How should i respond to this guest review?

Wendy684
Level 6
Levin, New Zealand

How should i respond to this guest review?

I don't know how to respond to this guest review but they have really upset me. Sorry I posted about this earlier sort of under a different heading but I'm at sea.

 

Had a lovely visit with a guest. Their public written review looks positive but their ratings are not and their private feedback is not. They've accused me of stuff that isn't true and this has affected their ratings. But I can't dispute the ratings even though their private comments clearly show they are disputable.

 

And  I've no idea how to respond publicly on my listing as it looks like to others they have given a good review but in fact they just damaged my rating. Any advice appreciated

Thx

9 Replies 9
Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Wendy684 

Never respond publicly to private messages !!! 

Responding publicly to private messages is the biggest mistake the host could make. It looks weird to anyone who reads it and can't see the private message.

Your prospective future guests will see her positive public review and that's it. Your rating will recover over time and you will be fine.

 

If you feel you should give her any feedback to her private objections then do it through Airbnb messages. My advice is to be professional and nonemotional, imagine you are a hotel manager 🙂

 

 

Thank you Branka and Silvia0 that makes sense and I can understand what you are saying. 

 

I have private messaged them and asked about the review and comment but received no reply. 

 

Thanks for the response and help 😊

@Wendy684   I agree with @Branka-and-Silvia0  .  Prospective guests can't see the individual ratings left by other guests, only the text of the public review.

 

And your rating is not "damaged." It was never going to stay perfect forever; no matter how hard you try to get everything right it's inevitable that some guests are going to be more critical than others, or less of an ideal fit for your listing. If you're going to be dealing with the public and exposed to feedback, you've got to keep a thick skin about it. Accept the great reviews as praise rather than an entitlement, and also accept the critical feedback as a chance to learn and improve. I realize that Airbnb is actively encouraging a neurotic attitude to ratings by making anything less than 5 stars feel like a failure, but  that's just a manipulation tactic to make you feel subservient to the almighty algorithm. Don't take the bait; star ratings are not worth the emotional distress.

 

If you find yourself truly unable to cope with a mixed review, it could be that renting to strangers is not for you. That would be a shame, because it seems that you really enjoy it; I hope you find a way to take those stupid stars with a grain of salt and move on.

Yes Andrew it has damaged my rating because it has dropped it down to a 4.77 average from a 4.87. It has nothing to do with being thick or thin skinned but the way in which air bnb ratings work and how one bum review can affect ones ratings and thus super host status for months

@Wendy684  Obviously I'm aware of how Airbnb ratings work; I'm not exactly new to it. This "Superhost" thing is another one of those manipulation tactics. Most of the perks Airbnb claims it entails are make-believe; it basically akin to a sticker on a child's homework. So what if you lose the orange badge? Aren't we a bit too old to be shedding tears over badges?

Really unhelpful. It means I'll be likely to get less bookings, my listing will appear lower in the search etc etc. You say you know how it works and you have a shiny badge yourself so why ask such a silly and unhelpful question? A lot of air bnb hosts are struggling with this very thing right now. If you don't care about it fine but please save your comments for a more general discussion about the merits and faults of the system. Mostly faults. Right now I'm just trying to deal with the impact of a faulty system and your comments are not that helpful.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

one more thing to consider @Wendy684 , lot of people (even some I know personally) consider carpets and retro, vintage or even antique furniture as "dirty".

My friend has deluxe rooms with fine, antique furniture listed, his daily rate is really high for our market and he has a lot of great reviews but from time to time he gets guests who call his fine furniture "old" and his expensive oriental rugs "shabby" . 

 

Probably that's one of the reasons why most of Airbnb properties have cheap but new IKEA furniture and none or just one small carpet.

Mind you this guest was going opp shopping at the hospice shop and was into buying second hand furniture to do up so it seems unlikely she would have been too put out by my old stuff 🤔

Wendy684
Level 6
Levin, New Zealand

Obviously there are different perceptions of what is clean. My rate is pretty cheap to reflect that the room is a tad vintage in its decor. And I advertise it as such. If I could lift the erm 'lovely' carpet in there I would but unfortunately a third of the room has particle board for flooring. So I can't. Until I can replace it. If the room was modern with wooden floor and modern furniture then I would probably be charging double what I am. 

 

But I guess some people still won't be satisfied and will want the Ritz for bargain rates.

 

I do take your point though. I wonder how is a polite way of asking guests to talk to me about any concerns or constructive feedback they have so I know before I read about it on air bnb