Review is in Chinese, will it be visible in Chinese?

[Geoff22]

I had a recent guest who was not able to or simply did not read my messages to him regarding check in.  Also, I don't believe he understood how our place is configured (one queen and one twin, with two couches) and acted confused when there weren't two queen beds.  At any rate, he did not even stay overnight, nor did he tell me he wasn't staying. 

He left a bad review and lots of 1 and 2 stars for everything.  It reflects his frustration far more than our place, which typically gets 5 stars, and I have responded to his review.

What I'm wondering is:  when I read his review, it's all in Chinese.  Will it show that way when it posts on Airbnb in 14 days?

[Sandra856]

Hi @Geoff22 🙂

If you can read his review it should already be posted on your profile? Otherwise you wouldn't be able to read it?

Yes, it will be in chinese as showed. If it were me I would write a stategic/kind reply so future guests will know that your chinese guest didn't really understand your listing etc. 

[Sandra856]

@Geoff22 I just read your reply and I think it is a great reply. 

[Geoff22]

I was able to read it because I asked Google translate to translate it for me.  It hasn't hit my listing yet.  I did my best to explain that most of the issues we had were that he was did not understand our prior communications or the listing configuration.

[Sandra856]

@Geoff22 I think you have misunderstood how the review system works.

As soon as you both have written a review there is no reason to wait 14 days. 

When you can read the review it is posted on your profile. 

[Sandra856]

@Geoff22 As you can see I can read the review as it is posted on your profile. It is also possible to translate the review easily when pressing the little "translate link" under the review it will automatically be translated. I don't think it will hurt your bookings as you have such great reviews and also your reply is great. I'm sorry he tanked you with the stars. What a horrible guest!!

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Geoff22: International reviews get thrown to the end of all your reviews so it won't come up as a "recent" . review. I have no idea why Airbnb does it. There should at least be a drop down menu for "Most Recent" reviews if they are going to continue doing it this way.

[Kath9]

@Geoff22, I'm surprised that you don't understand how the review system works. Once you have both left reviews, they become publicly visible, regardless how many days have passed. The 14-day period only applies if one party hasn't left a review. Anyway, I thought your response was very good - it is difficult when people with another language can't understand the listing - this has happened to me on several occasions.

[Elena87]

@Geoff22 

One salutary lesson, never relax and postpone cleaning.

Murphy's Law is too tempted to kick in. 

[Robin4]

@Elena87 

You mention Murphy's Law Elena, but have you heard of 'Patrick's Law'? 

Patrick thought Murphy was an optimist!!!!!

You are right though, every time I think, 'no point in jumping into cottage preparation, there isn't a guest tonight'....time gets to 4.30pm and I get an IB for that night wanting to arrive within the hour...it happens every time!

Cheers.....Rob

[Sudsrung0]

A good tip for everyone download Wechat all chinese use it and does have good translation to it, dont forget Google is not perfect and it is not available in China as with Facebook and other app's like whatsapp

[Alon1]

Firstly, its a misnomer that Reviews are not shown in Chronological Order. At least we need to distinguish between Host Profile and Listings. In the former case, Host Profile always shows Reviews in chronological order.

Secondly, please see below copy of Airbnb 'Help' for the explanation 'Why aren't my reviews shown in order?'

However, in Geoff's case, scrolling his 13 pages of reviews, quite unusually it seems, all his 92 Reviews to date are currently showing in chronological order, whereby this Chinese review under question is second from the top. At least this is the way I see it in the UK.

Personally, I always try to encourage my Chinese guests - not only but also other foreign nationals from the Orient, Far East, Asia, Russians, etc - to write Reviews first and foremost in their own language, as well as English. The reason is that in my experience Guests from these countries have almost exclusively been excellent Guests, and knowing these reviews will show up first in their home countries, they will hopefully encourage others to book with me.

Unfortunately, many don't heed my request, and write their Reviews exclusively in English. -- In the case of the Chinese, I can best speculate the reason that the majority who book with me are  students in the UK and are conditioned to write in English for their studies. 

Conversely, some Europeans, most notably the French, tend to review exclusively in their language.. .

There have been other posts over the years in CC addressing these cultural phenomenon. 

.

========================

AIRBNB 'HELP'

Why aren’t my reviews shown in order?

When someone browses your listing, reviews are ordered based on several factors that are relevant or helpful for guests, including things like:

• How recent the review is
• The language of the review
• The country where the reviewer lives
• The length of the review

For example, if a French traveller browses your listing, recent reviews written in French or by French guests will be shown first. This helps guests read reviews that are relevant to them so they can decide if your listing is a good fit.

However, even though a newer review might not show at the top of your listing page, all the reviews are still available for potential guests.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Geoff22 

I actually think the twin bed  together with the fish eye photo of same can cause some confusion for international travellers.  Booking a twin room in a hotel in Europe would be two single beds, Europeans are not familar with a twin bed being a single bed, or the term twin bed being a single.

Adding an additional photo showing the bed as clearly being a single and add single in brackets in the photo captation could make the listing clearer.  Personally I also add the measurements of each bed in the photo captation as bed sizes and standards vary greatly throughout the world.