A question for French hosts and guests

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

A question for French hosts and guests

If you're a Superhost, or aiming to be one, or probably just trying to do your best as a host, you will know how your heart can sink each time you receive a 4 star review, especially as it seems to take so many 5 star reviews to recover from one.

 

Luckily, I don't get too many 4 star reviews, but a disproportionate percentage of them come from French guests. It has come to the point where everytime I host someone French, I brace myself for that 4 stars, regardless of how much they seemed to enjoy their stay. When you check up on them during their stay, they always say everything is perfect and they don't need anything else, but then complain about stuff in their feedback that you could have sorted out for them.

 

It happened again with the French couple who stayed this week. They seemed to be very happy here, we had lots of nice chats and when I checked up on them, they said everything was great. They wrote a charming note with little pictures in my guest book saying they would love to stay again, a very nice message thanking me after they left and a positive review, but gave me 4 stars overall. The only feedback was that I could have turned the heating up a bit. If they had mentioned it, I would have!!

 

My question is, do the French just not give 5 stars? Is this a cultural thing? Also, why won't they tell you if they are not happy with something when you ask them if there's anything else they need? It's not like the French are particularly shy! Sorry to generalise about a particular nationality, but I seem to experience this with almost every French guest. I'm trying to remember one that left me 5 stars and can't.

 

I don't want to stop hosting French people, so what can I, and other hosts, do to get that all important 5 star rating from our French guests? Help!

68 Replies 68
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

So, I just received another review from a French guest. I didn't think she was going to leave one because she left it so last minute, but what a relief! Five stars all round and this is what she said:

 

Public feedback
I came at Huma’s place for a week-end, it is a very beautiful house with a lot of cachet, you can expect a very warm welcome and if you like cats you’ll be in heaven. I enjoyed the little attentions, and the house is so well located, Stockwell has the Northern Line & Victoria Line so it’s really easy and fast to go from the center to Huma’s home. You also have Lidl just up the street if you want some food and she has in her kitchen all the amenities you’ll need. The bathrooms were beautiful and very clean, and the bed was so comfortable, I just loved everything. I will 100% recommend it and go back there myself. Thank you again Huma !
Public response
Reply to this review
Private feedback
 This is just for you. It won’t appear on your listing or profile.
Thank you again Huma, it was perfect and I slept so well, you really have a beautiful place ! It was so easy to go to town and come back, you are very well located ! I felt safe coming back late at night on Friday, I am so happy I stayed at your place. Please pet your cats one last time for me ahah. Wishing you the best, Pauline
 

This guest had just turned 19, so maybe the trick is to host French guests under 21 🙂

 

 

 

 

@Huma0,

 

Welcome to our French world!

 

What you (and all host) may consider is that not giving 5☆ is something quite cultural for French guests over 30.

 

It's due to the fact until 15 years ago, at school, we were rated on 20 points. The usual understanding of rates was 12/20 regular, 14/20 good and up to 16/20 very good. 20/20 was the exception. My 2 parents were teacher and they used to say they never rated 20/20 as there was always something to be improved. We even have a saying "Perfection is not from this world".

 

I, as a guest, use to leave 5☆ reviews but I have to help myself when I rate a stay and think about how would I feel if I would receive the review I initially planned to write. I found more efficient to leave a neutral/good comment, a full 5☆ review. If I think some (easy) improvements could help the host I don't use the private comment but send a message through Airbnb after both me and the host did the review.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Olivier291, thank you for that. It's a very useful insight!

 

I think that this may be similar in many cultures, including British. At my university, you had to get 85% to achieve a 1st class honours degree (70% at a lot of other universities), and very few people (something like 1-2% of students I've been told) reach this, so it is considered exceptional.

 

That is the problem with the Airbnb review/ratings system. To get 5 stars all the time is pretty unrealistic, but hats off to those hosts who achieve this.

Cor3
Level 10
Langerak, South Holland, Netherlands

Hi @Huma0,

 

I must unfortunately admit that my fellow country-(wo)men are not really easy to please (The Dutch, that is!)

So, I seriously do think. Culture plays a very important role here.

 

4 and a half century ago, there was a French-born Christian theologian/reformer (In Dutch known as: Calvijn), whom had major religious influence in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. His ideas with regards to practicing Christian religion can be best described as being somewhat Orthodox.

 

Even today, there are people around whom display a ‘Calvinistic’ approach to life.

Which typically will mean: normal humans can never attain the ‘Perfect’ score. As perfect is solely reserved to the Almighty (I know a 5-star does not mean: Perfect. But that is how it is being felt).

Basically the same, what @Olivier291 already said.

 

All of my French and Belgian guests gave me a 5-star reviews this far, but half of them dinged me on 1 of the sub-categories.

Unfortunately, I scored even less with my Dutch guests.

So (to me) it indeed seems, for instance: Canadians and British are much easier to please (Obviously: There is so once and a while, the execption to the rule).

Furthermore: Everybody is different!

 

Personally, I really hate it, when guests display passive-aggressive behavior! (Fortunately, we only had very few of those).

I.e.: During their stay everything is fine. And during review-time, they suddenly come up, with issues. Which could have been easily dealt with, during their stay.

I actually do think, some guests really do enjoy it. When they found something to be put in the review. Even when it does mean, it will hamper them somewhat during their stay? How odd is that?

 

Lack of upfront communications by guests, is another problem.

In the past, I was almost begging guests to get me all relevant details - prior to their stay.

Nowadays, I just ask for these at regular standard intervals.

And when they still don’t react properly: I will send them early in the morning - on the day of their arrival - this note: “When you don’t provide me with your arrival details. You risk the chance of having to wait for at least 1 hour, upon check-in”.

I had to do this twice, in the past season. And all of a sudden, messages started to pour in 🙂

In other words: We are not running a Kindergarten here. And we are certainly no slave to spoiled guests.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Cor3

 

That's an excellent explanation.

 

I've had guests leave me lovely reviews which mention every category as great and suiting their needs, but a 4 star rating and 4 stars in every category with no feedback. Either these guests believe they are leaving a 'good' rating, which is quite possible, as this is what Airbnb is telling them, OR, there are some who will never leave 5 stars because what they consider to be 5 stars is something unattainable. They know that it is not really attainable or acheivable for the price they have booked at but, nonetheless, that 5 star rating is something reserved for another world, not our humble planet earth!

Krystal16
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Huma0

 

I 100% agree with you Huma, I don't know if it is that they don't understand the rating system and think of it as a hotel, luckily I don't have as many from France however being close to Quebec I also find my guests from Quebec are far more critical and also will rate me with a 4 star.  

I wonder is there a way to let our guests know what a 4 star rating does to us.  Realistically when a guest rates us a 4 star they are telling Airbnb our listing should be delisted, if they were aware of this would they score a 4.  Perhaps some sort of checklist on the fridge

1) did the unit meet your expectations based on the listing

2) did you feel safe and comfortable in the unit

3) were the hosts accommodating when you reached out to them, did they respect your privacy

4) was the unit clean to your expected level

5) were all amenities in working order

6) were beds comfortable 

Really the list could go on, however if a note at the end says if all the above is a yes this woudl = a 5 star, I am not sure how to put it in there that a 4 star means the unit should be delisted.  
Any other suggestions from others greatly appreciated, would the above be to forward?

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Krystal16

 

Of course this is a huge part of the problem, regardless of where guests are coming from. If they are told by Airbnb that 4 stars = good, why wouldn't they leave 4 stars if they felt everything was good? If they are then asked, what could have been improved, they might think about the sub categories or something that wasn't 100% perfect and mark it down.

 

There is no correlation between the way the ratings are presented to guests in the review process and the reality of what those ratings mean to hosts. It's a massive problem that hosts have been pointing out over and over to Airbnb, but for some reason (and they must have a reason), they refuse to change this.

 

A lot of hosts have resorted to providing their guests with info on what the stars REALLY mean. Finding a way to do this with tact and without seeming pushy is not easy. I have thought about it many times but not yet decided on how to proceed with that...

Neli5
Level 4
BG, Serbia

This is and interesting topic @Huma4.

Having travelled a lot and being the independent third party, I find it quite amusing to see that the misunderstandings between British and French that I have encountered in all segments of life, are everpresent in Airbnb. There is a significant difference in what is considered polite, friendly and boundries in the french and english cultures. 

Although I haven't received low ratings from french guests, I am completely unsure on these issues.  I would love if french hosts, perhaps @Olivier, could volonteer some information on :

1. When would a host pass from the formal adress "Vous" to the informal adress "tu" in an Airbnb hosting environment. Would he/she ever?  It seems to me that it is prudent to stay with the formal adress "vous" but then as a host you may not seem friendly enough. Or not? Is this changing with the younger generation?

2. The French kiss "La bise". These customs differ from region to region even in France. Would an Airbnb host be ever expected to kiss the guests and when? (my guests  kids  kissed me hello on arrival and invoked a giggle in me, because it reminded me of my 1 year stay in France, a life ago and endeared me. I was very worried that the giggle could have offended them since these guests made no movement to kiss me ever again). Would you kiss them goodbye?

3. Someone reminded me that the French don't hug. Would a goodbye hug be a mistake?

Perhaps your problems lay in any of these?

 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Neli5

 

Lots of interesting questions and I certainly don’t have the answers to any of them!

 

Most of my French guests have come in pairs, so it’s been natural to address them as ‘vous’ The whole time. The recent solo guest was fluent in English so I never spoke to her in my broken schoolgirl French other than ‘Bienvenue!’ When she arrived.

 

I have never had French guests kiss me, as far as I remember, but was kissed by the visiting family of a Portuguese guest today! Perhaps the French are not as forward with the kissing as we imagine?

@Neli5, these answer are from my own host experience and education. I leave in far west France (Britanny) which is quite different from the south part.

 

1- Never from me, even for repeating guests! Sometimes some guests ask me to use the "tu" but it's quite unusual. At the same time it's respectful and nobody would be uncomfortable to be treated per "vous". Since I am renting and so engaged in a financial agreement with guests I consider it needs to stay at a formal level.

 

2- the "bise" is something cultural here:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VWbV6TJxU&list=RDT-VWbV6TJxU

But something not displayed in this funny video is that it is mostly linked to family and friends (or people you don't know if they are with your friends or family. To not kiss them too would be considerated as impolite). I personally never give a "bise" to any guest for the same reason as point 1.

 

3- A hung is something very common in US but not at all in FR. I have US friends since years but it's something I never got used to it. To be honest I'm totally uncomfortable with the US hung (putting arms around the back). Here the closest you could find is to put a hand on the interlocutor shoulder while doing a "bise". 

 

To resume: use the "vous" + formal shake hand. If during the stay you had many interactions with guests you could expect a "bise" from their part but let it come from them.

 

And always keep in mind each guests is unique with his own culture and habits but they came to your home and, in many cases, you will be the closest local people they would deal with. Do it as you use to do with others in any circumstances: they are just guests when they arrive but could became friends during their stay!

Merci @Olivier291,

Thank you so much for your answer and funny video. I realize you have to be French to get the bise right so it is prudent to leave the first kiss to the guests. I wasn't aware that the hug was so awquard for you. I will have to pay attention to that with french guests....

...or teach them the Serbian way, which is lots of both kisses and hugs :)). 

 

 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Olivier291

 

Well then I suppose it's not so different to the UK. Here it is no longer uncommon to kiss hello/goodbye, but it is usually just with family and friends or when being introduced to someone by your family and friends. It is not for business situations, were a handshake is still the norm, or for complete strangers.

 

I had a Spanish guest (long-term) leave the other day. It was a bit awkward as he leaned in for what I thought was a hug, so I hugged him. Actually, he was about to kiss me on the cheeks and was quite taken aback by the hug and then I was embarrassed too! 

 

Of course, we no longer use the formal and informal when addressing someone. It's all the same here now. When I learnt French at school, I was taught that you always use vous until you know someone and then it's tu, but also that you use vous for your elders and tu for youngers/children. I have no idea if that is correct still as I think we were taught a quite outdated version of French.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Neli5

 

Ahh those French kisses/ pecks on both cheeks is common practice with me to be on the recieving end and giving of.

 

I used to give one to a very cheeky long time elderly Non French gentleman friend of mine when we greeted each other and he would always catch me out and give me a peck on the lips as we both gave each other a hug.

He used to say if he was more my age he would have had no hesitation to have me as his wife, no such luck alas for him.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

This question is especially relevant for me right now as I seem to be getting a lot of French guests. I haven't actually hosted that many compared to several other nationalities, but as well as the recent couple and young lady mentioned above, I currently have another French couple staying and another couple arriving next week. That's more French guests in one month than I usually get in several months.

 

There does seem to be a bit of seasonality when it comes to nationality. At the moment, the majority of my guests are French and Asian. I used to get lots of Asian guests throughout the year, but that changed when I switched to Instant Book. I wonder why? 

 

Last month, I had tonnes of Germans. The Summer months are dominated by US visitors and in the Spring, around Easter time, I had back to back Italians!

 

Has anyone else noticed these patterns?

Carl-and-Elodie0
Level 6
London, United Kingdom

I personnally give 5 stars very easily. We host a lot of French, most of them gave us 5 stars. The 4 stars reviws for us depend where they from and mostly if they are used to travel

 

We now accept request only from French people who speak English.

It did affect our rating in a good way even if it wasnt the purpose! ( I am French and I found out that the guests who dont speak English ignored my partner in a really rude way, I can understand that its easier to talk to me in French however I think everyone should be able to say 'Hello, thanks and goodbye)

Avoid them! lol