AirBnB - Reviews and ratings policy

[Jomy2]

Here I would like to talk about the reviews and rating policy. There are two separate policies regarding review/rating that I wish to address and get feedback on from other hosts.

1. In case of a booking cancellation by guest...In more recent months AirBnB allows the guest and hosts to put in a review and rating even if the reservation was cancelled after a dispute. I have been with AIrBnB for 6 year as a host and I can tell you this was not the case in the past. I have had two situations in the past (last one as recent as 2017). In one case the booking had to be terminated because the guest was not following house rules. In the second case (2015), the guest came in and asked for things I could not offer. So they were allowed to cancel. In both cases AirBnB handled the dispute immediately, resolved it and also blocked review by both guest and host. However, earlier this year (2018), when a similar situation happened, AirBnB informed me that they cannot/will not block review by guest or host leaving the host open to being bullied/taken advantage of by guests. This policy affects hosts disproportionally because we depend on these reviews and ratings for our listing to show up on AirBnB search, Superhost classification and hence our income. Guests are not dependent on it for income.

2. Edits to reviews/ratings/responses.... Here are two instances that illustrates the bad policy. I recently had a situation where the guest was very happy with the stay, wrote a good review, but under ratings by mistake put in a 4/5 instead of 5/5. She agreed that it was a mistake and wanted to correct it, but AirBnB would not allow it.  I had once written a detailed public response to a false review. However, when I copy/pasted to response to AirBnB and submitted it, the system automatically chopped off parts of it (probably dues to word limitation) and the respnse posted did not make sense. I immediately called AirBnB and asked to edit it. However, I was told that I am not allowed to edit my own response. The only option I had was to either leave the "jibberish" post as is or hide it. Since the reponse posted did not make any sense (sentences were cut off mid-way and multiple sentenses were fused to make no sense) I had no recourse but to "Hide" the reponse. So now I have a false review posted on one of my listings and no response from me. Subsequent to this incident, the bookings on my listings dropped off precipitously and I had to give HUGE discounts to get some booking in. Again, this affected my ability to make an income.

I have been with AIrBnB for 6 years (since 2012) as a host !!! I stayed with them because of the fair manner in which they treated both guests and host.

However, more recently, in the past year I am finding AirBnB has become increasingly unfair and unfriendly to hosts. We offer our home to guests. In this process we make money and so does AirBnB. So this should be a good partnership. It used to be so. But things are changing. There are several policies that AirBnB has put in place that puts hosts at a disadvantage.

In search through the forums I see that there have been several other hosts that have been negatively affected by these policies. I would like to hear from you. I am hoping that if we all collectively make our voices heard, there is (hopefully, keeping my fingers and toes crossed) a possibility that AirBnB might change its policy and make things right.

AirBnB should treat hosts as partners. Please post your experiences here and together lets make our voice heard by AirBnB. 

In addition to posting here, also send a FEEDBACK TO AIRBNB. Lets not give up and make our voices heard: Here is the link for feedback directly to AirBnB

https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

[Mary-Ann5]

I am in agreement.  Air BnB is increasingly putting the hosts at a disadvantage.  I have had several contacts with them in the past few months about guests posting untruths in their reviews.  Their statement has simply been that they have to "trust that guests are posting the truth"... Really!!!!!  I am forced to accept a 4 star rating for location because the guest had to drive a block off pavement!!!  Or a 4 star rating for accuracy with no explanation of 'what was inaccurate'!!!  I have suggested simple explanations of the review process and needed changes that guests should need to prove their reviews with accurate details, or that the Review process requires more checks and balances on the side of the Guests.   Air BnB appears complacent when it comes to accuracy and truth.  We had a Review with  5 stars and a 4 star and then an overall rating of 3 stars - what kind of math is that?  When we asked how this could be an accurate overall review we were given a non-discript response and no ablility to correct it.  So we posed the question to AirBnB "how is it fair that untrue guest reviews affect the host's ratings?  Again more generic responses from AirBnB.  There is no process in place to challenge these reviews or criteria in place that the guests must follow for each catgegory rating.   Yet is the "HOST" that pays the price of this.

We have also had issues with collecting on a broken item in our unit.  We had a check out and check in the same day which happened to be Good Friday.  The country we are in is closed through the Easter weekend so no replacement could be purchased until the following Tuesday.  The damage claim requires an amount and a receipt of damage when you make the claim.  They disallowed our claim for damage and refused to allow an exception or consider the special circumstances.  So their damage protection is mostly worthless.

The responses received from AirBnB make it clear that they are close-minded on many topics, including the Review Process.  What makes things even worse are the hypocritical comments AirBnB sends hosts on 'how their ratings have fallen and should strive to improve and hosts should stive for 'superhost rating'.  

[Jomy2]

Mary-Ann,

Thank you for your post. I also received that warning from AirBnB after the false review/rating - "ratings have fallen and should strive to improve and hosts should strive for 'superhost rating'". I had one gust give me a 2 or a 3 star in every category. In 6 years I had an overall rating of 4.9. So obviously this guests rating was completely erroneous and outside of all averages. Plus, as you said, the guests gave no reason for the low rating. What was even more baffling was, in the Inbox communications and in the actual review, they said the house was great, and nothing else bad. Yet AirBnB would not remove that rating. 

Right now it seems that AirBnB has a policy that is anti-Host. The way they look at it ---the Guest pays them the money. So the Guest is their customer and customer is "always right". They forget that without Hosts, they don't have Guests. As Hosts we depend on this income and they know this. AirBnB also knows that there are not many good options out there for Hosts. Only other option out there is VRBO/Homeaway. VRBO used to be quite unfriendly to Hosts about 5-6years ago. My more recent interraction with them have been a bit more positive. So I am now slowly starting to make a presence there. I am sure if AirBnB continues this anti-Host policy, slowly their business will suffer and then they will come around just as Homeaway did. Every business goes through this cycle. However, in the mean time, as Hosts we have to keep making our voices heard. So if you have not sumbitted a Feedback directly to AirBnB, please send a copy of your post above to AirBnB. They might not change anything right away, but please do not give up. Atleast we have made an "Official" complaint/feedback. It will take time, but they will have to change this anti-Host policy.

FEEDBACK TO AIRBNB. Please send a copy of your above post to AAirBnB. Here is the link for feedback directly to AirBnB

https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

[Lilly28]

I think you are addressing the wrong side. Guests are writing the reviews, not AirBnB, and as more and more hosts are emerging guests are become more and more fussy - you cannot blame AirBnB for that. The only way out is to stay calm and all the time to do some improvements in order to stay recognizable in the market.

You can hardly find even one host without experiences as yours, so do you think that AirBnB should spend all his time correcting reviews? And sometimes you have 5 overall but several 4 stars for no reason and vice versa - 4 overall stars for a trifle - i.e. I had this from a person who said my flat is SUPER - but gave me 4 stars overall because he could not find the cooking pan he imagined I had to have in my flat so he gave me 4 for cleannliness! So 5 for everything else, but 4 overall. Just answer shortly after such reviews and stay calm.  

[Kathie21]

The issue is not really with being left 4*, which guests are told means 'Good', but the ridiculous way Airbnb treats hosts who recieve anything less than 5*, which is supposed to mean 'Fantastic'.  I've had a couple of 4* for location.  Heck, I live here and I would describe it as Good but not Fantastic because it doesn't have a great view.  A nice green view of fields and trees on the hilside opposite, but not stunning.  And sometimes there is a bit of machinery noise from the nearby farm, or a faint whiff of cow manure.  If Airbnb stopped treating a score of less than 4.7* as a target for threats of delisting, and used a more reasonable 3.7, we'd all be fine with 4* reviews.  Alternatively, they need to be honest with guests and tell them that 5*=OK, anything else means it should be delisted.

[Jomy2]

You are right, the Guest can post whatever they want and "Honesty" is not a requirement by Policy or law in any country. However, here the problem is that AirBnB uses these ratings to evaluate Hosts, determine where our listing shows up on search pages and hence determines our income potential. It is not fair for AirBnB to penalize Hosts for Guests not being honest...that is what this thread is about. I agree with Kathie. If the Guest rating are not so important, then AirBnB should not expect us to keep an average of 4.7. Lower it down to 4 so we Hosts are not penalized for those erroneous Guest ratings and then we will not complain or have this thread. So it IS and AirBnB Policy issue. 

[Marcy10]

For the new rating system it will need to be even higher than 4.7!

[Richard65]

Being a super host for several years, ( no big deal, just a lot of hardwork)  but I am over the review issue, we always do reviews for our guests then they dont enter a review on us. The host should be given the option in withholding the review if the guest cant be bothered taking 5 minutes. Have had two guest  emails a message saying "sorry have been so busy">  WHAT????... On the actual review issue  We  had one saying carpets were not clean, except we have wooden floors, Air BNB did not even reply,  and it takes so long to get back the full 5 star rating its a joke. we are seriously considering goingto Stayz or  other comanies as our bookings have slowed in part due to the star matter, but also the airbnb mrket is flooded and now with the Airbnb plus which we have not joined as we have an aprtment that has character, but the money being received is not really worth the effort.   

[Marcy10]

I'd like some feedback on other options, I'm thinking of changing too.

[Gina48]

I agree Airbnb needs to support the host better. Guest use the review to get refund or disrespect your place. I had a women that was so rude and left the place dirt , cat hair all over. Not one dish clean. And she left us a 5 Star over 200 guest a bad review cause she did not like that we would not give her the door code a week before she arrived. We only give code the night before . We where very polite and helpful . I reported her right away and I don’t feel I am getting support from Airbnb on the issue. We got charge extra from cleaning cause of it and she will not pay. This should come out of the  security deposit . 

[Vivian133]

I totally agree with many hosts here. I recently called the Airbnb help line and I can tell you that Airbnb has this “anti-host” policy in place. Think about it. When a host got a negative review, it means less income for a very long time. When a guest got a negative review, what this cost them? Nothing!  

[Geri12]

I understand your frustrations. Fortunately, I have found that when I speak to an Airbnb representative, it helps that I am NOT UPSET at the moment. Even when I am upset, I realize that the people answering the phones are really not in a position to change policy, but just to politely listen and respond. So, what did I do when I received and unfair review. I called and speficially asked for the person in charge of editing reviews. I got someone who understood my dilemma. The person had erroneously given me a TWO in his review, when all of the other aspects of the reviews were 5, 5, 5, 5, 2, and 5. The rating that has a level TWO was about cleanliness, and he was incorrectly rating his roommate's sloppiness, which should not have been a reflection on me as a host. Airbnb listened, deleted the illogical ratings and review, and admitted to a technical error. The guest, in this case, spoke little English, and did not know how to leave a review. So, sadly I lost what could have been a 4.5 star review and had to be happy that a 2 star review was not posted. I know there are lots of problems with the "system" of reviews but it's hard to fix when the guest users don't know how important those reviews are. I make it a point to tell them, and actually talk about the review system while they are here. As a result, I ask them "What can I do to make this a "5 star visit" for you?" and most of the time, they tell me, I do what they ask, and I earn my 5 star review. We are in the hospitality business, but we need to be our own advocates and educate our guests as part of the process. 

[Jomy2]

Geri,

Thank you for your post. It is not about the "tone" in which a Host speaks to the AirBnB agent. This is just the "Policy". You cannot change the "Policy" by speaking in a "nice, calm voice".

I am not sure when you had the experience you have posted here. I have had similar experience with AirBnB even as early as November of last year. This change in Policy is recent. 

Case in point...In November 2017, I had Guest who booked the house for two adults. My House Rules stated "No kids". Yet after checkin I found that there was a kid staying at the property and they had many additional guests...up to a maximum of 6 people at one time. So I called AirBnB and spoke to an agent (with the same voice and tone I used later in 2018). They cancelled the Guest reservation, asked them to leave my property. I was worried that the Guest might leave a bad review and this incident could adversely affect my ratings. When I brought this concern to AirBnB, they "blocked" Review by both Guest and Host. So neither of us could post a review for each other. This protected me and my listing. A similar experience happened in 2015 and the Reviews were blocked for both Guest and Host. Fast forward... March of 2018... A Guest checked in and two days later complained that she does not like the fact that one of the bedrooms is locked. The house is a 3brd/2bth, but since the 3rd bedroom was not ready yet, I had listed it as a 2bd/2bth. The Guest clearly booked a 2bd/2bth, saw the locked room when they checked in and had no problems with it for two days!!! Suddenly they had a problem with it. It was obvious that they just wanted to cancel the reservation and were just trying to find a reason to blame the Host so they could get a refund. I didn't want to argue with them and so just agreed to refund their money. When I called AirBnB about the refund and asked them to "block" reviews (as they had done in November 2017), I was told that AirBnB Policy does not allow blocking reviews. I even gave them the reference of similar situation in the past when the Reviews were blocked. The agent saw that (Nov 2017 reservation and how that was handled) and told me the Policy has changed. Hoping that a different department or supervisor will be able to get this resolved, I had the case escalated and spoke to multiple agents. They all gave me the same answer... the "current Policy" is AirBnB does not "block" reviews when there is a dispute/cancellation. I can assure you that I have not forgotten "Professionalism" between November 2017 and March 2018 and my "tone" has not changed in 6 months. Its the Policy that had changed.

So it is not fair to assume that all Hosts having issues with AirBnB is because they do not know how to talk to agents "Professionally". This is a "Policy" issue. These Policies have come to play only recently. So as time goes by, there will be more and more Hosts (including maybe you) that will experience the consequences of these unfair Policies. That iis why it is important that we make the voices heard.

[Jomy2]

@Geri12

(Note: I am doing this post again since I can't find the initial response posted here)

I am not sure when you had the expereince you have reported above. AirBnB policies regarding reviews have changed. 

Case in point... In Nov 2017, I had guest that violated the House Rules and their stay had to be terminated mid-way. AirBnB handled it fairly and also "blocked" Reviews for both Guest and Host. Neither of us could post for the other. A similar situation happened in 2015. However in March 2018 when a Guest wanted to cancel the reservation few days after checkin and gave some erroneous reason for cancellation I didn't argue and agreed to give them a refund (my policy is if you don't want to stay at my house, I don't want you in my house). When I asked the AirBnB CSA to "block" the reviews I was told this is not possible. I thought this was just an agent who did not know the process so I even showed/walked her to the reservation in November 2017. The agent could clearly see that the Reviews were "blocked" in that situation, but told me this cannot be done any more. Thinking that a different department/supervisor might be able to help me I had the case escalated. But all agents I spoke to (6-7 of them) told me that the current Policy is that AirBnB does not/cannot "block" or "delete" Reviews under any circumstance. 

So Gerri, this is not about the "tone" and "voice" in which a Host speaks to the AirBnB agent. This is about AirBnB Policy. I can assure you I have not forgotten "Professional behaviour" between Nov. 2017 and Mar. 2018. So to dismiss the issue or assume that all Hosts having issues with AirBnB is just because they do not know how to speak to agents professionally is not right (to put it "professionally"). A lot of these Policy changes are recent and as time goes by more and more Hosts (maybe including you) will run into this issue. So it is important that we talk about this now and start sending in the feedback to AirBnB.

[Nancy566]

When you get a bad review are you able to reply to it. To explain ?