First time airbnb guest

[Yvonne998]

Received another 4 stars review, when everything were beyond perfect. Guest even wrote me a personal thank you note. 

For some reason, all my 4 stars reviews were from guests that havent stay in an airbnb before. So i safely assumed they do not understanding how airbnb rating works. And because of their ignorance and airbnb unjust ratings system, i am terrified to host guest without any ratings. 

Is there anything we can do? But i did response to the review though:

"Dear Anni, thank you for your 4 stars review and also a personal note that you enjoyed your stay with me. However to maintain a listing with 5 star reviews are almost impossible if we do not have the support of our guests feedback. Unfortunately I have not heard any feedbacks from you on any improvement I could do so to earn your 5 stars ratings. I have maintain a 5 star ratings for 7months until now, looks like i have more room for improvement then. 😞 We airbnb hosts run a humble business and our livelihood depend solely on the reviews left by our guests. I also understand this is your first stay with airbnb, I hope you have a better understand how airbnb works and all the best with your future airbnb stay."

[Mary1523]

Hi Yvonne well done on maintaining such a high review rating and being a guest favourite!

It is a little tricky with first time airbnb guests I agree. They need to be handled with care. I get a bit annoyed at airbnb more broadly that they don't seem to provide extra care or resources and its left to the host to hand hold them. And hand hold them I do. I have one I am dealing with the at the moment. I tell them everything and how it works. Closer to the time, before they arrive, I indicate that I want to earn a 5 star review, so if anything jeopardises that, I ask them to contact me during their stay because if I can address it then and there, it stops them adding up in the their head reason to give fault. It's the best you can do.

The only thing I would comment is always be extremely careful with your public replies to reviews. Try and stay positive, as future guests judge you on those responses as well. It might be best to say something educational about 4 star reviews to the guest privately. Although I had to respond publicly recently to a 4 star review I got because it was ridiculous and it dropped me down below 4.8 which is danger territory. I really needed to explain to future guests (and thats how I write the response, not to that guest, but I say 'Dear Future guests')  that I respect guests perspective on reviews, but that they did get a wonderful experience for the price of xyz and that we strive to offer 5 star experience always.

On the whole though your 4 star review didnt impact your rating too much, so probably no harm done. You can always ask post review why they didn't  give you 5 stars if you have already rated them.

Kind regs

MK

[Elena4354]

Dear @Yvonne998, I can see from your reviews that you provide truly exceptional service to your guests. It is very difficult to maintain a very high review rating.

First-time Airbnb guests cannot compare your listing to other Airbnb listings, so they cannot see and feel the difference. Experienced guests can easily see the difference and really appreciate the quality of service provided by the host.

Unfortunately, we all sometimes get strange unfair ratings from new guests (and sometimes from experienced guests as well) without any explanation or complaints and with perfect reviews.

I agree with @Mary1523 that the only thing we can do is try to establish good communication with guests before they arrive and tell them that if they have any problems or questions, you are there to help and will do everything possible to make their stay comfortable.

And of course, it is important to respond to the review correctly, stay calm and positive, express regret that the guests did not report what they did not like during their stay and did not give you the opportunity to solve the problem.

Best regards.

[Rebecca]

Hi @Yvonne998 👋

You've got some wonderful support here from some of our Hosts. Have any of the answers helped? 
 
If so, it's always a lovely gesture to pop a like on the comments 👍  and mark a best answer ☑️ . It's like a big virtual hug to the members who supported you and the best answer also supports other Hosts who may have similar questions in the future. 😊 

[Greystone0]

HI @Yvonne998 ,

Agree with the really good info presented here and totally feel the frustration. You are not alone. 

Here's something to consider:

- if you learn the guest 'meant' to leave 5 stars or perhaps is willing to reconsider,  they have the option to 'remove' their review.  They would need to reach out to AIRBNB and ask to have it removed. It is my general understanding that this is possible. 

- on the other hand, if you haven't already, you should determine what influenced their 4 star review and take action to remedy. Even if it is a perceived lack of something, it will help with your future messaging. You can reach out to the guest and ask what you could have done differently to receive 5 stars.

And separately to all of this, I think that often guests don't recognize that they should be reviewing the stay against what is represented in the listing. If the listing represents parking for one vehicle then the guest shouldn't complain about needing more parking, they should have chosen another listing, if that makes sense. If the listing mis-represents then that is a big issue and is fair to critique in a review.  

Wishing you much success!