How can we "educate" guests about how the AirBnB Star Rating system works?

[Gina136]

Dear Community:

I am a homestay Super-Host with 3+ years in AirBnB, always on my toes out of concern I will lose my Super-Host status through no fault of my own.

As AirBnB becomes more and more of a common name, I'm having an increasing % of Guests who use the system without knowing much about its distinctive characteristics. Whereas my initial Guests were knowledgeable about the phylosophy of AirBnB, and VERY appreciative that I opened my home to them (I live in an area with extremely high hotel/motel nightly rates); now I'm getting mostly Guests who expect the level of quality and service of a professional B&B, but at a fraction of the cost, of course!

When it comes to ratings, I am almost afraid now to ask for Reviews, because even those who seem satisfied and say "all is fine" and that they "have everything they need", may well leave a 3 or 4 star review that will ruin my average. 

Case in point: I request a review from this Guest who was obviously pleased with his stay, even though I noticed in his profile that he had not left any review for anybody before. After 1 week, I receive his rating, as follows:

a) All categories 5 stars, except for one with 4 (noise -- I have no traffic, and my Rules include quiet times, BUT my cat vocalized at some point, so it was not absolute silence -- it is a listing where I say I live with kids and cats), and one with 3 (location: while convenient to him and central to Watertown + public transportation, it is not not the center of Boston.)

b) Overall rating  given? 3 stars (three)!!! That's less than the average of his subcategories!

I asked the Guest for feedback, and he kindly entered into a conversation with me.

It turns out he found my listing as expected in all categories, the descriptions accurate, and the photographs clear and not at all missleading. He further said the house was very clean. Why the 3 star rating? Because I have a modest home and the room is kind ofsmall (even though I described the dimensions, etc., and I have 2 other rooms in the house bigger than that, that he did not reserve). For him a 5-star rating is what a luxury room would receive!

He apologized he was not aware of how the ratingsi n AirBnB work.

Alas, too late.

I have given up on AirBnB doing anything to clarify the Star Rating system (specially among Guests) or to increase fairness to the Hosts in this regard.  AirBnB is placing most of its investment in pushing Hosts to increase the level of service offered...

What do other Hosts do to "educate" their Guests about how the Rating system works -- before it's too late and the Guest has left a Review!

Thanks!

Gina

[Rebecca181]

@Gina136  You might want to look at a post I did here recently that is getting many comments and inviting much discussion. Search on 'Review system needs to be revised'. I'd love to get your input. I was going to collect data from other hosts and then do a post on this same issue on Host Voice, but Host Voice is closed while they revise it. Wish they would have revised the review system first!!

[Kris76]

Thanks Rebecca, there are some great tips there! My view on ratings aremno matter how clearly you explain the system to them everyone sees their stay through a different lense. All you can do is maximise guest experiences every time and give your guests everything they need at their fingertips.

There are always things you can do to add something extra to enhance experiences, for example I use an app ** to deliver the information my guests need to enjoy their stay and make sure all my check-ins are super smooth.

Ultimately you can't control your guests but you can control their experience from check in to check out and hopefully this pays dividends,

hope me this helps

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[Rebecca181]

@Gina136 PS - Like you, I got tired of feeling 'victimized' by reviews that were the result of a lack of education on Airbnb's part. I now have a one page 'Cheat Sheet' I ask guests to read (since nobody reads my house rules, despite saying they did) and it has info' about my septic system and hot tub on it - the two most important things from a damages standpoint. I also added this - And I have had many guests thank me for notifying them of how the rating system works - They had NO idea, and thought it worked like a hotel system. Also, Airbnb actually tells guests when they are reviewing that 4 is 'good' and 5 is 'fantastic', so what do you expect? 

IMPORTANT : REGARDING REVIEWING OUR COTTAGE ON AIRBNB FOLLOWING YOUR STAY:  

Please note that the 5 star rating system is NOT like a ‘hotel’ rating system:

As Airbnb ‘Super Hosts’ we do all we can to ensure that our property meets your expectations, as based on our listing description, photos, and reviews. A 5 star (super) host is one who consistently gives their guests what they promise. Guests who rate their hosts with 5 stars for the ‘Overall Experience’ category are saying they were happy with their stay and want future guests to know it. Reading the reviews of previous guests will help potential future guests feel confident in their stay. Therefore,  please let us know if you are disappointed or dissatisfied with the Cottage or any aspect of your stay while you are still here so we have a chance to address the issue and ensure that your vacation is a ‘5 Star’ experience, and all you hoped it would be. *When rating us on your ‘Overall Experience’, we only ask that you remember that we cannot control our location or the weather!

[Gina136]

This is SO good, Rebecca, thank you for sharing it. 

I will prepare something similar, laminate it, attach chocolates to it, and ask Guests to read it!

I also find that Guests don't read  the Rules. At all. To ensure they do, I have included do as I askedat the bottom of the Rules the request to send me the passcode word "AGREED" once done reading them.

Well, up to now, only 5% of my Guests send the passcode after booking. I tell the rest to please review the Rules and send me the passcode, and the majority don't answer. I have had just 2 Guests who have tried to , but they were both at a loss and sent me the Reservation # (separate Guests, but the same action!) --  they can't find the Rules, much less the passcode embedded.

Sigh.

[Sarah1141]

Great idea, I'm going to use the "agreed" one!  

It's SO TRUE guests don't read the house manual.  I just had a guest (whose group damaged my house) leave five stars and then the private message said I should leave instructions on lighting the grill, as it was difficult to figure out.  BBQ grill instructions were on the second page out of 2 pages.  I used a large font.  Am I supposed to put instruction cards on each item in the house?  

[Sarah977]

@Sarah1141  Yeah, and then the guests complain about how there were post-it notes on everything which made them feel like the host takes them for idiots 🙂

[Ward1]

Oh GOd. . . . I had a review thqt said I left dishwasher detergent as laundry detergent.  What I had left were Tide Pods - the most expensive laundry detergent there is.  No good deed goes upunished!

[Wayne92]

Gina thanks for sharing! have you found a better way to ensure the guests read your rules? Im thinking about making a custom web page that has all of my rules, passwords, and local recommendations/information on it. Thoughts?

[Cor3]

Hi @Wayne92,

That’s almost a mission impossible.

How can you possibly fit everything in just under 1 page. Otherwise it won’t get read.

I’ve tried to put everything in a MS Word document, which is handed out like an online electronic PDF document.

In this document, they can find everything they may need to know.

Such as:

• Driving and walking instructions
• Safety + Emergency instructions
• Local recommendations and tips
• Explanation on how everything works + links to the various online manuals
• Energy certificate
• Condominium regulation
• Answers to frequently asked questions
• Etc.

Part of the above is required by national laws, and the rest is recommended (by among others: Airbnb).

And now the government wants us to publish it in at least 4 languages??

[Wayne92]

@Cor3 interesting thoughts cause that is a lot of information! What do you mean by publish? Do you have a dedicated book or a certain way that you're required to publish this? My first thought is that a digital web can instantly be translated, and there's no "bottom" to a webpage; it could just scroll forever and have easily accessible links. Thoughts?

This is my rough draft if you wanna take a look and give thoughts: https://www.touchabove.net/airbnbuddy (mobile-friendly site)

[Cor3]

Hi @Wayne92,

Maybe I shouldn’t have used the word: Publish (Excuse me, I’m Dutch. English is not my mother-tongue).

I should have said: having the manual available in 4 different languages for hand-out to guests.

The government + any other ‘body’ that is having a word in this, is requiring us to handout certain information to guests.

So we ended up with having a 287 page! Document 🙂

Because it also holds pictures. But nevertheless, it is easy accessible. Starting from a 1-page Summary.

But I must admit, it is being read to some extent. On the other side, most of the time people spend 3 hours on a plane. So they have something to spend the time with 🙂

I will have a look at your link tomorrow 🙂

[Cor3]

Hi @Wayne92,

Your webpage looks great! You may want to think about controlled access though. As you currently don’t want to put private information in there (Passwords and that sort of things).

I always like simple to read FAQ-style questions and answers in a 1-line format. And I tend to think that many people will agree.

Furthermore, I also try to look at making things as easy as possible. And try to automate, where I can.

But having said that though (and you made me once more aware of it, so thanks for that): When you use 1-liners (or incorrect words, such as I did), it may be the cause to other questions.

A host always has to find the delicate balance between being exhaustive (it won’t get read) and simple to comprehend instructions (which might either be incorrectly understood or raise other questions).

Simple example: We have a so-called self-checkout procedure (in case our local contact is not available).

Part of this instruction reads: "The key-set can be left on top of the console in the hallway of the apartment".

And 1 guest recently replied: That’s fine, can you get me the code?

I was a bit puzzled. And it turned out, they understood having to leave the keys inside the lockbox of our neighbors!

So for me: Communications is key! Ask questions, they have to confirm.

I’ve spend a lot of time in the past in writing our manual. It is now more or less finished, and therefore I only need to maintain it.

And it is send out as part of my standard questionnaire once a booking comes in.

I have standard text templates available, which I tailor to specific guest needs. Which I use in my follow-up communications with the guests. And on top of that, I have a standard procedure on how to deal with guests. I.e.: When to send out, which message.

Repetition of the message, will cause the message to come across.

Guests want to feel personally welcome. Standard automated messages don’t give them that feeling.

Sometimes guests arrive, and they mention something specific to their trip, such as:

• We are on a road-trip
• My parents were from this country
• My daughter will attend a wedding
• This is our first stay in the area

I will always refer to those specific pieces of information, in my standard messages.

[Kris76]

Cor, I used to try and fit it on a single laminated document also which was great until someth8ng changed and I had to edit - now I upload everything onto an app ** which certainly helps gives guests everything they need!

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[Gina136]

Hi!

I think that is a very practical option, and user-friendly for guests!

I will think about implementing something like that, as well.

Since first posting, I have experienced limited success in educating anyone -- in my situation, I may not always cross paths with guests early enough or often enough to have a "conversation" about the rating system.

And the material I have left with the welcome packet may be bypassed or forgotten -- at any rate, I have not noted any change, and I still have the occasional host who has an idea of the rating matching the hotel star system, rather than the AirBnB one, despite it all --and leaves a poor rating along with complaints on small matters that could have been addressed to their satisfaction had they asked (eg, needing an extra towel, or finding milk in the fridge for breakfast.)

I now send a note within 24h of arrival asking if all is OK and reiterating my availability should they need anything or have questions.

Which I think is good and appreciated but many. But I still get the guest who voices a need (and leaves less stars) AFTER they have left.

Interestingly, I have noticed that whenever I receive a review objections about something (anything), the stars for location come as 3 instead of the usual 5 of a satisfied guest. And this happens in only 1 of my 3 rooms, which are all in the same house, and therefore the same location!

So, I have an average of 4.9 stars for location in 2 of my rooms (the ones that are larger and priced slighty higher), but of just 4.6 (= TERRIBLE for AirBnB, so I get warnings)  for the 3rd room, which happens to be smaller (described as such!, and priced lower!). But all 3 rooms are in exactly the same location, of course, so this can't possibly reflect an objective view.

Isn't that interesting? My current hypothesis is that a) guests are probably not as happy in the relatively smaller room (even though that's the room they chose, and  the one they knew they would get), and that b) whenever a guest is in general not as happy, they tend to give less stars  even for things not directly related to their experience, like the location they chose.

Unfortunately, I can't test my hypothesis.

But anyway, I simply think by now that the star system is flawed and skewed. 

And it is absurd that AirBnB presses me to improve my location for the room that gets 4.6 location starts, which is the same location that gets 4.9 stars by guests booking the other 2 rooms! The location can't be 4.6 and 4.9 rated at the same time.

So I am resigned to lose SuperHost status to any artifact of this artifactual system at any point, through no fault of my own, and with no control over it.

BTW, I loved a recent post  in this thread showing a colorful chart illustrating the AirBnB start system. An image is more powerful than anything else, specially if it's fun (making everybody at ease).

I will try that next: the colourful and fun chart ,with a few star-shaped stickers on the desk or bed.

Will report back in a few months!

Gina