Guests who give all 5s except overall...

[Kenneth12]

Are of course rather frustrating;   at this point we get a few of them,  and a few 4s here and there.

I'm trying the following for now:

"Hi again GUEST,

I was a bit surprised to see you left 5s for individual ratings and a 4 overall.

Hosts are evaluated by Airbnb on their percentage of 5s overall-- nothing else. I'm sure most would rather have a 5 overall and 4 on every individual rating.
I'll hope you might keep that in mind when reviewing hosts in the future.

Otherwise, only about 1 in 15 people do not give us a 5; is there anything we could have changed or improved?

Best regards and thanks,"

Otherwise I'm tempted to put "thanks for the 4-star review" in their review replies ...

Any other ideas or comments here?

[Ann72]

@Kenneth12  I think your response is good.  Whether you'll get an answer from the guest or not I don't know.  (I wrote someone this summer about the 4 overall and she never replied.  So of course I blocked/reported her so she can't book again.:))  But I wouldn't put your alternate response in the review reply - no matter how we word such things, they always sound like sour grapes.

Still, it would be nice to know WHY the 4 stars, so we can see if there's anything we could improve upon...

[Alon1]

@Ann72 @Kenneth12 

I find your response a bit schizophrenic:

  On the one hand you'll block the 4 Stars so they can't book again, and on the other you still wish to know WHY the 4 stars! 

It suggests you will first enquire out of curiosity; and once you receive a reply, will automatically report and block.

In my experience, Guests sometimes include private feedback for their lower stars. And if not,  my response is normally just to scratch my head and shrug my shoulders.

The one thing I never ever do is chase departed guests to find out how I can improve.  Why? Because it's a numbers game, easy come easy go, and the foibles of human nature. Just forget it and move on.

[Ann72]

@Alon1 Alon Alon Alon - "schizophrenia: a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation."

I once asked a guest why the 4 stars.  She did not reply.  I blocked her.  There is nothing schizophrenic about wanting to know why, not finding out, and deciding to block.  These were not two simultaneous but opposing actions.  They were three steps taken in order.

It happens rarely, but most of the times it has happened I have shrugged and moved on.

Try not to be so judgy.  That's what Facebook is for.

[Alon1]

@Ann72 

Sorry, if I used the offending word a little loosely. 

However, I don't consider that I'm being 'judgy'. It's just my opinion based on my dealings with the Review and Rating system.

I don't consider 4 Stars as reason to ban guests from return to my home. I take greater stock by the contents of the Review. Anyway, it's all subjective. And as long as I've had a good experience with the guest, I'll accept whatever they write and rate. 

I'm certainly not a zealot as other hosts, neither undertaking a systematic education program of Guests in Airbnb ratings; worse, the hard liners exercising   'the nuclear option from another host', as noted by another contributor to this thread.

Indeed, I've accepted returnees who only gave 4 stars. Likewise, those who wish to extend.

In both cases, they generally don't book again via the website as I'm not exclusively an Airbnb host, and as it's cheaper otherwise. 

In sum, I'm largely satisfied with the Reviews & Ratings. Their principal reason to encourage others to book and fuel the machinery on the search facility. Beyond that, it's not worth the hassle. 

[Ann72]

@Alon1  That sounds reasonable.

[Kenneth12]

@Alon1 :  Hmm.   I'm going to take a wild guess and suppose you don't have much clinical experience with the word you just used,  which could be taken as insulting to another host?  Perhaps you didn't mean that towards Ann.

I solicit and listen to all feedback we get from guests.   All.   If I'm playing a numbers game,  it's a full-court press.

Neither of these guests,  who were the only non-5s we had in the past 2 months,    left any negative comments or suggestions.   Both were a little odd,   and received  some negative feedback,  at least numerically,   for ignoring house rules etc.

My goal is to educate and create a better environment for all hosts;  there are several other threads on how hosts educate guests about feedback.   If I can make a guest realize what they're doing,  and it helps another host,  great-- if other hosts do the same,    even better.

A comment such as "thanks for your 4-star review!" may come off as sour grapes,  or may not be noticed by other guests if you go on in a positive manner.    I'd think it says something to other hosts who use AirReview.

I would not block either of these guests,  but I would think hard before accepting / not cancelling a reservation from anyone who gave me a 4.

Again FWIW.

[Ann72]

@Kenneth12  Good point about your comment warning other hosts.  If such a guest booked instantly, we would see it after the booking was made, and then be able to decide whether or not to cancel.

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Kenneth12 I agree and would not host them again.

I have a similar proportion who give me a glowing review and 4 stars.

I borrowed a somewhat nuclear option from another host (look at my last 5 or 6 reviews) and so far so good.

[Harold75]

@Mike-And-Helen0   I agree, I have had this happen to me but 4 stars in all categories

[Ann72]

@Mike-And-Helen0  Actually love this!  It doesn't sound like sour grapes at all.  Very well done. 

Response from Mike And Helen

Despite this lovely review, future hosts should be aware that Chantelle left only four stars overall. The rating system is explained in both our welcome message and our house manual. Consequently we would not host her again.

[Kenneth12]

Classy;  nice wording;  thanks.

[Harold75]

I agree: would not host her again! 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Thanks @Ann72  I feared it might.

[Sarah977]

@Kenneth12  I don't understand the point of asking or educating the guests as to how the rating system affects hosts after-the-fact. The education about how the rating system is applied to hosts needs to be done before the guest leaves a review, and many hosts do this in various ways, some in written form which they leave in the house manual, some, like me, verbally, as I host in my home and have lots of opportunity to convey that information to guests.

And having done that for quite some time, I know that many great guests have rated their previous hosts quite innocently as 4*s, because Airbnb tells them that 4*s is a Good rating. When I let them know that Airbnb turns around and threatens to delist hosts for anything under a 4.7 average, they were shocked. They had zero intention to harm their hosts and I can assure you that once armed with that knowledge, they'll never rate a host 4*s again if they were pleased with their stay.

You can't blame guests for Airbnb's disconnect between what they tell guests and how they treat hosts. All you can do is let them know how it works before they leave their reviews.