Are Reviews Fair to Hosts?

[Anya1208]

Are reviews fair to hosts on Airbnb? The simple answer to that question is a big fat NO!

Reviews on Airbnb are often biased and unreliable. Hosts face significant pressure to give guests five-star ratings, even when they don't deserve it, to avoid retaliatory negative reviews.

This system unfairly disadvantages hosts, as negative reviews as you will all know and will have experienced yourselves, can impact your livelihood, while guests suffer no real consequences for bad behaviour.

The current review system is skewed in favour of guests, leaving hosts vulnerable and constantly at risk.

A recent example was when I asked a guest to leave when they left their dog alone in the room all day! They gave me a 3 star review.

A Boomer Luddite incapable of understanding or using the Airbnb App let alone her smart phone gave me 1 star for check and an over all rating of 3, although she had ‘a lovely time’ and the room was ‘emaciate’ 

This has led to a ‘warning of suspension’ email that we have never had in years of hospitality. 

On the whole most people are lovely but it’s the handful of morons that pull it down. 

So here’s my question to the Airbnb AI and algorithms: How can an establishment with consecutive five-star ratings for years suddenly become problematic? Is it possible that the issue stems from skewed or deliberately negative feedback driven by a guest's malicious intent?

You need to sort this out and make the system fairer, in the meantime and moving to Booking.com - you should all join me 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Anya1208 

In a recent thread on a similar topic I mentioned that the system places absolutely no pressure on hosts to give guests a good review. It's true that guests may leave a retaliatory review if they are confronted by the host before they post their review of the host (this seems to be what happened to you here). 

But in my opinion this phrase is incorrect "Hosts face significant pressure to give guests five-star rating". The Airbnb system does not punish you for an honest review (in words or star ratings), guidelines merely ask that you be fair and respectful.

[Anya1208]

Dear Shelly,

I appreciate your reply and understand how it might seem on the surface. However, I am well aware of how the Airbnb review system works, and guests hold significantly more power when it comes to reviews, leaving hosts with much to lose.

While Airbnb guidelines advocate for fairness and respect in reviews, a negative review from a guest can directly impact a host's bookings and income. This potential for retaliation forces many hosts, including myself, to refrain from being fully honest in their reviews. The system is inherently skewed in favour of guests because they can leave a detrimental review that affects a host’s livelihood, whereas hosts have no similar recourse against a guest.

The statement that "Hosts face significant pressure to give guests five-star ratings" is entirely accurate in this context. Hosts are pressured to maintain positive reviews to ensure their listings remain high in the algorithm settings. In contrast, guests do not face the same level of consequence for a negative review from a host. This imbalance creates an environment where hosts must prioritise maintaining a high rating, sometimes at the expense of honesty, to secure their bookings and income.

Thank you for understanding the challenges faced by hosts in maintaining a fair and balanced review system.

Anya1208

[Helen3]

Sorry @Anya1208 @I don't agree. As you know review are left blind so there can't be any pressure on hosts to leave false positive reviews as the guest has no way of knowing what review is being left for them.

If a guest leaves a retaliatory review you can ask for it to be removed under Airbnb's retaliatory review policy.

you mention being a five star establishment but your 4.70 rating does not reflect this .

in what way do you vet your guests to ensure they are a good fit.

I'm a host who also offers a room in my home in South West England I have had solid five star ratings except for one four star ratings in the last four years so it's certainly possible for hosts to generate ongoing five star ratings . 

[Kia272]

@Anya1208  I was going to write a similar response to @Shelley159 before I read hers. I don't feel pressure to leave 5 star reviews for guests. I'm happy to have 5 star guests, but I'll leave less than 5 stars if their behavior warrants it. 

I understand your frustration with the current system, but I don't know what the solution is. 

The underlying theme to many of the problems mentioned here seems to be customer service. I'd say that if many of AirBnB's policies were applied consistently and as written, we'd be a lot better off, but they don't seem to be capable of doing that. 

[Anya1208]

I appreciate your perspective and your right to your own experience. However, I must clarify that your experience does not reflect mine. As I have already explained, we are a 5-star establishment committed to maintaining high standards of service and quality. Unfortunately, some guests, when dissatisfied with receiving less than a 5-star review, retaliate with lower ratings out of vindictiveness. This creates a rigged system that unfairly affects hosts who strive to provide excellent service.

[Ana2038]

@Anya1208 , every host will have a different experience as each one of us have encountered a variety of guest(s) over the years. In my experience, I have never felt pressured to leave a guest(s) less than 5 stars. As @Kia272, states , if their “behavior warrants it,” then I will rate the guest accordingly and I will also mark  “no” to the “would recommend to other host(s),” page. 

Guest(s) do not see my review until they have written/published review of their stay, or at the end of the 14 day review period.

Best—
 

[Kia272]

@Anya1208 What you're stating is not possible, as guests don't see your review until they post theirs. It's a blind review system, so they can't retaliate with lower ratings based on your rating of them.