Airbnb Doesn’t Value Its Hosts – Why Even Try for 5 Stars?

[Jd69]

Just got my first-ever 4-star review, and it’s frustrating beyond belief. I put everything into creating a five-star experience—champagne, snacks, spotless space, flexible check-in, and proactive communication. Yet, one inexperienced guest with only two reviews in seven years books without reading the listing, admits the photos are accurate, ignores my check-in message, and still docks a star because the space is “too small” (despite accurate photos) and because she “preferred a coffee maker” over the Nespresso machine clearly listed and provided (which, by the way, makes full cups of coffee).

Airbnb claims to support hosts, but when it comes to protecting us from unfair reviews, there’s little accountability. Why should one unreasonable guest be able to ruin a 20-guest 5-star streak? Their review system is deeply flawed—one bad rating can tank a host’s standing, no matter how hard they work or how good their product is. It’s incredibly discouraging to go above and beyond, only to have Airbnb let one guest’s oversight and lack of communication impact my reputation. It makes me wonder—does Airbnb actually value its hosts? Anyone else dealt with this? Has Airbnb ever actually removed an unfair review in your experience?

Should I just give up? This takes all the fun out of providing a positive experience for people.

[Helen3]

I think your expectations are unrealistic  if you think you will never get less than a 5 star @Jd69 

unfortunately some guests are unrealistic /don't read listings . Yes it is frustrating but after ten years I've learnt not to get too annoyed 😀.

One four star rating out of twenty one is not going to tank your ratings 

the guest in her review was very positive overall and admitted the photos were representative. I agree she shouldn't have marked you down. 

I do provide a cafetière as well as a coffee machine as not all guests like using them. 

keep doing what your doing it sounds like you have a lovely listing.

[Jd69]

 I understand your point, and I’d have no issue accepting a 4-star or lower review if it were warranted. I know things can go wrong—cleaners make mistakes, mechanical failures happen, and sometimes a stay isn’t perfect. But that wasn’t the case here.

This guest admitted the listing photos were accurate, ignored my check-in message, and still left a 4-star review for completely avoidable, self-inflicted issues. She consumed the complimentary champagne and snacks, praised my communication, and still marked me down because she “preferred a coffee maker” over the Nespresso machine that was clearly listed and fully capable of making standard coffee. Had she responded to my check-in message, I could have clarified that in seconds. Instead, she didn’t say a word and then penalized me over her own failure to read and communicate.

How is that fair? Airbnb’s system doesn’t protect hosts from guests who book impulsively, don’t read listings, or have unreasonable expectations. One completely undeserved review can hurt a host who has consistently delivered 5-star service. It makes me wonder—why am I putting in so much effort if Airbnb lets guests get away with this? At this point, I’m seriously reconsidering whether it’s worth hosting on this platform or if I should move to one that actually values its hosts.

I’m beyond frustrated with the lack of support I received from Airbnb. It’s wildly unprofessional on their part. 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Jd69 

@Helen3 has explained it very well. If you look around here in the Community Center, you'll see many guests give four stars for listings that they find absolutely no fault with - they simply feel that nothing can be perfect (and one can't truly argue with that). As frustrating as it is, you're not the only listing affected by it.

If you make a very detailed study of it, you could find posts here that will help you to manage your listing by making rules and vetting your guests very carefully, to the point where you only allow people to book if you're almost certain they'll give you five stars.

My opinion is that you can realistically only do this if you put your star rating above all other business principles. To make money, you have to turn guests. There are plenty of hosts on Airbnb who turn good profits despite not having fantastic ratings.

Thousands of people are constantly outraged about hundreds of little things that large companies like Airbnb, Amazon, etc. do on a daily basis. The more business you do, the higher the probability that you'll have unhappy customers along the way. It's just a statistical reality. Once one no longer has a perfect score, the next 4-star review is hopefully easier to accept. My advice: just keep doing what you're doing and make sure you enjoy it.

[Jd69]

I understand that not every guest will leave a 5-star review, and I don’t expect perfection. What I do expect is a review system that actually reflects the quality of hosting rather than allowing guests to rate based on personal preferences and misunderstandings.

This guest admitted the photos were accurate, ignored my check-in message, enjoyed all the complimentary extras, and still left 4 stars because they personally preferred a different coffee maker. That’s not constructive feedback—that’s just arbitrary scoring. The real issue isn’t this one guest; it’s Airbnb’s flawed approach to reviews, where a single unfair rating can outweigh 20 perfect ones, and hosts have no real recourse.

Airbnb claims to support hosts, yet it allows reviews that don’t reflect actual issues to damage a listing. If reviews are supposed to help future guests, then why doesn’t Airbnb ensure they are relevant, accurate, and fair?

Re: enjoying it…I’m not doing it for the money. I actually enjoyed providing an experience for people, but after the customer support dead end brick wall, I’m over it. I’m currently researching other platforms that support their hosts. I’m not interested in breaking my back to make bnb money. 

[Helen3]

Absolutely if Airbnb doesn't work for you there are other STR marketing platforms you can use . All have their faults as well as benefits .  @Jd69 

[Helen3]

My point is that guests will be unfair sometimes. You can either get frustrated and upset . Or realise you will get marked down (unfairly sometimes) and realise it's part of operating a short tern rental business. 

Not  sure what you expect Airbnb to do. The guest left you a lovely review and gave you four stars which in most people's book is a great review. 

I had a guest who was a host mark me down to four stars because she  was unhappy the rubbish carts were out collecting rubbish on the day she arrived . @Jd69 

[Zheng49]

It's actually possible to get a glowing review from a guest and still get 3/5. I know it's disappointing, and I've fought long and hard to get this removed, but unfortunately...no dice.

The way some other hosts do it is to vet their guests, and only allow guests who have given out ALL 5 star reviews before to book. This would be able to filter out guests like this one, who is new to the Airbnb platform and doesn't yet realize that 3/5 is actually a very very bad score. 

Unfortunately, because my listing(s) allow instant booking, it's impossible for me to screen guests like this. While a 3/5 isn't the end of the world, it IS admittedly very bad and is actually considered a listing issue as well. It's sitting there on my account for like 2+ months now.

@Rebecca @Bhumika @Alex 

Do you think I deserve this 3 star review and the resulting listing issue?

The annoying part is it says to review the feedback below for improvements you can make, but if I actually look at the feedback, there is nothing but praise. One is left unsure what improvements to make?

[Joan2709]

@Jd69 

I concur with the other Hosts comments...you are bound to get a 4-star (or less) review that is not warranted. Many guests are not familiar with the Airbnb rating system and think 4-stars is "good" because that is what Airbnb tells guests 4-stars means. For Hosts, Airbnb says 4-stars is "bad" as anything less than 5stars is "bad'. 

I would post a public response to this guest's review. You are writing it for future guests. Most will see this 4-star review as pretty petty, Be polite and thank them for their feedback, but point out you wish they had contacted you during the stay about the coffee maker and you would have gladly provided a drip coffee maker for them (many older guests and eco conscious guests don't like pod coffee makers). You should also mention that the size of the listing is clearly shown in photos and detailed on the description and the guest acknowledged that. Wish them well in their future travels.

Here is an example of what Airbnb says to guests about listing accuracy. 4-stars means "very accurate"????

To help educate guests (especially new Airbnb users) I recommend my Host clients purchase a frig magnet on Amazon and put on their refrigerator to explain how the Airbnb review system works. I also suggest they say something in their check-in message reminding guests to please let you know if there is anything you can do to make their stay a 5-star experience and not wait until checkout. I also suggest my Host clients put something in their check-out message that if guests have feedback regarding their stay they provide that via private feedback or in a message to you, as you are always trying to provide a 5-star experience for all your guests.

Of course, if your listing warrants less than 5-stars (as you pointed out), then all bets are off.

Here is the frig magnet:

Amazon - Airbnb Frig Magnet

[Jd69]

I appreciate the response and good advice, but my point was about Airbnb’s flawed review system as much as it was about the guest.

Everyone keeps focusing on the guest, but this is also an Airbnb problem, and it needs to be fixed. Airbnb is failing its hosts by allowing a flawed review system to punish us for guest mistakes, unreasonable expectations, and a total lack of communication.

They tell guests that 4-stars is ‘good’ while treating anything less than 5-stars as a failure for hosts. They have policies against unfair and irrelevant reviews, yet they refuse to enforce them. How is it fair that a guest can admit the listing is accurate, ignore host messages, enjoy all the complimentary extras, and still knock off a star for personal preferences? This is not a one-off problem—it’s systemic.

If Airbnb actually valued its hosts, they would protect us from misleading and unfair reviews. Instead, they’ve built a system that leaves us completely vulnerable, and I’m already looking into other platforms that actually support the people who keep their business running. This needs to change

[Joan2709]

@Jd69 

100% agree.

In the mean time, unfortunately, this is what Hosts on Airbnb have to work with. I always suggest my Host clients list on other platforms and explore creating their own direct booking website.

[Jd69]

Direct booking, booking.com, vrbo—all have better support for hosts. I think the word needs to get out there, and hosts need to go where they’re valued. I’ll be shifting my efforts away from Airbnb after my experience with their customer service. 

[Tawney0]

Omg Jd, I just experienced almost the same situation. I took care of the listing myself from cleaning to place welcome snacks. I had over 100 5-star reviews in the past 2 years. However I recently had a guest requested to change our k-cup coffee machine to a professional ground coffee machine. I know it's ridiculous, but we accommodated it as long as it makes guest happy. It was frustrating to host her because she repeatedly requested something fell outside our listing. Right after they checked out they gave a 3-star review complained about "lacking of food/condiments". Since allergy issues are so severe in the US, we clearly states in our listing that no food related amenities are provided. We thought it obviously was completely irrelevant to our listing and unfair to rate a host due to something they don't provide so the review can be removed. However i was wrong. Airbnb responded that the review is under their review policy and will not be removed. I was not able to disputed and even talked about with a real human representative. Airbnb has been encouraging guest to hold host's rating in hostage. I have been asking myself, should i give it up on Airbnb?