New to Air BnB and getting rough reviews

Ashleigh36
Level 2
Christchurch, New Zealand

New to Air BnB and getting rough reviews

Hi All,

I am new to Air BnB and have hosted 5 people over the past 3 weeks and found my reviews to be a kick in the gut. 

The first had said my bathroom had grime, and when I cleaned it, I saw no sign of grime.

The second said my location and value were 4 stars :(. Thats really unfair, a guest house with everything you ever need plus extras I put into it for only $50/night seems actually so cheap to me and much better value than a motel.

So now my rating is 4.5 which in my city is terrible. People with the same but more expensive listings have 5 stars and super host.

What can I do? What am I doing wrong? I go the extra mile but my guests seem to be very picky. Which is strange since they only pay $50...

 

Makes me wonder if its even worth it.. or if I should just rent it out.

9 Replies 9
Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

Hi @Ashleigh36 

Really sorry your first few experiences have been negative.

It's a pretty well know fact, the cheaper your listing, the worse and more demanding the guest ( true - I KNOW it makes no sense), so you might want to up your prices.

I would also leave a house manual in a large clear font with plenty of white space in an obvious area and in under a heading housekeeping, explain your cleaning regime and ask that guests contact you if there is a problem with anything.  I would also give guests a heads up about the review system - many think that 4 stars is great ( they are more or less told that by airbnb). I'm happy to send you a pdf of my houserules and manual, not saying it's the best thing ever, but might give you some ideas...

 

I'll also attach a link that shows what some other hosts say to guests in their house manuals re the ranking system.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Explaining-5-star-ratings-to-guests/m-p/882631#M217397

 

what you COULD consider doing , if you are really worried by your stars, is delisting and starting again with a fresh plate ( but with extra strategies in place this time).  That will also get rid of your apologetic response to the guest who complained about the grime - (your comment seemed to indicate that there WAS grime and you thought it wasn't so bad. Much better than a defensive aggressive response, but would have been even better to say,  that the bathroom is regularly and routinely scrubbed, you are confident that there was no grime and that you were disappointed he didn't communicate with you so you had a chance to clarify with him)

A "New" listing t would also let you take advantage of the special discount welcome offer ( just increase your price 20% so you still get the same amount after the discount is applied) to attract guests again.

 

Btw - this is just me, but I'd be inclined to get rid of the wash your hands you filthy animal poster in your toilet - some people might not "get" your humour

 

 

Good luck! You'll soon find your mojo. It really does get easier. Stay on these boards reading - you learn a lot - both what and what not to do

Cheers

 

 

Ashleigh36
Level 2
Christchurch, New Zealand

Wow, somehow in one post you have managed to lift my spirits.

 

Appreciate the feedback and help! 

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

There's a lot of good advice from @Rowena29 there, @Ashleigh36, so I won't cover the same ground. As for de/re-listing, I wasn't sure that was doable, but if it is, that would be my plan after a bit of a mini-refurb. 

As for the cleaning response to the 'grime' thing, a bit of a shoot in the foot, but you'll get over it. As for cleanliness, regardless of whether people are paying $ or $$$, it has to be spotless

Good luck. 

Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

 @Ashleigh36 .Glad I was of some help! However I typed VERY quickly prior to a 2 hour drive, and had a bit of a rethink on the drive home...  @Gordon0 I think is right  - I'm not sure delisting will get rid of the reviews as they are attached to YOU not the property ( someone else on this forum offered this advice not so long ago, and I thought what a great idea, but I didn't think it through).. It would PROBABLY work if you closed down your profile and rejoined with a different email address - guests do that all the time apparently when they have got a bad reivew ( called ghosting) so I don't see why hosts who have been given a raw deal shouldn't take advantage also.  That's if you can be bothered to experiment with it.

 

I'm a relatively new host and since having the manual and check out procedures and comments about how I cleaned etc etc adn explaining how reviews work, Ive found I"ve been doing much better. I specifically ask guests to consider actual DIRT not aged appearance when marking me for cleanliness.  (I have an older home that has dated kitchen and bathrooms with a bit of pitting and peeling of the laminate.)   You'll still get the odd moron, but everyone does. The trick is not to let them get to you too much and focus on the next guest.

I have also considered permanent tenancy, but have heard a number of real horror stories with that too.

 

I'd suggest giving airbnb at least 6 months - give yourself time to hit your stride. You may also find it helpful to look at the listings of regular posters on this forum - get an idea of how different hosts describe things etc. co incidentally it @Gordon0's was one listing I had a good look at when first starting.

 

also - when replying to someone specifically you need to type the @ and then their name should pop up - then they'll be tagged and get an alert that they have a message

 

Cheers

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

>>Blushes<<

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Ashleigh36 

Ashleigh, it is absolutely worth it! I am sorry you have struck an awkward guest first up, but, let me assure you this is not the norm. You will meet some lovely people and you will make some friends, even some for life!

I know this possibly sounds silly but, at the moment, it is easy for you, you only have to get 3 or 4 five star reviews and you will be back up to a 4.9. With 4 reviews, one poor one makes a big difference.......but, it only takes one or two good ones to recover. 

It does become harder when you get a bit more experienced. My reviews stats are sitting on 93% 5 star reviews. I only have to get one 4 star review and my stats will drop to 92% but with over 244 reviews it will take me 10 five star reviews to climb back up to that 93% again!

Ashleigh don't let a  couple of early set-backs discourage you, there will be good times ahead, just concentrate on being the best host that you can......and your guests will reward you!

 

The only other thing I would say is, don't be too cheap. For the Christchurch area you seem to be in the same price bracket as 'Private room' listings and yet you offer a self contained Studio suite much the same as what I do. 

Bottom end pricing seems to attract 'bottom end' guests! Might be something to look at! Once you get a few good reviews nudge your price up a bit. You will find that good reviews bring the guest reservations.

 

Cheers......Rob

Dimitar27
Level 10
Sofia, Bulgaria

Same here. High price=high rating. Low price=low rating. There are more than 200-300 listings nearby. I checked all of them last year. If you keep very low prices after the first few months, you will have rating near 4 forever. And its a closed circle-bad rating will demotivate you. No motivation means bad business and more bad reviews.

Ashleigh36
Level 2
Christchurch, New Zealand

This community is an amazing space and I have bookmarked and will continue using it as a source of reading material in my free time. I didn’t even know if I would get responses and I am so happy people have taken the time to. 


@Rowena29  thank you so much for all your advice. The first thing I did this morning was started to work on my house manual a little more. Putting in my cleaning regime and adding in that if anything is not up to standard to let me know. I am also going to add in something about the age of the property as it is quite old and I have renovated as much as possible on the budget I had. I didn’t really know you could do stuff like that, but it makes sense. Im also going to take some of the ideas from the rating link you posted and work it in to my manual. @Rowena29 could I see your manual? Npot sure how you can share it with

@Robin4 after reading your comment, I am going to just keep my listing and soldier on and try to get the rating up. But like I said, similar listings to mine have 5 star ratings and many more reviews than mine. But I am going to just move past the bad and try and give it a good go. I will also take all of the advice to bump up the price a bit. So thank you for your feedback @Dimitar27  and @Robin4 

 

You have all really helped this noob! I really appreciate it a lot. Gonna block out a day today and update my photos too.

 

Any and all feedback and help is welcomed and appreciated.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

It really depends on the area and the nature of your listing as to what kind of guests it attracts. Once again I want to counter all the posters who say cheap prices bring bad guests and low ratings. I charge $28 US for a private room with private bathroom, full use of kitchen and shared areas and I get lovely guests and 5* reviews across the board. Not only that, I have a 100% review rate (all my guests leave reviews).

It is not some "fact" that low prices bring low guests and reviews.