Can Airbnb just get off their high horse and allow AT LEAST star review alteration when ...

[Monika64]

... the guest CLEARLY makes a mistake????

I completely get it that they don't wanna allow review chages BUT when the guest leaves a great review and wants to come back but makes a mistake with the star rating WHY is it impossible to change it? It ruins our reputation, pulls down our search position, lowers our revenue ...

Also, they DO NOT educate guests on the fact that a 3 star review is NOT A GOOD rating!!!!!

I know I'm one of the hundreds of posts complaining about it but I just think it HAS TO BE a way to fix this problem.

[Lizzie]

Hello @Monika64,

I'm good thanks for asking, how about you? 🙂

Thanks for your additional thoughts and the update on your guest's review, I am glad to hear it all worked out. 

I think you raise some great points and in terms of educating guests more around the review system, this is a frequently mentioned here in the Community Center (CC). I think it would be great to discuss this further, perhaps not in this thread as it may get lost among the other discussion we are having, but it would be great if we could gather more thoughts on this here in the CC.

Thanks again,

Lizzie

[Michelle400]

@Lizzie

Thanks for joining in this conversation.  It's good to see site admin seeking to understand more about the concerns raised and what may be able to be done about them.

Although I largely agree with @Monika64 that giving extra time is unlikely to change things, I have an idea that expands this a little and is worth further discussion.

What if, in the 48 hours, the only people who could see the review were the Host and the Guest.  That is, Guest can see their own and Host's review and Host can see their own and Guest's review.  And they can change their own in that time if they choose.

With the 48 hours delay, if the Host has a concern with the rating, then they can (respectfully) reach out to understand further about the reasons behind the rating AND to potentially explain a little more about how the rating system works and why it's so important to us as hosts to maintain our best.  Of course, there are genuinely going to be times where your 5 is never the other person's 5 and perhaps this might at least offer an opportunity to get on the same page of understanding and acceptance.

What if, and now I'm just spitballing, after 48 hours the ENTIRE conversation was made public.  Imagine these scenarios:

Guest rates 5 and Host rates 5 across everything and they love each other.  A note back and forth of more love.  Love makes the world go around and others guests see the love and want a part of it 🙂

Guest rates 4 and Host rates 5.  Host asks for feedback and explains why a rating of 5 is so important in a respectful (and non-bullying) way.  Guest says - oh, I see, I didn't realise it didn't mean '5 star hotel' - well definitely you're a 5.  I'll change it. And the love goes around

Guest rates 4 Host rates 5 - like above, but guest says - Oh, I see, yes I do understand however I have stayed in many places and am a well seasoned traveller and I really did read the details and there was that particular problem with the TV being a total pain in the butt to work out so I really am going to stick with my rating.  Hosts says - ok, thanks for helping me understand what it takes to get a 5 and what the problem was; it's always good to hear the feedback of many as everyone's different.  And, I didn't realise the TV was such a pain so I've now done a quick reference to get people going, so thanks.  Happy travels.  NOW, even though we've now still got a 4, there's love, potential guests can see the conversation, they can make up their own mind.

You get the idea...

Now imagine those things as a guest - because, surely every Host here has been a guest multiple times in different types of places too, right?!  And the guest contacts you to ask about the 4...etc

It's an interesting idea to become more transparent.  I'm sure it's going to ruffle a few feathers in this forum 😉  And I wait with interest to see how long it takes for me to receive the first reply that goes 'oh well you've only just started so you just wait' which is very poor behaviour and actually bordering on bullying or trolling.  It seems to me this whole community is about each of us personally seeking to learn from others about how we can always be a little better.

Cheers

Michelle

[James413]

Dear Monica,

I have had a star problem when reviewing a guest.  I entered 5 stars but it did not

register.  It is frustrating.  I should have called Airbnb and corrected my mistake.

I have had the same problem with guests reviewing me.  If they wrote a good review

and the star count did not reflect the review I write to my guest and ask them

how I could have improved as I did not want to make the same mistake with

future guests and only get a 4 star review.  They write back and either tell

me that the stars were a mistake or that there was nothing I could have done

better.  I then call Airbnb and ask them to correct the problem.  I have

found Airbnb very helpful.  I enjoy hosting and working with Airbnb.

Hope this is helpful .

[Monika64]

Hi @James413, I guess you have been very lucky working with Airbnb and correcting less than 5 star guest reviews. I was lucky this time aroud too but just based on the many posts on this Community Board there are lots of hosts who were never able to correct accidental bad star rating and at the end it hurt their business 😞

I'm hoping that from this post would come some kind of solution when this can be either corrected or prevented by Airbnb with educating the guests of just how important star ratings are (and how bad a 3 star rating is by Airbnb standards).

Happy hosting! 🙂

[Barbara175]

I so agree with you. My account was hacked in January, all photos changed and advertised as a 5 bedroom mansion. I got immediatly several requests but did not dare to answer, knowing that the account was not safe anymore. My respons rate dropped to a terrible LOW and I am still trying to recover from it, while being threatened that I have to improve otherwise my account will be suspended 🙂 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Michelle400,

Great to see you comments and suggest here, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on this. 

In terms of the 48 hr edit window, at the moment (if your guest has completed a review for you) you can't see the review comments until the review is publicly posted. From your suggestion (correct me if I have totally misunderstood this), you would open this up so that both the host and guest could see each other's review within this edit window period? 

Just thinking on this, do you think if you open up to more communication around the process within this period that this would lead to a more accurate rating review? 

I suppose it could be said, that if you can discuss something with the other person thoroughly whether on a positive or also, in the unfortunate situation that either the host or guest can't agree with the other persons review, that in a way the review system could be open for manipulation. What would your thoughts be on this?

There is lots of interesting suggestions here, it would be great to continue this discussion and open this up to other thoughts. 

What do you think? 🙂

[Michelle400]

@Lizzie

Firstly, your understanding is correct.  Once both guest and host have posted, then only guest and host can see the results for 48 hours during which they can change their own ratings/comments if they so choose. After 48 hours its all locked and made public.

Now, to be fair, I'm really only spitballing ideas because this thread seems to be really important to some hosts, all of which have been hosting with airbnb for longer than me.

I do think it is *possible* that a more accurate rating *may* eventuate if an open dialogue is established, particularly when its related to a 4 becoming a 5 for example.  And I think it's highly unlikely that a 3 would ever become a 5.

Can it be manipulated?  Ultimately, anything can if one tries hard enough.  But I think your point is this:

If a host has given a 5 rating that the guest gave a 4 rating and a conversation about this follows.  And then the guest still doesn't change their rating, might the host change their rating...

So, good question.  Always important to consider unintended consequences.

What if the review system didn't allow for 'backward' adjustments?  Don't know...just spitballing some more 🙂

To be realistic, for me I can't imagine a time that I'm going to contact a guest to try to get them to change a rating.  And if that effects my SuperHost rating then that's a shame.  But perception is king and people's perceptions are their reality and expectation management is far better achieved up front than after the fact... 

Cheers

Michelle

[Lizzie]

It is great to hear your thinking on this @Michelle400 and it is certainly getting my brain ticking over. hehe  - through boucing ideas and discussion, we get to really explore a suggestion and evolve it. 🙂

I welcome more thoughts on this. 

Thanks again. 

[Scott54]

The review needs to be managed procatively from the moment you greet you guest. Giving a 48 hour window to change to a "negotiated review" is a recipie for disaster.  It opens up all sorts of issues and HASSLES!!!

I do not want to see the current system changed. While it's not perfect, it surley is better than the 48 hours system that has been suggested. 

I have almost 90% 5's after 70 reviews.  I manage them by talking to my guests and explaining how the system works and how important a 5 is to maintian my Super Host status.  If I am going to get a bad review, I want  to know before the guest leaves, not after.

Scott

[Scott54]

I believe a compromise to the suggested solution might work: How about this? Both reviews are presented to both parties , who have an option within 48 hours to ask the other party to check their value rating to make sure they did not accidentally select the wrong rating? Standard wording would be developed by Air BNB explaining this request is to ensure the rating was in fact the rating that was intended by the Guest/Host . NO dialogue is requested or permitted during the 48 hour period. The only thing the other party sees is the standard request crafted by Air BNB. Its a simple request to ask that the value rating be reviewed to ensure it was not just fat fingers. This will permit a mistake to be corrected by either party, or at least express a guest's/host's disappointment about the rating that was given. It needs to be tactful and accompanied by a short explanation of Air BNB's review system and only allow the rating to be changed, NOT the written review. If it is ignored then the other party did not feel a change was justified and the rating should stand, or they did not check their E-Mail in time! (At least we would have tried!) Allowing a dialogue is in my opinion a recipe for disaster and would not likely resolve anything. If the entire discussion was made public, a Host's standing could be severely damaged by the response. This system would be very simple, give the Host/Guest a chance to fix an error and stop the possibility of a bad dialogue escalating into something that could really hurt BOTH parties . I still maintain that we need to be proactive and we should educate our guests on the Air BNB rating system BEFORE they check-out NOT AFTER. Please see my previous response to this thread for my thoughts on being pro-active.

[Betty62]

It sucks, I only got my very first and last review from an opinionated guest ,I just started our airbnb like for a month and bam its done, it should be fair, 

[Scott54]

If Air BNB won't educate your guests, then do it yourself.  I have found that complaining doesn't resolve many problems.  About 2 weeks ago, I published on this conversation how I have been able to achieve almost 100% 5 stars in ALL categories.  Stop complaining guys and get proactive. IT CAN BE DONE!  If you truly have a 3 or 4 star BNB though, no-one can help you until you change it.  Talk to your guests, they can help!

[Calvin2]

Please help. I just got a guest review (3 month stay) that claims my apartment was continually flooding and I did nothing to help him but only made fun of him. This is all false and I think this person has mental illness of some sort. This is the first I've heard of any of this and he never contacted Airbnb to complain as far as I know.  I contacted Airbnb but I have not heard back from the trip manager, either way not sure how to prove that my apartment was not flooding "like a waterfall" 

[Naty3]

I would like to see Airbnb listening and doing something about the review (stars) system. Is not a fare system, is punitive and unreliable. I also feel the system use an universal rating that doesn't reflect or match the diversity in settings; you cannot have the same rating system for a loft in Soho NY and a country home in a South American country.

im very disappointed, we, as all of you do, work very very hard to keep everything "perfect" for our guests, but is a headache everytime some one stay with us. A headache for me, I worry, I'm afraid, anxious.... the reviews are coming!  No fare to make us feel this way we want to make money for you Airbnb and for ourself but not like this.

honestly I don't know what else or how much clear to be about my house and property. People don't read!  I text them to read, I message the read, I e mail them... this is very very stressful, and it feel Airbnb don't do much or listen to us.

[Roberta2]

I had this experience with my last guest. (I rent a room in my flat)

- they arrived on sunday, 3 hours later than expected (9pm). He told me that he got lost (I sent an email clearly explaining what metro to take, and than the bus, what stop to get off.)

- he also told me that they jumped off the 1st bus that they took, as there were 2 guys on the bus and he did not feel confortable with them (??), so had to take a second one.

- I was waiting for them, so I came down to the ground floor, open the door, scorted them in.

- I offered tea / coffe, told them where the toilet was, gave them the key, show them how the front door lock worked, gave  wi-fi passwords, had a chat.

- as it was by them 10pm, I offered them some of the pizza that I had in the oven for myself, and put another one in (as 1 would not be enought for 3 people). It was just frozen, nothing fancy,  but it as that or they had only the cereal bar + water that I leave in the room for arrival (or order a takeaway)

I asked if they needed anything, they thank me, said that they were going to have a shower and hit the bed, as they were traveling for over 15 hours.

They gave me 3* for check in.

I really can not see what else I could have done!

He later told me that the flat was far away and he didn't think I represented the neighbrohood correctly (I clearly state on the listing where I live!). That he did not feel confortable. 

On the other hand, I had a girl give me 5* all around, and recomend me to her friend, that will now stay for a few weeks for work experience. Hope for a better review on that one 🙂