'Room for Improvement' message is just plain rude.

[Punam0]

I hate it when you get the Room for Improvement message by the star ratings.  Doesn't Airbnb realise by now that guests are super picky?!  I have recently got two 4 star ratings for Value.  By all means, guests can go stay in a hotel for 4 times the price!  Also, my prices are a lot less that the recommended price from Airbnb?!?!?!  

I have also receieved this before for Location....guests are the ones choosing the location!  

[Raymond-and-Elaine0]

I agree that sometimes the stars are very annoying. The room for improovement however can be usefull.

You can write back and say thank-you for the suggestion, but...

You can say that's a great idea, I was thinking of doing that and now I will.

You can ignore the suggestion because it's too stupid to even contemplate.

We've had a guest who was bothered by the morning sunlight and suggested blinds. We pointed out the pull down blind on one of the windows and the masks in the bedside tables but he was right about one of the windows and we made some cheap but effective blinds the next day.

Another suggested that I add some photos to my listing. I politely pointed out that there were over 30 photos but that she couldn't see them on her phone app.

Take the good ideas and ignore the others. Just do your best and don't let the annoying guests get to you.

As for location we can do nothing about that and that's the problem. We can improove our welcome, cleanliness, communication, quality and accuracy, but location NO. The guests choose us based on the information in our listings and the map shows our position. Now with google maps and earth , there is no excuse to give us less than 5 stars if they choose to stay with us.I'd like to see this disappear. Sometimes coming on these forums to rant does us good so I hope you feel alittle better for it. Take care and good luck hosting. Elaine

[Nancy2]

I've gotten a few 4 stars on location.  The guest did pick it but didn't realize that I was farther away than how it looks on the map.

So now when I get a booking request that isn't clear about why they are staying so I know suburbia is a good fit.  I always ask and give the reason that I want to make sure my location is a good fit for them.  Sometimes I do have to direct them to a better location for their needs losing the booking.  But I know overall it's best for them and for me.

So far it seems to be working...

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

Hosts need to have a thick skin. We've had a few 4 stars for location and value as well. We don't see this as rude. We learn from the past and focus on future bookings.

[Punam0]

Yeah, I mean, I dont mind if I am getting 4 stars sometimes....its just that yellow message you get in your dashboard for recent 4 star ratings for anything.  It comes up automatically if you get two 4 star ratings in a row.  The website does it itself which is what I think is rude.  Unless someone from Airbnb comes and inspects my house, then they don't need to put that message up.  I tried to upload a picture of it but I couldnt work out how to do it....

[Pasek0]

Hi

I agree with Punam.  It's fine and natural to not receive 5 stars each and every time - even 5 star hotels don't always get 5 star reviews, do they?

It doesn't feel acceptable to be 'penalised' with a yellow sticker saying 'Room for Improvement' when you've simply had 2 x 4 star reviews - is a couple of 4 star reviews truly so bad to warrant such a comment?  

We have this situation right now and feel it's even less appropriate because... not only are we already Superhosts (for the second time in a row), but also the areas we 'apparently' need to 'improve' are Overall Experience where we already have 82% of 5 star ratings and Accuracy where we already have 81% of 5 star ratings.

So, why should we do as Airbnb suggests and "ask other hosts in groups what they do to get 5 star ratings" when 'we' are above the 80% Superhost level in each category.  But that's not recognised, because the last 2 reviews were a mere 4 stars.  

So, maybe we'll drop from 82% down to 80% i.e. still good enough for Superhost and yet still in need of improvement - go figure!

Basically, it's annoying and unfair and Airbnb should be made aware that hosts don't like being treated in this way (are you listening Airbnb?).  However, in fairness, it's still a relatively new system and Airbnb are changing things, usually for the better, all the time.  So I hope they'll revise this in time.

By the way, in our area, I've come to believe that Airbnb are unwittingly 'causing' lower ratings!  

I say that because Airbnb are FORCING prices down SO LOW here, through their ill thought out price tips, (i.e. for our room which is usually around just US$35 they're sometimes recommending around US$20 and that includes breakfast, aircon, wifi, private en-suite room with balcony, huge tropical garden with sunbeds, central location, free tea & coffee etc), that they're causing a price war.  The result, that we've noticed, is that the guests who pay the least money give the worst reviews!  

i.e. higher prices (such as a whopping US$35) tends to attract a better quality guest who has more appreciation for what's on offer. Really cheap guests are usually more demanding and less respectful or appreciative.  The lowest ratings we've had for 'Value' tend to come from the guests who've paid the least - maybe they would be better off staying in a shared dormitory for just US$14 - I sometimes wish they had!  I hope Airbnb are reading this and, if so, please know that I sent you a message predicting a price war due to your low price tips when this system first came online.  Please 'up' your game rather than continue to lower this beautiful town of Ubud, Bali to cheap beer swilling guests rather than guests who appreciate the unique culture and spirituality here.