I've had a few guests like this - everything's "wonderful", then a bad review with a lot of complaints. And with the blind review system, I've already given them good ratings ... for Communication too, assuming their "wonderful" comment was true.
Maybe our review of guests' Communication should be done AFTER we see the guests' review.
I do respond to their negative public comments, to indicate that they failed to communicate properly. However, thsee few bad ratings continue to have a HUGE effect on bookings for a long time.
* If bad ratings are few and due to guests' poor communication, failure to read listing, etc., Airbnb should be dropping these 'outliers' from calculations.
* In their reviews, guests should be prompted to rate according to 'accuracy in relation to the listing', not just a 5 star rating system that they confuse with 5 star luxury hotels.
EG If a guest doesn't like my place because it's "old", don't book a place that clearly identifies that it's a hundred year old house!!
Hosts should not be penalized for guests' booking errors.
Nor should hosts' ratings be penalized for guests' failure to communicate issues.
All ratings below 5 should trigger these additional questions:
- Was (this issue) accurate in the listing?
- Did you communicate (this issue) to the host during your stay?
- If so, did the host resolve the issue during your stay?
Finally ... pet peeve ... Airbnb's current rating system is trying to drive us all to provide luxury accommodation, super hosting, ridiculously high standards that cater to the predatory developers who are Airbnb'ng whole condo developments, in violation of laws, etc.
My guests are ordinary working people who want cheap, clean, comfortable and convenient, not 5 star luxury.
Airbnb has forgotten its roots and its purpose.