Concerned Host - Review

Concerned Host - Review

I have been in Airbnb business for 2 years now and generally I get good reviews.  Recently, I received a review from a guest that I felt was unfair.  I was not aware of a wasp nest that appeared out of no where outside my home.  Unfortunately a guest notified me the early morning (after 1:00 am) on the day they checked out.  They saw 6 dead wasp, and 2 live in the window area of one of the bedrooms.  When I saw the message, I apologized, gave them a full refund and made arrangements for an exterminators to take care of the issue.  They told me they were checking out at 7:30 am and immediately after we began working on the problem.  I also had to cancel an upcoming guest and I blocked out the remainder of the month to continue to make sure it gets result.

As a result, the guest gave me a not so good review with details of this issue in the comments which can be very damaging to my reputation as a host and harmful to my future bookings.

 

I am very discouraged with Airbnb’s lack of concern for me as a host when I tried to request the review be removed.  They did not want to remove the review and stated the guest followed policy with the review.  I understand policy but this is extenuating circumstances beyond my control and why should this be a stain on my location and me as a host.

Please contribute and advise.

Thank You from a concerned host…

14 Replies 14

Heard from Airbnb and they are citing policy on why they will not take the review comment down, even though this review could be harmful. Stating that I should not take it as negative but a way to improve my business.  I do agree in looking for ways to improve my business at all times but when something happens with extenuating circumstances beyond a host control that might impact a guest, I think considerations could be made.  
The guest stayed the entire length of the stay, but as a consideration for any inconvenience a full refund was request by me the host as well as an apology.  
However, from Airbnb there is no consideration for me as a host.

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Marcelia0 I can't see any really bad reviews - just a couple mentioning cleanliness.

Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

@Marcelia0  Yes, I looked all the way back to July, and didn’t see any comments about wasps. Regardless, here are a few thoughts:

 

1) Sometimes, if you point out Airbnb’s own policies to an Airbnb rep, they will work with you. Item 3 of Airbnb’s review policy states that reviews can be removed for:

  • Content that refers to circumstances entirely outside of another’s control

Maybe if you point the rep to this policy, they will consider removing the review.

 

2) I have a section in my House Rules that although we make every effort to keep bugs away, any bug sightings is not grounds for any type of refund. You might consider doing the same for these types of issues, as well as things like noise from neighbors, etc.

 

3) Especially since these wasps were outside the house, I don’t quite understand why you reacted the way you did. Cancelled the next guest? Blocked the rest of the month? Really? You overreacted, IMO.

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Marcelia0I can't see any standout negative reviews,  just a few mentioning location and cleanliness. People obviously can't see the comments about the wasps if it was in the private comments. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Once you've dealt with the wasp nest, I would just carry on as usual.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Marcelia0  Why on earth did you give them a refund? They stayed the whole time and only let you know about it in check-out morning, so what was the refund for?  The wasp nest obviously didn't prevent them from making full use of your hospitality, and phoning you about it at 1am was rude. 

 

Please don't throw refunds at guests for nonsensical reasons- it sets a really bad precedent.

Ken2140
Level 2
Colchester, VT

@Marcelia0   The solution is for AirBnb to allow good consistent hosts or SuperHosts who have been doing the business for some period of time, to eliminate 1 review per year, or 1 review per every 30-50 reviews.  Many guests really do not understand the review rating system, or how it might affect that person's business and listing.  If a host has a history of great reviews, why not give them the ability to eliminate 1 of their choice out of the larger stack of reviews.  Keeping every single review as a hallmark of their ratings after years is absurd.  Allowing a single review, regardless of the reason, to be eliminated from the ranking system after some criteria is met would not impact the purpose of the rating sytem at all, and would give some respect to the host who for no reason of their own may have gotten a lower review.  

 

I have had 2 guests give me all 5-stars, but then a 4-star Overall because of Location... they wanted to be closer to town in their 'ideal' vacation scenario... yet they are the ones who booked this location, it was evident and shown on the Map, and I have no option of 'moving' my house closer to town.  After 3 years, why cannot I choose to eliminate such an inaccurate review?  Or for reasons of having a 'wasp nest'?  You fixed the problem once you identified it ... isn't that exactly what a perfect host is supposed to do?  And nothing is perfect, so give the hosts a bit more latitude and respect when they have been shown to provide consistently superior service.

Michelle2532
Level 2
Bridgeman Downs, Australia

@Ken2140 I couldn't agree with you more. I've been a host for almost 18 months, and within 6 months achieved super host status which was so much more than I expected in a short time. In the last 2 weeks I've had 2 fairly mediocre ratings, one who didn't write anything publicly, and both who wrote quite unkind "private notes". In the eyes of Airbnb the rules and regulations haven't been broken because there's nothing untoward written publicly; my problem is this gives a guest a license to say whatever they like privately with no consequences. 

 

Why are we not allowed to choose a review to have removed, and/or why won't Airbnb intervene when we've taken every step to rectify something that is clearly unjust.

 

 

@Michelle2532  By the same token, you can say anything privately to a guest, as well. 

 

I took a look at your profile page to see what the reviews were like.

You need to stop responding to positive public reviews by mentioning things guests told you in private feedback. If guests were kind enough to leave a positive public review, you are only hurting yourself by leaving responses about complaints or suggestions future guests would never know about.

 

Your responses appear on your review page, not the guest's. They are not to be used to attack the guest. They are used to correct misinformation or misleading statements in the public review for the benefit of future guests reading your reviews, or to indicate that a legitimate issue mentioned in the public review has been corrected.

 

When guests give you private feedback, it should remain private. Message them back about it if you choose, but you need to develop a thicker skin. Most hosts take private feedback on board graciously, especially when the guest has left a positive review, as the guest obviously felt it was something that could be improved on, but didn't want to call you out on it publicly.  Perhaps it's something trivial or silly, or was actually a result of them not bothering to read the listing info or communicating with you about something that could have been easily dealt with at the time. Or perhaps it's something that a host does need to consider and change. In any case, do not use public responses to talk to the guest about it. 

 

And even if a guest is negative in a public review, remember that you are leaving responses for the benefit of future guests. So if a guest has a public complaint that was due to them not reading the listing info, or your messages or instructions, a proper response would read, "It's unfortunate that XX did not read the directions she was given for accessing the unit. Had she done that, she would not have had any confusion or difficulty in finding the entry door". 

 

A response like that tells future guests that there is no problem with access, and that guests should not ignore the instructions they are given.

 

Michelle2532
Level 2
Bridgeman Downs, Australia

@Sarah977 Thank you for pointing that out to me. I was of the understanding I had written those comments privately, apparently not! They are however, the only two people that have written unkind private comments which I still believe is very unnecessary, and giving people a license to say whatever they like with no consequences.

 

@Michelle2532  I see, yes, sometimes people, both hosts and guests, get confused about what appears publicly and what is private. But you can see what the guest wrote in the public review, so if you want to answer their private comments, do that in the message stream you already have with the guest. 

 

There's all kinds of people in the world and every business, whether it's a restaurant, hotel, or hardware store at some point have to deal with nasty or unkind customers. So try not to take it personally. 

 

Michelle2532
Level 2
Bridgeman Downs, Australia

@Sarah977 A good outcome all round! I had already communicated with the guest via the common thread with a better than good result. She's not reviewed before, and had her comment removed and would like to come back; Christmas greetings have been exchanged between us. Happy guest, happy host.

 

Equally, I contacted Airbnb and had my two accidental comments removed. A learning experience 🙂

 

Michelle2532
Level 2
Bridgeman Downs, Australia

@Ken2140 I couldn't agree with you more! I've been hosting for approximately 18 months, and achieved super host status within the first 6 months, which I didn't expect, and happy about that of course.

 

In the last two weeks I've had only two very mediocre reviews which of course upsets the review rating, and my concerns are that might affect the super host status come next month.

 

I had one guest say nice things publicly, but a fairly nasty private note. The other guest didn't say anything publicly but left a fairly nasty private note. I contacted Airbnb regarding this, and neither guest has violated the rules and regulations with ratings, therefore nothing will be done. My issue is that the private note system gives people a license to say what they want with zero consequences. How is this right or fair? And why can't Airbnb intervene when this happens? 

 

I like your suggestion whereby we should be able to remove at least one review out of 6 months or 50 reviews so the chances of loosing a status that's been worked hard for isn't lost for the sake of a couple of unfair reviews.

 

Good Day,

@Sarah977 @Michelle2532 @Ken2140 @Kath9 @Pat271 

Thank You all for your responses.  The review I am referring to is a Public review that other guest can see and I have been questioned about by other potential guest.  I would not have issue if the review was private, also my rating was a 1 star for this reservation.  

 

As far as giving a refund at the time this happened and after having a conversation with the guest prior to any written review.  I thought it was a nice gesture on my part for any inconvenience.

@Ken2140 I like your suggestion whereby we should be able to remove at least one review out of 6 months or 50 reviews so the chances of loosing a status that's been worked hard for isn't lost for the sake of a couple of unfair reviews.