Ignore me, I am ranting :)

Peter890
Level 5
Prague, Czech Republic

Ignore me, I am ranting :)

Hi all,

 

Just had a guest, new to airbnb. Communication was good, place left in good shape. Left him a good review. He left me 5 star reviews for everything except cleanliness where he gave 3 stars because of "dust" and 4 stars overall.

 

I am in the apartment now and have checked the place end to end - and the rating is  cranky. Oven, hob, fridge, freezer, microwave, bath, sinks, under beds, sofas, everywhere is pretty spotless, as normal. There is no dust without using a microscope and a bright light 😉 It is spring here so with the windows open there is plenty of pollen settling everywhere.

 

These off-piste reviews seem to happen about every 30 guests. The best one I remember was a guest last year giving 5 star reviews for all individual scores, said they were delighted but then gave a 4 stars overall review. Huh??? 

 

We take so much care - courtesy soaps, shaving kit and toothbrush. Bath salts, recommendations for places to go, tea, coffee, juices right the way down to a little kinder chocolate for each guest...we really really care...and really value 5 star reviews...

 

The unevenness of guest reviews sends me crazy! When we get something wrong, sure, we take it on the chin. But when guests just have a cranky idea of what stars to give? I think some guests use it like a hotel star rating, if they want a 5 star like that then the Four Seasons in Prague is excellent at Eur570 per night for a basic room versus our Eur60 for a whole apartment! 

 

Just a rant. I don't think there much to do about it and we are running at 92% for 5 star reviews anyway so most people value what we do 😄 It's not like it puts superhost at risk. But it does make me want to rant!

 

Rant over. Thanks for listening 🙂

63 Replies 63
Oomesh-Kumarsingh0
Level 10
Pamplemousses, Mauritius

@Peter890 There will always be such guests on Airbnb! I have also met such guests in the past and i have now exchange my approach toward all guests especially 24hours before their checkout.I started to ask all guests if they had a nice stay at my place and if they reply positively I always ask them to make sure to give me 5stars.Do not hesitate to ask them!Good luck and happy hosting.

Hi Oomesh!

Thanks for the tip! I have always been a little shy of explicitly asking for a 5 star rating as it is the guests decision to rate us and I personally do not like "being told what to do"! But I am changing that so that they know how airbnb ratings work a bit more - and that anything apart from a 5 star review counts as "bad"! Many thanks and happy hosyting! Peter

Susan869
Level 6
Lupton, United Kingdom

I’m still flummoxed. So IF you continually got 4 and 3 stars would that risk de-listing? I do find that people are far more likely to give 4 stars during the summer months...particularly if it’s raining. We’ve even had a 3 last summer saying what a great place it was, would definitely recommend and a good find? “C’est la vie.”

Peter890
Level 5
Prague, Czech Republic

Hi Susan,

Wit the new rating system effective 1 May if you get less than 4.8 average "overall rating" you risk being de-listed. Check the airbnb app on Proigress - Opportunities - Basic Requirements and it says "Your listing could be removed if you consistently fall below the targets" - and its lists the targets.

 

To be fair, the targets are achievable but it is clear that airbnb are trrying to push up host quality. Sadly they are not spending the same effort on educating guests how to review reasonable 😉

 

All the best,

Peter