Asking for and giving 5* reviews

[Paul6548]

We ask all our guest for suggests and criticisms on how to improve our home so we can make the airbnb experience better , we do ask them to leave all criticisms in private and not in the review .

I tell all our guest that we only give 5* REVIEWS in the hopes that we receive 5 * reviews with nice words to follow .
So far , so good . Except one guest did not like that .

Are we doing something wrong ??
Thanks in advance

I did post this in another forum

[Elena87]

@Paul6548 

As you well know, doing this makes a mockery of the review system.

Take for example a random guest that stayed in your place - how about Natasha in June.

What a great guest it seems as you tweeted - 

Natasha and her friends and family were most respectful and left our home clean, they are welcome back anytime

As a host I'd be delighted to welcome Natasha to SpB based on this glowing testimonial.

But, there is a wrinkle

Replying to Natasha's review,  you hollered

Natasha and her sister did so much damage to our airbnb from partying , broken beer bottles and cigarettes butts tossed about , someone or their dog peed on the bed . They were the worst guest anyone could imagine as they constantly threatened us with a bad review when I mentioned the mess they were making . This was a disaster and it makes us want to quit the airbnb host business

What the Jekyll and Hyde is all this about, perfect guest or career ending misery?

Discarding the purporting framing of your innocent question, you know unequivocally what your contrivance is.

[Jeffrey479]

Very well-said Elena,

This is so bad from @Paul6548 , you should be ashamed, and Airbnb shall have penalties for supplying reviews as you do !

As Superhosts, it undermines us.

I came to this thread, as a guest, last week, I rent a flat.

It was correct, but not great. 

I had a reminder at 9am (a schedule message, saying don't forget, checkout at 11.00am maximum), and I answered less than 10 minutes later, saying "yes, I would do".

Then, at 10.30am, the housekeeping lady, is knocking on the door, I open and say "Hello, how can I help you?" - "It was to remind you to leave on or before 11.00am".

I can understand this Host might have run intro troubles before,.

But they shall take the time to check the guest profile & reviews, and if the guest answer at the first message, maybe leave off the "hurry" to leave before or at 11.00 am.

This was a self-check in and self-check out, never seen the owner/manager of this flat.

Well, that was it, I wanted to leave a 4 stars review, as some commodities and cleaning was a little off.

Then, surprise, receive a message about half an hour after check-out :

'we trust this message finds you well. You were a wonderful guest, and we gave you 5 Star Review.

If there’s anything you’re unhappy with, please feel free and let us know before leaving a review. We're always in the mood to improve our services as hosts.

Can I please ask you a big favor? When you have time, could you please leave a Kind review for us on Airbnb.

Reviews are the lifeblood of an Airbnb host’s success, so I would be very grateful, remember 4 Star is not Good, 5 Star is Excellent."

- Then, another 30 min later, so about an hour after self-checkout, a message from the Host, saying "seems one of your kids stepped up on the TV stand, and broke it" and sent a picture. 

- I replied I'm sorry but when I left, everything was in order, I did the last check round, and I cannot see what she was talking about because in the picture, nothing seemed broken.

I finally understood that the Host was waiting in a car nearby, since 10.30 am when she sent her housekeeping lady.

This kind of Host shall be prevented/sanctioned.

To resume =

She left a message giving me 5 stars, before to actually check the listing

- She was on the same parking lot than the parking from the apartment, but did not proceed to the checkout with me

- Then she complains about a TV stand that looked a little "old" and "loose", and said "it's not a big deal, I will fix it" ?

Because of this behavior, I will leave 2-star reviews, by pushing so much for check-out, and accusing oneself for damaged after saying they'll provide a 5-star to me, and that I shall be reminded that "4 stars is not good, 5 is excellent"

But I would wait the last day, as I'm afraid this Host will file an extra charge for this "TV Stand", the way she did that, was shady.

Airbnb guest rating and indication on what means 1/2/3/4/5 stars has been updated since 2021, and seems more accurate and hopefully better than before, for the "sake" of the platform. 

Take care !

[Gillian19]

@Paul6548 If I stayed somewhere and got that message I would leave a low rating on principle. What you are doing is fundamentally wrong and it is disappointing that you cannot see this.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paul6548 . As @Elena87 has shown your question is as stupid as your approach to reviews.

[Elaine701]

I won't discuss or solicit reviews from any guest as a matter of principle.

I will, however, on occasion, when a guest is extraordinarily nice and leaves the place in top condition, mention that I'm going to write them a nice review. Or when a guest is verbally extremely complimentary in face to face dialogue, I'll say "Thanks so much! Well, write that in your review".

That's as far down that path as I'll tread. 

[Kath9]

@Paul6548, Wow, what a way to put your fellow hosts offside. 'Swapping' 5-star reviews is completely unethical and undermines the whole review system. I'm amazed that only one guest so far has expressed their disapproval! How would you like it if another host did this and you accepted a terrible guest based on that host's excellent review of them? @Elena87 gives a perfect example of the stupidity of your system and its potential impact on other hosts. Please just stop.

[Anonymous]

@Paul6548  As a guest, I would also find it off-putting if a host asked for a 5-star review.  What I find even more off-putting by far , though, is when a host responds to a critical review by trashing the guest instead of constructively addressing the feedback.  This behavior makes the host look vindictive and dishonest, maybe even a bit unhinged, and it severely undermines the value of all the good reviews that were earned the honest way. 

You asked if you are doing something wrong, and I would say yes, three things. Writing dishonest reviews of guests is wrong. Begging for 5-star reviews and asking guests to self-censor their critical feedback is wrong. And vengefully attacking your guest in the review response is wrong. 

You have nothing to gain by trying to put a thumb on the scale with your ratings, so I strongly recommend abandoning this tactic.

[Robin4]

@Paul6548 

The review system has its failings and I do point those failings out to guests, but I do give honest reviews and I expect honest reviews in return. 

After reading your post here and then reading both yours and Natasha's review and your response, it is obvious your 104 guest reviews are pure fiction and many probably bare absolutely no relationship to the actual hosting experience. 

To say in the review, "they are welcome back anytime" and then turn around in the review response and say, "This was a disaster and it makes us want to quit the airbnb host business"!  That is simply shameful and brings into doubt everything you have written and what has been written about you!

We all strive for and would like 5 star reviews but, to lie and cheat to get them is not something that sits well with me or any other host here.

What is of principal concern to me, when I travel I will restrict my search to listings run by a Superhost because I feel the reviews are more reliable and genuine. You have made a mockery of the Superhost status! In all probability you have bribed your way into it, not earned it.

I am sorry I read this post, I will not look on Superhosts the same way again in future, there will always be that nagging doubt in my mind as to how contrived those Superhost reviews may be!

Cheers.........Rob

[Emilia42]

"suggestions and criticisms here in private text and not in the review...All of our guests receive five-star reviews with nice words in hopes that we receive five stars with nice words to follow, everyone gets five stars and we think that's the way life should be." (Quote taken directly from a personal text from the host)

@Paul6548 I also find this very tacky. There might be a slight issue that I am flexible enough to overlook but receiving a comment like that would intensify the issue. At least as a guest I would know that you would be giving me a 5-star review regardless of how I treated your home.

[Andrea-and-Glenn0]

@Paul6548  Wow, as a relatively new host I’m shocked that you would manipulate your guests into favourable reviews, leave fake reviews for others and then contradict yourself (the Natasha example) when confronted with a review. Sorry but you have lost a great amount of credibility by posting this truth of your hosting methods. 

“Are you doing something wrong” YES....on so many levels. 

[Ross648]

Hello Paul, 

I also have to say that this is not a good strategy but I understand your irritation with the system.  I try to improve when guests have suggestions and ask them to contact me directly if there is something that needs improvement or something that they need.    That's just good business, I think. 

That said, I have guests who are perfectly happy, express this happiness, make no complaint in the public ratings and then leave me a general rating of four, which, as you know, pulls my rating down.     These are often older, single women with pets, but why would I want block older single women?   

I had  a couple last year who found my sofa (a Restoration Hardware sofa, no less) uncomfortable and gave me an overall rating of 2!    They had never used AirBnB before, but I don't like the idea of blocking people who have never used the program, since they are often perfectly nice and one has to start somewhere.  

The AirBnB rating system places greater force on lower ratings, etc. etc. rather than 5s.   It would be nice if this changed but it won't.  As Andrew0 says, helpfully, it is best not to care.  

[Ann72]

@Paul6548  Are you doing something wrong?  Yes, you are contravening Airbnb's review policy, which states in part, "You’re not allowed to incentivize positive reviews."  Telling guests you only give 5-star reviews is a blatant attempt to incentivize positive reviews.  You can read the whole article here:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy 

[Ruth413]

That's an absolute yes from me that you are doing something wrong.  I understand the review system can be flawed but basically this is bribery ! It almost saying " I'll give you 5 stars and you give me the same".  I totally agree with your guest Natasha's comments.  It would make me feel extremely uncomfortable as a guest and maybe you have been lucky so far for not being called out on this more!  And for all hosts who work hard for our reviews it makes a mockery of us all.  Also hosts who take reviews of potential guests seriously you are doing an enormous disservice to them.  

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Paul6548  In 5 years of hosting I declined 2 requests sent by guests with 1-star reviews. I am grateful to these previous hosts for warning me

I also hosted a few terrible groups with previous great reviews left by hosts who thought like you.