Reviews

Reviews

Over the past 6 years of hosting I mentioned a pattern and would love to hear your opinion on it.

My long airbnb hosting journey showed me, that the majority of the guests who use airbnb for the first time, are very angry people and demanding.

Most of them have no feeling for the value of things. I asked myself why? And I finally came to a personal conclusion that this problem is a lack of experience with using airbnb. Out of my observation I see that the first time users lack on empathy and have an imagination about how they want you and your home to be.  There is a lack of tolerance and acceptance. I feel like the guest needs time to understand the concept of airbnb and accept indifferences and learn to value the nice opportunities. Till now I never declined on guests, who don't have reviews, who never used airbnb before, but today I think, I am scared of people who come off, as they would know it better, how you need to be. 

 

I would love to open a petition  to restrict new guests, who have no experience in airbnb to be able to give hosts reviews for the first 5 bookings at different places. Because I am tired to give people chances and be demolished by they lack of understanding and their aggressive entitlement. I feel like a guests who wants to profit from this community and the value must gain/ learn certain understanding and feeling before they get weaponized with reviews. I do think I am an experienced host, but I am more and more scared to host guests who never attended any airbnb places before, because I do not want to risk my value to someone who lacks respect towards all my work and my personal experience. Hosting is more as just giving your guest a place to stay. I am very accurate in what I sell people here, I do get upset about people who cannot read listing description and house rules and dictate and judge me how my personal space and my persona needs to be. I am definitely tired of people who do not have understanding for values and effort. I also think it's wrong to give reviews on the first place you ever used in your life through airbnb, if you as a guest have no comparison at all.  

 

 

101 Replies 101

@Helen350 

basically I come now to a conclusion, it's not possible to host everyone. The fact is, even if I am truthful and accurate in what I am selling, some people seem to have a gift of being ignorant. The point is, I never wanted to be exclusive, I want to embrace people and go along with people, but as I understand, I do not get rewarded, for me opening my doors to everyone. It is sad, I must switch off insta book and start selecting my guests. Basically, if I open my doors, I get punished, I only need to take people who I choose. That's sad. It comes to the conclusion, if I do not get certain protection tools from airbnb (such as no reviews from fresh new airbnb users), I need to skip them all. It's sad for people. 

Helen350
Level 10
Whitehaven, United Kingdom

Well done @Elisabeth40 !

 

(Now I see I need not have written what I just wrote above, you have understood this for yourself!)

 

But I'm still puzzled that you think being abused by guests would be fine so long as they couldn't review?!  And this sort of person is not likely to morph into the perfect guest after 5 stays.....

 

You have many great reviews from happy guests!

 

@Sarah977 

@Elisabeth40  Just because you stop using IB doesn't mean you need to reject guests who are first time users. I have never used IB. When you get to communicate with guests before accepting their booking, what you will find is that you will get a sense of guests when you message with them. It will also give you an opportunity to say "So you are clear that I only accept one guest for this listing? My policy is that anyone who shows up with an extra guest will have their booking cancelled on arrival, so I just want to make sure you understand that."

 

In other words, those kinds of conversations you are having to have with your guests after they arrive, you will now have with them before you ever accept their booking. And if their answers, or lack of answers make you feel you shouldn't accept the guest, you just decline the booking, problem solved before it ever happens.

 

I've had plenty of young guests and first time users and tbey have been great guests.

 

 

 

@Sarah977 

 

I called airbnb and asked to cancel, the airbnb representative told me that I will need to pay penalties if I cancel. I had a long one hour talk to the airbnb representative, about how to act appropriate towards the guest. I got told, I need to ask the guest to cancel, but in this particular case, I realized as I started talking to the kids, they are nice, but they are ignorant and disrespectful and if I want them to cancel, I will need to escalate this in rough tone, which is not my manner, since I am not American, I can even not go in verbal fight with my english. Plus everything gets pushed right away in a wrong direction anyways. There was no IN or OUT with this booking. I was impressed that I need to pay penalties in order to cancel, even if I already feel that this hosting situation is quiet off. As you see, I was so alarmed, that I even started a chat here, life, as all was enrolling. I have a lot of experience, in hosting guests, who chose me and not me choosing them. My experience shoed to me certain things, because I exhausted the way of embracing everyone. I am concerned and deeply saddened to realize, as much I would love to from my entire heart, the counter part doesn't really appreciates it.   I also talked to airbnb representative for an hour on a phone. There is a way, how to include new guests without getting burned, but airbnb needs to change the way they give review power to people who are ignorant. I feel like reviews destroy more as they are useful, the entire airbnb review system needs improvement. Maybe the reviews should happen in a background, and airbnb can give hosts and guests points, they earn, also if you want a review power in a community, that must be earned. There is no way I can teach people about WHY and HOW my airbnb business function, I do not expect young people (18-25) understand my set up, but must have respect and review power must be earned if want to be a trustful member. The point is, and I agree with you too, I had pliantly young guests, first time airbnb users too, who were great, but it only takes 2-5 of them out of 10 to mess up your host status. this is too many. you cannot allow yourself to get more that 2 of 1 star reviews in 3 month period if you want to keep your super host status. It's not about the written review even, it's about the points. It's ok for new users maybe just to give written reviews but for the first 5 stays skip the points.

Helen350
Level 10
Whitehaven, United Kingdom

Oh @Elisabeth40 , I thought you'd 'got it'! - PLEASE don't think you have to host terrible guests and teach them how to behave! You are NOT their mother! Take the advice that we have given you, to ask all the questions BEFORE the guest books, and refuse all who fail to understand how HOME SHARE works.

 

And yes, you CAN expect 18-25 year olds to understand the concept of staying in a spare room in the host's own, ordinally home, and expect them to act as gracious guests, not entitled customers!

 

Your premise of not reviewing the first 5 stays is illogical. Reviews written by both hosts and guests is an integral part of the Airbnb model, and something we ALL sign up for. 

 

Get rid of future bad guests by not accepting local hoodlums! Your review problem will solve itself! After all, nearly all your reviews are glowing!

Dale711
Level 10
Paris, France

Salut @Elisabeth40,

“So true, Absolutely!”

I’m agreed with you, I think you’re totally right about that.

 

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

About 60% of my guests are first timers to Airbnb and have all been lovely guests . They were neither angry or demanding .


I don't agree that we shouldn't allow them the opportunity to review their first 5 bookings .

 

I wonder if you introducing having guests sleeping in your living space is impacting on your guests experience as this will make the room out of bounds for much of the time . Not personally an arrangement I feel comfortable booking.

 

if you aren't doing so already do make sure you vet your guests to ensure a good fit with your listing and get them to acknowledge they understand they will only have partial access to the living space between xxx and xxx.

 

@Elisabeth40 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Elisabeth40  I'm sorry you are experiencing such bad guests.

 

 I am also a home share host and I've never had the type of guests you are talking about. I have had guests new to Airbnb who have been fine. Never had a bad review or guests trying to get a refund. I have had guests who thought it okay to bring another person over, but I dealt with that in the moment and there were no hard feelings on either side.

 

As you make the living arrangements quite clear, I wonder if you just aren't vetting guests well when they request to book, or making expectations clear to guests from the outset? New to Airbnb guests often aren't clear about boundaries and rules and the time to make that clear to them is before they arrive, not after they show disrespect. 

 

And if a guest does take liberties, like thinking they can have an extra person stay, you have to deal with that immediately when it happens, being polite but firm about it. It sounds like you are just letting guests disrespect you and your home, and quietly resenting it in fear of bad reviews, instead of taking charge unapologetically.

 

I don't agree that new to Airbnb guests shouldn't be allowed to leave a review, but I do think that new guests should have to read through an explanation of proper Airbnb etiquette and behavior and check a box indicating they have read it and agree before they can book anything.

 

I got pepper sprayed wile I was sleeping! And I was nice even after that, I woke up from the spray and had to leave my apartment in my sleeping cloth on a street. I cannot review a guest who lives 2 blocks away from me. 

@Elisabeth40  Why are you accepting bookings from people who live 2 blocks away? Why would they need to book a place in their own neighborhood?

 

Bookings from locals are almost always problematic and really shouldn't accepted.

well, I do not have booking requests from tourists during covid. we got hit pretty hard with covid and restrictions for travel in new york, here was everything for almost a year on hold. we just got opened our restaurants for 25% capacity on February 14th. 

I probably will move after covid and after I recovered my savings back up again, it is not the right time to move now.  I used all my money for covid, moving is expensive. 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

I do hope you reported this to the police and had Airbnb cancel the booking straight away and have the guests leave. 

 

Why is a guest who lives 2 blocks from you needing accommodation in a shared home situation. Did this not raise any red flags with you @Elisabeth40 ?

@Helen3 

 

I spoke here so much about what happened to me, that I am over it now. Thank you for your input, please feel free to write here, but asking you friendly not to address me. I simple cannot be busy with something negative for weeks. Tired

@Elisabeth40  I'm sorry to hear what you've been through. If your guest pepper sprayed you, this is far beyond a matter of the guest having a bad attitude - you have been assaulted by someone who is a danger to your home and community. It's imperative that you call the police, remove this person from your home, and possibly obtain a restraining order. 

I believe it was an accident and the guests did't wanted to pepper spray my place and me wile I was asleep. I opened all windows and left my place for couple hours and now life goes on. I wish the guest well and because it was not intentional I won't give the guest a bad review, also we are neighbors. Can happen. 

I am also ok with getting a review from the guests after getting pepper sprayed wile I was asleep.