Let me vent this out, and I'm hoping if you have any good tips on how to keep your motivation up in this increasingly severe Airbnb hosting.
I just got my first 3 star review, and I feel devastated. Not only did this guest rate me overall 3 stars, but she also dinged all sub-categories between 2-4 stars. There was a miscommunication on my end around her check-in which caused her to wait for 5 min. I sincerely apologized and gave her a small gift. Because of this, I had guessed that it would not be a 5 star review and probably the check-in category would be reduced, but I didn't expect all sub-categories being reduced. As you all are familiar with, when I asked her how her stay has been and if there's something I can do, she left all the sweet comments. She was also not the greatest guest and had made a mess in the fridge, soaking my food with milk, but I still left her a nice, short review as I was thinking "humans make mistakes, and this was probably not on purpose. I shouldn't give her a negative review on this." Now I feel like a fool.
I know we all sometimes get these unfortunate reviews. My usual take is "just let it go, and build positive reviews with other guests". If only, this didn't push me to the edge of hosting. My overall rating is still 4.7 even with this 3-star review (thank god), but it just seems impossible to get back on track now. I'm probably on the low end of 4.7, which means if my next guest gives me a 4 star or less, I will fall under the "basic requirement" and risk getting de-listed. As I host more people and make a little more profit, I have been upgrading the amenities/furniture/etc to make my guests' experience a better one. I feel like these efforts might soon be a waste if my listing is threatened by a couple negative (or neutral) reviews.
How are you all handling these situations? Do you have any tips on how to keep your chin up other than just thinking "I should let it go"? What do you do to feel refreshed and start hosting again with a positive mindset?