget the positive side. Mostly because their behavior is shocking. Especially because you least expect it. Anyway I noticed that I became very stressed for the ratings which will be evaluated every 3 to 4 months and when my ratings go down it makes me sad because I gave my best, better than best. So I promised myself at the beginning of this year that I don't care anymore whether I get a good review or not. It works both ways, when your ratings go down you will not get your next Super host badge and you go down in the search engine as well. To compensate I decided not to worry about getting guests or not and try to get bookings directly. If I am being wrongfully punished by the rating system of AIRBNB I will not be desperate anymore to receive bookings from them. whatever comes my way is OK. 

[Carolyn371]

How can you find out what stars guests have left for previous hosts?  

[Solange22]

you can klick on the ratings summary and it shows for each category what you received'

[Kristy158]

While I agree with you, I’ve had repeat 4-star guests who are also hosts themselves! Don’t they understand that a 4-star is considered a failed stay?
When I ask how everything is mid-stay, I get a reply like “it’s great, no concerns” than a laundry list of seemingly minor items (e.g. “there is tape on the wall near the washer/dryer, I had a difficult time leaving the parkade because I didn’t read the complete description of entering/exiting through the same door”)

I don’t want to host these guests again and I don’t really know how to explain to them that they aren’t a fit. 

[Joa1]

The Airbnb community forum page is indicating that this reply has "resolved the issue".  This issue is far from resolved.  

We need to keep contacting Airbnb in a manner that they pay attention to until they do a an adequate job informing guests about the importance they pay to reviews, and what the number of stars given actually mean.

[Irene30]

Rachel. I totaly agree with you. When my star grading dropped below 5 stars and I got a warning from Airbnb I immediately took two of my apartments off there listing and I intend to remove the one listing I have left at the end of the season, I am much better off letting them full time for six month short hold tennancy, than put up with this pressure. Especially when anyone who gave us 4 stars, had added a review saying how nice it was and how they enjoyed staying here, but a lot of people when grading relate to 5 star grading for hotels. I also got 3 stars from someone who cancelled their booking after not turning up never even saw our place let alone stay here, yet wrote a review giving us 3 stars. How unfair is that? they should not have been allowed to write a review after they cancelled. Then I had the guest, who flooded my apartment to the extent that the water came down through the floor to the apartment below and it had to be redecorated. I showed them this damage and asked them to please not let bath or shower overflow again, I made no charge to them for damage caused, yet because I complained (how dare I) they gave me a review with 2 stars. This kind of ufair behaviour from Airbnb is the reason I can no longer deal with them.

[Huma0]

@Irene0

I had exactly the same experience as you. Some guests flooded a bathroom causing water to leak through the ceiling to the room below. I didn't ask for any money for repairs. I simply asked them (very politely) to try to be more careful next time. They reacted very badly (how dare I ask them to do/not do anything) resulting in the worst review and ratings I have ever received, e.g. 1 star for communication, 2 stars for cleanliness, when I am used to getting 5 stars for both. Before the shower incicient they were all smiles and compliments, but after they were extremely hostile and I knew they would punish me in their review for daring to mention they had caused damage to the property. 

[Solange22]

Dear community, I wonder why AIRBNB is being so hard/tough on hosts that are only doing their utmost to give the guest the best experience. Right now I am about to close the next listing at the end of July just because I don’t like the treatment anymore. The guests are often not even aware of the importance of leaving a review. I have had very good experience and communication with a few guests and urging them to leave a review, an honest review because it is important for us as hosts. Some of them don’t take the time to do it and some of them wrote very few words although I know they enjoyed their stay to the fullest. The result is a translation from AIRBNB into a rating around or below 4 stars.  The most devastating part is where I offered a guest that had already confirmed another listing for September, because the listing that was chosen will be closed by then. The guest refused to accept the other listing (even with a better price) and I had to cancel this cancelation. This part will be the blow to the head. Every time I open my account I see a note where I am threatened with suspension! Well I assume that the fun and pleasant part is over. Because offering the quality I am offering for 19 euro’s a night (imagine) for 2 persons instead of 35 to 45 euro’s what it is worth is very unsatisfying and not even feasible. I have been approached by Booking.com several times and maybe I will have to try my luck there.

[Joa1]

Does Airbnb even listen to, or care about, what we hosts feel?  That is the big question to me.   Another question I have is why, when we are asked to rate guests with the "star" system, do our reviews not show up on the guest's profile?  When I asked Airbnb "customer service" they just said that it wasn't possible at this time.  And why?  When our guests review us the number of stars they give sure shows up on our listings.  Doesn't Airbnb realize that their business is built on the backs and hardwork of us hosts?  Why do they treat us so poorly, and apparently specifically cater to the guests?

The pressure to get 5 star reviews is overwhelming, and takes all of the pleasure out of the benefits of being a host.

[Jaci0]

Hello Joa, Thank you for writing this as I am beginning to feel the same way. Airbnb is  built on "host Accommodation" . Without us, there is no business!

[Vanessa181]

I am also really quite insulted by these threats that airbnb issue about suspending a listing because 

one 3 star revue from a guest who had read about me driving a couple of girls with huge suitcases to the

station .which he decided , along with his girlfriend , entitled him to be taxied to another station several

miles away .

 I had let the couple store their luggage here while they went for a visa interview . They then

. . on their return to collect their luggage and hours after the check out .. USED the shower !!  

I was unable to do give them a lift not only due to work commitments but also because they made it here to

check in exceptionally late , with little luggage & lots of noise .  

I was polite,  helpful  & assisted them where I could , but this nonchalant attitude towards my efforts as a host

does not encourage even more ' favours'

My concern is that some guests ,, if they abuse the way airbnb treat hosts , will literally hold us to ransome ..

in effect.. to get a decent rating

Airbnb need to remember that without their hosts they have no business.. and the consistant good reviews

should be what they notice... not a clappometre type star system that few understand the value of.