Value

Zacharias0
Level 10
Las Vegas, NV

Value

"Value" I find to be a very subjective category to rate a host on. Its been a category that I've struggled with for awhile and AirBnB only states to add more free stuff or lower the price. Well, I've added more free things- bottles of champagne, robes, bottled water and cookies, but I'm still scoring lower than id like in this category. Lowering the price only seems to bring out truly ungrateful thrifty people who lack all manners of communication and social graces.

 

We need more specifics! With that said I'm happy to hear about the new review metrics and that if a guest is rating lower than 5 stars they are finally telling us why they have chosen that score. Often times a guest believes there destination should adjust to the amount they can spend. I work in the hospitality industry and I see it day in and day out: cheap people going on vacation and every single purchase is like pulling teeth and they balk at the price of a cup of coffe. This mindset seems to extend to the value portion of hosts ratings. The guest will knowingly book my place at $49 a night arrive, enjoy their stay and say they felt it wasn't a good value. In what regards? You got exactly what you paid for. If you wanted something cheaper wouldn't you have booked something cheaper? Oh, wait that cheap place was 20 mins away from me. You can't have it all people.

 

The value aspect is further skewed because the price we set isn't the price the guest pays. I could set my rate at $39/night but after fees and such the rate per night the guest sees may double and the host takes the fall for it.

 

We are at a place in time where people on vacation are looking to stay at a place for less than $49 a night and local hotels charge close to that in resort fees.

32 Replies 32
David126
Level 10
Como, CO

You are in Las Vegas, could you include tickets for a show?

David
Marit-Anne0
Level 10
Bergen, Norway

@Zacharias0

Well, I charge lower than the hostel for a two bed close to luxury apartment and still get dinged for value simply because they are ignorant to what the real cost of accomodation is in this neck of the wood. 

This is my answer to a latter complaint on my prices:

Hello and thank you very much for your reservation.
My base price is for two persons and the price equals a double at the hostel. For that you get a 63 square meters apartment in prime location including a fully equipped kitchen with staples, full laundry facilites, toileteries, the lot. My four person price equals one double room in a budget hotel.
This is why I have a 3 night minimum stay - less nights and there is hardly any profit. With 4 persons the profit margin is better, so I would consider two nights.
Thank you for your understanding.

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Zacharias0 I think this is one of those things that we simply can't work out for other people. You're exactly right: you made an offer, they chose to book it. Beyond that, what more is there to say?

J-Renato0
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

From my experience, free stuff does not make guests to think better about the prices. Nobody book a place because they will be given chocolate, champane, wine or whatsoever. 

Anyway, I usually give the guest some gift such as chocolate or leave 2 cans of beer in the fridge or sprinkler water and no more. It is just a way to warmly welcome the guest.

I think that, if a host offer too much free stuff, it sounds like if he was desperate in search of guest.

I just offer a good accomodation and accomplish with what I have promissed.  

 

From my point of view, the first reason guests book a place is because of the location, and secondly considering interior comfort in the property. The price is important, because one can pay or not.

So, if you have good location and attract guest that are more focussed on cheap price, you will have a problem. 

 

From my experience, I have notice that, If things are not doing well, sometimes the solution is not to lower the price. The solution is to better the accommodation and keep or raise the price.

The more you lower the price the more you will attract mean hosts that does not know what is good value for money. Some guests that pay low rate are never satisfied with the price, and they will never mark 5 stars in the price item. They are only focussed on low price and the cheapst things they can get. Some of them does not know what is good value for money.

 

As for the price suggestions:

If I was to follow all the Airbnb tips (price and discount suggestions) I would be all booked all the time and having my earnings lowerd till an unacceptable point ! Moreover, sooner or later I would be competing with the cheapest hostels (kind of 6 to 10 beds in the same room) in the city where my properties are located. So, I usually follow my intuition instead of accepting all Airbnb tips, and It seems to work at least to me.

Some Airbnb tips are fine or OK, others are not. 

 

I think that, Airbnb should warn a guest that, when they think the price of the accommodation is not OK, they will not be able to book the same accommodation again.

Why? There are some guests that say the accommodation is good, has great location but mark 3 or 4 stars for the price.

If the guest can not gladly afford the accommodation, Airbnb in future should offer the guest cheaper accommodations instead of suggesting the property owner to lower its prices.

 

In addition (Edited)

What if Airbnb ask the guest to rate the fee guests pays for the service (13% for short stay).

Would Airbnb be willing to lower its fee if the guests think it is high? 🙂

 

I had a guest (was actually a friend) rent my place out on a weekend.  They rated everything 5 stars except value, they gave value 3 stars.  I asked why and they gave me such a terrible reason, the 3 star bumped my overall rating down to 4.  We aren't friends anymore.  I don't really understand what the "Value" rating brings to the review system 

Joanna85
Level 10
Las Vegas, NV

I haven't been doing Air BNB for long.  When I first had a few guests, I was so happy to get 4.5 rating overall.  I thought, considering it was hard for me to guage what my 'competition' is, my location is great to me but I know I"m a walker and find public transport in Las Vegas a breeze, plus my space is great and huge but it is a bit unmodern and not hip for a millenial...4.5 was fantastic.  I mean, I"ll stay in a 4 star hotel...even a 3 star hotel to save a buck--who am I kidding, I've stayed in a place with no stars before--as long as it's \ clean I am not picky.  To me, the Ritz is 5 star and my place ain't no Ritz lol.  Well, then I got the Air BNB email telling me if my rating drops down below 4.5 ....bla bla bla....I freaked out. I was in a total state of shock to see they thought\below 4.5 was worth penalizing people based on reviews of people's opinions.   WHAT THE HECK?  4.5 is fabulous.  Not everyone can be pleased.  I see people in Las Vegas charging to sleep on half a sectional (for more money than I'm charging and not nearly the close location I have) so the system is a bit mixed up.  Nonetheless, I am going to press on.  I feel value is relative, especially in places like Las Vegas.  Also, keep in mind humans like to get whatever they can for free.  I rent out regular rentals and have for years and one thing I have learned is that people want expensive, rare wine when all they can afford is free tap water.

I totally agree with your whole "the resort fees are $50....and that's how much it costs to stay at my place".  I am not a strip hotel..no bar or pool or conceriege service or buffet or 24 hour room service.  I"m a place to sleep and shower so you can save staying with me and dump your money at the casino--or get up early and go hiking--or a safe, cheap place to stay while you are passing through up to Utah or to California.   To me, that's super value.  Not to mention, you are offering your home, which to me is an intimate thing. It's kind of weird when you really thing about it:  you are being rated on how you live and open\\ your home to another.  I think just opening your home to strangers takes a lot of courage and it's slightly personal when someone says:  "Hey, you decorated your room like my granny did and it creeped me out"!!  You want to shake the living daylights out of that person and say, "Hey, I opened my home up to you, doofus...you had a quiet night's rest in a safe, happy,clean home for rock bottom price so get over yourself."

I love your rating comparison to a hotel rating! You are right, we are not the Ritz so a 4 should be great. I just got two recent 4 ratings and they freaked me out. One dinged me for no soap in bathroom, yet there is liquid hand soap and I provide travel size shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste! They also said toilet and shower were not clean yet gave a badge for cleanliness...makes no sense. I clean the bathroom myself, so I know it was clean. Another gave a four because he said my description does not make it clear that the common area that you enter into is shared...yet my listing clearly states that we live in site and must use the same entry. (Our house is a little unique in that the downstairs was formerly a retail space, and the upstairs was living. We rented the downstairs where we live, but there are separate entrances to living spaces once you are in the building itself.) Anyway, I think the whole rating system is annoying. Guest's and hosts alike write a true description because they are using words to describe something a number can't do that.

Lucy-and-Loic0
Level 7
Lyon, France

We have had 2 people rate us less than 5 stars on value.  The one thing they had in common is this:  They took EVERYTHING we had put in the studio. I actually wondered if they went shopping in the cabinet and took stuff they couldn't actively consume on the spot.  They stayed 2 nights and ate the 4 croissants, the loaf of country bread, 6 individually wrapped snack cakes, 2 cans of sardines, a bag of pasta, drank a liter of orange juice, all the milk, ate the yogurt, a whole jar of jam, a sachet of olives, a box of crackers, 4 small chocolate bars, one large chocolate bar from a local chocolatier, used all 10 nespresso pods, and who knows what else.  They also used shampoo, shower gel, cleaned out all the samples in the bathroom cabinet, and took the sewing kit.  On top of that, they kept the apartment 2 hours past check-out time.  We were kind of shocked to see that after taking advantage of all that added value, they marked us 4 out of 5 in that  category.  In addition to that I received a message by SMS after their departure that they'd left a phone charger behind, and could I please make a trip to the post office and send it to them at my cost.  LOL! 

@Lucy-and-Loic0 I agree with you: I think the Value rating almost says more about the guest than the listing.

Often it is the cheapest, discount-demanding, supply-stealing, complaint-filled guest that downrates you on value, even if they are the ones who paid the least and took the most.

 

 

Howdy neighbor!...yes I am starting to exprience this pattern myself. So annyoing. 

 

Seems the value being rated is the ABB fees?

David

Your in France @Lucy-and-Loic0 your supposed to also supply free wine and a selection of artisanal french cheese with baguette 🙂

Sion2
Level 10
SF, CA

Arrghhh,  I am starting to Vaule ratings go down for me and its really vexing, they are at 89% 5 stars now.  They write  great reviews listing all te cool stuff I gave and did for them then I get hit with 4 stars only in Value nothing else. Sometimes I think maybe its a mistake because its the last thing on the list and one of my guests said it was when I asked. Another guest said because my city is expensive like that is my fault...and another said she didn't like the extra fees added on none of which were my fault. One of the women said it was the fees and this is after I gave here a three hour ealier check in...my recent one from this week was really imprrssed at all the free drinks and food but didn't see that as vaule.....ANY suggestions are welcome. I am thinking of creating a page on the rating system for my guide book. If I lower my prices it will be what I could rent the room for and not provide all these services and amenities. I have also had several guest tell me I am undervalued in person when we chat....guests that know in SF,CA the average hotel room is 400. 

Fei8
Level 2
Bellevue, WA

I cannot agree more, guests doesnt think about host some times, they take the service for granted. I think airbnb should  educate the guest sometime and set a reminder or so for them to respect the service that the hosts did and the willing to share their homes