Much of what Hosts experience are because other Hosts don't review Guests!

Jann3
Level 10
Santa Rosa, CA

Much of what Hosts experience are because other Hosts don't review Guests!

I'm on my 5th Guest's stay...and my 20th applicant (for a future stay).

I have a complaint against the AirBnB Hosts: Over 3/4 of these Guests have stayed at properties, have profiles 2-4 years old, are "verified" -- and yet have NO reviews!

My complaint stems from the need for Hosts to investigate people; Investigate whether they're good Guests, left Host's properties intact, or perhaps caused damage at other Host's properties. This can never be known/inferred when PRIOR Hosts don't review the Guests! In two recent cases (I still rented to them) Guests have actually wanted to show me they DID make reservations and stayed at previous locations, they actually SHOW me the approved request for their prior stays were in their profile name! (ie: they didn't use another profile to rent...) Some Guests have opened their app, showed the reservation with me (so i knew it was the same profile) then scrolled back to previous stays...so I knew those Hosts should've reviewed them!

 

There's no excuse for every single Guest NOT to be reviewed by Hosts! It's part of doing business on AirBnB people! You may think it takes time...and it does, but it helps us all! AT LEAST do the thumbs up/down, and star rating. You can put a couple words in the review if you wish (good Guest, etc) but at least star-rate them!

 

End of rant! Thank you!

117 Replies 117

@Lisa367

"What Airbnb should do if they really want to make airbnb more of a community is allow for something called a "private host feedback" meaning feedback that only other hosts will see.   Like "Great guests but they always leave the windows open so you'll have to remind them to close them." 

 

Why would they even consider this from a corporate standpoint?  It violates every rule of the transparency they are trying to create between a guest and host. I can imagine the response would be, "If you as a host are so bothered by XXXXX then you should feel free to put that in the review forum that is already provided."

 

By back channeling information on guests to other hosts is basically akin to gossip that would in effect tattoo a guest permanently. That is the opposite of making a community. That's making the host community a virtual coffee klatch, rumor mill where hosts are terrified to let anyone rent based on a grown up version of the campfire game, “Telephone.”

 

Besides, how do you handle situations where hosts use the platform to travel as a guest? The host back channel gossips on the guest who is really a fellow host—Who can then go home to access/read the scuttlebutt their host just dropped on their account. That wouldn’t be awkward or anything. What would you suspect another host would have to say about you as a guest?

@Nancy67 I have to agree, this would be a disaster. 

@Nancy67   Absolutely agree.  I was already nauseated by the  additional box that appears after the review  -  Do you want to tell us something, we won't tell your guest.

Yes Nanci, it be an invitation to create 'Peyton Place' ala Airbnb. However, imagine how entertaining it would be in a bawdy way. You spoiled everything with your usual impeccable logic. LoL

Lisa658
Level 10
Hervey Bay, Australia

@Lisa367

 

 

They have this system on a site called Workaway and I think it works brilliantly.  Hosts would only use it in those circumstances where they do not want to write something bad for fear the profile would get taken down or as some have mentioned, fear of retaliation.  With a review that says 'Did not follow House Rules", it could clarify which house rules were broken.  Maybe the infraction is not relevant to an entire listing but would not be okay for a host sharing their home.  Maybe it had to do with smoking and they want to stay at a property where the host allows this.  Maybe they used the kitchen late at night in a shared property and they are applying for an entire property. 

 

There are so many cryptic messages floating around that it is hard to put absolute credence in them.  All these mystery notes should really have private feedback for other hosts.  What if it was a great guest travelling with their pet that was less than optimum in their pet care and you get "Best suited to a hotel".  Should that cryptic message stop them from freely being able to book when they are not bringing their pet?

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have seen a review where the host mentioned the guest was catching a 6am flight and it was specifically noted that a half a cup of coffee had been left behind when the dishes were supposed to all be washed and put away.  As a guest, I would give up on AirBnB if I had this ridiculous comment on my profile.

 

Some hosts may care about these frivolous types of issues, but most would not.  It could even be in the form of a drop down box with space for 50 words so that hosts cannot go on too much of a tangent.  Part of the problem is that hosts have different expectations of their guests and different behaviours that are deal breakers.

 

There is no easy way to see if the guest has stayed at an entire property or in a shared listing and I would imagine this would have a pretty big bearing on the review.  They might be great guests for an entire property but not good for sharing.  Even this is pretty harsh to write on someones profile as some of it could just come down to culture and personality in your specific circumstances.  

 

From seeing this on Workaway, you would see negative feedback about 1 or 2% of the time - with some you were glad for the warning and others you decide are not an issue for your circumstances.  I never saw private feedback that was inappropriate.  

 

At the very least, you should be able to leave a thumbs down without having to submit any comments.  This would be more useful than 'secret' messages in the review.

 

Lisa 

 

 

Marit-Anne0
Level 10
Bergen, Norway

@Momi0

On two occations I left a so-called "honest review" and got some interesting responses.  I quite honestly fear these can backfire not only on the guest, but also on the host who got a nasty response.  

Example:

"A little less tidy than my average guests and did not quite follow my house rules. I would still recommend."

And the response:

Cant imagine that you would post such a review. What rules were not followed? Not tidy?? Guess we were dealing with a rude owner after all.

Their review of my apartment:

Marit Anne's flat is perfectly located in central Bergen, and close to everything we needed. It is beautifully decorated, maintained and supplied, all we had to do was arrive and enjoy. She kindly provided 1st morning supplies, and shared insights on Bergen, restaurants and shopping. We couldn't have enjoyed our visit more!

I have very simple house rules like tidy up the kitchen, take out the garbage and read the info folder where instructions are repeated.

@Jann3 Like most responsible hosts I leave a review asap and I review every single guest.

@Marit-Anne0 I might be cheesed by that review too and write you a response asking for clarification.  Did you answer which house rules they didn't follow?  I'm not sure it's fair comparing these guests to other guests so much as comparing them to a general standard of cleanliness.  No one is perfect and may leave a dish in the sink and forget about it.  If they were generally clean, I'd leave it at that - some people are tidier than others. 

 

I have a house rule that you're supposed to text me when you leave so I know I can go clean up and sometimes people don't do it.  I would probably write that in the private feedback instead.  I have written "perhaps a better place for the pillow shams would be in the closet as opposed to thrown on the floor" bc that kind of annoyed me these guests would throw my bed pillows on the floor.  Nothing I would say for future hosts to read.    

@Lisa515

I do not leave such reviews unfounded.  It is a loooong story, too much to elaborate here and too much to mention in a review.  Let's say they were totally clueless.  

I have only two house rules outside the standard ones; read the info folder & tidy up the kitchen/take out the garbage. 

And gave a 4* for check-in with the comment "no fault of the host" :))

@Marit-Anne0  haha, okay, I'll take your word for it! 🙂

@Marit-Anne0   Hi, how are you?  I just got your post that you sent to me about the review reaction from your guests.  My question to you is, "Did you report that inappropriate" comment to Airbnb?  That is absolutely against the policy of Airbnb for a guests to harass a host after a review has been posted.  That comment is deemed harassment and violates terms of behavior for a guests. 

 

I recently went through this myself after I wrote a 3 Star Overall review for a couple from New Zealand.   3 Stars for CLEANLINESS. 3 Stars in Communication and 4 Stars for Respect of House Rules.  A honest and fair review.   She is the first person to write me a 3 Star review in 26 months.  Not honest at all.   My only 4 Star reviews were written in 2015 when I first started hosting. I have only received 5 Stars in 2016 and 2017. 

 

 With this particular guests, I had requested an extra $20 cleaning fee (Airbnb recommended I request  for $150 sheets replacement fee) but after 9 hours of cleaning, spot cleaning, washing, soaking washing again until 11pm that same night, I was finally able to get ALL the blood out, the beige foundation make up, the black mascara that had dried on the sheets for 4 nights,   You would think this guests would apologize after receiving the photos and videos, but nope, her explanation was this:  "Well we didn't see all those stains when we checked out at 6:30am".  Well my photos and videos were made at 6:38 am, so I am 100% sure they were the culprits since I don't even own make up.  And well, the blood thing, lets just say I am 51!  LOL - She knows it was her and her husband but doesn't even want to apologize.   Apologies go a long way with me.  (yes I got paid the $20 extra cleaning fee by Airbnb even though guests protested)

 

Here's what happened next.  I received a very angry message on my Airbnb account about her review, which was both kind, partially positive, and parts of it were warnings to other hosts.  Then I proceeded to receive another one about the cleaning fee.  So I blocked her from my account, so she can no longer send messages and reported all those messages to Airbnb.  Trust me when I say,, it was handled!  She has been warned by Airbnb.

 

Please know that every hosts should never endure the wrath of any guests harassing them over reviews, money, or anything else for that matter.  If you do, report it.  Don't just click on the red flag, call it in. ABB has a 24/7 call centers all over the world.  

 

@Marit-Anne0  I am sorry to hear that you had to endure meeting such an immature person, but as they say, not every one of our guests would be welcomed back, right?   You can still report that traveler.  You should. 

If you feel that me or another host have helped you, feel free to click on the "thumbs up" button at the end of any post. Thank you so much.

Aloha, Momi

Great way to contact Airbnb or via Twitter at AirbnbHelp / Facebook


I am new to this.  First booking is scheduled in October.  I will definately review these guests as others have done in the past.  Thanks for the tip!  I don't want to get off on the wrong foot - and especially don't want to get on Jann's list of problem hosts (ha! j.k).  This will be routine for me.

Ben205
Level 10
Crewkerne, United Kingdom

@Charlotte215

Hi. Don't be thinking too much about the horror stories on here. They happen, but so do millions of other Airbnb trips which we never know about. I'm sure your guests will be fine. Help them have a good time and they'll love you!

EDITED TO ADD:  Please forgive me for hitting submit without wishing you a wonderful journey of hosting!  So excited for you. 

 

@Charlotte215 

 

Here's a great tip that I do for every review.  I actually put the Stars IN THE REVIEW. with an explantion too  Here's an example.  (below is NOT the same guests) these are different guests who have stayed with us since July 2015. 

 

 

Cleanliness :  5 Stars.  This guests left our private room in great shape every day and it required no extra cleaning other then the standard cleaning I do for every guests at check out.  It looked as if they hadn't even stayed in it.   Love it!

 

Respect of House Rules:  3 Stars.  This guests needed constant reminders of our common sense house rules and yet, continued to break 1 or 2 rules until they day they left.   (example:  leaving ceiling fan on all day while they were gone including even on check out day)  

 

Communication:  4 Stars.  This guests was pretty wonderful about keeping their communication on the ABB platform but did need a few friendly reminders to check it to read messages I had sent them.  Once they knew to check it, their replies were quick and infomative. 

 

Make sense Charlotte?  This way, other hosts don't need to guess exactly what stars my guests were given by me.  Some guests get all 5 Stars in all catagories but I share exactly why I gave them 5 Stars.  Those are my Super Guests!

 

Some guests can get 5 Stars for 2 categories, but 4 Stars in one.  I am HUGE on cleanliness, tidiness, neatness and this seems to be the one category where I give out a lot of 4 Stars but I shouldn't have to remove water, sand and tons of hair from the floor when there are two LARGE bath thick rugs in the bathroom, or pick up tissues from the floor when there are 2 trash cans in the bathroom too, or pick up WET bath towels left on the floor or on my beautiful ABB Queen bed ....(never even knew ppl did that until I started hosting), or the guests who blew his nose all night and threw his nasty snotty tissues rags onto the floor instead of using the bedroom trash basket and left it for me to pick it up on check out day!  Yep, he did that.  And yes I used gloves! He received 3 Stars for that category.  And no, I would not host him again just for that reason alone. 

 

Thankfully, my last few bookings have been 5 Stars in Cleanliness which makes me a very happy Host!!  One even took out their trash basket from the ABB bedroom on check out day and asked me where he could put the trash inside.  I would have given him 6 Stars if I could have. I gave him a big hug at check out and said..."I am begging you, please come back!"   He laughed too.  And then he and his girlfriend handed me a yummy beautiful bottle of wine that had MY name "Momi" on it....how cool was that???!

 

 

If you feel that me or another host have helped you, feel free to click on the "thumbs up" button at the end of any post. Thank you so much.

Aloha, Momi

Great way to contact Airbnb or via Twitter at AirbnbHelp / Facebook


Momi - 

Great advice.  I like the idea of rating each category.  I will do the same.  

Our first guests arrive Saturday night - a young couple.  Thanks for taking the time to share. 

@Charlotte215   Thank you for taking the time to write your appreciation of me.  You are very welcome.  ;))

 

**** HELPFUL TIP: *****

Please make sure to use the @ symbol to ensure it gets delivered to the person you want or it may never make it to that host.....I didn't get it.  Thankfully, it was pointed out to me by a fellow host friend.   IF you use the @ symbol on any post, the hosts who contributed to that thread will have their name appear. Take a look at how I started THIS POST out to you...by @Charlotte215.  make sense?

 

I am very excited to read your review of the guests who checked in this past Saturday since you said you wanted to follow my advice and protocol on how I write my guests reviews with the actual stars IN THE REVIEW with an explanation as to why I gave those particular stars in each category.  I think if everyone wrote it this way, we wouldn't be needing to second guess if a guests is the right fit.

 

----------> Perfect example:  I got a booking request this past week.  The one and only review by a host in NJ was this:  "Cool Guys".

 

I reached out to THAT HOST and asked how were the brothers who stayed with him in a private room in his house as they were trying to book with me.   He wrote back this....They respected all of my house rules.  Very polite and quiet.  Kept a clean place. I liked them."

 

I wrote back...."then why the heck didn't you write THAT?!?!? As a fellow host, I would have appreciated it."

 

he wrote back.  "Good night" 

 

SERIOUSLY, everyone, how hard is it to write more then 2 words????  I would never write a review with 2 words!  I don't even write reviews with 20 words.  This host wrote more to me in his reply message then for this first time guests to Airbnb.  Absolutely UNacceptable in my opinion.  I looked at all of his previous reviews....2-3 words max!  😞

 

By the way:  his wonderful guests (2 brothers) wrote him a a nice review totally 23 words!!  They put more effort in then their host did. 

 

smh. 

If you feel that me or another host have helped you, feel free to click on the "thumbs up" button at the end of any post. Thank you so much.

Aloha, Momi

Great way to contact Airbnb or via Twitter at AirbnbHelp / Facebook