I will stop taking single night bookings

[Ramzi2]

I have posted before, and so did many of you here in the community about our dissatisfation with airbnb strictness over star ratings, super host status, etc.. 

And more importantly about the ignorace of almost all guests about how their reviews work, specially the overall star rating, and its direct and enormous effect on a host. 

I have been hosting for a while, and i have over 15 listings now; and i have noticed that most short term bookings, (1 night) end up bad. 

The reason in my opinion is that there is not much time to get the reservation be personal, and get to connect with the guest on a personal level, and this always ends bad.

Last week, i had one guest who booked for 1 night (actually less, she arrived 6 PM, and left early morning around 4 am). 

Im my opinion, things were great, i texted her all the self check in instructions, she changed her check in time, and it was okay, i told her to check in anytime she likes, as the room is ready and she has all the info she needs. 

She went into the room, and i sent a message making sure all is well, she was positive, and happy, and literally said: The place is Awesomme!

I then invited her and her friend to a closeby bar if they wanted, for a drink and meet, they had other plans, which is also fine. 

Then they checked out and i messsaged in the morning, asking if all went well with their airport taxi, and if the are back home, and the reply was positive, thanking me for the stay and all. 

Then the review came, a 4 star rating in all categories, but a 3 star one, in the main overall rating category!!!!

a 4 star for location? I am in the center, that's one of my best advantages and all guests say that. 

4 star for check in? it was a smooth self check in with a change of timing that was from her side! how come?

a 4 star for accuracy? i dont even know what accuracy is there for. 

a 4 star for Value? She stayed in the center of Beirut, (2 people) in a fully equipped apartment, for 30$ per night !!!!

a 4 star for communication ?? i mean come on i have communicated my ass out with that woman. 

I am hating the platform day by day, and trying to switch to different booking platforms and approaches. 

I could not hold it, and i messaged the lady today, and her reply was: I thought it was a 4 star review overall since I gave 4 stars on almost everything and not a 3 star. My apologies. I will try and change it into a 4 star. The location is great but bathroom was very dirty and I had an allergic reaction to the dust. That was the only minor. That's why it's not a 5 star.

Note: A cleaning lady stays in the apartment all day and cleans the toilets almost 3 times a day. (but i will give her that for some reason it might have been dirty from another guest, and i wont argue cleanliness)

[Gillian19]

@Ramzi2 with over 15 listings I would say it's pretty hard to have a "personal reservation" anyway. don't worry so much aboutthe ratings. As long as you get high enough to stay on the platform it really doesn't matter. There are more important things in life to worry about.

[Pete69]

Reasons not to accept one night bookings:

1) A would be squatter is going to look to spend as little as possible. So they're more likely to look for a one night stay.

2) I want to do as little maid work as possible. The $30 cleaning fee (which is standard in my area) is too little.

3) One night stays are likely to prevent some longer stay bookings, especially if you leave a day of prep time between guests. The last thing I want is to have someone book a Saturday, thus shutting out Friday and Sunday. During high tourist season weekends always get booked up. I have no incentive to accept 1 night bookings.

4) I would just rather deal with less people. The more people I book the more likely I'll eventually get some someone who's a problem / crazy.

[Rosemarie9]

Your fourth reason is very true. After three years of pretty solid bookings, there will definitely be those few really testing guests that somehow creep in despite vigilence. I smile when I hear a host say they have NEVER had a problem guest. Just wait, it will happen, and the more individual bookings you have, the greater the risk. All it takes is a grumpy tourist, who is tired, got lost, didn't read any messages about checking in etc. I greet every guest, am around to assist guests, but sometimes even that isn't enough. Humans can be fickle. 

[Robin4]

@Ramzi2

Yeah, I have to agree with you Ramzi, if you meet with them and look them in the eye a certain bond develops and they are more likely to give you a good review. 

I have only had a couple of guests I have not actually met since I have been hosting and both of them gave me less than a 5 star overall.

The concept of Airbnb was to offer a more personal experience and that is what attracted users to the platform. It is possible that many of them will feel slightly let down if they don't get that personal experience!

If you are trying to run 15 listings then you will probably strike this a fair bit. I don't think it has much to do with the fact that they are one nighters Ramzi ( more than half of my guests are one nighters and they almost all give me 5 stars) I think it has more to do with the fact, they didn't meet the host!

The other thing you have to consider Ramzi, guests and hosts are given conflicting information when it comes to the review system. Guests are told anything above a 3 star means the stay met or exceeded their expectations, where as hosts are told any less than 5 stars means there was something about the stay experience that needs to be improved.

Many guests do not know they are doing anything wrong or harming the host by giving them less than 5 stars....just one of the frustrations we have to deal with Ramzi.

Good luck. 

Cheers......Rob

[Ramzi2]

Thank you @Robin4 for your reply. 

I agree with what you said, and indeed running several listings makes it harder than running one or two. 

It is not the 1 night thing that is the problem, it is that when it is a 1 night reservation, the probablity of meeting your guest becomes much less, specially if the guest had plans or something of the sort. you cannot always meet the guest on day 1. Unless you are there on every check in, and i am not (for several reasons). 

I totally agree about the conflicting info regarding rating, and i have posted earlier about this, but i think that we as a community, who is suffering from this, should do something about it. Send a petition or so.. 

I have read so many complains about this, so i am sure many people are being effected. 

[Christine615]

The problem is with Airbnb's definition of stars. On their platform 4 stars is "better than expected." 5 Stars is "far exceeded expectations" -- or something like that. I think their star system needs to also come with education of the customers who book on the platform. There are a lot of people who think 4 stars is a compliment. Little do they know that Airbnb penalizes hosts who get less than a 5.

So our complaints need to be directed at Airbnb. If people think 5 stars is equivalent to a luxury hotel, then Airbnb needs to revise their superhost requirements. I don't find the existing ones hard to meet, but I've know hosts who get even a single bad rating are hurt pretty badly by it.

[Ramzi2]

@Christine615 I totally agree, we should direct our complaints to Airbnb, but we should be many, and do it once, otherwise it won't have any attention. 

[Tony134]

@Ramzi2 @Christine615

You guys should check out my "Fixing Airbnb CS Issues" these and weigh in. I covered this pretty well, and would like if the regulars here would help me keep it at the top of the thread list.

Airbnb won't mind at all because they don't believe humans game systems.