Inaccurate Reviews Hurt Hosts

[Kimberly718]

We live in a time where reviews are everything and so it was devastating when after receiving 103 5-star reviews, I had a guest give me a 3-star on Accuracy, which dropped my overall rating. She wrote a nice public review but then blasted me privately and indicated a list of issues that call into question the accuracy of my listing—claiming problems with AC, Wifi, Washer/Dryer, Size of space, and unexpected rules. 

Our AC brand new, works perfect, she didn't like that I asked her to put it on ECO mode to save energy when she went out for the day, washer/dryer brand new but in the basement, she didn't like going downstairs, the WiFi is high speed but we had a storm which knocked out the connection for a bit, she perceived the space as small even though our listing indicates 1,200SF, but it's actually larger at 1,500SF and lastly indicated Unexpected rules when clearly she didn't bother to read the rules at booking which are reiterated at check-in. So why am I getting penalized for inaccuracies when she really had preference issues? I called Airbnb but was read the usual line, "thank Ms Kim, we understand but we cannot remove or verify the inaccuracies of your guest's review". As a small business person, I find it super frustrating to have to deal with outsourced Airbnb call centers that are supposed to provide "Superhost" support, yet they lack the power to solve issues like this that ultimately hurt our listing and booking potential. I work really hard to ensure my listing represents the place and experience as closely as possible and I work very hard to make sure every detail is addressed and things are working the way they should. I think Airbnb should work harder to help hosts out with reviews like this. Suggest an option to verify issues using photos, video walk-throughs, a live Facetime call at the property to verify the inaccuracies in question. 

Has anyone else had issues like this and wished Airbnb could do better? Provide constructive suggestions please. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kimberly718 You have an overall rating of 4.98 and 5.0 in every category bar one. The only damage this hosts review might do you is that your response to their private comments is made public. As such all the dirty washing is now public.

[Kimberly718]

Agree, but that was not the question I posted. And, the list of issues regarding claims of inaccuracy comes up when guests now search my listing. I was looking to see if other hosts had experienced these same issues. If someone posted a review to Google that was inaccurate you have the ability to file a review. Airbnb should have this same policy. 

We as hosts, are held to being accurate and guests rate us on those accurate details. For instance, we list the size of our property in square feet/meters, for a guest to then contest the accuracy of a listing because they feel it was smaller and somehow misrepresented is unfair, it's not my fault someone doesn't know what 1,200 SF is. And to claim unexpected rules because the guest decided not to read them at the time of booking or upon arrival. If we as hosts are held to task to be accurate, then guests should be held to the same level of scrutiny when they make false claims. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kimberly718 The Airbnb system is not perfect but imagine how high their fees would be if they had to arbitrate and decide what is true when a guest/host disagree. My point is you are better working the system as best you can rather than try and change it.

[Kimberly718]

I simply don't agree. When they overhauled the system a year ago to go to a search by category I got very involved and directly spoke to key people at the company to reflect the issues I collected from hosts. The change was devastating for many hosts who lost business during their most productive seasons. Airbnb now rolls out changes like this slower and in a beta test mode so hosts can react and provide feedback before full launch. They also provide hosts the opportunity to select the category they appear in so they have more control over this unique function. I was simply asking if others had experienced this, not so much to get lectured for making the mistake of responding to my guest review. I am very well aware of that mistake. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kimberly718 Mistakes can be rectified. You 'own' your review responses so have every right to ask Airbnb to delete it.

[Kimberly718]

I wish that was the case but they won't take it down.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kimberly718 I am 100% sure they have to take it down in the EU and 90% sure in the USA. Try calling again and be very clear that it is not the guest's review you want them to remove but it is your response to that review that you insist they take down as they are required to by law.

[Kimberly718]

Not here in the US. My reviews are good and I am fully booked now through October so hers will fall further down the list as the weeks roll along so I am not going to worry about my response further. I have read about others though, that are unhappy with the fact that Airbnb does not account for guests making inaccurate claims. When you go to my overall listing now and click on accuracy her list of items comes up which pains me as all of the items she had issue with aren't issues at all. Folks from the city are hard to please no matter what you do.  

[Kimberly718]

[Kia272]

@Kimberly718  It's not possible to click on any of the sub-categories under reviews/ratings. It's not a link that opens up for further information.  I can't see anything other than the rating itself. Potential guests cannot see any more detail than that. I don't know where you got that idea from. 

As to what @Mike-And-Jane0 , I don't think it's possible for AirBnB to arbitrate a he said/she said about accuracy or anything else. It would neither be factual nor accurate because AirBnB has not been to your listing, and even if they could get to your listing, it doesn't speak to the condition it was in when a guest had an experience.

While I don't like the review system at all, and feel that it should be revised, what you're suggesting just isn't possible or practical. 

[Kimberly718]

As an owner of a marketing and branding agency dedicated to the hospitality and travel industry for over 20+ years I can tell you that any company that doesn't manage their product will fail. Airbnb learned this the hard way when they launched and listings were wrought with problems and inaccuracies, so they added the accuracy review section which was done to help overcome very bad press about the accuracy of certain listings and help guests. When consumers book thru Airbnb, they hold that company/brand responsible for the total experience. The brand is built on hosts like us. That said, they should and do look to always improve, in this case verifying a listing. Other companies like PlumGuide which is much smaller do this. They came out visited, took notes, provided notes and photos. Airbnb is a multi-billion dollar company and their product is US, so this is an improvement I am championing because I think accuracy is important both for guests and for hosts. Back last summer I was very vocal about the new search by category that was rolled out without any host review. I was interviewed by MSNBC, several travel magazines and two people at the corporate office. I do believe that thru constructive and insightful feedback improvements are made, it's one of the things I like about Airbnb which is why I posted this and asked the question whether there were other hosts who had similar experiences, not just to vent or rant about one bad review. I don't care about the actual review, but I do care when a guest has rights to make claims that are unfounded and hosts suffer bad and inaccurate claims that hurt their business. Perhaps as a result of my initial spark last summer, Airbnb now does Beta testing before rolling out big changes and hosts have the ability to select the categories they feel best represent their property instead of leaving it up to Ai. 

[Kia272]

@Kimberly718 I don't know what you mean when you say the list of issues now comes up when guests are searching for your property? On the AirBnB platform, that's simply not true. 

This guest, however horrible you may think she was, was good enough to complain in PRIVATE feedback. Your mistake was responding to her remarks publicly. Nobody else would be aware of her issues if you hadn't done so. 

BTW, when a guest leaves a lower star rating in any of the sub-categories, it doesn't affect your overall rating. A guest can leave a 3 for accuracy, but an overall 5 star rating, and you still get the 5 star. The sub-categories don't factor in to your overall rating. 

As hosts, we are always going to get guests who complain, and some carry that through to the ratings. Accurate or not, reviews are guest opinion. I know it's maddening when it's just not true, and you want to defend yourself, but trying to get AirBnB to remove that kind of review will just make you crazy, and is unlikely to result in the outcome you want. 

Again, be very careful about responding to private feedback in public. Nobody would be aware of this guest's complaints, had YOU not aired them publicly. I'm sorry this happened, but you'll have to grow a thicker skin if you don't want to lose sleep over things like this. You still have excellent ratings and I'm sure you will continue to get them. Good luck. 

[Kimberly718]

Kia,

I disagree, accuracy is very important in Airbnb, after the early start-up days with a fair amount of bait and switch listings they needed to overcome. There's nothing worse than expecting one thing based on a listing and arriving to something completely different. Accuracy and Opinions are not the same. Value is perceived and perhaps closer to opinion. I have spent my career in hospitality and marketing so I am well aware of the differences. For instance, I booked a listing this winter in a cold climate, the listing said there was radiant heat, but when I arrived, there wasn't heat at all. If I indicate, my place is 1,200 SF but it's only 600 SF that is also an issue of accuracy, that she perceives 1,200 SF as small means she either has not sense of space or likely didn't read. We have a brand new washer and dryer, that the guest didn't want to walk down stairs doesn't mean my listing is inaccurate, she is just perhaps lazy. She also indicated that turning off the AC meant the house got up to 90°, I indicate that guests should put the AC on eco mode and turn up to 75° when they head out for the day. So she's making claims again that harm my listing because she doesn't want to read. Looking at your posts, I am sure you can appreciate the importance of people reading. Unfortunately they don't.

That said, I was really looking for others that may have had similar experiences who wanted to share, not a review of my approach or advice to get "thick skin".  Agree I should have avoided a public response, my bad, first time for everything. But in regards reading and my original post: Has anyone else had issues like this and wished Airbnb could do better? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kimberly718 To answer your question: Yes lots of people who post in the CC have had issues like this and I am sure they wish Airbnb could do better.