What does it mean when a potential guest has 9 reviews but is recommended by 6 hosts?

[Heather272]

A booking request came through that I would have expected to just instant book. I dug into it more, and I think it's because I have the "only recommended guests can instant book" feature turned on. In the booking request, I see at the bottom of his message he has 9 reviews and 6 host recommendations. Does that mean only 6 of his hosts recommend him? All 9 of his reviews seem to be good when reading through them, so I'm not sure whether or not I should approve his booking request. If 1/3 of his past hosts wouldn't recommend him, I don't want to approve it. It is confusing because his 9 reviews appear to be good, but then it also says 6 hosts recommend him (which is only 2/3 of his reviews).

Thanks!

[Matthew285]

@Betsy13, your beach home is lovely! No wonder she wants to host the wedding there.

It seems like having fewer host recommendations than reviews might not mean the guest received any "thumbs down" reviews. It might mean they were part of a group, but not the booking guest.

On the other hand, if for any reason a guest makes you feel uncomfortable, you should feel okay with Declining them. It is your place, after all, and you get to decide who stays there.

By the way: I am having trouble seeing the "guest has 12 reviews, 9 host recommendations" thing at all.

Where am I supposed to look to see that? I have Instant Book on

[Betsy13]

Hi Matthew, thanks for responding!  In response to your question, I saw the "guest has 12 reviews, 9 host recommendations" when I clicked on her profile.  

I saw in this thread that someone had suggested that someone can have less recommendations thans reviews if they have been on group trips.  However, she only had two reviews that were from group trips - but that still left me wondering about the remaining review that was lacking a recommendatin.  Also, I couldn't tell which reviews were thumbs up or thumbs down or what star rating she got from hosts.  Where do you find that information?  For example, two reviews were written in a foreign language and another was literally written in gibberish (something along the lines of "dpoijfexkitgzpotihaepoihoie" - it definitely wasn't a word in any known language!).  So, yes, I was still a little uneasy....

I told her that it would not be ok to have the wedding at my house and told her I understood if that meant she would want to go with another property.  I never heard back.  So it appears the ultimate resolution is that she has gone with another property.  

[Betsy13]

Oh, and I also have Instant Book on, with the "only recommended guests can instant book" feature turned on.

[Matthew285]

@Betsy13 I have never seen this count of reviews and host recommendation! I must be looking in the wrong place. (Or maybe it is because I do not have the "only recommended guests can instant book" feature turned on.)

I am glad things have worked out for you!

[Betsy13]

I'd love to hear if anyone ever gets an answer on this.  I have another guest whose booking request I already accepted.  I just realized today that she has 9 reviews, but only 7 recommendations (is this a new feature or did I just not notice this before?).  None of her stays were with a group, most of her reviews are written in a foreign language, and I can not see the star rating for any of the reviews. She hasn't yet stayed with me but she (1) has had a LOT of questions,  (2) requested early check in, (3) requested late check out, and (4) booked for a stay on two weeknights and then asked me to switch her booking to the weekend for free....  I'm exhausted and she hasn't even arrived yet! 

[Heather272]

I'd love to know more about it, too! Especially about being able to see the ratings for the subcategories like "cleanliness" or "communication" etc.

Whew! That does sound exhausting. Regarding the weekend thing, I think I'd just let her know she can make any changes to her reservations she needs through Airbnb. Regarding early and late check out, I always let my guests know it's fine with me if it turns out I don't get any other reservations before or after theirs, but I usually do, so it's best not to count on it unless they also book the day before and after their trip. And, that I'll also need to check with the housecleaner and make sure it works for her schedule, as well, because she usually plans on coming right after check out time to get it ready for the next guest. Just kind of a gentle reminder that it's not just being a stickler about extending their time, but there's a lot of other things going on that make it a little tricky when you're not a traditional hotel.