Lacking decor and reviews

[Becky165]

I’m Canadian, I’ve stayed in 3 homes in Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver beautiful homes that were high priced due to location, the size of our family and the type of property. Each time, I’ve been hugely disappointed at the lack of decor. ALL shelves are empty. Nothing, hardly a picture on the wall. Bare bones furniture, linens and kitchenware. I find this frustrating. As a super host myself, I’m hoping for a full experience when I myself travel. I’ve also found that I’ll write a review and the host never writes their review. Just because you host a large property that is glamorous in outward appearance and charge top dollar per night does not mean you shouldn’t decorate it AND not write reviews of your guests so that your guests can give you feedback. Has anyone else encountered this? Can an Airbnb SUPERHOST please defend this or am I expecting too much when I travel? 

[Anonymous]

@Becky165  A few points on this:

1. Guests can review hosts and give feedback regardless of whether they've received a reciprocal review. If one does not submit a review, the other's is automatically published 14 days after the checkout date.

2. While some guests still prefer the old-school Airbnbs, which are people's actual homes and full of personal decorations, books, etc, the tendency in the higher end of the market is toward properties that exist exclusively for short-term rental. This has set a lot of guests' expectations, and you see that reflected in complaints about stuff like a kitchen or closets not being emptied out, and walls containing decor that the guest found offensive (this forum has several recent posts about this very issue).

Clearly, it's impossible to please everyone. But don't you think the guest has some responsibility to choose a property that suits the experience they want? It's pretty easy to tell from photos how a home is decorated and furnished, so you can choose to find a place that's to your taste. And if you want to be sure that your booking is in a place of residence and not merely an auto-Airbnb, you can choose a private room with a live-in host - which is almost guaranteed to have some palpable character.

I totally understand and share your preferences, which is why I choose Airbnbs over hotels whenever possible. But this does mean taking the time to find a place that I click with, at a price I find acceptable - not expecting things that weren't offered in the first place.

[Becky165]

Great points, thank you. I wasn’t aware of the automatic publishing 14 days after checking out. 
When looking for 3+ bedrooms, you do end up in the higher bracket of homes. In the review details of amenities and stylish decor that every guest has opportunity to rate of any property, I do find it puzzling that these properties are largely underwhelming in spite of Airbnb’s standards of excellence in staging,  photos, etc. 

[Anonymous]

Welll.....Airbnb doesn't actually have standards of excellence. Listings are not vetted by staff before they go live. You can list darn near anything here, and a listing can have anything from professional photos to blurry sideways phone pics. 

Also, the criteria that guests are asked to rate do not include style or decor. You can always submit subjective feedback on these concerns in your review, but it's not something that Airbnb actively regulates in standard listings.

Perhaps you're thinking about "Airbnb Plus"? This is a program Airbnb offers to select hosts by invitation, where they demand that specific design elements be provided at the host's own expense in exchange for a splashier listing. It's a very small minority of the actual listings, and the benefits are debatable. But these are the only listings where Airbnb imposes any kind of aesthetic standards.

[Mark116]

@Becky165  I agree, I like to feel like I'm staying in a space with some personality, not an expensive dormitory, but some people I think definitely prefer the very minimalist look.  I figure it's my house it's going to have stuff on the walls that I enjoy when no one is renting it, but that's me, and minimalism is definitely not my SOP. 

[Alice595]

@Becky165  I agree with you about the reviews. Hosts are encouraged to leave reviews to guests.

For the decorations, every guests may have different tastes. In my listings, I try to do as minimal as possible. A recent post about decorations in the listing has caused controversial related to the racial discrimination etc.

As a guest myself I am not going to be frustrated by the lack of decorations in a host listing.

[Colleen253]

@Becky165  Whether or not one is looking for a 'full experience' when staying in a STR, decor and furnishings contribute greatly to making a house inviting, warm, and comfortable. The houses you're describing sound devoid of that, and I wouldn't want to stay in them. They sound cold, uninviting and uncomfortable! But that should be clear from the listing photos and details. I would just avoid them based on what I see and read. Reviews contribute to the sense of community. I agree we should all be doing our part by leaving reviews. If these hosts don't leave reviews, and don't create comfortable spaces, I imagine hosting doesn't have the same, if any, meaning to the people who own the houses you've described, as it does to you and I.