Managing Guest's Expectations

[Tania44]

Hi,

I have not been on Airbnb for a year and a half and have been a superhost for over a year.  Over the past month I still receive great feedback but keep on getting 4 star ratings even though the guests state there is nothing that I could change.  All I can think of is people are arriving with unrealistic expectations due to previous feedback.  Has anyone encountered this and how do you manage this?  I have actually constantly worked on improving the guest experience so the house is definitely better now than it was a few months and a year ago!  Very frustrated!!!

Thanks,

Tania

[Cormac0]

@Tania44

The whole star rating thing is oxymoronic in the context of Airbnb (exclusive & low price), I did a Vox pop of my friends and family and we were of the same opinion that price was the key factor in choosing a hosting.

And we have this five-star rating system, which in the wider hospitality business is universally known as expensive and exclusive.

So, people are going to your site and saying its very good, but it’s not five star based on their preconceived ideas of the industry standard.

So, what we have is guests with unrealistic expectations of what they should get for the price they pay and then your star rating drops, only to go up again when people expectations of 3 and 4-star accommodation is exceeded.

A good example of this would be the poor unfortunates who think that they can rent, in the heart of London an exclusive apartment for £150 per night, when in fact it should be £3,000 per night, it’s a swindle but plausible in the context of Airbnb!

So, may be if AirBnb drop their star rating to 3 and 4 stars in the minds of people it would be a better fit and more in tune with the prices we can attain.

Regards

Cormac

The Explorer’s club Krakow