Host being rated for "Respects house rules"

[Breighana0]

I'm a host and I was was given an overall rating from a stay of 4 stars.  On closer examination, the guest had left me 5 stars in all categories.  I called airbnb customer service and asked why my stars were 4 and not 5 and they replied with, "because your guest left the stars blank in the category "respects house rules.""

I asked for their policy on "Respects house rules" as it applies to a host and neither the agents or supervisors could give me anything on it.  They're just telling me to accept it.  I asked other hosts around me if they're rated in that category and their responses have been "no."

One supervisor thought it was a glitch, but the tech team threw it back and said it wasn't.  He said guests do not rate hosts for respecting their own house rules.  They're refusing to make the correction for their error.  Meanwhile, I'm being excluded from searches because of their error.  Airbnb is punishing their hosts and telling them to accept what is being given to them even though they ALL acknowledged it as being wrong.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Breighana0 the overall rating is a rating in itself. It is not an average of the other ratings.

[Breighana0]

That was not my issue.  The issue is the reason why they said my overall was 4 stars was because I received zero stars in the category "respects house rules."

They replied with this. A host is not rated in "respects house rules," yet it did count against my overall rating.

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[Breighana0]

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[Breighana0]

They also said it would not affect my overall rating, but it did.

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[Breighana0]

To clarify, I received 5 stars in every category, as the ambassadors and supervisors told me.  The only thing affecting me was "respects house rules," a category I am not even supposed to be rated on as a host.  They could not furnish a policy on "Respects house rules" applying to a host.  Maybe someone here will be able to pull up and attach that policy, as I cannot find it anywhere and the ambassadors as well as the two "supervisors" (I was told yesterday by another ambassador that they don't have supervisors) I talked to said they cannot find it either.

@Mike-And-Jane0

[Huma0]

@Breighana0 

Whichever rep told you that the rating was due to some 'respects house rules' categories was talking total nonsense. As the rep mentioned in the message you posted above, there is no such category for guests to rate hosts on (only vice versa), so that has nothing to do with this guest's rating. 

I also can't see why this would be a glitch. As the rep above confirmed, it's not.

Guests can often leave 5* in all categories and then 4* overall (as you will see from the many posts about this already here on the CC), because there may be something they were not satisfied with that they didn't feel fit into the category options given. For example, they might have found the bed really uncomfortable or the water pressure in the shower too weak, or whatever. If it was your latest review, it might have been the mosquitos on the porch that made the guest leave 4* overall. 

The point is, as @Mike-And-Jane0 have pointed out, the individual categories do not count towards the total star rating. Guests give an overall rating separately. In this situation, I would not have even contacted CS (who don't know what they are talking about half the time) as it's not at all unusual. Rather, I would have messaged the guest and kindly asked them for feedback (assuming none was already given in the written review/private feedback to explain the rating), e.g.

"Hello X. Thanks for your nice review and for giving me 5* in all categories! However, I noticed that you only gave 4* overall so it would be great if you could let me know if there was anything you were unhappy with during your stay or areas you felt could be improved. I'd really appreciate the feedback!"

The guest might respond, or they might not, but you haven't lost anything by asking. I would only ask once though and not chase.

[Breighana0]

Every rep and supervisor I talked to saw "respects house rules" as the issue.  If guests leave it blank for you (as a host respecting your own house rules) you will end up with a 4 star rating overall.

@Huma0 

[Huma0]

@Breighana0 

Nope. 

I have been a host for many years and I also chat with a lot of other experienced hosts here on the CC. 

I can assure you that there is no 'respects house rules' rating that a guest can leave for the host. That is only for the host to leave the guest. I have also been an Airbnb guest myself several times, including just a few weeks ago, and this is NOT part of the review process from the guest side. If you would like to know more about that, see this post: 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Review-Process-as-a-Guest-August-2022/m-p/1677675#M37706...

Here I have included screenshots of every single stage of the review process from the guest's side. As you can see, there is nowhere where the guest leaves a 'respects house rules' rating for the host.

So, whomever told you that was the case is talking nonsense and, I'm afraid, a lot of CS reps do talk nonsense as many of them are just outsourced staff with very limited training on Airbnb policy.

However, there is also a possibility that you are getting confused. You just stated that 

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@Breighana0 wrote:

Every rep and supervisor I talked to saw "respects house rules" as the issue.  If guests leave it blank for you (as a host respecting your own house rules) you will end up with a 4 star rating overall.

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And yet, the screenshots you posted above from your conversation with CS say the exact opposite. The rep tells you twice that the guest does not get to rate on following house rules. It's pretty clear in his messages. 

Plus, as I mentioned before and as @Mike-And-Jane0 has also pointed out, individual category ratings have nothing to do with the overall star rating for the stay, which is separate. So, even if there was a rating for hosts for house rules (which there is not), it would not impact the overall rating at all. This has been the case for years and years.

Again, if you do not believe me, please look at the review process I posted in the thread above. 

I have never come across another host having the issue you say is happening to you. You have either been misinformed or you are misunderstanding what happened. I don't know which as the screenshots you posted do not align with what you said CS told you.

Sorry, I am not trying to criticise, but so far, it makes no sense.

[Breighana0]

You are misunderstanding the context.  I KNOW that "respects house rules" is not supposed to be a rating for guests to make.  THEY know that.  They have ALL agreed with me, but they are saying that they cannot do anything about it because of policy.   ALL of them have stated that the reason for my 4 stars is because the guest left "respects house rules" blank, and they have ALL stated that every host is rated in "respects house rules."  Whether that is a lie or not I do not know, but what do you think their reasoning is for them ALL to make up a thing like that?

[Breighana0]

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[Breighana0]

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[Huma0]

@Breighana0 

This rep is taking nonsense. The individual category ratings DO NOT have any impact in the overall rating. Look at the post I referenced above where you will see every state of the guest review process and that the overall star rating is given separately. 

[Breighana0]

@

@Mike-And-Jane0 

@Huma0 

Here's that rating you said doesn't exist

 

[Breighana0]