Guest logic - bwuhahahahaha!

[Ben551]

Well, we knew it would happen one day folks!

My wife and I received our first 4/5 star reviews from some overseas guests, but thankfully it wasn't for the 'overall' rating, it was for the lower level down.  It's fine really, but I wanted to share the most entertaining reason of all time for 'why' we (our listing) was rated less than 5 stars for location and value...

Apparently New Zealand is much larger than they realised, which was not made clear in our listing.

Yep.  Not kidding.  This meant they couldn't drive around and see all the sights they had on their checklist in the time they had.  They wanted to see things across 4 different locations, in 1 week, all of which are in different cities that are several hours drive apart!

Now, I can do many things... but moving bits of New Zealand closer together is rather outside my capability.

Unless.... *dusts off black-hole transporter plans*

[Matt596]

wow the things people come up with!

[Huma0]

Yeah, location is a real bug bear for many, many hosts. I know that the location rating does not 'count' in the Superhost evaluation. BUT, I can tell you something. EVERY guest that has left me 4 stars overall has left 4 for location, even if they left 5 stars in every other category and location was the only thing they were disatisfied with.

Airbnb does not tell the guest not to factor location into their overall rating, so many guests are going to do just that. Not including location ratings in the host assessment therefore makes little difference as it can often effect the overall rating the guest gives, plus the location rating shows in stars on the listing. So, the only solution is to remove that category altogether, but hosts have been asking for this forever and Airbnb have no intention of removing it.

It's definitely the category I get marked down most on, but there is definitely NO logic to it. I only have a 77% 5 star rating for my best room. The other rooms, which are in exactly the SAME location, both have 88% 5 stars in that category.

The guest chooses to book in that location and therefore it should be their responsibility, not the host's. I've had the lady who booked my place because it was down the road from the yoga course she was doing, but gave me 4 stars for location. I've had the couple who booked because it was minutes away from their daughter's flat, and mentioned in the review how good the location was, but gave me 4 stars for it anyway. You really cannot win with this category unless you are in the most amazing location ever for a price well below anything else in the area, because otherwise they'll give you 5 stars for location, but 3 or 4 for value.

[Ben551]

Wow @Huma0 thats very interesting and thanks for sharing. You’re right, there seems to barely ever be a sensible reason for receiving a low score on location. It’s utterly nuts. Your experience of this shows entirely why this category of rating should be removed.

[Ava30]

This is what Airbnb Help says the Location Rating is about: 

Location: How did guests feel about your neighborhood?

Supposedly it has nothing to do with where you are actually located other than was the neighborhood what they expected. 

[Maree25]

Yes..I had another guest ..even though I clearly state that our place is a ground level flat in a rear position..who marked me down for location..his complaint?..there was no outlook

I had another guest who marked me down for accuracy..my one and only for this category..and when I messaged him for feedback he apologized..he marked me down for accuracy because my place was far better than the photos depicted..hence I wasn't accurate

[Ben551]

Oh my god @Maree25 you are joking!!!

DING DING DING!! We have a WINNER!

An actual guest who gives 4 stars because a listing is “better” than they expected... now I’ve heard it all...

[Ben551]

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth... I decided to go ahead and update my listing to have some (as polite as I could make it) tips about driving around New Zealand.

I'd be grateful for some feedback on how this comes across from your side of the screen, particularly people who don't know New Zealand.

❾ TRAVELLING AROUND NZ
If you are driving to Wellington, be sure to plan your road trip well in advance
• Hobbiton to Wellington 6-7 hours
• Napier to Wellington 4-5 hours
• Auckland to Wellington 8-9 hours
• Taupo to Wellington 4-5 hours

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

◉ Note to overseas drivers ◉
New Zealand is larger than most people realise and has rough and winding roads, even on state highways. There are also not many rest stops. We recommend you take note of the above travel tips and plan your road trip carefully to ensure your holiday is a pleasant one. In summer there can be traffic queues and many roadworks, so you should allow for possible delays. Also, please be kind to yourself and allow time for rest breaks and photo opportunities! NZ road trips are an amazing experience, so plan well to enjoy your journey... there and back again.

... hopefully some people will get the LotR reference?

[Katherine-and-Sharon0]

That's very gracious of you to provide that info. I am surprised how little effort some people put into planning their trips. I try to keep my info basic with hyperlinks to external resources because I never know what might change (road construction/blockades/landslides). I hope this apeases the dummies out there!

[Susan151]

@Ben551 I certainly applaud your efforts to educate potential guests, but I think this information clutters up a listing. Instead, I would suggest that you include this information in your response to any inquiry, request, or IB reservation. Remember, if they have made a request or reservation, they have 48 hours to cancel so you will be viewed as a host that cares about your guests' enjoyment of their time in NZ.

I have this issue with guests who believe the online maps which claim that driving from New York City to Boston takes 4 hours. I don't inform guests about this erroneous number until I know that they are traveling from New York though, so I don't include this information in my initial correspondence.

[Ann72]

@Susan151 Does it ever take less than 5 hours?!?

[Susan151]

@Ann72 Once. I can't imagine how fast they must have driven. I am headed down to an outer borough next month and assume it will take at least 5 hours, if not more.

[Deni12]

Yes Ben we are starting to get the effect of less aware guests.  I feel the reviews should be monitored before they appear as 'culturally" and I mean the "guest culture" is getting to be nitpicking and you wouldnt get this type of review in a hotel.  We are providing hospitality. 

[Katherine-and-Sharon0]

And this illustrates EXACTLY the problem with the "Rate the Location" feature: It's wide open to interpretation and the data collected are thus not meaningful. 

[Graham-And-Michelle0]

Hi Ben, I’ve enjoyed this post so much.

your good idea to include travel times will only 

be helpful if the guests read it of course.

You could also provide a link to the AA site.

( that’s Automobile Association ) They have all

travel times, Road conditions and heaps of handy information 

for travellers.

keep posting. We love reading about your adventures.

[Robin4 · Accepted solution]

@Ben551 @Graham-And-Michelle0 

This thing about distance does come up often Ben!

Overseas guests, (and I do include New Zealanders in this) have absolutely no concept of how big Australia really is!

I had Tracy from Basingstoke here in 2011 and while she was planning her trip she said...."If we hire a car at Uluru (Ayers Rock)  and leave at 9 in the morning, what time will we get to Adelaide in the afternoon?"......

She just didn't think it looked very far on the map!

The distance from Uluru to Adelaide is 1,700 Kms....

Try hopping in the car and setting off from London at 9 in the morning and see what time in the afternoon you would arrive in Rome!

Cheers......Rob