New Extensive Review Process

[Lisa367]

I am a superhost on Airbnb and recently rented an apartment as a guest.  Has anyone else noticed the new very extensive review process that Airbnb has implimented?  As a host, it's really frustrating because this is where people get the most passive aggressive.  As a host, you're already scrutinized over everything, but to really allow the guests to dig deep into each individual aspect of their stay (ie:  "smells" and "sounds", REALLY??) is really problematic.  For example, our last guest left a private review that there was a "nauseating smell of burnt meat" on the "cleanliness/smells" star.  First of all, we didn't cook at all while this guest was in our house, she must have smelled one of the neighbors cooking, and second of all, we're in Sicily, so there are definitely going to be food smells coming in from all angles at certain times a day.  This feedback really bothered me because it was unnecessary and obviously had nothing to do with us since it wasn't even coming from our house.  I would've preferred these guests just keep these types of thoughts to themselves and enter it in the private feedback to me, rather than giving them the option of selecting specific things to complain about.  As a host who has new guests almost every 2 days, the last thing I need to hear is random complaining from guests about very little things.  Obviously as a superhost, I do my best to make sure their stay is 100% comfortable.  My feelings are also important and I don't need to hear every two days something really small and meaningless that I can't control (like food smells in Italy).  Reading passive aggressive feedback actually makes me really upset and I'm getting to the point where I really just don't want to bother hosting anymore.  I'd prefer going back to the basic rating system.  It's faster for the guest to leave reviews and much less harsh on the host.

[Crustt0]

@Gregory11, Using your logic a guest has just as much chance of getting a nutter as a host. I have no problem with the Airbnb review system, but I am also not obsessivly worried if I'm going to make superhost or not. One of the things I love about my job is when I have a nightmare guest I deal with it as best as I can and when they leave they're forgotton as we are dealing with the next guest. To be honest when we are busy, I fill reviews out with out really remembering who they were and if i can't remember them then they were probably okay. 🙂

[Robin4]

@Crustt0

That is a great post and yeah, you have exactly the right attitude. Things are not always going to be right, Do you know I sting when I get a 4 star, didn't have one for two years and copped two in one week two weeks ago. Nothing changed just managed to get someone who said 5 star doesn't exist, so how do combat that, you don't, move on.

I am really interested in what @Lisa367 has commented on here! I have not been an ABB guest for over two years and I have no idea of what scope a guest has in the review process. I have never worried about it because the host has that 'ace up their sleve, they have the last word with the review response'.....and I always leave a reponse to every review.

But I would love someone to screenshot what alternative fields the guest gets to comment on....if there are any! I know as far as stars are concerned the the host gets three to rate, the guest gets seven, but Lisa has me now intrigued....what else!

Cheers.....Rob

[Kari8]

You made me smile, I think you're right, and even if it's frustrating to receive illogical and undeserved bad review, we have to shake it off as Ms Swift would say.

Also be weary of new Airbnbers, it's their ignorance that gets you

Kari

[Daniel127]

@Anne0, Your most recent review is a very good one from Mira. I suspect she wrote all of the things that you are complaining about in your lengthy reply to her good review were written in private.

[Huma0]

So, I just got a new review from some recent guests. It was short but very nice. However, I was a bit surprised at the star ratings. They gave me 4 stars overall, and 4 for everyting else, except location, where they gave me 3. So far, that's the worst rating I've had on any of my listings.

I've only got 5 stars for this listing before. These guests didn't give me 5 for any category. However, they seemed very happy while they were here, told me the house was beautiful, loved the cats and were all smiles.

I was very communicative before they came to make sure they had all the info they needed, here to welcome them (twice, as they arrived separately, and one of those was an hour before check in time!). Still I got a 4 for communication and a 4 for welcome, even thought they said in the review that I was 'very welcoming'. I've never had anything but 5 stars for welcome from 40+ guests!

The bedroom was immaculate, as were the kitchen and bathrooms which I'd just cleaned thoroughly, but still a 4 for cleanliness. I checked up on them during their stay to ask if everyting was okay and if there was anything else they needed, to which they replied, no, they were very comfortable. There's no private feedback to give me any clues of any issues.

So, are these guests who just wouldn't give 5 stars unless they were blown away, or is it something to do with this new extensive review process? Could it have encouraged them to give lower ratings, or do the guests have to select the star ratings before the prompts about 'smells', 'noise' etc. come up? As I've not travelled recently as a guest, I'm not sure...

Should I ask them if there was anything they were unhappy with?

If this becomes a regular thing, that's my superhost status gone.

[Huma0]

Actually just got another review from guests who stayed in the same room directly after the ones mentioned above. Everything five stars, so I guess maybe it's just that some guests think if everything was great, a four star rating is appropriate and reserve their five stars for perfection!

[Robin4]

@Huma0

I have had exactly the same situation in the last week Huma.

She found everything to be just right! In private feedback told me that everything was perfect, the bed so comfortable and she thanked me for setting up the other bed for her sister even though there was only two of them. She likes to sleep with many pillows and thanked me for the 4 additional I provided for her.

She also thanked me for letting her take a bottle of wine from the wine rack to the function (Which in her haste she had forgoten to pre-purchase). 

She also thanked me profusely for getting the clothes back to her that she had left behind on the bed when she departed the cottage!

She said she booked my listing because of the wonderful reviews....

But only managed to find her way clear to give me a 4 star!!

It's only the third 4 star I have got in two years and I just stared at it and thought.....'What in the hell could I have done better for this woman'! She could have spent almost double what she paid me and got a cabin in the local caravan park with absolutely no extras whatsoever.

Time to leave the stars bit behind Airbnb....we are all getting those guests who prove it simply does not work!!

Cheers....Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4, it's so frustrating, but I guess we can't really blame those guests who don't complain and are completely happy with everything and then give us four stars because they don't know how that four star rating crushes us every time we see it! They think they've given us a pretty good rating because they have no idea that as Airbnb hosts, we're kind of expected to get five stars most of the time. Let's face it, that's a pretty tall order!

Maybe there should be clearer communication with both guests and hosts re what these stars mean, e.g. Was the listing accurate, did it meet your expectations and were you totally happy with your stay? In that case, that equals five stars!

[Renier0]

I completely agree with Lisa -I also don't find it particularly fair that as a host, (same as Lisa, super host with almost 100% occupancy) we are scrutinised to such extent yet do not get to see the detailed breakdown of each guests scoring of each 'experience' what use other than inviting passive aggressive criticisms does it have? 

I honestly feel that the entire reviewing system need to be relooked at from both guest and host perspective and need to be much more transparent and open than it is currently.  As hosts, we risk a  lot letting people stay in our homes, a risk we all understand and take and safeguard ourselves as much as we can, the Airbnb reviewing system of guests does not contribute much - if anything - to safeguarding me as a host.  

[Crustt0]

"The star system is becoming way TOO complicated and in favor of the guests -"

It's all about the guest @Gregory11, they are the one that is paying. get over it mate, you've repeated this post 5 times, some might call it SPAM!

[Dunny0]

I am guilty of the same fault - repetition of ideas, recirculating them.

It's the design of this forum, my take. Doesn't seem to encourage organised

sequences of exchange. Perhaps it's the timing. So little on one page. Who knows?

Greg's got a sense of humour, bless him.

It sure seems like this forum was made - at least partly - to take pressure off

the ABB service team. Have never heard mention of ABB corporate listening, acting positively

from these discussions.

We are at 'AcademicPressJapan' via the contact form. 

Hunting, hunting for good feedback, discussion.

[Robin4]

@Dunny0....."It sure seems like this forum was made - at least partly - to take pressure off the ABB service team. Have never heard mention of ABB corporate listening, acting positively from these discussions."

Dunny, in short they don't listen to, or take notice of feedback! They are too busy telling us to 'drink the Koolaid'! There is a current issue.....and when I say current, it goes back over one year with a major post appearing on the forum on March 3rd 2016 (11 months ago) regarding the rolling unblocking of hosts calendars, and it is still happening right now, another report yesterday. A host has blocked their calendar for one reason or another for a period further out than their booking calendar is open for....say 3 months! With each day that passes the calendar displays another day on the other end of that 3 months and any host blocked days are automatically opened by this process!

Dunny, this is a really simple programming error to fix, and has been causing problems for a year with literally hundreds of posts complaining about bookings on host blocked days. The treasurer in our local branch of Meals on Wheels could sort this out in no time flat! It's not a complicated issue.

So Dunny, my feeling is no, the company do not take any notice of Feedback!!! The various helpdesks do nothing more than patch the problem as it individually arrises rather than alert programmers to the issue and get it fixed.

And on your other point, yes I repeat myself sometimes 6 times a week because, every day is a blank canvas! In general people won't look for an answer and learn in the process, they just jump in on the first available thread and blurt out their question when it may have been answered in detail not 4 posts above their own. God we do so get sick of repeating ourselves but....as you say the 'repetition of ideas' is just a cross we have to carry.

Cheers.....Rob.

[Crustt0]

"@Robin4

Quote:

"Dunny, in short they don't listen to, or take notice of feedback! They are too busy telling us to 'drink the Koolaid'! There is a current issue.....and when I say current, it goes back over one year with a major post appearing on the forum on March 3rd 2016 (11 months ago) regarding the rolling unblocking of hosts calendars, and it is still happening right now, another report yesterday. A host has blocked their calendar for one reason or another for a period further out than their booking calendar is open for....say 3 months! With each day that passes the calendar displays another day on the other end of that 3 months and any host blocked days are automatically opened by this process!"

Robin it sounds like people are just using the booking window in the availabilty settings and setting it at  3 months, so it is really just doing as the name suggests, creating a booking window for 3, 6, or 12 months. They have mistaken a tool that opens availability, if they want to block dates, there is a button clearly labeled "block" on their calander and those dates will be blocked until they are unblocked manually.

I use a few online booking systems and I find airbnb's calander the best, you just have to spend the time reading the instructions, I've had double bookings, booking made in dates I didn't want and all the rest, they cost me money so I sat on the computer for hours and nutted it out.

I've never had a problem that is a fault in the system, it has always been my misunderstanding of it,  if your really stuck you can just call airbnb and they'll talk you through it. 🙂 

I imagine there is someone from airbnb reads the feedback on these forums, he's on sick leave at the moment, a dribbling mess who pulled all his hair out in frustration :-)))

[Robin4]

@Crustt0

Last thing I want to do is take issue with you on this but, a years worth of post suggest, you are wrong.

A host wishes to block days 4 months down the track and they have their booking calendar set at 3 months! As the days roll over and come to those 'blocked dates' the system automatically unblocks them....that's just the way it is, and this is what is frustrating hosts. Sure you can set to unblock manually but most hosts are not aware of that and think if they block a date it will stay blocked, Sure, it is user error, but it is also a programming error...and a simple one to fix. The most common way around this is to set your availablity window to 'All future Dates'....But many hosts don't want to do that! They have no idea what their situation will be in a year or 18 months and they do not want to be forced into bookings that far ahead.

All they want is for dates they block to stay blocked!!!

Cheers.....Rob

[Crustt0]

@Robin4, I have mine set for 3 months and it works fine. you just need to block the nights you want. 😉