Hosts not leaving reviews (even if my reviews appear on their page)

[Pj34]

During January 2019 I went to Denmark and booked a private room in a house here on Airbnb. Amazing trip, everything was perfect, the host was very nice and polite, and we definitely were as well. At the end of the trip I left a 5-star guest review, waiting for the host review to appear on my profile. As a new Airbnb user I only have one review on my profile so building a good reputation is important for my future trips (some booking requests of mine have been denied  in the past with no further explanations).

After a few days I noticed my review of the place had appeared on the listing, without getting the usual host review in exchange. I didn't mind, but found the thing to be slightly weird. Is that even possible? Weeks went by with no signs of the review.

Two weeks ago I stayed in another Airbnb room in Italy for just one night. Same thing, great stay, nice hosts. Back home I wrote a very positive guest review. After two weeks no signs of a host review. Of course neither one nor the other have been written to date.

Have reviews become kind of obsolete? Do hosts find them irrelevant in order to accept a new booking request? Maybe the hosts are just busy, but I personally find this quite irritating. I don't expect a prize or something, just a minute of their time. I consider myself a quiet, clean and tidy guest. Maybe I'm just a bad guest and they prefer to remain silent (ahaha) ?

[Lawrene0]

Some guests do the same, @Pj34 - they don't write reviews. Sometimes it is because the process is a bit long. Many thanks to you for actually doing the reviews. It is what Airbnb wants of us all, and so it is part of being a member of the community. We all love guests like you who are enthusiastic and considerate, and who write us nice reviews. 

I always review my guests. I think most of us do. 

I was unreviewed once as a guest, and I took another look at the host's site. He had good reviews himself, but when I clicked back to look at his guests' profiles, I found that he had not reviewed any of us.  

Is that the case with your hosts? If so, nothing much you can do. Just maybe book next time with a host who reviews all guests. It takes more work to check that out, but it might be worth it to get some more reviews under your belt.

If you are doing everything else right - following the house rules and not leaving messes - it is your best bet, I think. 

[Paul1255]

Hi @Pj34 I hope you are well!

The review you have is great, but I can see why you'd want to add to that and have more recent ones too.

Some hosts manage lots of properties and don't have time/make the time to review, some hosts don't review at all, some might just review a guest who was bad...there are lots of reasons and who knows exactly why you didn't get reviewed for your recent stays. Myself, I support a number of properties and use an automatic review tool, otherwise I wouldn't have the time to review by hand!

If only one party reviews, then that review will be posted 14 days after check-out, or if both parties review then they are posted once the second party has reviewed.

Hopefully the host of your next trip will review you- you could always have a chat about it being important to you before you check-out.

Happy travelling!

Paul 🙂

[Raakhee0]

Hi Paul

ive just start hosting, but haven’t got paid as yet? My IBAN & swift ID Is not getting accepted on payment method, was wondering I’m from London as well did you incur any problems as a& b can’t help?

Shall I just stop hosting?

Raakhee

[Paul1255]

Hi @Raakhee0  I hope you are well!

I use PayPal to recieve my payments and I have never had an issue with connnecting the accounts or getting paid- perhaps use or set up a PayPal account and see if that's easier for you?

I wouldn't give up on hosting just yet- there are aleways teething problems at the start in some way or another 🙂

I couldn't see any information or a listing on your profile, but hope you are enjoying hosting otherwise.

Paul.

[Lawrene0]

I should add, @Pj34 , that you shouldn't worry too much. Your one good review is enough to allow you to book anywhere. The lack of those other reviews is not hurting anything substantial. I understand why you want the reviews - you worked hard for them by being a great guest - but after a few more trips you will just shrug your shoulders and let it go. 

[Pj34]

Many thanks @Lawrene0 and @Paul1255 for your comments. As an occasional user I expected the reviewing system to be more strict and precise in terms of mutual reviewing and timing. I understand that managing this side of the business can be tricky for a busy host, as of course taking care of the actual hosting quality and experience is the real priority. Thanks again for being exaustive!

Kind Regards,

PJ

[Sarah977]

@Pj34   I'm sorry your hosts couldn't be bothered to take a few minutes to write a review for you. I've reviewed each and every guest I've had, for 2 and a half years. It does get a bit tedious trying come up with things to say that aren't repititious, but I do it anyway, as all my guests have been wonderful and I want other hosts to know that.

I would certainly accept a guest with only one review if that review was good. I've accepted guests with no reviews at all and they were lovely people.

In the future, I 'd mention to your hosts that you'd really like to have a few more reviews on your account, and ask if they would be so kind as to take the time to do so.

Want to hear something really convoluted? Airbnb rates Superhosts on the number of reviews guests leave for us. At least 50% of our guests have to have submitted a review. If they don't, we get our Superhost status taken away, as if we have control over what a guest does after they leave. It makes no sense. If they instead required us to review at least 50% of our guests, that would make sense and you would likely have been reviewed.

[Pj34]

@Sarah977Thanks for your thoughts. I get a sense that stuff like this happens because lots of people think of Airbnb as a mere hotel booking website like many other competitors, which is understandable (it's a business), ignoring however the fact that we're also members of a community.

[Helen444]

Ok, I've been hosting for a little over a year now. Got Super Host almost immediately, even though I had no idea there was such a thing. Had huge issues over the fact that we are a traditional B&B with extra services. Private chef cooked 5 course meals, happy hour, brunch, and onsite massage. Airbnb would not list the whole house with the rooms separately, so I had to list each room separately. Then when they invited me to become plus, wanted to charge me for each room. I fought them on that and won, however my super host badge(which I was told by clients that they look for) was removed from my Plus listings. When I questioned Airbnb about it, I was told "Plus supersedes superhost" WTF?? I work hard to please my clients..very f*&%g hard; read any review. Don't charge me, and then penalize me. Dumbest thing I have ever seen. 

Also, why not have a link to my other  listings, so if a guest wants to book more than one room here they don't have to search the whole freeking website. Lost a booking this weekend because of it.