Can Star Ratings Be Removed, Along With Deleted Reviews? Yes - They Can

[Susan17]

The question of whether or not star ratings can be removed along with retaliatory or false reviews that violate Airbnb's T&Cs, comes up again and again, with hosts consistently being given conflicting, contradictory answers by CX staff. Many hosts have been told that it's impossible  to remove star ratings: it simply can't happen: istar ratings are automated  and there's no way for CX to manually over-ride that , etc etc

So here's the official answer, once and for all, straight from the mouth of Laura Chambers, General Manager of Core Hosts and Community, clearly stating - not once, but twice - that star ratings absolutely CAN  be removed. I strongly suggest everyone saves this video to send to your support agent the next time you're seeking to have malicious or retaliatory star ratings deleted, and being told that it can't be done.

At 3' 30...  LC  "The teams will be able to remove the review, and the star rating..."

At 5' 00...  LC  "The team now will be able to remove that review, and that rating..."

[Susan17]

@Alon1 

I stand by my original post, 100%. 

It's entirely your prerogative - and everyone else's - to believe what you wish.

And mine, to refuse to get drawn into pointless arguments. 

[Alon1]

@Susan17 

It's nothing to do with my ''belief' or anything else related to subjectivity.

You are making an assertion that is based on Stats that should be easy to prove.

The premise you propose is that there is a discrepancy between the number of Reviews and Ratings.

To prove the premise you need come up with just one screen-shot from any host's Performance showing that the number of Reviews do not match the number of Ratings.

If you can't prove it then you are peddling a fallacy.

It wouldn't be the first popular fallacy peddled on CC. As you know I've debunked "4.6 = Delisted.'

[Pat271]

@Alon1 

Having been an engineer on this type of software my entire career, I can tell you that just because you see x number of reviews and x number of ratings in a browser, does not mean the algorithms are using these numbers correctly.  

It is a long path from a user interface on a host machine to a database on a server, with all sorts of data transformations occurring along the way.  There are often defects in software in which the algorithms that compute totals, averages, etc. are using old values from the database, or are making rounding errors, or are being transformed incorrectly when being transmitted to the server and then to the database, or have an indexing problem in which the values used are 1 or 2 off from the correct values, or are using older, cached values in a UI that haas not been refreshed correctly by the server.  All of these defects are very common, and it is a tester’s job to uncover these errors before the software goes into production.  Software changes that might affect these algorithms happen with startling regularity, and depending on the quality of the developer, the testing team, and the development process, these types of errors may or may not be caught.

Therefore, one way to truly prove that correct values are being used in an algorithm is to do this type of testing yourself.  For instance, a host can add all of their overall ratings together, divide by the number of reviews, and see if the resulting rating matches what is seen on the screen.  Of course, if there are other variables in the algorithm, for instance if more recent reviews are weighted more heavily than older reviews, these would have to be identified and incorporated into the test.

If just the simple test above does not reconcile with what is on the screen, I would call CX, and if the rep does not know the algorithm (almost 100% likely, I would say)  push to be connected with the next level of support.  I am completely against the notion that these algorithms are some sort of magic, and that guests and hosts must be kept in the dark about them.

In summary, what some hosts are seeing may be actual defects in the Airbnb software, but I recommend the due diligence above to determine if that is the case.

[Alon1]

@Pat271 

Thanks for detailed explanation.

However, it does not seem you understood my concern.

My assertion did not pertain to the correct algorithmic calculations, which I have no knowledge about;  rather more simply, if a Review is removed so are the Ratings, because they are loaded together. 

My assertion is contra those who believe Ratings can be removed while Review remains.

  My response, if that's the case, the discrepancy will show both on the listings and Host Performance. Thus I've challenged those who believe to provide evidence of discrepancy between number of Reviews and number of Ratings. To date, no one has come up with any proof.

[Alon1]

ps. All I mean is this. Your listings have 28 Guest Reviews and 28 Ratings. Likewise I have 374 of each. If we both check our Performance, we will find it's exactly the same numbers. My belief this applies to every Airbnb Host. You'll never see a discrepancy between the two figures. Thus I've challenged those who argue against this premise to provide proof of a discrepancy in these figures.

[Pat271]

@Alon1 And all I’m saying is that there may be hosts out there that in some particular instances have n ratings and not n reviews because of a software defect.  There may also be hosts that have n ratings and n reviews, but the algorithm is not using those numbers correctly (or at all) when calculating averages, causing them to see an incorrect total rating.  I’m encouraging you not to be so dismissive and absolute in your assertions that “this is the way it’s always done, end of story, you’ll never seen it done differently, it’s exactly the same numbers”, etc. - because your assertions may sometimes be incorrect, because of the reasons I’ve explained.

I, as well as many other hosts, have noticed discrepancies in the Airbnb software.  Our complaints are not unfounded.  Whenever I see such a discrepancy, I call Airbnb and report it.  They always respond with “Don’t worry, you won’t be affected by this” - which is what they are trained to say, but it is not at all why I’m calling.  I’m calling to ask them to open a ticket with development to address the issue.  Improving the quality and accuracy of the Airbnb software will go a long way towards establishing and improving trust among its users.

[Alon1]

@Pat271 

You are like the others speculating without providing a scrap of evidence.

Find one Host with the discrepancy between number of Reviews and number of Ratings.

Just find one, and when you do, you can screen shoot the listing and kindly ask the Host to screen shoot their Performance. 

[Pat271]

While running the risk of repeating myself, I’ll rephrase this one more time:

No one said their personal # of ratings did not match their # of reviews.  They said that even though a review was removed, it didn’t seem to make a difference in their *overall* rating.  This is a function of the algorithm used to compute the average rating, and the internal values used for the computation.  Having the same number of reviews as ratings is inconsequential, and doesn’t disprove what hosts are seeing.

And to further repeat myself, a better test to prove or disprove the hosts’ observations is to add up all the currently displayed overall ratings for a listing, and divide by the number of ratings.  If that number is not close to the overall rating for the listing, then there is a problem.

[Alon1]

@Pat271 

You are trying to drag me into a place I didn't venture into the first place.

My only concern was to address Susan's original posting as gleaned from an Airbnb video of   'Laura Chambers General Manager of Core Hosts and Community, clearly stating - not once, but twice - that star ratings absolutely CAN  be removed. I strongly suggest everyone saves this video to send to your support agent the next time you're seeking to have malicious or retaliatory star ratings deleted, and being told that it can't be done.

At 3' 30...  LC  "The teams will be able to remove the review, and the star rating..."

At 5' 00...  LC  "The team now will be able to remove that review, and that rating..."

My point is simple. Ratings are only removed with Reviews. There is no case of Reviews being removed while Ratings remain.

What you wish to say beyond that is not relevant to my comment.

[Patricia55]

@Pat271 

Thanks for this 🙂

[Helen3]

I agree it shows on my listing that I have 95% of guests gave my check in process a five star rating when it is 100%

[Kasey34]

I am relatively new to Airbnb hosting.  Just had a 4 star review from a guest who cancelled 4 hours prior to their scheduled arrival, so never actually stayed in our place.  Despite this Airbnb invited them to review.  Who do I contact to have this review and rating deleted?

[Pat271]

@Kasey34  It depends on the reason for the no-show.  The new policy says that one of the criteria for a review being removed is:

• A guest never checks into your space (for a documented reason unrelated to you as the host or your listing) and leaves an irrelevant review about their experience. For example, a guest never shows up, due to a canceled flight, but leaves you a review that complains about a dirty couch.

Tricky wording, but I take this to mean that if the guest somehow had trouble in their dealings with you, or found something awry with the listing, he/she could still leave a review even if he/she never stayed there.  

On the other hand, if what is said in the review is irrelevant (like the cancelled flight/dirty couch example above) - only then can a review be removed.

I don’t quite understand why anyone with a cancelled flight would leave a review about a dirty couch, but I guess stranger things have happened.

[Ange2]

 It was Airbnb's Laura Chambers  who said, and this is also documented in a video, that if guests did not arrive  they couldn't write a review,  that turned out to be false so I don't have much faith.

[Pete2721]

I always say that a 4-star review may as well be a one-star review, and the wost part for the host is that guests know this and they shake us down for money back and to not report when there is damage.  I have a solution to this problem and would love you all to please sign this petition below.  Let the community be the force of change.  Without our homes, Airbnb has nothing!

https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-unfair-reviews-from-guests-on-airbnb.html

Also, please pass along if you agree!