Harsh/unfair/incorrect cleanliness rating

[Henrik187]

Hi there!

Is there anything I as host can to do to change/challenge/ correct a  3 star cleanliness rating when you know your it is **bleep** and the rate should have been a 5 star?

I´m an experienced host and former Superhost with only 5 star reviews. I know how to make sure our apartment is super clean to get a 5 star review, I follow the same cleaning process every time and have never received a lower score than 5, both cleaning-wise and overall.  I have 40+ reviews. My previous guest decided to give me 3 stars since my furniture where not in the same, perfect condition as when she visited 4 years earlier. She was also  aware about us becoming parents 2 years ago, and has small children of her own that stayed here.  My other guests who stayed here recently has only given me 5 stars. My rating has now dropped from 5.0 to 4.8, and I feel unable to take action against what I mean is an incorrect guest rating. 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Henrik187 

This is the opinion of the guest and does not violate Airbnb policy. I don't think you can successfully get such a review removed. If it's any consolidation, it happens to all of us.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Henrik187 If you continue to stress about the star ratings it will need to madness. Its not fair but life is not fair so far better to just put this behind you and move on.

[Elena4354]

Hello @Henrik187, this is a very difficult question. Unfortunately, from my personal experience, even if we do everything perfectly, we can’t do anything to prevent negative ratings or bad reviews from some guests. .

There are people who can’t give you 5 stars no matter what you do.

Imagine, I have been a superhost for many years, I have hosted thousands of guests and I maintain very high standards of property management and cleaning. But I have received 1-star reviews from guests because “there are too many hills in Porto and they are tired of walking up and down”‌😂‌. And this review was not removed by customer service because it is the guest’s impression of the city.

Some people always find something wrong: cleaning, mattress, linens, wifi speed, the sound of the river and seagulls and many, many other things that they think are not perfect.

Of course, this is very frustrating, every negative review really hurts because we know that we have done our best to provide guests with a quality and comfortable stay.

So... just accept it and keep doing your best 😊.

Kind regards. 

Elena.