Star ratings now made public!

[Robin4]

I have just noticed that listings on a general search page now include the hosts overall star rating!

I can see this upsetting a few hosts who may be down in 4.5 territory because of one or two poor reviews!

Cheers.........Rob

[Helen350]

@Robin4  Well I went from retaining my superhost status one day to getting my best room drop to 4.6 the next day, & with it the customary "few things to work on" warning from airbnb! So my BEST & biggest room is now 4.6, whilst my small & tiny rooms are 4.9 & 4.7! - All 3 rooms share the same  shared facilities; it shows the arbitrariness  of the system when my best room has the worst ratings. For some reason, the couple of people who have given 2* & 3* reviews always book the best room for £1 more, then complain! Problem this time round was a Middle  Eastern couple, husband a university professor,  who I just KNEW would be trouble... checking in 5 hours early, asking for locks on the bedroom doors, uneasy about sharing the bathroom with me - just not suitable for homeshare in a basic, old style airbnb, in the spirit of the original .  Then they write disparagingly about the house being old! Yet gave me 5* for accuracy! - So why did they come, &  give me 3* overall - then have the cheek to mark me down to 4* on value, at £31 per night incl. breakfast for 2 people?! Yes, Robin, I  guess I'm one of the folk you mention   who does not want  my exact overall mark displayed! (Never seen it here in UK yet.)       

[Robin4]

@Cor3  @Branka-and-Silvia0 

I have also just noticed the way  reviews are displayed on the hosts page have changed. They are now showing in total random order and each review has a highlighted content.....a nice sentence or something complimentary in the guests comments..... the highlighted text not showing up well here because I reduced the page size down to 80% to increase the amount of content, but it is prominent when seen at full size!

My first review page displays reviews from 2017-18-19. All the way through the review section my reviews are jumping around from one random date to the next and it not that they are emphasising either  best or worst.....but they are showing reviews in their best light, which I quite like!

Also my first review page is displaying reviews over 3 years from France, Germany, Malaysia and Australia

Cheers......Rob 

[Cor3]

Hi @Robin4,

Well, I don’t seem to have these review highlights yet.

So, my best guess is: Airbnb is rolling this out, gradually by region too.

It would be nice for Airbnb to inform their host audience about what’s next on their sleeves. Before gradually and silently changing things.

[Emilia42]

@Robin4 

I've been seeing this for about 3 weeks now. One reason I really don't like it is because I just saw a listing with one review. The review said something along the lines of "Host is quick to respond! All the updates are looking great. Simple, quant accommodations!"

But the star rating was a 3.0! Now back in the old days guests did not see the star ratings until the host had 3 reviews. How many people do you think will pass over this listing after they see the 3.0 stars when there are plenty of 4 and 5 stars places to choose from nearby? I am guessing a lot! This host is probably better off deleting the listing and starting over from scratch. 

[Robin4]

@Emilia42 

Good point Emilia, I know it looks like I am totally pre-occupied with this review business though I am not really....I don't check on them from one week to the next but, I did check this morning and this is the first time I have seen it displayed this way.

For me, I have mixed feelings about this new layout!

A/.....On one hand it does show a spread of reviews and highlights what is positive about them!

B/.....On the other hand, showing a review first up from 3 years ago could highlight a problem that has long since been fixed, and not something the host would appreciate being made prominent again! 

When I get the chance I will check through this a bit more and see if i can find a pattern!

Cheers.....Rob

[Cor3]

Hi @Emilia42,

I did notice that too.

And I had exactly the same thoughts!