Review - need advice

[Bronagh0]

Dear all, I need advice.. until yesterday I had 100% 5 star review, which I have been working hard to achieve and maintain, 105 in total. I received a 4 star review from guests who were very friendly and left very kind private and public reviews that they would be back again etc. I don't know what they rated me down on and they didn't give any feedback for improvements. I have copied their private and public reviews below: 

private: 

'a message to tell you that we really enjoyed our stay... and we are definitely convinced we'll be coming back next year.'

public:

'small apartment, very cozy, functional. Close to restaurants, public transport and spar. Bronagh is a host that's listen for all your needs, and gives you the necessary information and books to visit Belfast. Thanks for everything 

[Bronagh0]

Last part of my message was cut off. Basically, do I contact the guest and ask for their feedback? Or is this inappropriate? Thanks 

[David126]

@Bronagh0

Did you explain to the Guest that AirBnB is a 5 Star system? Most Guests especially new ones I assume would not know.

[Bronagh0]

They had used airbnb before so I assumed they knew the system

[Annette103]

I'm new to hosting, but am interested if anyone shares their experiences with this. I have a similar situation in that a family came to stay and provided lovely and ongoing praise for our place during their stay (the kids were especially excited about staying in a camper with bunk beds, the parents kept telling us how nice everything was and how much they loved our location). However, though I quickly provided guest feedback, they have not provided a review for us. It's been a week since they left. I'm thinking I could contact them to see if they had any suggestions for me as a new host, coupled with a gentle reminder to provide a review, but, like Bronagh, I am wondering if this is considered bad form? I know they were are at the beginning of a long stretch of travelling, so I'm hoping they will complete it when they get home. 

I'm very interested in how others handle these delicate communications. I don't want to sound demanding to the prior guest, but a review from a family would be very beneficial to my new listing.

[Nona2]

Pleae let me know where I look for reviews from guests that post on Airbnb.   Good or bad.  Are these listed in a seperate place for the host to see???  Please help  Nona 

[Jeff158]

That's a good review, some people just never give 5 stars, believing improvement is alway's possible.

[Vadym2]

I have reached out to guests in the past and do not consider reaching out for more feedback or to gently ask for a review a bad form. My recommendation is to reach out over AirBnB text and ask for feedback and / or to get a review filled out. The wording MUST be gentle and is key. The other thing is whether the guest will respond back. People are busy and some people hate providing feedback. 

[Kate157]

Hi @Bronagh0 if you are going to ask guests for a review, I think it is better to do it when the guests are leaving. When I was a new host and needed reviews, I would thank the guests for staying with us, then smiling I would add, "and if you could leave a review for me, I'd really appreciate it." That worked well. I never asked them for a five star review or explained the review process, as I feel that's too much. 

[Bronagh0]

Hi Kate, thanks for your reply. The guest replied voluntarily, which is a policy I have always adopted, and I've never asked for 5 stars. I'm just confused why a guest would leave very kind public and private comments, and then give an overall rating of 4 star. I know I can't expect 5 star each time, but the group didn't indicate in any way they were unhappy. I would like to reach out and ask if they can provide any feedback to improve given their overall 4 star rating.

[Sue174]

@Kate0, It must be a very different experience when you actually say "goodbye" in person to a guest. We have a whole home we rent in a far away city so I don't see my guests but I have never considered it bad form to ask for not only a review, but ask for 5 stars right up front. There are two reasons. I make sure my home has 5-star amenities for my price point. Second, I call every guest the day after they arrive to not only welcome them, but to make sure they are finding everything OK and that they haven't found anything that isn't to their liking and to remind them that they should reach out immediately if ANY issue arises, no matter how minor.  After their scheduled departure, I wait a few hours and use the Airbnb message system to send this:


Hello _______,
I hope you enjoyed your stay at our home, OhMeOhMy at Oakwater Resort. As vacation homeowners, it is extremely important that our guests enjoy our home and we strive to ensure a 5-star experience. As our small family business, a great review goes a long way for us! Other potential guests give reviews great consideration, as you may have, so I would like to invite you to review your stay and receive a 5% reduction on your next reservation of our home.

If you had anything go wrong or suggestions on how we could improve, would you please send them to me in this messenger as we welcome your feedback and love to improve.

I look forward to having you back for your next vacation and we hope you tell your friends about OhMeOhMy. Thank you so much again!

And guess what? It works. Every single guest has left feedback and every one has been 5-star!



[Joanna85]

Remember people think 5 stars is like A+..only us hosts need a certain amount of 5 stars for Super Host status.  Once I called Airbnb regarding an issue and the man told me most people do not leave a review. I experienced that last quarter...hardly anyone left me a review..then if they did it was the 4 stars because they didn't think it was A+- they enjoyed their stay but it wasn't the Ritz five diamond experience, which my place isn't. In some cases people simply just don't want to leave 5 stars which is why it's lower than 5.  Some cases they think we really want the constructive criticism and so they take it seriously and don't give you the coveted 5 stars to be helpful and make us better hosts. I just had a review of a couple who said my place was super dirty and old....I think they were just mad because my place is old and they couldn't afford a penthouse for what they paid to stay at my place. To me, if it's clean, quiet and safe..it should get five stars. I had a guy who stayed a night say he's stayed in a bunch of Airbnb's and mine was by far the nicest in my price range he'd ever stayed in...but he never left me a review.  You can't make people review you in a way that is meaningful and useful to us as hosts, sadly.

[Red3]

First off, 5 stars and 100% in 105 reviews is super impressive. I have ways to go, but im trying hard. I think you should just ignore their little 'mistake' and keep up the great work. This review will soon be at the second page and noone reads past first anyway. Lol

[HeidiAndGreg0]

I'm beginning to think that guests are rating as standard hotels are rated...being a 3 star, 4 star etc. not on the fact that a home was what the listing said. It is very frustrating to get knocked down for not having something that was wanted by a guest that the home never had to start with. In my case, they thought they were getting a full kitchen not just what was shown in my pictures. Because of that I was only given 4 stars. I think I am going to remind them when I send the accept so they can reject before staying.

[Sheila55]

About the star ratings don't get upset with good comments and a 4 star.  People from the  Netherlands for instance never give more than a 4 they always believe there  is room for improvement even  if things went really well. Schools never give a 10 for perfect work either. !