First 4 star review

[Kevin3247]

We just received out first 4 star review by a quest. All the comments were glowing. Except the star rating. Having only a handful of bookings so far this is a real kick in the guts. We gave our guests a welcome basket (wine /chocolates and cookies) even during their stay they received flowers and freshly laid chickens eggs. We didnt speak the same language as the guests, but I thought we managed that ok. The listing and house rules are pretty clear. Not sure how we could have given them a 5 star stay...... or if anyone could. I feel like Air BnB is just way too hard. Even cleanliness was only 4 and the residence is spotless. I feel they want $1000 night accommodation for $200. THink i'll give up. 4.75 rating after 4 bookings doesnt sound goos

[Kevin3247]

4.75 rating after 4 bookings doesnt sound good 🙂 @Trude0 

[Trude0]

Please immediately stop asking yourself what more you could have done for the guest - I’m sure it had nothing to do with you, that this was simply ”that kind of guest”.

The good thing is that their written review was great, as are your other reviews. So they only hurt your overall rating, which will not take too long to fix (do the maths). 

4.75 after 4 bookings might affect you a bit in search rank, but not too badly. And as soon as a guest sees your reviews, they will not worry about the average rating.

Giving up because of this, would be a serious overreaction. 😉 

[Guy991]

Hello @Kevin3247 ,

Don’t worry about it—you can easily get back on track with a few more 5-star reviews.

What I would suggest is creating a scheduled message right away to send to guests at the end of their stay. Use this message to encourage them to write a review while also explaining how the Airbnb rating system works, emphasizing that anything below 5 stars is considered negative. You can search the community for numerous examples from experienced hosts on how to write this professionally. If you haven’t set this up yet, I recommend doing it as soon as possible.

[Kevin3247]

Thankyou so much for your comments Guy and Trude. I have a "Welcome Folder' asking Guests to review their stay , and how reviews are important, but a scheduled message sent right away to send to guests at the end of their stay is a great idea. These guests stayed for 7 days at our BnB. I feel like I failed. These guests and I didnt speak a common language but I made every effort possible to speak their language and using translations apps etc to communicate, to make them feel at home, and gave them gifts and flowers etc, attended to their every needs at all hours of the day. Certainly a learning curve. I feel to please some guests is impossible..... and is it even worth it ???  

Does anyone have a sample of the scheduled message sent right away to send to guests at the end of their stay "outlining how important the review system is for BnB" and for us to remain open?

PS: the only guest feedback received is that we didnt supply a different coffee. We do supply coffee but not one to their liking 

[Frances3408]

@Kevin3247. Try not to sound too desperate or pushy for a review-everyone is busy. In my check out message I just thank them again for choosing us, wish them a safe trip and if they get a chance we would really appreciate a review. Reviews are for the next lot of guest enquires so always respond. I dont use scheduled messages as I like to customise each one; but as long as you send something positive to reinforce you as a personable host.

[Trude0]

@Kevin324 

Like @Frances3408, I don’t use scheduled messages - I prefer to write each one for the personal touch. (I can understand that hosts with many listings and fully booked calendars need to make some short cuts, though.) 

And I decided early on that I would not ask for reviews, nor would I try to educate guests in how the rating system works. 

I have hosted 80 stays, all guests have reviewed, and I have been lucky enough that all ratings are 5*. 🙏 I know there’s a fair bit of luck in that (I’m not that great, my place is not the Ritz) - and eventually I will get the first lower rating. But I think it does not matter much if you try to «push» some guests to rate high - might it even have the oposite effect? 

[Frances3408]

@Kevin3247. Hi Kevin, I do feel for you but cheer up, my third guest in gave me 3 stars (and they broke so many rules etc) so you can imagine what it does to your rating. Three years later and I am getting almost all 5 star host ratings so I have recovered, so to speak.I just try and focus now on effective communication by asking lots of questions before and during to gauge what they may need, even if they themselves dont know it.

I think your response was very professional and you probably did all you could. Hang in there, it gets better. 🙂