Home Highlights - check your listings

Steve416
Level 10
New South Wales, Australia

Home Highlights - check your listings

Hi everyone,

when checking my listing today I noticed that there is new feature at the front of a listing called ‘home highlights’.

 

I urge everyone to check this.

 

My home highlights erroneously states that 95% of guests rated my location 5, when all my 18 reviews have rated location 5 - so it should be 100%. As I have a waterfront property, anything less than a consistent 5 stars for location is detrimental. 

 

I have reported this to Airbnb, but it raises concerns as to:

1. Why is data being reported in error

2. Why are these things being promoted - guests can read ratings and reviews for themselves 

3. Guest reviews are not often fair and reasonable and percentages do not tell the whole story.

 

I had a guest last year rate me a 3 for cleanliness out of retaliation,  and I’m still trying to make up for that in the ratings. So I’m just waiting for the highlight to say that my property is not 100% clean.....

cheers

Steve

 

 

 

189 Replies 189
Yulianna0
Level 10
Madrid, Spain

I would say that the highlight about providing breakfast is useful. I didn’t know that it is rare in my area. Other highlights are not informative. 

Pedro635
Level 1
Aviemore, United Kingdom

@Yulianna0 I'm not sure if it's actually "rare" or just misleading wording 😕 In my area November is a weak month, so I was checking out the competition's listings and all the other guys have this "rare breakfast" highlight, while for real they offer just "dyi breakfast" or "take whatever you want from the fridge"... I feel bad about it, because I offer to my guests free tea and coffee and without a problem I could add bread, milk etc., but I wouldn't feel ok listing it as offering breakfast, it just doesn't seem professional enough and could cause confusion... However, this highlight section makes me feel like I'm loosing, because even when I offer better room and service, it looks like they have breakfast and that may influence people's decisions 😞

Susan1028
Level 10
Oregon, US

It's October, Steve's issue is still current, and dovetails with others that effect us all. 

 

I love being a host!  I worked hard to attain "superhost" designation at lightspeed and have 100% 5 star reviews and service area ratings across the board ...and my "highlights" also state "95%" of my guests say my home is "sparkling clean" "check in was a breeze" etc. 

 

The math doesn't add up.  Reporting the error does no good.  'Superhost' services can't do anything about it so that title is useless except tht some guests build it into thier searches because it used to meam something.

 

I just spent over an hour watching the monthly video pep talk which introduced the new head of "host services" who stated they're rolling out additional "host perks" which so far are shutting me out of searches and sending guests who search my local area (and even repeat guests who try to search for my property)  to listings an hour away with lower feedback ratings and complaints about safety issues...properties also misrepresented as "entire home/condo..." when they're actually single rooms in a  shabby dwelling without a private bath repped by commercial management companies. 

 

Another local property owned by a local restauranteur ends up at the top of the page, and advertised an "entire 5 y.o. custom home with expansive water views" and aerial drone photos that turns out to be a small basement studio next to the road with road and foot traffic noise from upstairs and a view of a wooden fence. She offers free food at her tourist trap eatery in exchange for glowing reviews...which some guests ignore to warn others instead...and she's publicly attacked the guest...viciously...in her own review area...yet even after those unprofessional, abusive public displays, misrepresentation of her property, and overt solicitation of positive reviews...she still retains "superhost status" and that property still comes up #1 is searches. 

 

These properties have been reported and weeks later nothing's changed.  The listings remain the same and they continue to be marketed ahead of other independent "superhost" properties with better ratings that have 100% 5 star reviews and are actually located in the city being searched.

 

Implementation of new "features" have decreased "looks" at my listing by over 50% in the last 2 weeks (and no, it's not due to seasonal fluctuations).  Utilzing the feedback form to Air BnB management and reporting this to "host services" has only produced hollow apologies.   Nothing's changed and not one of 3 reports have been resonded to with anything proactive or useful.

 

I called host services today to ask why my property isn't even showing up on available dates, and was told they're so swamped with hosts not getting paid because I.T. made a new adjustment in another area... they'll have to get back to me.  

 

The "new" Air BnB policies and algorhythm adjustments have rewarded shoddy commercially managed properties and hurt business for those of us "indies" who work honestly to attain 5 star ratings from real guests and "superhost" status by providing beautiful properties,  excellent service, honest descriptions, and knockout amenities. 

 

Are the commercial property managers (who also list with Air BnB competitors) paying Air BnB a higher cut for thier perks?  I'm willing to pay a little more for some fairness, but theere has been no indication from Air BnB that my single property listing actually matters enough to earn a useful reply.

 

A friend tried to book an Air BNB in Tacoma WA to attend a wedding a couple of days ago.  She entered Tacoma WA and her dates and was diverted 300 miles away to Vancouver BC.  She tried working around the inaccurate search results in several ways to no avail.  She called Customer service and was assured there were plenty of available perperties.  She followed thie advice to modify her search with no luck and finally gave up and rented a room at the newly remodled Motel 6 next to the I-5 in Tacoma.

 

I was completely loyal to Air BnB and worked hard to earn my "superhost" status and 100% 5-star stats and original creative reviews from great guests who appreciate wonderful service and experiences...some even gifted me with original art work and poetry about my cotage and thier great expereinces here...yet I'm being shut out of searches and am having to list with other online services (and face the nightmare of trying to coordinate calendars) so I can get the exposure I deserve and had before the "upgrades" so I can continue to run a successful business.

 

According to this month's video pep talk for hosts, Air BnB is still a "trust-based community built on honest feedback by real people about individual hosts and unique home shares"... as corporate continues to gobble up contracts with every crummy rental property management company looking to fill thier emptiness.

 

Is anyone else as frustrated as I am with this "Amazon.com/Walmart" approach to what used to be a cool, fun, profitable, mutually beneficial and very transparent platform?

 

 

 

 

They actuallly listed "free parking" as a "highlight"...and I live in an area where all parking is free lol...

 

Writing again because the same issue persists adn has spread into my "progess" ratings, threatening my "superhost" status...with perfect 5-star ratings and womderful reviews!

 

I've brought it to the attention of "support" each time I see it,  shared numerous feedbacks via the required link, and the problems become more complex.  They seeem to prefer adding on more categories than clearing up the bugs, so it is what it is at this point.

 

What I do know is, these random, innaccurate stats are off-putting to guests, and it's effecting my search rankings...in additon to thier crazy algorhythms.

 

I'm listing on other sites to expand visibility and  maintain bookings.  Result: so far, so good, and I'm making more per night.

 

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Susan1028  Yes, I fully agree.

As to the "Home Highlights" (the introduction of which hosts resoundingly disapproved), they are not based on your star ratings. They are based on the page of the guest review where they can check things off that they liked about their stay. It's got pictures they click on, like it's a **bleep** and Jane 1st grade project. So if 95% of your recent guests (altho nowhere is it stated how recent- are these one year's worth of guests, one month, who knows?) clicked on the "Sparkling Clean" picture, that's what it says on the Home Highlights.

OMG, Airbnb considers the name of a standard 50's children's learn-to-read book as bleep material!

Millennials...lol...

Natalie303
Level 2
Margaret River, Australia

Well written, I completely agree with you. Home highlights are irrelevant and have inaccurate statistics which can actually put people off booking. I would much rather my own, well thought out material to take up the valuable space of my page.
Listen to us airbnb and remove the 'home highlights' section. Oh and let us know if you are going to make changes in the future to our pages, we pay for them.

 

Yes ABB--- please listen to us.  We work hard, and so do you.