Thank you, @Ephraim0 and @Andrea9!
You both confirmed what I tried to find out on my own - that the guest stars are a bit nebulous - perhaps used, as Ephraim has said, as a back-door rating system when hosts have been less than candid on their written reviews.
I just had a guest check out who wasn't awful, but one who didn't rise much above my minimum expectations. I don't really want to leave a scathing review, because it's not warranted. But I would like to be more accurate in my "stars", but wasn't sure what the impact would be - on myself, the guest, or their future bookings.
Can't see myself agonizing one moment longer over 2 stars or 3 if no one gets to see it. On the other hand, if I'm leaving a cyber-trail, I sure would like to know where it goes!
Jude
PS - Is there any way to make suggestions to the Airbnb admins? I would like to see a more unified rating system - since as hosts our stars DO count. It wouldn't be too difficult to translate stars into something like:
5 - exceeded expectations
4 - met expectations
3 - met minimum expectations
2 - fell short of expectations
1 - failed to approach expectations
And I bet as you're reading this list, you may have a completely different understanding of what a 1 - 5 rating scale means to you! And if that is so - now multiply that by all the people who respond, each with a different understanding of what that system means. That translates into - how is the star system valid - for hosts or guests?
Jude