First bad review after 6 straight 5* scores in all categories and overall.

[Delwyn3]

I am new to hosting and I have been thrilled with my first 6 reviews, they have all been 5*, in all categories and overall.   Sadly today I was floored with a 3* overall and 5 for all categories except 3 for cleanliness and 4 for value (with the comment cleanliness).

The guest states in the private comments that there were cockroaches in the bathroom and the kitchen needed to be cleaned before use.

If this is true then I deserve the 3* but I am surprised as I have had 4 previous "Compliments" of "Sparkling Clean".   I would like to find out exactly what was wrong with the kitchen so I can address it with my cleaner but am not sure how to go about asking him.

The guests communication had been amazing before arrival, but went very quiet after letting me know he had arrived.  I was not worried as it was only a 2 night stay and just assumed they were enjoying themselves.
At no point did he let me know things were not up to scratch so I had no opportunity to correct.   What is also very upsetting is he claims the broadband only worked for 2 hours.   Well now my next guest has no broadband and this is very annoying as if the guest who has given me this bad review had let me know it might have been fixed by now for my current guest!

So I have lost my lovely all 5 ratings, and have been reduced to 4.71.    

I have read about the concept of outlier reviews but am I right in thinking I have too few reviews for this to be considered an outlier?

I gave this guest a glowing review and complimented his communication.  He had no previous reviews. Well I now regret that as not telling me something was not working is very poor communication.   

Now what is also odd is that he gave me 5 for accuracy yet made this comment in the public review.  "at the beach‘ is a bit misleading. To reach the beach you have to walk 450 m with 20 meters altitude."
In my listing I mention very early that the bay is 400 metres away and I feel my photos clearly show how far the beach and the water is from the house.
I would really appreciate it if any of the helpful hosts here could check my listing and see if it has been misleading in any way.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Delwyn3 

Stating that altitude measurement makes me think that you have, unfortunately, experienced an extra special guest or a frustrated amateur resort surveyor.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Delwyn3 

Your Amenities lists your location as 'Beachfront'  & 'Shorefront', but these are generic listing approximations provided by Airbnb and you are well within a correct categorisation in that respect in my opinion.

I don't think your guest understood that he was supposed to review his experience, but rather it seems he was providing a weather and location report. As a first time guest, its probably a bit scary for him to fill in the review boxes and stating the exact distance and altitude from the beach whilst being accurate, doesn't contradict your own statement. Your description is appropriate but to avoid any elderly people making the same observation - you might just add that to your description too?

As he was a first time Airbnb guest he probably thought you were the Maid at the Airbnb organisation as he never mentioned you at all, unlike all your other reviews.

You might enquire with him as a follow up for his stay and about the items he mentioned for clarity, and I would do this via the Messaging system. Having a cockroach crawling or flying into a bath is not such a horrible thing and that kind of thing does happen. At least they're not a constant flow.

After his reply, you might contact customer services and see if they can override his review in any way, they probably won't be able to do anything, but you're more than entitled to ask considering he was a first time guest and you accepted him without any previous reviews whereas you have past evidence of 6 stellar reviews.

[Delwyn3]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 thanks for your advice.   I am pleased you think my description is accurate and yes I will contact customer services and see if I can get them to help me.   I will message him and inquire about the cleaning issues in the kitchen "so I can address them with my cleaner" but in all honesty based on his behaviour I doubt there was much wrong and would hate to upset my cleaner.   Thanks for your reply I really appreciate it.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Delwyn3 

Good luck with speaking to customer services but I would try to get your guests perspective first before doing so.

You are, as well, entitled to reply to guests' reviews. You could take this opportunity to address any issues which have been aired although this will not amend the star rating.

[Delwyn3]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Yes I have messaged the guest and apologised and asked for more detail of what was not clean "so I can address the issue with my cleaner".   I have no intention of upsetting my cleaner as I believe his criticism is unfair.  I suspect he will not reply as he was not helpful enough to let me know the broadband was not working, so I doubt he will help me out by providing some clarity.  I will wait a day or two before I contact customer services.  

Thanks again.   

[Sharon1014]

We are 70 metres from the beach, level ground walk to beach steps, and technically beachfront as there are no houses between our apartment and the beach.  There are partial ocean views from the ground floor apartment.  We state both of these things in the photo captions just so it is absolutely clear.  Just a small water catchment park with shrubbery between us and the ocean.  We don't however state that we are beachfront, as this gives the impression that your place is absolute beachfront with full ocean views.  I'd rather low-ball it and have guests pleasantly surprised than overstate and have them disappointed.

It's helpful also in your msg greeting to guests to state "please don't hesitate to let us know if there is anything more we can do to make your stay as comfortable as possible".  Head off any potential problems before they start. 

The bugs in the house thing happens occasionally regardless of surface spraying every possible entry point.  We leave 2 types of bug spray in the cupboard under the kitchen sink, just in case.  No problems thus far.

[Anonymous]

@Delwyn3   Having 5 stars as a "default" rating is great for Airbnb, as it artificially inflates the appearance of quality in its listings. It's not useful at all for guests or hosts, though. As a guest, I've given 5 stars to plenty of hosts who were mediocre at best and saved the more critical comments for the private feedback. Had I rated them honestly, it might have been 3 or 4 stars, but what's the point? Hosts get so upset about the lower ratings that they stop listening to the actual feedback.  What kind of rating do you give to a mediocre experience when 5 stars is default?

Given the fact that your guest was kind enough to reserve the most critical comments for the private review, I'm inclined to think his rating was a genuine reflection of his experience (7 reviews is not nearly enough to call this one an "outlier," and nothing about it appears dishonest, irrelevant, or unfair). It would have been nice of him to tell you about the cleanliness and broadband issues sooner, but it's not his obligation to do this unless he's seeking some kind of refund. The host is the one responsible for making sure everything is up to standard, not the guest's.

Even if you live too far away to fully inspect the property between guests, do you have someone such as a dedicated co-host in Coromandel who you trust to do so on your behalf? Or are you relying solely on the cleaner to be honest about the quality of their own work?

Also, it is clear from the photos that your home has a beautiful sea view. But having "beachfront" included in the amenities list is indeed misleading. For most people that means the property is directly adjacent to the beach, and not a potentially difficult hike away. Just to make sure everyone arrives with accurate expectations I'd suggest unchecking that box and being clear about what is required to access to waterfront (for example, if it requires descending a hillside that is a relevant detail).

[Trevor243]

We all get those guests .... and one bad review at your stage is not good .... it takes a lot of 5* reviews to to compensate for every 3 or 4 star review .... and always a pain when the first they tell us of a problem is when we discover 2 weeks later that they've reported it in a review ..... our guest information packs are very clear .... "If there is a problem, please tell us immediately so that we can fix it immediately. The last thing we want is for you to be disappointed with something and we only find out about the problem when we read your review 2 or 3 weeks later".

In this game, you have to have a bit of a thick skin .... you'll get lots of praise from happy guests, but you'll get the odd one now and then who isn't so nice ....

If that was your first review, I'd have said delete the listing and create a new one ....

[Delwyn3]

Thanks @Trevor243 .     Yes I am thinking if I can't thicken my skin I need to sell the house!   What I find upsetting is that he didn't bother to tell me the wifi wasn't working so then the next guest had no wifi and they gave me a 4* overall and for accuracy because there was no wifi!    This has resulted in my 5* average dropping more to 4.6.    I think this second guest thought they were giving good score as they are new to airbnb also.   

[Ange2]

@Delwyn3   I think his public review is fine.  I do see it as an outlier because all other reviews to date are great. Maybe get some shots from the other side of the bay and and mark where your home is so the walk down to the beach is visual (some guests do not read so visuals are always a plus);  the perspective of some photos does make it appear as if it is right on the water. You could reiterate the walk down to the beach in your welcome messages to guests.

[Delwyn3]

@Ange2 thanks,  I felt my statement at the beginning of my listing saying the bay is 400m away and the photos of the view clearly showing how elevated we are was more than enough to not be misleading and my very first photo clearly shows how high the house is from the beach. 

However its a great idea to get a photo looking back at the house from the water. I would need to take a photo with a drone as the other side of the bay is too far but the local real estate agents might be able to help me on that one.

[Sarah977]

@Delwyn3  I think, to a lot of people, including me, "beachfront" means you just walk out the door and you are on the beach, not that it is a quarter mile walk up a hill. I'd say your place is beach view, but not beach front. I'd personally be more than happy to stay there and wouldn't mind the little jaunt to the beach at all. Just don't know that most guests would find "beachfront" to be accurate.

One thing you can do going forward so that hopefully you don't get complaints about things like the Wifi not working, is to state in your house manual, and also in a check-in message to guests after they arrive, if you don't already, to please let you know if anything isn't working properly, so you can have the opportunity to fix it ASAP. 

[Delwyn3]

Thanks @Sarah977  yes I do that, which is why I am disappointed that the guest did not bother to tell me the wifi was not working.  It wasn't fair to me or my next guest.   My property goes right down to the beach and we have access to the beach via a steep track.   This route is not what the guest was referring to, he was talking about getting to the beach via the road, but I do take your point thanks.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Delwyn3 

 My property goes right down to the beach and we have access to the beach via a steep track.

Thats about as much 'beachfront' as a property can get! I think your guest was just being petty and absent minded.  His 'complaint' was you were not "at the beach",  (his quote) but where that came from is anybody's guess, you do not state that anywhere in your description and quite a different expectation all together. Thats a pure lack of reading your description details on your guests' behalf.