If I don't write a review for a guest, will their review of us appear on our page anyway?

[Amber-Y-Andreu0]

Hello,

We had two guests recently that we were very displeased with, and I suspect the feeling was mutual. Since almost 14 days have passed and they had not written a review I figured I would do the same, the old "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" rule. However, I just received notice that they have now written a review.

If I choose not to write a review for them, will their review go public anyway? Even though we bent over backwards to please these individuals who seemed to think they should have been staying in a polished urban hotel instead of a country house I'm afraid their review will reflect their (apparent) disappointment, and not our efforts to please them.

Thanks,

Amber

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Amber-Y-Andreu0

yes, their review will appear 14 days after they check out even if you don't writte your review

you can just write something neutral like: they would be better suited in a hotel enviroment (all future hosts will understand what you mean)

[Celeste22]

Very helpful! Just the wording I was looking for...Thanks

[Andrea9]

@Amber-Y-Andreu0

the reviews are meant to give future hosts an idea of what it's like hosting a guest.

Unfortunately, too many hosts shy away from writing anything, so that such guests can easily book with another host who might have the same unfortunate experience that you had. 

If a not that great guest who had first stayed with me sent you an inquiry, wouldn't you be glad you were warned??

Like @Branka-and-Silvia0 formulating it in a professional and unemotional way is enough of a red flag for most hosts.

[Amber-Y-Andreu0]

Thanks all for your replies and excellent suggestions. Yes, I can see where going the silent route is actually quite irresponsible toward the community in general. On those few occasions when I read a not entirely favourable review of guests I feel grateful toward the hosts for their honesty. 

Thanks!

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

Airbnb is not an "if you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything at all" kind of place.  Hosts and guests alike rely on HONEST and FACTUAL reviews in order to make decisions about their travel accommodations.  That doesn't mean you go out of your way to be mean in your review, but TELL THE FACTS.  If the guest didn't respect your house rules, state that in your review.  If the guest left the house/room a wreck, state that in your review.  It's not being mean, it's being HONEST and will help future guests and hosts.

[Anne15652]

What if they are untruthful in  their review of the guests? This happened to us. It wasn't a good stay so we opted not to write a review. But they posted that we caused the toilet to leak by pushing on the tank. (We noticed the leak when we emptied the trash can that was wet.) We had so many problems...like no heat for two days and a bathroom door that we were advised not to close, among other things. All communications were cordial and professional. Their review caught us completely off guard. Is there any recourse for the guests in this sutuation?

[Joelle43]

Hello @Anne15652 

Did you bring up these issues with your host in the Airbnb message stream?  If so, you can use this when you contact customer service to dispute the hosts review of you.

You are also able to respond publicly to the host review by using the "leave a public review" option that you should have available to you.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/32?locale=en&_set_bev_on_new_domain=1662153478_ODZkYzY5ZWM0YWMz

Let us know how it goes🤞

Joëlle

[Dede0]

@Amber-Y-Andreu0 Also, once the guest's review appears on your listing, you can add a response to it. If you do that, leave a *brief*, calm, "professional" response. You don't need to make complaints about the guests or get argumentative.

[James1]

@Amber-Y-Andreu0 As others have said, their review goes 'Public' after 14 days if you do not review them. So review them and don't miss the deadline. Depending on time zone issues the "14 day deadline" may be a few hours sooner than you think it is. Get your review done soon, but do it thoughtfully.

Bad reviews are one of the trickiest aspects of hosting on airbnb. Learn from all these excellent commenters. Here are my suggestions from five years of hosting:

Keep your review polite and professional. Be conscise, factual and unemotional.

Do not mention any of the guests personal details or the guest can get the review removed.

Do not accuse the guest of a crime. example: if something is missing say it's missing, do not say guest XXXXX stole it. That may also get your review removed.

In addition to the other good suggestions start the review off with "I would not host XXXXX again". Hosts are busy and may only read the first line or two when looking at a potential guests previous reviews. Make it clear in the first line of your review that this is a bad guest, but say it a bit more artfully 🙂

Also be aware that some future guests like to read the reviews a prospective host has left for their other guests, before booking. I do when I travel airbnb. It can tell you more about a host (or a guest) than their profile.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/350391

[Sandra126]

All good advice, also don't make it overly long or aggressive. If it is awful the guest will delete their profile, making the review redundant. Just enough for hosts to understand roughly.

We need a Community Guide (where are you, @Dave & Deb) on how to write a good negative review. @James1 has some stirling suggestions that needs to be more widely read as this is a really common issue.

[Beverly36]

This was a very helpful conversation. I read this because I felt a bad review coming on due to plumbing issues. I tried to remain factual as you all recommended and ended with “perhaps a hotel experience would be better for this party”.  I’m glad I listened to you and left emotions out because indeed they gave me a very high review and 5 stars and now I feel bad that I gave them 4 and did not recommend them. Where does the “Did not recommend” show up?

[Wendy117]

The guest does not know either whether you revommended them or the number of stars you gave them.

Another host can just see that there were say 9 reviews but only 7 recommendations, so obviously 2 hosts have not recommended them.

[Deborah1096]

I'm enjoying reading these posts (new to AirBnb)....so, just wondering-when I review a guest, they don't see how many stars that I give or that I'd likely not rent to them again??

Thanks for your reply.

[Sarah977]

@Deborah1096  The guest sees neither of those things. However, hosts who don't use Instant Book also don't see guest star ratings, so please make sure the written review you leave doesn't make the guest sound desirable, if you rate them low and wouldn't want to host them again.