14 Day Deadline for Reviews

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Chris324
Level 5
Glasgow, United Kingdom

14 Day Deadline for Reviews

Why is 14 days considered enough for reviews to be deposited?

What purpose does it serve Airbnb to be SO rigidly and unhelpfully strict about imposing a 14-day deadline for review submissions?

 

Travellers often move further along their itinerary and 14 days does not seem long enough to complete their journeys, settle back into their homes and catch up with whatever administrative matters they missed whilst away. A 30 or even 60-day period would seem a more reasonable time period to allow for this.

 

 

Additionally, why don't Airbnb send a chaser email 2 days before any such deadline expiry which makes it expressly clear that the ability to leave a review will forever forfeited? Many travellers are used to longer review-depositing periods, and so are unaware of Airbnb's strict (and somewhat-obsessively applied) rule. It would seem to be in everyone's interests - including Airbnb - for as many reviews to be 'captured'.

 

What a regrettable, disappointing  and frustrating attitude Airbnb seem to adopt. 

1 Best Answer
Chris324
Level 5
Glasgow, United Kingdom

Based on several of the remarks made on this subject, I feel the need to inject clarification to my original OP observations. 

 

This topic is NOT a board onto which hosts - who themselves are often experienced Airbnb travellers - should be bragging about how swift they leave reviews for their own travels. It misses the point for hosts to boast about their own review-upload speed or to suggest 14 days is too long. 

 

This topic is about suggesting to the 'grande fromages' at Airbnb that the 14 day period is potentially losing some reviews from less experienced travellers. Not every traveller is able to be as perfect or as efficient in submitting their reviews as Airbnb might want them to be or as some of the previous commentators infer they should be.  

 

It would be interesting to know the statistics on how many travellers DON'T leave reviews - for whatever reason - then perhaps encouraging Airbnb to trial an exercise (perhaps within a limited area) to see what impact occurs when the 14-day review period is extended.

 

Don't shoot the messenger for highlighting that Airbnb might have room for improvement - unless an extended review period has already been trialled and proven to fail!

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54 Replies 54
Lawrene0
Level 10
Florence, Canada

As to the other thing you mentioned @Chris324, I'm pretty sure a chaser email IS sent at various points, and especially at the end, to the guest. I have never experienced it firsthand, because I am the kind of guest who writes a review the minute I hit wifi after a stay, but it has been mentioned here in the forum, and I know that once, as a host, I left my review until the very last of the 14 days just to muster the courage I would need to post it, and I got loads of emailed reminders over the two weeks.

So there is that. Unless with this new "ask the guest to review" button in the Inbox the reminders will be up to the hosts? Hope not.

I have to agree with the OP on this issue.  I received an email about writing a review for our stay while we were in the middle of packing up to leave, and we had no wi-fi at that location.  I flat out forgot about writing a review.  Now today is the 14th day since we left, and the system is refusing to accept my review.  Checkout time was 12 noon I think, and it's now 9 AM local time on the 14th day and it still won't let me leave a review. It sucks because we had a great stay and I would like to leave a positive review.

 

Also I did not receive ANY reminder emails about writing a review whatsoever.  I only received an email today, asking me to rate how we felt about our stay on a range of Great down to Terrible, which they said would not be shared with the host.

 

I sent a message to our host today relating how we felt about the stay, and mentioned the issue about the system not letting me leave a review.

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

If you are keen to write a review perhaps reach out to BNB via twitter and explain your dilema and see if they can help.

Chris324
Level 5
Glasgow, United Kingdom

Airbnb have made clear their 14-day policy is rigid, Helen.

Hence the reason this topic was initiated to see whether others believe it is too short.

Clearly it's not a problem for you - fair enough.

 

I have always wanted to go to Scotland  - a prospective stay as your guest just makes it stronger:) Your patience and commitment to helping people understand your intention are admirable. 

Also if they sent hosts constant reminders to reply to inquiries why not for the reviews? There should be exceptions made. I admit I am disappointed when I go out of my way for guests and enjoyed hosting them, only to not receive a review. Hosts and guests should get a reminder:) 

Dixie7
Level 10
Dunsborough, Australia

That's very nice of you. 😊 Sometimes a thank you is all one needs.

 

Linda149
Level 4
Ilkley, United Kingdom

When a host is very busy with the number of guests staying, it would be helpful if the host was messaged a few days before the 14 day deadline if the guest hasn't left a review.

I have had a couple of guests who didn't realise it was a strict deadline, also that no review is a mark against the hosts status. They have messaged me to apologise but of course that isn't counted as a review.

Would be helpful if hosts were notified before the deadline so we can send a friendly message/reminder.

Nereo0
Level 1
Munich, Germany

Hi there,

I am totally agree with Chris.

We have a Hostel in Cuba. Here in our country there is no internet at home and the very rare Wi-Fi Hotspots are expensive and only in big cities available. One Cuba roundtrip takes normally from 15 days to 1 month and our guests have no time to review our listing.

What can we do to change this policy?

Best Regards,

Nereo

Hosting in Thailand, I have increasing numbers of (extremely welcome, and amazingly great) guests from China, from where Airbnb is often unreachable for long periods (I have an expired booking in the pipeline as well as a review). If their review never gets published, nor does mine, which also seems ridiculous. I had some really nice things to say, but was unable to, which I think is unfair, as often people rely on reviews to make decisions for making and accepting bookings. High speed internet access isn't always available world wide. As far as reviews are concerned, a workaround might be to actively encourage review writing prior to returning home, if possible. 

Scott214
Level 1
Winter Park, FL

I'd like to chime in and say that there should be more time to conduct a review... I was on vacation when I stayed in a wonderful apartment in Medellin, Colombia, just before returning to a final week on a job, then starting a new job. I would have loved to enjoy the free time to put together a mindful, grateful review, but did not have that time and the expiration date won out. I am upset about that as the apartment owners deserved a positive review from me, and my 6 fellow travelers (including my 'in-laws' who I hoped to, and did, impress with our host location!). I've submitted a request to Airbnb to reconsider, but I have a feeling I know the answer I'll receive.

Agreed Scott - there are so many times when guests are not available or traveling further beyond the 2 weeks so they miss opportunity to send a review. Hope Airbnb will come up with a less stringent rule!?

Chris324
Level 5
Glasgow, United Kingdom

Based on several of the remarks made on this subject, I feel the need to inject clarification to my original OP observations. 

 

This topic is NOT a board onto which hosts - who themselves are often experienced Airbnb travellers - should be bragging about how swift they leave reviews for their own travels. It misses the point for hosts to boast about their own review-upload speed or to suggest 14 days is too long. 

 

This topic is about suggesting to the 'grande fromages' at Airbnb that the 14 day period is potentially losing some reviews from less experienced travellers. Not every traveller is able to be as perfect or as efficient in submitting their reviews as Airbnb might want them to be or as some of the previous commentators infer they should be.  

 

It would be interesting to know the statistics on how many travellers DON'T leave reviews - for whatever reason - then perhaps encouraging Airbnb to trial an exercise (perhaps within a limited area) to see what impact occurs when the 14-day review period is extended.

 

Don't shoot the messenger for highlighting that Airbnb might have room for improvement - unless an extended review period has already been trialled and proven to fail!

@Chris324, I know this was from a while ago, but I think the main reason they are adamant about the 14-day rule is because AirBnB's highest priority in this area is prevent either the guest or the host from seeing what the other party wrote before they write their review.

 

The problem is that if they allow "exceptions" to the 14-day rule, when would they publish reviews only written by one side? If they publish one-sided reviews any time before they close the window to reviews, then you open the door to reviews written strictly in retaliation.

 

Given that reasoning, though, the count of 14 days is arbitrary. As long as AirBnB doesn't publish either review until both sides have written one OR at the moment the review window closes, then the system works.

 

I imagine the 14 days was chosen as a balance between those who wanted one-sided reviews published faster, and those who (like yourself) want to give the guests more time to write a review. It would have been interesting to be present when they debated what number of days to choose.

 

Your request is reasonable, but I assume you are not advocating for the ability to write a review once the other side has had their review published, correct?

 

1st rebuttal to make sense and not praise yourself for whatever reason. Thanks for bringing this up.  

Wendy-and-Frank0
Level 10
Stonington, CT

Fourteen days is too long.

 

Memory fades and if you're close to Super Host status, you may lose because the period is extended so long.