Change the Rating System

Change the Rating System

please change the rating system to just 3 options

Good

Neutral

Bad

 

the 1-5 system is absurd.... guests are not aware that only 5 is good for AirBNB and  that 1-4 are Bad

we the hosts start to receive warning that our account will be disabled when our rating drops to 4.4

 

this is totally unfair as for some guests a 5 star rating is for a fairlytale non-existing accomodation, so the maximum that they give is 4

 

also the rating system does not discriminate between guests who stayed just 1 night and those that for example stayed 15 days

i believe the rating should be multiplied by the number of days the guest stayed

29 Comments
Loretta2
Level 7

I totally agree- I never gave 5 stars to any place until I realised how badly this was affecting my (and other hosts') ratings. As in any place there is always room for improvement, 4 stars seems like an excellent rating to me. But now I give 5 to every place I stay in unless there is really something wrong and I'm not getting what was clearly stated in the listing.

Amy38
Level 10

This a great suggestion...people confuse Abnb with Netflix.

Joa1
Level 10

I agree, Airbnb also doesn't define clearly what one, two, three, four, and five stars stand for.  In my mind 4 stars is "very good"...and Airbnb is going to disable an account with a 4.4 star rating?!?!?  What about those guests who are unhappy with everything in general and give you a poor review.  Does that suddenly negate all of your good reviews.

 

Another issue is the fact that when I rate my guests I also am asked to give them one through five stars for things like cleanliness, communication, etc.  Yet, that part of my review doesn't show up on a guests profile.

 

Airbnb is supposed to be a forward looking organization. I propose that they abolish traditional reviews (especially the stupid star system), and get creative an come up with another system.

 

 

 

Joel-and-Dawn0
Level 2

I completely agree. Using a 5 star rating makes guests think of 5 star hotels, and most homes will not compare to a 5 star hotel. I think it would be great to use a rating system that is dichotomous, like "Acceptable" or "Unacceptable". Or simply "Good" vs "Bad". In this case, to reach superhost status, perhaps a host would need to maintain at least 80% "good" ratings.

Merlin4
Level 4

I agree with everyone here. Guests have no idea how the ratings affect hosts. They also are not given a clear idea of what each thing means.

 

Instead of just saying, rate Cleanliness 1-5, give some examples.

 

Rate Cleanliness 1-5 (1 - everything was covered in grime, the toilets were clogged, sheets stained; 3 - some light stains on the sheets, the tables were dusty; 5 - the towels and sheets were clean, minimal dust, minimal dirt)

 

Also, require explanations if someone gives less than 5 stars (or a bad rating if we switch to a binary system). How can we be expected to improve if the guest doesn't actually tell us the issue?

Dave164
Level 1

I agree so strongly with this suggestion, I recently moved from AUS to NZ and the tourist industry is huge here but so is the number of 1St time guest's.

 

Recently I have hosted a few couples that have left reviews from good to glowing and given me 3-4 stars and it's starting to seriously effect my rating, this week I dropped to 4.4 and it'd making me very anxious about upcoming guests.

 

Suggestions like drop your price and add the little things just aren't cutting it because those things aren't the issue, people think they are rating the accommodation like a hotel and my place is probably a 3-4 star hotel so they think it's a positive rating, but it's not..

 

I'm located close to the CBD and to local tourist sites, guests have their own entire floor and bathroom, unlimited gigabit speed fibre internet, heaters, their own fridge, extra towels and bedding, tea and coffee, washer/dryer, iron ironing board, clothes steamer, you get the point it's not the Ritz but it's well equipped and well situated.

 

All that for $40 NZD per night for a twin room and I regularly let more than 2 people stay if they ask in advance and let people check out as late as the want if I have no immediate follow on bookings, for $20 or less a night.

 

Hell I've even drove people to go sight seeing if they don't have a car.

 

People enjoy the stay, give me a good review, add me on facebook so we can stay in touch and then give me 4 FREAKING STARS...

 

Something had to change because it's effecting my state of mind waiting for the next review to come in and making me anxious about future bookings.

Liz140
Level 4

I agree, I charge $25-35 dollars a night depending on the season and the amount of competition. Do people really expect 5 stars for that price? Really???? I mean really???

 

I have a nice comfortable home in a great location and get good ratings, 4.7 average, but I can't compete with someone who is renting out a whole luxury home for 10 people and providing a private chief for their meals. How am I supposed to compete with that?

 

Air bnb needs to stop raising people's expectations of what to expect from someone with just "a bedroom in a shared home." I don't own a resort but Im having to compete with people who do. Not fair at all.

CarlosGerardo0
Level 2

I've been receiving malicious ratings from my guests. Specially over check-in that is CLEAR. Airbnb must do something about this.

I totally agree that the rating system is not totally clear for guests and should be changed. I recently got 2 times guests (very friendly, nice discussion every evening...) who reviewed us 4 stars for the overall experience but rated everything 5 stars.... As it was said, I think they reviewed the overall experience similarly to their expectations in an hotel. If the listing is clear of what you will get (and you chose to go there) then 5 stars review is fair. For example, a private room with just a mattress on the floor in Paris for 20euros can be rated 5 stars.... So, 1st option, change the review system. 2nd option, make the reviewing clearer for guest: I think 5 stars should not be stated as "excellent" but more something like "does it reach your expectation?" (if not say why). Then, I'm wondering, why not a super gold 6 stars stated as "it went well over my expectations".
Liz140
Level 4

I like this. I also like the idea of asking the guest if they really, really read the description. I once got rated down because, I showed a picture of a nearby creek. (less than a mile) Right? You'd think that would be a good thing. But the guest assumed that the house actually backed up to the creek as if it were just a few feet from my door. Also I use an air bed, had pics of it and it was clearly stated, but some people claimed they didn't know it was an air bed. 

So instead of asking does it meet your expectations, ask if it rose up to the description, and rate the eperience based not on what they thought they were getting but to go back and review the description and see if it measures up. If they don't answer that question then there should be an inverse score alloted to the host in their favor.