Can one bad guest review on Airbnb ruin the future chances to book a room?

[Robin4]

Somebody asked me that question the other day and this is how I answered it.

I would not worry about it too much, either as a host or a guest, reviews are not what they used to be!

The Airbnb review system has become so bogged down in needless programming that there is now very little trust given to the review process by either host or guest. Both are saying they were misled by past reviews!

Many guests are choosing to bypass reviewing because it is no longer seen as an accurate reflection of their thoughts. The reaction is, "I would rather just say nothing than have my thoughts taken out of context and get some ok host into trouble".

Many hosts are now saying to guests, "I hope you enjoyed your stay but, if you feel it was not a 5 star experience please don’t leave me a review because anything less than 5 stars I will be punished for"!

Through the various forums these comments are becoming more and more frequent.

Airbnb are actively advising guests to find fault with what hosts offer, and this has two negative effects!

1/......The end result of that is we all pat each other on the back and say what wonderful human beings we are simply to stay out of trouble!

2/.....It breeds entitled guests who feel they can 'push the choke' because they become aware that hosts need their good reviews!

I personally don’t look at guests reviews any more……guests with 8 past five star reviews ask masses of questions and turn out to be difficult guests. They have only got those 8 fives because those previous hosts swept poor behaviour under the carpet so as not to hurt themselves, and I have been guilty of doing just that myself!

I have struck guests that have been seriously criticised for behaviour in the past that they have taken notice of comments made, and made sure they didn’t repeat their mistakes. They have been excellent guests……….A review can be just a snapshot in time!

It’s a seriously flawed system. In short term renting we need to use our own experience when accepting, either as hosts or guests, it’s the way we come to each other that is a far better indicator than what others may have said in the past.

Cheers……..Rob

[Kat84]

One bad review... If it's a first one:

One lady was renting out a private room in her apartment. First review she got was very destructive. The guy said that there was not enough toilet paper and bed is broken, he had hard times to sleep on the broken bed!

She replied that she just started to rent out this room and for this rate she wasn't able to get funds to repair the bed and moreover she still can't afford to buy plenty of toilet paper. She was friendly and very sincere in her reply. And people started to book her place and leave her good reviews!

One bad review will definitely come, if you are a long time host. One day, like a stranger in the night, it will knock at your door... 

I recently had a bad review from a lady, that booked from different accounts and complained about free (!) water. I replied with the truth, that she booked from several accounts (each got the same reply, copied) and "complaining about freebie? No comments".

To my surprise the next guest saw these reviews. I wasn't expecting she will even leave a good review, because she was complaining about the smell coming from neighbors. Yet she gave 5 stars and wrote about that free water.

Bottom line: it's not a bad review, that is important. It's how you handle your reply to it. Nothing can beat truthful, sincere reply and everything will be alright 👍

[Alexandra316]

@Robin4I think it definitely can. We had someone new list in our area, a few minutes away from us. He was renting a whole home: it was a pretty basic cottage, and it definitely gave off a bachelor pad vibe. The décor ran to empty liquor bottles turned into lamps, beer posters, etc. However, it was also pretty cheap, so I guess it would work for some people who were just looking for a roof over their heads with no frills. He got two good reviews: people said it was basic but clean and decent. Review number three was an absolute stinker, and the guy never got another reservation: his listing is gone now. The review seemed to focus on things that seemed pretty evident from the pictures to me, i.e. the décor, and it didn't seem entirely fair to me. 

[Sarah977]

@Alexandra316  Did the host leave a response to that bad review? If not, maybe that was a factor in not getting any more bookings. I've said it before- I really think they should abolish the star ratings, and just let guests leave a written review, as the host response can make it clear that the guest either didn't read the listing description, is lying, or was impossible to please.

[Alexandra316]

@Sarah977No, he didn't: it probably would have helped in this case, yeah. I think any reasonable guest could have determined whether the listing was for them or not, based on the pictures, but that's assuming that every guest is a "reasonable person". If they were looking for a romantic wine country getaway, that was surely not going to be it. 

[Dawn-and-Andy0]

I would disagree with the previous comments.  We personally take reviews seriously.  When guests failed to follow the rules we have posted appropriate feedback.  One guest family allowed their children to bounce on the provided cots until they broke one.  They mentioned nothing about it before they left.  They also left the place cluttered with food wrappers and dirty dishes.  We have turned down a guest or two based on negative feedback.  I am sure though that not all hosts take them as seriously as we do.

[Mark116]

An example.  We just got a 4 star review, which dropped us from 91% 5 star to 90%, an entire percentage point from one single review, despite that we already have more than 100 reviews total. so if that were a 1 star review it would certainly drop us below the super host threshold.  And of course, the 4 star givers were super messy and thank goodness they only stayed for 2 nights.  

[Alice595]

@Mark116  And thank goodness they did not give 2 star 🙂

A problematic guest is problematic in every aspect.

[Mark116]

@Alice595  They were a nice couple with two young children, I was going to give them 4 across the board because they changed their reservation, were late in answering messages, checked out late,  and the place was caked with food from top to bottom, but we got so many messages of "thanks!' 'lovely place!' and so on that I gave them 5s except for a 4 for cleanliness, so OF COURSE, they screwed us with 4 star overall and 4 star on value.  I should have given them the honest 4 star thumbs down review they deserved. 

[Susan17]

@Robin4 

A single bad review can absolutely tank a listing. When searching via the app, guests are initially only shown the first few lines of the most recent review when viewing a listing. Yes, of course the guest can click to see more, but who's going to bother doing that if the first thing they see is something like the example below? The vast majority of searchers will just immediately navigate straight back to the next property in their search feed... 

[Susan17]

Oops, apologies @Robin4 - I read that backwards! I see now that you meant it the other way around... 😶

[Rebecca181]

Can you believe we are still all talking about this? If Airbnb wanted to fix this, they could (we certainly have made plenty of reasonable suggestions again and again and again). They know this is a huge issue for us hosts, and they do nothing about it. 

That tells me a lot. 

[William616]

Many homeless people are using the airbnb. the homeless raise money and rent the airbnb bedroom. Most of them have mental problems and leave bad reviews. They ask for my money back. They leave the rooms very dirty. They do not comply with the house manuals. many do not flock toilets, take pictures and send them to airbnb managers aggravating lies that the toilet was dirty. others have pictures of insects on their phones and argue that the house is full of them. others eat in the beds and with the sauces they damage the mattresses whose cost exceeds $ 300 dollars. These guests know that they call the airbnb managers. to give them money for making the complaint to the host. On the other hand, Airbnb managers listen more to guests than to homeowners. They forget the investment of a house is far superior to what a person pays for sleeping.
The Airbnb company must listen more to the hosts than to the guests. the guests with the system of review and stars. They believe they are entering a 5 star hotel at a very low price. Those 5-star guests ask many questions and feel overwhelmed to use our place. Many guests are rude, do not greet, and don't respect our places little.
The Airbnb company must undertake an education campaign towards guests. Remind them that they are not arriving at a hotel, to be reminded that they are arriving at a family home that opened the door for them to rest.
The company Airbnb must better train managers, customer service is delayed and the host is treated badly. without asking, they cancel future reservations when a homeless or a liar guest calls them with a complaint. The company demands a lot from the hosts and wants to have low prices at all times.

There have been many experiences.

[George557]

I always wanted to ask this question but don’t know where to ask it. I got all five star reviews, all but one. One guest left me a 4 star review and it took my, in-app, rating down to 4,9 stars although from the gusset perspective it still shows as a 5 star. Will it my in-app score ever show as a 5 star again, meaning is there like an expiration system for a rescues after a year or something like that has passed, or will it stay with me for ever?