***REVIEW BOMBER***

[Anne1055]

Hi Hosts,
I have a new idea to share -- but first,

Well believe it or not, AIR developers have added all reviews to show on BOTH  PROFILES!!
Yay!!
This means that all those mean Guests that thought they could get away with review bombing a place will now be revealed.
Well, sort of...

The STAR  RATINGS have not been shared on both profiles, and that's really more what us as HOSTS need to see when considering if someone is a review bomber.

But what is a review bomber?

It's someone who does not say ONE WORD about their disappointment with something, but then leaves lowered star ratings so that we SUPERHOSTS can get knocked down and down, then they are a Review Bomber!

I am hereby asking that ALL HOSTS begin to reply to the review from these types of guests with 
***REVIEW BOMBER*** in the reply, followed by an optional summary to what the situation was about.

That way, we hosts can better decide if we want to host these people or not, and we will not feel so sideswiped by these types.

Again, education is needed. Most Guests still think that Airbnb is just a cheap hotel, and will leave a review like they are deciding if a place is 5-star or 3 star based on finishes. We as hosts owe it to ourselves to make sure Guests know that the star rating is based on value for the dollar spent and not whether the location is ideal or the shower stall has glass doors and tile!

In the meantime, let's all keep asking the Airbnb developers to add our REPLIES to the Guest profile, 
AND
ask them to include the STAR RATINGS on BOTH PROFILES too!

Only when everything is TRANSPARENT can we expect the Guest to be civilized and more truthful about reviews, and stop bombing us out of nowhere!!

Only when our reply to their bad review is seen by other Hosts, will be know if the person really was a good Guest, or whether they were a piece of work just waiting to blow up in our face!

Please remember Hosts, if a Guest doesn't bring up an issue, but then review bombs you, put this at the top of your reply to their review along with star rating details for what they gave you.

*** REVIEW  BOMBER ***

Happy Hosting!

[Thomas1033]

@Anne1055  Great idea!  I did read some of your reviews and looked at your listings which are very nice by the way and way too cheap!  We too have a sort of long list of rules that has gotten that way because of inconsiderate guests.  We recently received a overall 4 star after giving us all 5 stars in the categories and I privately messaged the guest to ask why.  His response was that he had to keep his kids quiet after 10pm after I nicely asked him not to allow toddlers to run over our heads until 2 am their second night.  I added him in my Airbnb blacklist group after I told him he’s not welcome back.  Join the Facebook group and air your guests laundry there.  It’s has a searchable data base for guests with various  infractions from bringing extra guests to extorting refunds and everything in between. Complaining about your rules is not okay!  Don’t like them then don’t stay period!  I’m like you and I like to vent so the blacklist group is a safe place to do it.  Yvonna (cohost)

[Anne1055]

Where is this FB group please?

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Anne1055 I've had a look at your reviews and what stands out for me is your responses.

I would worry about your "affect" as a guest and would not book.

I wonder why you would give a guest 5* if they had really done the awful messy things you mention?

I guess you haven't had a drop in bookings, though so if it makes you happy keep doing it!

[Helen350]

Well @Anne1055 , yesterday I was all for advising 'Chill, relax , calm down, as others have said or implied.

But today I got REVIEW BOMBED BIG TIME! - 😞  BY A CANADIAN!!!  - Said some nice things, lovely stay, lovely to meet me & the dog.... but 3* overall! Cos of Parking situation outside my house, a situation I can do nothing about, lack of locks on bedroom doors (MY home, don't want them.) & 3 grumbles about  my other Airbnb guest over nothing. 

Feeling sour! Criticizing someone's private HOME is just not DONE! Not in Britain, anyway!

-I bent over backwards to accommodate them for a measly ONE night, with a mere 4 & a half hours notice. Some people are SO ungrateful, n'est pas? 

[Anne1055]

I feel your pain Helen,
It is not fair that Guests don't understand how their low rating affects you. This is what I've been asking Airbnb to address for some time now. But you are right, we hosts do bend over backwards, only to be slapped with these bad reviews and star ratings, and I feel it's ungrateful of Guests to do this. The reason though, seems to be that they are under the impression that it's not a community -- it's just a cheap hotel. So far Air staff have ignored my requests. My frustration mounts after many times of being given a low review, yet reports of a sparkling clean place that they find is otherwise just what they needed (other than they don't want a house book with rules in it).

It seems the Guests that give me low reviews also only stay a night or two. I'm thinking of increasing my minimum stay for my units.

Also, I was thinking today of the people that I know that have mental illness, and how reading something like the comment that Guest left me where he labelled me "Psychorigid" would make them feel. I think there is already way too much stigma around mental illness and the people I know who suffer from it fight stereotypes all the time. There are many people with mental illness that function very well, have big positions and high paying jobs, and I'm quite sure there are many that host Airbnb units too -- and successfully.

His insinuation that someone with this illness is not suitable to Host an Air unit by suggesting that it's this type of illness that would cause him to not enjoy his stay fully -- is so inappropriate. 

I think it's insulting to them. In fact, I think it is against the content policy to use any serious illness against someone on Airbnb. Calling names like this is hurtful to people who suffer from this serious illness. It's shameful in my opinion.

I have reported it. I got the reply today. You can guess what the final answer was, since I'm not allowed to tell you. I will be sending feedback regarding this issue, that's for sure.

If we want to solve bad reviews, we need to offer ideas to solve it, not just complaints. I'm thinking maybe a pop quiz after watched a very short video, and if Guests that sign up don't pass the pop quiz, they have to do it over again until they do get it right. Easy multiple choice answers. Not hard to put together, and would sure help with this issue. 

If they won't read it in our units, and they won't read it in the Air documentation, how are they supposed to learn it? They need to be forced to learn it. Otherwise, it is, in fact, just a cheap hotel... and we hosts will continue to get low scores and bad reviews for no reason.

My opinions.

[Lilly28]

@Anne1055 

I like the idea of REVIEW BOMBERS. But I think that it should be allowed to be written after reading guests reviews and in case they are not fair - just write - the way we write - "This guest is most suited for a hotel" - give a reply - "Beware, this guest is a review bomber!" - Nothing else, without explanation, without more words. In that way hosts will be aware that this is a fussy guest wanting the sky for a penny.

I had several guests Review bombers - I fact 10 for 3 years. Usually I do not reply and stay silent, but sometimes it is so irritating that I go in deep depression. Giving my heart for receiving Ritz for a penny - and then 5 stars for all sub-categories and 4 overall... Or giving 4 for a price when paying 18$/without anything paying me for cleaning, so this was the whole price she paid me/ from a non-UK-citizen living on Social security, but in London!!!  Just got yesterday one Bomber review from guests with a child - the child had feather mattress, had all new children,s linen, plenty of toys... and luxury linen for the guests - all sub-categories 5 - but 4 overall, and they paid me 25 euro for a one night stay only. Only to do and undo all this is such a burden, but they really wanted a cheap hotel... I cried 3 hours, as I spend 2 hours helping them for so many things... 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Lilly28 oh dear you poor thing.

Please don't take it so much to heart, the person giving you 4* overall probably just doesn't understand the review process.

It is presented in a lopsided way to guests and hosts.

From a guest perspective 4* is not a bad score, although from our perspective its a terrible one.

[Lilly28]

@Mike-And-Helen0 

Thank you for your nice words. No, the guests new very well what they were doing, they were egoist, without a heart for anybody but themselves. And the woman turned out to be a liar - so after several questions she aggressively answered I understood that she really put 4 on purpose.

[Sean433]

@Anne1055 

Hi Anne, it seems from your guest reviews that there may be a threatening undertone to the blurb in your house book about leaving a good review or else. I am not sure what you have written in there. Having had guests leave unwarranted 4 star reviews, I was also very upset so I just amended my house book. I left this portion to the last page because I do not want to inundate guests with leaving a good review right off the bat. Perhaps such literature can yield you more favourable responses?

 REVIEW SYSTEM *****

If you made it this far in our house book, I salute you and applaud your patience! You might as well finish reading the rest of it. If you feel you have ran out of things to read, we have that covered. There are some novels and reading material on our shelves although they may not be as interesting or well written J  

A lot of effort has gone into our guest house. We selected the furnishings and designed the bathroom and kitchen to mirror what we would like in an accomodation as travellers ourselves. We hope our selections are well received and highlighted in your reviews.  

The reviews our guests leave for us are critical to our listing. They are essential for us to remain visible on the booking platform. While we hope we provided every possible comfort to our guests, there is always a possibility that we may have missed something. If this is the case during your stay, please send me a private message so that I can address it.

On platforms such as airbnb and homeaway, any rating below a 5 is considered below standard. While a 4 star rating for a hotel is considered decent, it is considered very poor on these platforms which judges any ratings less than a 5 rather harshly.

At the end of your stay, we would highly appreciate an overall 5 star rating. It only takes 30 seconds to write. However, if you feel we do not deserve a 5, please do not leave a review. Kindly let us know privately what we can do better to earn your 5 star rating next time around.  

Thank you  

[Anne1055]

Hi Sean,
I've tried being more subtle and a guest just left, she was lovely, I spoke with her a bit about expectations, she said that it seemed a bit harsh at first until she read it through. Then she said she understands and she expressed she figures that other people are just rude and leave a mess.

Then she left the place and the garbage wasn't taken out and there was a frypan with greasy lid left on the stove, both things that are part of the checklist upon leaving the unit -- ie. I don't get paid to clean up after these types of things. 

See my point?
It just keeps happening, even after being told what is expected. People simply think it's just a cheap hotel and that I, as owner and subsititute mommy, will come behind and clean their mess with a big smile, and they can walk away as if nothing happened.

I also have amended my instructions many times to try to reach a balance, but then I get people all the time that claim to know what is expected then leave a mess for me to clean, AND then give me a lowered rating.

I even asked Airbnb to come up with text for the house book. That way it's standard and we can say it's not us but Airbnb that insists that all units have the same text. They sent no reply to that idea.

I really like your text and if you don't mind, can I copy it into my house book?
I'll try anything...

[Sean433]

@Anne1055 

Yes, please use it. My approach is different. I don't ask guests to do any sort of clean up except to explain where they can throw out their garbage should they wish to but I do not oblige them to do so. I don't even ask them to be clean, I assume that will happen as the price I charge usually brings in quality guests. But hey I have a cleaner so if they are a bit messy, I am not annoyed by it because I do not hear about it unless they were very terrible.

For that reason, they often leave without any sort of pressure and I get great reviews. Please feel free to use my text. I only leave it at the last page of my house book and I try to keep it as short as possible because people don't have the greatest attention span and who wants to read someone pleading to them to leave a good review, I don't want to come across as desperate either. Feel free to view my listing that I am referring to, its called 5* luxury home in Toronto.

My suggestion if you do clean the homes yourself is charge a cleaning fee and have a cleaner do it, that way you won't take messy guests as personally and won't stress about it. The cleaning fee you charge should cover the cost to hire someone. Quality guests will pay more. Try it, you will have a big sense of relief.

[Anne1055]

And I've had people give lowered ratings because someone reported not enough toilet paper while all supplies were in a cupboard which is indicated on the front page of the house book. Another couldn't find the soap, another couldn't find the dish soap under the sink. What is it with people that can't bother to look around, or can't bother to read the house book, and then give lowered scores because of it?

And I've had several people jam the lock box closed instead of putting the code in again to close it, then report a lower score because they thought the box was broken. I have a small sign inside the lock box telling people how to close it properly. Do they read it?

Sheesh... This is just ridiculous.

[Alice595]

@Anne1055 The low end guests have more trouble than quality guests. As other hosts mentioned that low price will attract those low end guests. I would suggest that you can increase your nightly rate and see how it goes. If it does not work, you can revert it back to the way with low price.

There always people who complaining everything and do not appreciate. I would recommend that you read posts from @Branka-and-Silvia0 . They are relaxed and pay little attention to the ratings. It helps to reduce your stress level when you don't pay as much attention to the ratings.

[John1574]

-

@Anne1055 

I'm giving you 5-Stars in every category for your post. Lol   -Seriously.

I agree wholeheartedly with your approach. I use a similar, albeit more candid approach. I call mine the "Reviews have Consequences" policy. It is working out very well for me so far. If it stops working or if I stop needing it I will change my policy, but so far it ain't broke, and I  ain't fixin' it.

And I disagree vehemently with those who disagree with you and say things like "chill" which is patently ridiculous to me and a type of insult. People should really consider what they are saying when they tell someone to "chill" or "relax" or "don't take things so seriously." When people say these things they should know that they are insulting another person. I think most of these "types" have little serious business experience outside of AirBnB. So they should go chill, relax and stop insulting people.

I also concur with the suggestion that you raise your price as high as you can in your market. Try it, try to find the sweet spot, and revert if it does not work for you.

And beware, this seems to be a hot button topic: I posted to a similar thread and was viciously attacked by my fellow community members, so badly that moderators had to intervene and remove some posts.: here is that thread - my approach is detailed on that page and the subsequent page.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Blurb-about-reviews-in-the-house-book/td-p/1093529/page/...

Great minds think alike!  Lol  -Seriously.

Don''t let the B'tards get you down.

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Anne1055 

@Helen350 I've just had a lovely review, four stars overall.

I reported her as a review bomber.

Won't change a thing but makes me feel better!