Reviews Out of Chronological Order is HURTING Host Business!

[Kate260]

Im having a BIG problem with the new policy to not order the reviews chronologically so that 1 unfavorable review from the worst guest I had in 5 years (out of most 5 star 51 reviews) keeps showing up at the top of my page while 5 great reviews are buried on page 4-5 where NO ONE will ever see them. Also makes it look like not many people stayed with me this year. Nobody at Airbnb can tell me WHY they changed this or how it's supposed to help Hosts get bookings when if fact it's HURTING hosts like me. I haven't had an inquiry in 32 days and this is NOT normal.. will cancel my account and go to Homeaway or VBRO if someone doesn't listen to me!

Any suggestions out there?

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Response from Airbnb

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Your experience as a host matters, and we’re constantly looking for ways to support your hosting success. You’re noticing that reviews are being sorted a bit differently than they had before. Here’s what’s changed and why:

We’re sorting reviews by language and country first so that when a traveler looks at your listing, they see reviews by your previous guests who either speak their language or are from their same country. This way when a French traveler looks at your listing, they’ll see all your reviews from French guests first, in chronological order—and then they’ll see the rest of your reviews, also in order. The intention is to help travelers find the reviews most accessible and relevant to them. So, not all travelers will see the same lineup of reviews.

This new sorting method does not take into account the review rating or sentiment of guest feedback, and we don’t intentionally surface poor reviews.

We made this change because we found that allowing guests to see reviews they understand helps them make a more informed decision and increases the chances you’ll get a booking. We’ll continue to take your feedback and concerns into consideration as we build and improve Airbnb with you in mind.

The Airbnb Team

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[Hélène30]

I tweeted @airbnbhelp about the issue https://twitter.com/amberphlame/status/956483653005168640

and here was their non commital answer: "Hi Amber, we are always working to improve our products and policies, and we encourage you to submit your feedback here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback . Even when unable to accommodate all requests, Airbnb truly values user feedback -- your voice is both powerful and essential."

Proceeded in sending a simple and consice feedback. Maybe eventually if we all keep on tweeting about this @airbnbhelp and sending feedbacks they will finally hear us.. 

[Jude4]

I've just realised what's happening to my latest reviews.  Mine are all buried several years back, how ridiculous is this.  Airbnb should listen to their community!!

[Kate260]

good luck, Jude. Airbnb has NOT LISTENED to their Hosts for the last year on this issue although there should a way to make everyone happy by having having an option to sort reviews by language or location if a guests wants to. otherwise the reviews should be in chronological order...

Come on, Airbnb,  LISTEN TO YOUR REVENUE PRODUCERS and FIX THIS!

[Catherine-And-Paul0]

PLEASE FIX THIS ASAP.  It is hurting business!

[Hélène30]

It is not just detrimental as a host but also as a guest, as probably most of you, I use airbnb when travelling to book a place to stay. I noticed how absolutely unsupportive as a guest it is as well, for me reading the most recent reviews are one of the most important criterieas before I chose to book. So overall this algorithm does not serve anyone (hosts or guests) positively, as possibly the intent it was created for.. Yet it is still going, with it seems no chages on the horizon. How deceiving.

[Kumari3]

Please Airbnb, LISTEN TO THE FEEDBACK.

Nobody agrees with what you were doing here.

As a guest, my decision to select a listing is based on the most current and recent reviews of that place. NOT on what people from my country have to say.
As a host, I want my potential guests to see that my home has been booked recently....not be presented with reviews from 6 months ago because most of my bookings are from many and varied overseas visitors! My listing looks stagnant and not popular because the reviews are not posted in chronological order.
BRING BACK CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEWS!!! Please.

[Sharon187]

Another vote to resume chronological reviews. Just this morning, my guests who checked out yesterday wrote a review- we both live in the states and English is our native language. Her review landed on the 2nd page. I then noticed that the guests' reviews are all scrambled. Some will run in chronological order for a few, then the get mixed up again. This is February and it looks like I haven't had a guest  and review since Christmas. And before the Christmas review  it looks like I hadn't had a guest and review since September,. None of that is true. Whay are they so scrambled?

[Ann10]

Hello! Google Translate! Also, the guests can look for reviews in their language. You don't need to mess up our business.

[Ann10]

@Helene0- The people at Twitter don't speak English. They are just picking a response. I think they are in the Philippines. They need to screen the employees better. The other thing is cultural differences. I lived in Japan a long time and I had Philippino friends there. They have a lot in common with Japanese people  that employers like eBay, Macy's, Kmart, Airbnb,  etc don't understand. I'm boycotting most of those companies. Yesterday, I asked a question about the new and ridiculous rating system for Super Hosts and I got an email back showing that the person did not read, understand or write in English. Airbnb needs to fix this, but they won't.

[Ann10]

@Kelli25- True!