Crazy "Value" reviews

[Mark105]

Caution - this is just a *little*  rant followed up by a question...

I have been a Superhost for a while now and I continually strive for the 5 star perfection, but sometimes I just have to scratch my head at what people consider "value."    On our last two reviews we scored 5 stars on everything but value and the guests then gave us a 4 star overall.  Why you ask?  Well, both  of our most recent guests commented that they wished I had an additional bathroom.  I find this odd because, well, I advertize that I have two bathrooms and not three and I even take time on the listing to call out the locations in the house.  With this information in mind,  I find it odd  that somebody would rent a house with two bathrooms and then score me as a four stars on value, with with a private comment that they wished I had three bathrooms.  What makes the value comment most botheresome is that I am one of the only properties in my area offering up 5 real bedrooms and a large home loaded with custom furniture, comfortable beds, expensive linens, all ammeneties hotel including grooming supplies, loads of fluffy towels,  a stocked kitchen, a refrigerator filled with soft drinks, beer and wine, and a private, half acre garden with a pool that is maintained weekly.      I reached out to Airbnb, since the last two 4 star ratings have lowered my overall score into an area of concern,  and I was informed that  it's unfortunate I was given an overall four stars even though I scored 5 on everything else  (accuracy, cleanliness, check-in, communicatin and location) and that, well, so-sad-so-sorry, perhaps you can try harder to provide value.  Le sigh. 

So here's my question to the community.   Since the comments about adding an extra bathroom are "private" would anybody address this publically in the review response section?  For example, "Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.  We appreciate that we didn't meet your needs for having three bathrooms and that we will be sure to update our listing once we build a new one."  Not quite like that of course  🙂  But still.

Thank you for your comments.

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255 Most of us wish they had canned that feature as soon as they implemented it. It takes up way too much space right at the top of our listing description, cutting down on the amount of our descriptions that are visible without guests clicking on "read more". Those Home Highlights don't do anything positive for us, IMO, and we should be consulted about changes to the listing description, which is about the only thing we have control over with this company.

[Paul1255]

I wonder if airbnb use a 'test host' group to get feedback on their brainwaves before they roll them out @Sarah977 ?! And if they do who these people are.

I had a guest stay in August, and whilst he was here he was selected to attend a half day session at the Airbnb office in London, had to complete questionnaires, be interviewed and filmed, questioned his current and previous hosts and services etc and was paid for it.

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255 It's pretty apparent that they don't. They're very interested in what guests would like to see, but seemingly have no interest in what works and doesn't for hosts. I don't know if you ever read through the Home Highlights thread, but it was huge, with almost all hosts totally upset about its introduction. And I think a lot of hosts immediately sent them negative feedback on it, aside from the thread here. I know I did. It's easy for Airbnb to see that it was hugely unpopular with hosts, but there it is, front and center, still cluttering up our listing page. 

[Carole341]

Ritz service at Doss hoose prices comes to mind.

you just can't please some people no matter what you do.

i have had 4 star reviews because guest found the city too busy and couldn't book a meal at the height of a festival when another 500,000 people descended on the town.

brush it under the carpet and move on.

[Robin4]

@Mark105

Mark you can always use the public review response if you feel the need to have a crack at silly guests like this and satirical humour can take you a long way......."It is with regret that I have to say, we didn't have time to engage a builder to tack that extra bathroom onto the end of the house the guest thought he was going to get"!

Make the guest look the dill Mark, but leave what he says in private feedback, just that....private!

Cheers......Rob

[Carmen-and-Ben0]

Value is a percetion which not many guests really DONT understand.

When compared with experienced travelers, guests with little travel experience will give a lower ranking on value. It is a fact and it is best to accept it and move on.

Guest give us feedbacks on amenities they think we should offer.

For example a guest who stayed for one night stated we should offer a washer an dryer.

My favorite silly feedback is a guest who said he wanted the unit to be bigger, even thoough the size of the unit is clearly stated on our listing.

[Robin4]

@Carmen-and-Ben0

"Value is a percetion which not many guests really DONT understand."

Is that what you meant to say Carmen....or Ben? That's a bit of 'double speak'!

Cheers.....Rob

[Lee-and-Sophia0]

Im pretty sure that I know why you are getting four star reviews.  In short, Value Travelers.  After hosting over 1000 reservations totaling several thousand guests, we've concluded that value Travelers are more difficult to please,  full of unreasonably high expectations, more likely to leave a harmful review about something beyond your control and often destructive to the property.  We have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that business and professional Travelers are the only way to go on Airbnb.  You may be tempted to cater to value Travelers in an effort to raise your occupancy rate but trust me when I tell you it's NOT WORTH it.  In the long run these value customers will end up costing you money and opportunity while dragging down your ratings.... thereby affecting your ability to attract professional and business travelers.

[Sarah977]

@Lee-and-Sophia0   This is your experience. It's not a universal truth and is not at all in line with my own experience. I list a budget priced room w/private bath and have had nothing but lovely, respectful, appreciative guests who leave great reviews. There are many factors which go into getting these kind of guests- what you offer, where your listing is, etc. 

The idea that travelers who book lower priced listings make undesirable guests is as discriminatory as believing that a certain race, religion, or nationality will be bad guests.

[Vanessa529]

I agree with not respononding in public to a private response. It has the potential of folks thinking you are being petty. People are people and grading on something that is clearing indicated makes no sense. Being a super host indicates you have plenty value added to your experience. Keep up the good work!!!!

[Kristy43]

@Mark105 dont refer to private feedback on a review.  Perhaps instead contact them privately if you wanted to discuss it.  Youve got to love people who provide feedback about 'improvements'.... I recently got some private feedback from a guest that she didnt at all like (a)the matte finish on our polished floors (high sheen is apparently MUCH better!!), (b) the painting above our mantle because it was too abstract (you can clearly see the painting in photos of our listing) and that (c) we should install an open fireplace or reinstate the oil heater, as the heat from our heat pump 'isnt quite the same'!!!  Had to roll my eyes at that!!!  Spot on about your comment re value.  The few times that I have reduced our rate to get last minute bookings have been the times when we have been dinged with 4*.

[Paul1255]

I feel you @Kristy43 ! I had a wonderful guest give me private feedback to let me know that if I wanted to take my listing to the next level, I should consider adding apples to my breakfast fruit salad :)))

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255 Wow, I never realized apples were high-end. Good thing we have such savvy guests to clue us in 🙂

@Kristy43  And if the floors were high gloss, the guest would slip and fall, apply for a full refund and tell you the floors should be matte finish.

[Kristy43]

Absolutely @Sarah977.....  sometimes you can't win (and some guests are just 'experts' on everything)!!!!  

[Paul1255]

I know @Sarah977 ! They are everywhere here in the UK at least. (when my mum was growing up in Trinidad as a kid, she said they would have an apple as a luxury at Christmas time as it was imported from the UK, and my grandmother would slice it so thinly to share you could see through the slice!)

I'm sticking to my tropical fruits 🙂