Guest reviews: they are asked to list what amenities you offered. What is the point???

Guest reviews: they are asked to list what amenities you offered. What is the point???

I have had less and less reviews from the guests this summer. I was a bit puzzled, but as I travelled as an Airbnb guest myself, I understood why. In the review I was asked if there was a washing machine, a coffee maker, hair dryer.... I got mad at having to click through all these things, and I am an active host and thus more motivated than most!!!

 

If Airbnb wants to check whether the host really provided these things, they could send in the gendarmerie! A guest feels annoyed at having to verify that a dozen different services were provided. "What am I, a surveyor?" was my thought. I almost stopped filling the review to the end, but then did it because the host was sweet and I wanted to give her good points.

 

Basically, if some item was promised, not provided and important to the guest, it comes up in the review. No need to make the guest go through a checklist.

 

Is there a way we hosts could influence this questionnaire? It is unfair to exept the guest to fill in lengthy questionnaires about the availability of shampoo or tea. That is the job of Airbnb. If Airbnb makes it so cumbersome to make a simple review, they should not be surprised that less reviews get written.

 

 

59 Replies 59
Lynette57
Level 10
Gladstone, Australia

I have had quite a few guests that do not leave reviews, and although they have said in private message they have had a wonderful stay , they just feel that the whole review process is ridiculous. Nothing we can do about this, unfortunatly.  Some of my guests have also said that the star system is the worst raating system when all accomodations are at different levels and standards and when it is booked, you already know what you are getting .

Even odd to have someone  say something was missing , like soap, thats not even offered. Or, complain in missing feedback only one towel per person. How many are needed? I have hand and face towels to. 

Kenneth12
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Moi Karina,

All those questions are asked after the review has been completed and posted,   and appear to be cross-checks to see if hosts are honest or listing things they don't have (the latter is unfortunately a problem).   
If a guest skips them or stops at them,  a review will still be posted.

Moi Kenneth 🙂

The thing is, when I was filling in the review on the way to the airport with my mobile, I did not realise you could skip those. I suppose a lot of people don´t.

I feel awkward about asking people to write a review, it just seems so self-serving..

ps. how do you know finnish 😄

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Karina-Каринa0 @Lynette57 @Kenneth12

Karina, we are all suffering a drop in the number of guest reviews Karina, guests are becoming more hesitant about leaving a review because there is simply too much information required. Guests also feel they are put in a difficult situation by the review process. They don't want to find fault with the stay but, they could not say it was a 5 star experience. So, they have a choice, offend the host who strived to do their best for the guest, or avoid making comment!

I am aware of a number of hosts that I deal with in my Adelaide Hills area who are now saying to guests...."I want you to be honest but, if you can't give me a 5 star review, please don't review me at all because, if you give me less than 5 stars it will hurt my Airbnb standing and affect my hosting future with Airbnb!"

How damned silly is this, but Karina, yes, your experience is the same as the rest of us! To keep our review rate up we have to beg for them and hope the guest will go along with this Airbnb charade!

 

Cheers......Rob 

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

Hi @Robin4

I just stayed at a lovely air bnb in Edinbugh as a guest, so I had experience of the new guest review process first hand yesterday.

 

If took me 2 minutes from start to finish.

First of all you Tick how many stars to rate your stay....from 1-5 stars.

 

Then it asked you to Tick the following answers yes, no, unsure as to whether the accommodation was better than expected right to worse than expected. Only one sentence required to be ticked....nothing onerous here.

 

Another short page.

Asking if you had use of a kitchen?

plates, glassware and cutlery?

Salt and pepper?

Bbq facilities?

use of the garden space?..nothing too taxing for the average brain.

Really air bnb is checking whether the amenities you as host tick off as being available, ARE provided by the host.

 

Then onto the the last section, the bedroom a simple yes or no to be ticked

Is soap provided?

Is bed linen provided?

Is 1 towel provided?

Is 1 pillow provided?

 

Finally you as a guest, are invited to leave a review.

 

It is nothing to do with guests not leaving reviews because they don’t want to offend the host.

Its because the guest more used to a hotel in the past does not see the need to write a review.

Its the case of I’ve paid for this accommodation and they now expect me to write a review!...what’s the world coming to?😉 

 

 

Yes, I have the same issue and isn't a good feeling. Although I have been trying to be the best host but it hurts getting scored with less than five stars. Some people get confused that we're not a hotel/resort company. Instead we're ambassadors of helping our community by offering safety, affordable in a clean space. 

Paul154
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Karina-Каринa0

Airbnb wants BIAS in their  reviews.

They only want reviews from blowhards who "think" their opinion is important.

Only "yelper" type of guests will slog through the review.

Of course as hosts, this is the not the type of guest we want.

 

Airbnb only has to look at Uber and Lyft to discover how to collect streamlined and UNBIASED reviews from ALL customers.

 

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

Hi @Paul0

I disagree with you.

The guest review system is NOT biased.....I used it myself yesterday.

 

Its just the march of the entitled guest thinking why the hell should I waste my valuable time writing a review?....I mean I’ve paid for my accommodation...what more do they expect!

Letti0
Level 10
Atascosa, TX

@Karina-Каринa0  Yeap, this new review process is going to eliminate many hosts from SuperHost status. You need 50% of all bookings to review you with at least a 4.8% Overall star rating. The review is so long they are not even bothering to finish them the option to skip them when on a cellphone is very difficult and @Kenneth12 is wrong all the questions and data mining come before the last few questions which are the actual review, so if they don't finish you do not get a review. With the Overall star being based on the question about the listing, it's really starting to impact hosts. Hosts are 5*'s in all 6 catergories, yet the Overall rating is a 4* because the listing was a bit better than expected, not much better than expected which is what's needed for the 5*. Most guests have no idea they gave you a 3* because the listing is as expected, so you stated everything in your listing and the guest said it was accurate but being accurate is only worth 3*'s now. I have actually removed amenities I offer from my listing, so I will hopefully get the much better than expected 5* rating. This is just sad and ridiculous that I am forced to do so now. 

@Letti0,  first off Lettti I would like to thank you for being part in this forum. I dont put in the time needed to learn all the rules and other stuff regarding hosting on AirBnB, (which is probably obvios by some of my post) Sadly I have probably learned more off of the forum then I have learned by actually doing my homework. I have so much respect for host such as yourself  that  has put in that time to learn all the rules and procedures that AirBnB has.. That said,  if I read your post correctly the guest dont give a overall star rating, the overall rating is given automatically based off of the guest answers to the questions. And if a guest gives a great review but says the listing was as expected the host will get  a 3 star review?

@Sam397  Thank you for the compliment. That is correct in almost all countries no star is shown, a few area's actually do show the stars per some recent reports so they must be testing it there. 

Armando-and-Emily0
Level 3
Toronto, Canada

Hi all, we just joind the community as hosts after first experiencing Airbnb as guest on a number of occasions. Since joining as hosts, we’ve only had a total of 5 or 6 guest so far. Some good and some not so good. I think the whole rating system to the point of becoming a super host is utter nonsense. The fact that I get a less than 5 star rating for location and value is ridiculous considering the factors upon which the guest has booked our apartment. It’s not my fault that the guest couldn’t a) afford a stay at their ideal location (if they even know what that is) or b) couldn’t find another stay because most listings were booked for the times they were traveling? I just think it’s a little unfair of Airbnb to penalize you for things like this as a host trying to raise or maintain your host status. At the end of the day, I assume that the guest has done their homework as to where they can stay (given their budget) and is ok with all the amenities (or lack of amenities) offered by the host. The rating system should be based on the accuracy of the listing, cleanliness, host responsiveness and respect for their guests, not external factors to which the guest has accepted and should be responsible for. Airbnb has a some work to do to help their hosts.


@Armando-and-Emily0 wrote:

 I think the whole rating system to the point of becoming a super host is utter nonsense. The fact that I get a less than 5 star rating for location and value is ridiculous considering the factors upon which the guest has booked our apartment. 


Superhost status is not based on the location or value ratings. The only rating that matters is Overall.