inaccurate review on cleanliness

[Laura13]

My last guest gave my apartment three stars to "cleanliness". I was dismayed to find it because my apartment is as shine and clean as a hospital. I'm not kidding, you can lick the floor and won't find a speck of dust in it. I, myself, do the whole cleaning, I don't rely in anybody else for cleaning because I want to make sure what I'm giving to my guests (and if there was any complain, I would know first hand what I'm talking about. So I know). As a matter of fact, my guest was a very friendly guest, so I wrote her to comment my surprise in her decision (really, because when we said good bye she had said she would write a stellar review. So I was just baffled). She replied saying she had decided to lower the grade one star down (not two stars!) because she thought I could do an update on the kitchen and bathroom. Of course that doesn't have anything to do with cleanliness, you can have an old sink that is a nice and shiny as a new one (which is the case in my apartment). When I told her that she unfortunately used a very sensitive category to give a lower grade (and of course no one would imagine that she was not referring to cleanliness but to her own opinion about decoration) she said she regretted and insisted it was only one star down, not two. She had also lowered the grade of Accuracy (down to four stars), and she denies having done that. She says she's pretty sure that for all the other categories she gave five starst. Right now I am a Super Host and I worked very hard to win the badge. So I'm afraid that having her bad grading may hurt my reputation in the long run (Eventually, having half a star cut off in cleanliness would make very difficult to compete in my town). She said she would write Airbnb to complain about the grading because it appears to be different from what she chose (four stars for Cleanliness and five for Accuracy). In addition to that, is there anything I can do? Complain to Airbnb automatic grading? Just forget? This is really a shame.  
This is my listing, in case you want to have a look to it:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3142861

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Laura13

I don't think ABB will do anything with you to correct this.  The guest would have to contact them and I am sure they would change her 3 star to a four star.  You have to remember that the guest is reviewing your place from their eyes and the outdatedness could be reported under "cleanliness".  

I don't think you should worry about this rating and as many would say, don't get too attached to Superhost status.  

Cheers

David

[Maryam-Al-Fakheer0]

I don't think ARBNB would do anything on that. I believe the entire concept of Superhost Status is to push hosts to perfection or even beyond that.  Often their rating has not much to do with your place but more with their experience or joy of their adventures/holiday (in my area). The "overall experience" is instantly down if they are not 100% happy about their vacation, for example. And that easily happen here when guests find out the high entrance fee's for the Petra Park. Just to name something. 

[Gonçalo0]

I totally feel you @Laura13. 

Sometimes we also got guests that loved everything but gave low rating in cleaness because they think the kitchen or the bathroom should be rennovated ... one even gave a 3 star because she thought a wall (structure wall) should be knocked down to have more light in ... lol 

Luckily some of my properties are newer than the others. I always send them a link of the other completely refurbished apartments and they would see the price differece as well.

Personally I think it's very rude to tell people they should rennovate the house if there is not cleaning issues related.

[Gonçalo0]

I totally feel you @Laura13. 

Sometimes we also got guests that loved everything but gave low rating in cleaness because they think the kitchen or the bathroom should be rennovated ... one even gave a 3 star because she thought a wall (structure wall) should be knocked down to have more light in ... lol 

Luckily some of my properties are newer than the others. I always send them a link of the other completely refurbished apartments and they would see the price differece as well.

Personally I think it's very rude to tell people they should rennovate the house if there is not cleaning issues related.

[Laura13]

Thank you for taking the time to reply with your thoughts and experiences. I'm learning from others in this community that we should start educating our guests in the matters of feedback. I would ask them, for instance, if they found something that they don't like, and if they do, I'd ask them if that has anything to do with they view of the house as being "clean". Then we could discuss it further what the meaning of clean is, because it is such a sensitive category (and the only one that I cannot help but taking it personal. Really. If someone said something about not being clean, whether my house or my clothing or whatever, I would feel like stabbed).
I would never in my dreams consider a cupboard not clean because it was built in 1985 (that's the year of my kitchen and bathroom. Not even the '40s like many I've been with Airbnb, or even older).
I've been in Europe and in Manhattan, and in Philadelphia, and other places in the USA. The degree of dirt, really dirt, under the beds and in the bathroom and kitchen was generally high, and the feedback stars for cleanliness were always very good (otherwise I would not have chosen to go there). My question is, maybe it has something to do with discrimination? Just when people go to countries in South American or other periferic countries, they expect to find less-than-perfect cleaness? I'm just wondering.  

[Deborah0]

This problem of guests not giving accurate ratings, has been brought up many, many times by many hosts -- it is frustrating to very many hosts, and as I see it, it is a problem inherent in the star rating system.  There is just no way to ensure that guests give fair ratings. You can do all the education and tutorials that you want, but you still cannot enforce fair use of the rating system.   For this reason I think it would actually be better not to use a star rating system at all.  But if we are to use it, please let's see it for what it is -- an imperfect system -- not something anyone should put too much faith or confidence in.   Reviews are a far better indicator than star ratings of the real guest experience (or host experience of guest, for that matter) since in the review, one is using words to express oneself, and the reader can often assess the truthfulness of any given review, based on how it is written, and the response to it.  With star ratings, no written rationale need be given for the rating, and we have seen a great many cases where guests gave hosts a fantastic, glowing review, but then rated them low (3 stars or so) in one or more categories, so there is a lack of consistency.  

I would like to see the star rating system relegated to the dustbin, and the use of reviews only, as I think this would give a much clearer and more accurate picture.  

And if we do have a star rating system, please, let's have it be fair, and show the hosts' star ratings of their guests on the guests' profiles.  Have you noticed that the star ratings that you give your guests, do not show up anywhere on their profiles?  

[Estefania5]

People in South America are surprisingly very clean. It's not nice to make a broad assumption like that.

[Liz132]

Hi laura i am very new to airbnb, and i live in Miami i really dont know if it is something about discrimination, or what the other host mentioned that maybe their vacation were not 100% perfect  so the take it against someone in this case us the hosts. I do take the matter of cleaninless very very serious and i also get offended by people saying any kinda of things when they are the ones that are dirty in the first place, like this guests i had complaining about claninless to only find my whole bathoroom floor cover in urine after they left. I also think some people pay others to stay in our places and give us bad reviews out of nothing. So i think here in miami we are facing this type of things as well, i have seen other listings and believe me they look nothing compare to my room and they have perfect score in everything.  I wish airbnb had a better way and fair way of raiting. I really dont know what to do. 

[Susan47]

I agree with what you say.

A recent guest said in her review that "the only surprise was the washroom and shower felt a little dated, although very clean". My photo of the bathroom in my listing shows clearly that it's original with the 1950 house. So I don't know where the "surprise" came in.

On the one hand, if I could afford to completely renovate my bathroom, I wouldn't need to be renting out a suite on airbnb for income! I already risked my own money to decorate the rest of the suite so it would be appealing to guests.

On the other hand, even if I renovated my bathroom, the next guest could complain that my lawn isn't perfect.

The frustration is that everyone is picky in different ways and has different expectations. For guests to demand that all airbnb listings reach the level of 5-star hotels is ridiculous and defeats the whole purpose of this wonderful accommodations platform.

On a personal level, it's very hurtful to receive carelessly negative reviews when I'm offering a safe, clean, friendly space in my home to travelers so that they can stay in a city they would never have been able to afford before airbnb.

Susan

[Renee0]

Your guest should've saved that rating/comment for the Private Feedback section, where it could've done some good. And some of us hosts put the money we earn back into upgrades, etc...but we can't always afford to be modern/current on decor, etc.

[Mike77]

@Renee0

"Remember: no matter where you go, there you are." ~Buckaroo Banzai

"It's Big BootaaY" -- Big Booty

😉

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887
Mike says: "Need to contact AirBnB, Google It."

[Alex18]

This just happened to me as well...but even worse with 2 stars. I can't imagine where this came from because it was very clean both when I left and returned and the guest only left positive verbal feedback about her stay yet a negative star rating. At least give me something constructive! Apartment was renovated less than 2 years ago so everything is brand new. I am new to hosting and it's only my second review. How much will this impact my listing?

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

This post and the comments are very much appreciated. 

What is "cleanliness"? How hard is it to define?

I understand that experiences are subjective, but obviously both Guest and Host need guidelines about what is acceptable and what isn't. 

Be prepared to wince.......

The benchmark appears to be 5-star hotels. I also know people who walked out with a few exra pets...and we all know about corner cutting at any level. Do they really change all the blankets  and bedspreads?

Conscientious hosts hire cleaning services. But not all cleaning services are consientious. And what are THEIR guidelines?

Then there are Guests who will not permit bleach or industrial or household cleansers due to sensitivities. How do we managed them?

I'd like to see Airbnb set an acceptable standard  of cleanliness - a checklist, just like hotel maids use.  That way both Guest and Host have parameters.

Cheers!

[Kate109]

I agree, airbnb should inform and educate guests when they send out their little review prompts,that ask guests to give proper thought to their ratings as I'm sure several guests simply fire off reviews quickly with little appreciation of impact or consideration to the host's listing. I'm new to airbnb and I've only just received my star rating on cleanliness which is only 3 and a half stars. I also clean the apartment myself to a very high standard unfortunately the apartment has laminate flooring which very quickly attracts dust and one of my guests mentioned some dust under the beds in a personal review and I'm positive it must be this guest who marked me down (I only had one other review). Very unfair,I'm sure the apartment was spotless when they arrived, and I'm sure this is now having a negative impact. I agree to get rid of star ratings but just keep reviews as guests are not necessarily well enough informed to bestow stars.