Time to leave AirBnB given the new targets for superhosts

[Kendall-and-Derek0]

We have hosted exchange students for years, started with Airbnb a few years ago and became Superhosts... We work hard and provide a nice place to stay. I have now been informed that my overall star rating is now a 4.7 ?? When you look at our listing all 5's states we are a 4.9 and yet this. 

It is not that the Superhost ranking is a big deal.. but we provide a home and room for everyone that has come to enjoy. We got a 4 for location?, and a 4 for value...?? Of the overall 4 stars they all gave us 5 stars on all levals... 

The lack of appreciaton and support has been clear thru the community boards and lack of anything but a form/boilerplate response when we did ask a question. 

We are honoring the reservations that are now booked. But will be stopping and have snoozed our listing for now. We enjoy meeting others and we are like the commercials ... but as many have said Times are changing... It was a fun season.. but not worth the stress.

Kendall

[Timothy19]

AirBnB is to blame. They decided to use a 5* rating system but interpret the stars in a different manner than the entire world was used to using them. A 5* hotel is the Ritz. A 5* on AirBnB can be a studio apartment in Toledo Ohio....at least according to AirBnB. Only problem is they haven't educated guests that THEIR definition of 5*s is a place that met expectations. Sure, some experienced airbnb users have learned this system, but most newer travelers have no clue. I think it is worse in Europe where nobody gives 5* ratings.  To AirBnB 4* is to be avoided, it is indicative of something wrong. Yet to many of our guests, 4* indicates a very nice stay. Last week I got a fantastic review with the final sentence being "I only gave it 4* because there was only one bathroom." I have a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment. That is what I advertise, that is what she rented. Yet I am rated 4* because I delivered exactly what she paid for. 

This is a mess of AirBnB's making. 

[Kendall-and-Derek0]

Unfortunately, the $$ keeps rolling in and there are those desparate for funds.. so a captive audiance. We are fortunate to not "need" the income... but still not fair or supportive when we risk so much to be a "good" host. 

[Fred13]

    Exceptionally bright post @Timothy19. What is even more maddening is that many 'hotel booking agencies' do use a 10-star system, so why be so foolish to use a 5-star one with its conventional assuimption that 4 is 'good' and 5 is 'exceptional', and then have to educate their clientele to use it as Airbnb meant but necessarily how is conventionally used? 

    One well-knowned axiom of business is that one never should create a product that requires a special way of thinking in order to use it correctly.

[Robin4]

@Timothy19 @Kendall-and-Derek0

Timothy it will get worse.....a lot worse, The only people who are satisfied with the review system is the company itself! Guests do not like it, it's intimidatory!

Hosts do not like it because it is designed to seek out flaws in what they do, and we are now seeing the situation where the review 'ratio to stays' is falling.

Most hosts will tell you there is an increasing proportion of guests who now will not leave a review.

There is an increasing number of guests who are using the review system with the threat of blackmailing the host for a refund or to gain some other advantage, and hosts will tell you that Airbnb through the CS are allowing this to happen.

There is an increasing proportion of hosts who are afraid to give a poor review because of the consequences. We see them here every day!

The review system has degenerated into a situation where it is not honest any more. 

Once the new interpretation of the Superhost criteria starts to bite, the review system will fall apart still further, it will breed yet more fear of that less than perfect star rating.

A review system should be something that everyone wants to be part of.......Airbnb's is a system that breeds nothing but leverage and fear.

It is to be hoped that the bottom falls out of it quickly without too much collatoral damage and we users and the company will set about designing a review system which we can all be proud of, not afraid of! 

Cheers.....Rob

[Theresa-and-Todd0]

Exactly. A guest complained of anninnacurate listing because he “thought” my place was on the water despite my property title that reads “2br cottage one street from beach.” Ridiculous.

[Marguerite23]

Same problem here. Lovely recent review,  my guest even wants to come back, but she dished out too many 3* for no reason. I did explain the star system in my listing but some people don't read. Anyway ,  I am not quitting my day job for AirBnB.  Have a good day everyone.

[Greg-Spyro0]

Dear Timothy and all other hosts who have commented up to now agreeing with Tim's opinion: I am sorry but I disagree!

Let me introduce myself: I am an Airbnb Superhost, with more than 540 reviews up to now.

Out of all this experience with (successful) hosting, this is my outcome:

     We should try to comply with the rules of the game, rules that in the end are the same for all of us... We should try to find why our guests did not have a totally positive experience from us, try to get better and not blame anything/everybody else (I even read somewhere that many guests are idiots: excuse me, but this reminds me of our childish behaviour).

I believe that the standards to be a Superhost should be tougher and higher, or Airbnb should create a second category with higher minimums (ie total 87%, response rate 95%, etc etc).

So, it's not Airbnb to blame, it's us we should try to do better and excel!

[Nicoli2]

Im truly sorry to see such passionate host go. 

I hope yall find something super fun to do!!!!!

[Fred13]

 'Happy' hosting with Airbnb appears to require some allowances, otherwise it will be impossible to ever achieve happiness with it or have fun doing it.

1. Airbnb: Granted it is oftentimes not the sharpest knife in the drawer, it is still run by now-middle-age kids who came up with a marketing angle 10 years ago, not pre-selected certified rocket scientists.  No different than Facebook, and a few other examples.

2. Guests: We are dealing with the human race, (you know, our fellow man), and no individual entity  is solely responsible for, nor can guarantee its unpredictable behavior. A guest gives 5 stars in all categories, yet 4 on Overall; I mean at what point did they become that confused, or that stupid? 

3. Superhost: Airbnb is trying to come up with a way for it to mean 'more' by becoming less common, thus the new 4.8 benchmark, how else should they do it? 

4. Star Rating: Yes, unfortunately that 4.8 is highly dependent on more than a host doing a good hosting job consistently, but also on the intellect of its guests and on pure luck that some sub-humans it gets do not leave #1s across the board (usually in retaliation), and Airbnb treats those reviews as  perfectly 'reasonable'. 

    Airbnb doesn't seem to recognize the wide spectrum of human intellect or intentions;  if they do, they are making believe it doesn't exist.

    The above only offered as food for thought.

[Kendall-and-Derek0]

Here is the note I got yesterday.. I have only gotten 2 catagory 4s one is location the other value. and both of those were overall 5 stars.. I have also gotten some 4 stars but the catagories in those were all 5. No room for improvement.  Also, have been reading about not being a superhost is better. But I feel like I am in class and told to do better with no wiggle room.  But then under superhost grades it says I have fallen to a 4.7 I got a reply from support with a screen shot of my 4.9 overall status.. not addressing the 4.7 it says is below the 4.8. Hubby says to let it go.. yet again, we do our best get overall great ratings , never below a 4 in any catagory, mostly all 5 stars and we are getting booted. again, there is no room for improvement. UGGHH. (yeah I was the kid that wanted the a's

Hosting summary

Basic requirements needs your attention

Your performance has fallen below the average for hosts, and it's important to focus on improving it.

Overall ratingTotal reviews5-star reviews

4.9

29

86%

[Fred13]

^^^ ":UGGHH. (yeah I was the kid that wanted the a's"

I hear you on that, to me the real thing with Superhost is 'Why Not?' if one is doing a very good job. Its a pride thing. 🙂

[Rob-And-Adrianne0]

Sadly We received a glowing written narrative only to be given a one star versus the five as the guest thought #1 was the best. Needless to say it was an uphill battle to Superhost. This guest has been a repeat guest three times since and felt very badly about their confusion even requesting Airbnb change it. Alas this is verboten in this platform. Since then guests have remarked that they saw the disconnect between the narrative and the rating which has not been too much of a drag on future bookings...

[David126]

I decided a looong time ago that the review sytem was designed by a 3 year old so decided not to play.

Pretty much everybody gets pretty much the same review.

I very rairely read reviews, maybe one in a 100.

[Andrea887]

Hi David,

I am just reading this page and I came across to your lines. I agree with you, but I see you are a superhost, it means that you write the review every time? Otherwise you would not be a super host, right?

Andrea