How to reduce guests expectations?

[Anne-And-P15]

My Airbnb is a small one bedroom flat in great location, even though it is always clean, it is not exactly the most modern and newly refurbished, however due to that I keep my prices very low and hope that the guests will understand that even though great location, clean/ tidy and with all necessary amenities , it will not have same quality as 4 star hotel.

unfortunately, some of the guest still have high expectations and then give my Airbnb 1 star reviews that result in Airbnb getting suspended.

do you gave any recomendations?

thanks 

[Lenore22]

1. Put the "quirks and oddities" in the listing description. (Like dated furniture/fixtures, climbing 4 flights of stairs, stained porcelain, etc.) You can assure them it is clean, but not new.

2. You can mention these things in a confirmation message as well if you worry that people aren't reading the description.

3. Reply to reviews that list these things and acknowledge what's applicable (other guests don't see what they rated, but they read the reviews). When a guest mentions one of our quirks in a review, we embrace it and thank them for helping future guests find a good fit for them (especially if it's something like we are uptight about unregistered guests 😅)

... We actually aim to undersell our place so that guests are pleasantly surprised and for the most part, it works. Feel free to read our description where we list all the things guests might have an issue with: https://airbnb.com/h/4elements

[Huma0]

@Anne-And-P15 

I agree with @Lenore22 . You need a lot more information in your listing, which is very, very brief. How you describe your flat in your post above is closer to how you describe it in the listing, e.g.

"Small but cozy flat in a convenient and quiet location. The flat is a bit dated/old fashioned but it's clean and tidy with all essential amenities."

PS, make sure the last part is true. You really should have a smoke alarm if you are renting out a property, but perhaps your carbon monoxide alarm is also a smoke alarm, as I know these can be combinations? If so, list smoke alarm as an amenity too, otherwise get one. It's really an essential.

You should definitely mention things like the stairs in the main description, as well as in the 'guests must acknowledge' section. Things like this should be reiterated to guests before they book. I would also include some information about the building itself, not just the flat. You can only manage expectations if you are upfront about anything that a guest might have issues with/concerns about. 

I notice TV is not listed under the amenities, so did you remove this from the amenities after the guest mentioned it in their review or was it never offered? If you can't offer a proper TV service, I would remove the TV from the flat. Even if you don't list it as an amentity, people will expect to be able to use it if it's there! 

It seems that most of your guests are happy with the listing and only a few really didn't like it. However, even the guests who write a nice review might still rate you down in some areas or overall because they think 5* should be reserved for spectacular places. Only you will know by the ratings they individually gave whether it's just a couple of guests giving you 1* that is bringing down your score or if there is a pattern across your reviews. 

I noticed for example that your lowest scores are for cleanliness and value. I'm not saying it's not clean, but people can often perceive 'old' as being 'dirty'. Value wise, don't assume just because your place is cheap that guests will appreciate the value. If they find it lacking in any way, they might ding you on value even if it's the cheapest place in town. Bargain hunters and those on a tight budget are often the stingiest when it comes to ratings! 

It also seems to me that there is a lot you could do to improve the flat without spending too much money. Please don't take these as criticism because your flat looks fine to me overall (the bathroom is the only area that seems in need of a serious update, which is obviously more costly), especially for budget accommodation.

- Replace any missing light bulbs.

- Buy inexpensive lampshades for exposed light fittings.

- Remove (and replace if necessary) any broken furniture/other broken items.

- Provide more towels. They don't need to be expensive. Two hand towels is not enough.

- Personally I would also provide shampoo, shower gel, soap etc. Again, it doesn't need to be expensive. Buy the supersized bottles of the basic stuff from Lidl or another budget store. You can decant it into nicer looking bottles. For example, Lidl sells a hand wash in pump bottles that look like Molton Brown for less than £1. Take off the labels, clean off the glue and use a waterproof marker to (neatly) write shampoo, body wash or whatever and then refill them from the larger, cheaper bottles as necessary. The guests won't usually use masses of it, but many will appreciate that it's on offer.

- I'm not sure if it would work on your bathroom basin which looks pink (not sure if the guest was referring to this or the kitchen sink), but there is a product call Bar Keepers Friend (available at Wilko amongst other places) that is really good for getting stains off ceramic or porcelain sinks (also great for cleaning steel pans). 

- I don't know if it's just the lighting in the photos, but some areas look like they could do with a fresh lick of paint, which is not an expensive job if you are able to do it yourself. 

- I am not sure about the exposed boiler comment as I can't see this in your photos. Perhaps it is not a big deal if only one guest mentioned it, but if it is an eyesore, is there some way you can cover it? This could just mean fitting a small curtain and rail in front of it. This can even look quite cute in a kitchen if you choose a pretty fabric.

Hope that's of some help.