Rating system

[Jillian136]

I am sure this is a well worn topic but I am wondering if there is a way for hosts to actually affect a change in the system. 

What is the point of the "overall experience" rating that guests leave? Those are used to calculate star ratings, right? But then you can get 5s across the board on the details and still have a less than 5 star rating. 

I currently have a 4.97 star rating. My Cleanliness, Communication, Check-In, Accuracy and Value are all 5s and my Location is 4.9. It does not add up. 

Meanwhile another listing in the neighborhood has a 4.99 star rating but lower numbers in the details above. 

I know many of you will say "don't stress about it" but i DO stress about it. I take real pride in my place, as you all do, and the star rating is very important to me.

Not to mention that the system just does not make sense! And most guests do not know that the overall experience is what is going to the stars. I am not going to mention that to them, as has been suggested on some posts, because that feels weird to be telling them "make sure to give me a 5." I go out of my way to make the stay worthy of a 5 without me having to ask for it. 

Is there a way to actually raise this with Airbnb. 

[Sarah977]

@Jillian136  There have been thousands of posts about the stupid review system and Airbnb plugs their ears. So the short answer is no, they obviously have no will to change it nor educate guests about it.

Yes, it should be an average of all the star ratings. And it doesn't make much sense that a guest would rate 5s in all the categories but a 4 overall. There could be something about a place that doesn't fall under any of those categories, though. 

Like maybe a guest didn't find the bed or pillows comfortable. Maybe it was noisy, maybe the bedding reeked of dryer sheets, maybe the window coverings weren't adequate to block morning light and the guest got woken up too early. 

Those sorts of things could lead a guest to rate lower overall, but in most cases, I imagine a guest wouldn't really be able to explain why they did- it is probably just illogical.